Dereck Lively’s second season felt a little lost, mostly due to injury, and also mostly due to team circumstance, which is a disappointment considering where Lively was at the end of his rookie year. He had just finished off a a spectacular season, instantly becoming a dominant rim defender and lob threat, while also flashing more advanced parts of his game, like passing and handling the ball as a hub of sorts from the elbows.
Lively’s play during the Mavericks run to the 2024 Finals was impressive, as rookie’s typically don’t anchor defenses the way Lively did. But Lively was incredible, with really the only stain being the Finals itself, but it’s hard to blame a 20-year-old rookie center for failing to dominant a historically great Celtics team that was a worthy NBA champion.
With that, Lively’s expectations for year two were sky-high. Unfortunately he didn’t quite make it there, even if you brush away some of the more unrealistic expectations, like Lively turning into a three point shooter. Either way, Lively still projects to be an excellent foundational piece as the Mavericks rapidly transition from the Luka Doncic era to the Cooper Flagg era.
Season in Review
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Lively’s season started a bit weird, as after Jason Kidd told reporters during training camp that Lively was working with the starters, Daniel Gafford was the one to start at center yet again. This wasn’t a big issue, as it was the Gafford in the starting lineup that helped propel the Mavericks to their second-half run in 2024.
However Gafford struggled early, while Lively looked like his dominant self off the bench early on. Lively did eventually take the starting role a month or so into the season, but his performances were a little inconsistent — he had too many games with foul trouble, and sometimes invisible showings where you’d barely notice his impact. It was a far cry from his rookie season, when you could almost never take your eyes off Lively once he checked into the game.
To make matters worse, Lively’s lob partner Doncic exited the lineup with a calf injury on Christmas Day. But funny enough that’s when Lively finally started to stack quality games together — in January, he averaged about 10 points, eight rebounds, and an impressive three assists per game. He was picking up steam until he suffered what almost seemed like a season-ending injury, a stress fracture in his ankle that was initially diagnosed as an ankle sprain. Lively injured himself on Jan. 14 and didn’t return until April 2. The Lively that returned was clearly rusty and on a minutes restriction. He didn’t look like himself to close out the season, punctuated by a zero point performance against the Grizzlies in the play-in tournament loss that ended the Mavericks season.
Best Game
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Lively’s best game happened against the Portland Trail Blazers on Jan. 9. Lively had season highs in both points and rebounds with a 21-point, 16-rebound effort that also included three blocks and an assist. Portland wasn’t a contender and their big man rotation is iffy, but Lively was absolutely dominant and helped the Mavericks pick up a big win a week or so after Doncic went down with his calf strain.
Contract Status
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Lively starts the third year of his 4-year, $22.3 million rookie deal this October. He’ll make $5.3 million in 2025-26, and then $7.2 million in 2026-27, presumably before the Mavericks offer him a healthy contract extension.
Lively makes peanuts compared to his importance and production, even with the somewhat down second year. He should be a trusted foundational building block going forward, especially since the Mavericks won the Draft Lottery and are expected to take Cooper Flagg.
However, with Nico Harrison’s desire to win now, Lively also represents by far the greatest player trade-chip on the Mavericks roster, outside of Flagg of course. If Harrison wants to swing for the fence for another star, Lively’s name will certainly come up in the discussions. We’ll just have to see how the summer plays out.
Lookin Ahead
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The big thing for Lively will be his health. Through two seasons he has picked up a variety of bumps and bruises that have kept him out of the lineup for a few games here and there, culminating in the stress fracture that almost ended his season back in January. Lively’s boundless athleticism and constant energy almost acts like a double-edged sword — it’s admirable Lively plays so hard and goes after the ball with such ferocity, but he also puts himself into more awkward situations that could lead to injury. Obviously you never want to tell a player to not play as hard, but perhaps Lively can keep learning and play a bit smarter and know better when to pull the trigger on that outrageous athleticism.
If Lively can stay on the court, look for him to keep expanding his game as a finisher and passer. Don’t expect to see Lively launching three pointers, but more actions as a dribble-handoff hub, more chances to score outside of dunks and lobs should be on the menu. Lively seemingly has the talent to be a bit more than a rim runner and lob threat, so it’d be fun to see that grow a bit more in year three.
Grade: B-
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Lively’s season ended with such a whimper (a total of five points and seven rebounds combined in the two play-in games) that I almost wanted to nudge this grade down into the “C” range. But so much of Lively’s season was tainted by stuff outside of his control, like injury and the Doncic trade.
The main thing is despite whatever struggles Lively was going through, he still maintained that great attitude that he showed during his rookie season. Lively seems like the right kind of guy you’d want in your lock room, and someone that has a head on his shoulders that seems years wiser than a normal 21-year-old NBA player. Lively’s locker room presence is massive and he has all the qualities to be a vocal team leader for years to come.
For that, I’ll be a bit softer on Lively. There were still some really awesome moments, and there might have been even more without a snake bitten injury and one of the wildest and most unpredictable trades in NBA history.