Dereck Lively II has undergone three foot surgeries in the last year as he works to try to get healthy for the upcoming season, and he still has more work to do.
Mavericks general manager Mike Schmitz recently expressed confidence in the young center’s approach to his rehab process, according to Grant Afseth of the Dallas Hoops Journal.
“(Lively) has been working his tail off. He’s in the facility constantly, completely locked into everything we’re doing and doing everything in his power to be his best self,” Schmitz said. “Really, really proud of just the approach he’s taken and his mentality, his voice. He’s young, but he’s got a presence to him. Just having him in our facility every day and working his tail off to get to 100 percent is something that we feel every day.”
While the slow recovery process has been frustrating for the 22-year-old, he has focused on the process and incremental improvements throughout the ordeal. In his most recent update in June, it was revealed that he had begun weight-lifting and walking but had yet to begin running again.
“He’s doing everything in his power, and we’re just really proud of the progress he’s made and continuing to chip away at everything as we get closer to the start of camp,” Schmitz said.
This recovery process comes at a time when Lively is extension-eligible, presenting the Mavs with a tricky decision, given that the talented center has played just 98 of 246 games since being drafted 12th overall in 2023.
Dallas has a plethora of big men to buy Lively time, but that could also complicate the choice to extend him. They have Daniel Gafford, Saints Aldamarookie lottery pick Morez Johnson Jr.and Moussa Cissewhose restricted free agency offer sheet from the Knicks the team recently matched.