Dereck Lively II’s season-long absence is turning into a real problem for the Mavericks, and it goes beyond just missing a big man in the rotation.
Eight games into the 2026-27 season, Lively still hasn’t played a minute. He remains in rehab after a second surgery on his injured right foot last December, and Dallas still hasn’t put a timetable on when he might be back. The silence around his recovery only adds to the uncertainty, especially with his future in Dallas already hanging in the balance.
That uncertainty matters because Lively is headed for free agency after this season. The Mavericks passed on giving him a rookie-scale extension before last month’s deadline, even though talks between the two sides did happen. They never reached a deal, and now the team gets a longer look at whether he can stay healthy before deciding whether to bring him back next summer.
The health issue is the big one. Lively has only played 98 games since Dallas drafted him in 2023, with 55 coming in his rookie season.
Since then, he has appeared in just 43 games, including only seven last season. For a player with his talent, that kind of availability is the obstacle that keeps getting in the way.
When he’s on the floor, though, the upside is obvious. In 2023-24, Lively averaged 8.8 points, 6.9 rebounds, and 1.4 blocks per game while shooting 74.7 percent from the field, the best mark of his career. That season earned him sixth place in Rookie of the Year voting and showed exactly why MFFLs were so quick to embrace him.
He was a lob threat, a useful short-roll passer, and the kind of defensive presence Dallas needed in the middle. The former Duke Blue Devil also played a major role in the Mavericks’ run to the 2024 NBA Finals. Since then, though, the production has been limited by injuries.
Dallas likely made the cautious call by holding off on an extension. Lively’s right foot has been an issue for nearly two years, and for a 7-footer dealing with lower-body problems, the Mavericks chose patience over urgency. That same approach is carrying over into his recovery now.
Still, the wait is getting longer. Lively’s last game came on November 21, 2025, which was 349 days ago. He still isn’t practicing, and while Dusty May said he is “making major progress,” there’s no sign that a return is close.
That leaves the Mavericks with less time to judge how Lively fits with the rest of their young core. If he does come back and play well, Dallas will have the right to match any offer he receives as a restricted free agent. But before any of that matters, he has to get back on the court and show the team enough to feel good about the next step.
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Marshalls value may be even greater if Dallas keeps leaning into smaller, more flexible lineups around him. With his pick-and-roll comfort and efficiency at the rim and in the mid-range, he looks like the kind of secondary creator who can make the offense less predictable, which is exactly the sort of option the Mavericks have been trying to uncover. [Read more 🡒]