Dereck Lively II’s extension clock: Mavericks weigh durability with five days left

DALLAS — Oct. 14, 2026 — Dereck Lively II has five days left to sign a rookie-scale extension with the Mavericks, and the hardest number in the talks has nothing to do with dollars. The 22-year-old center has played 98 games in three NBA seasons, including just seven last year, and he still had not been cleared for 5-on-5 work when Dallas opened training camp. If no deal is done by Monday, Oct. 19, at 5 p.m. Central, Lively heads toward restricted free agency in summer 2027.

ESPN’s Bobby Marks framed the decision as a bet on the healthy version of Lively. In 2024-25, while limited to 36 games, he ranked 17th of 138 players in offensive rebounding percentage and fourth in defensive rebounding percentage, and opponents shot 56.3% at the rim against him. As a rookie he was a key piece of Dallas’ run to the 2024 Finals, averaging 7.4 rebounds in 22 minutes across 21 playoff games.

The foot is the whole negotiation

Lively had surgery on his right foot in July 2025 to clear bone spurs, returned for the start of last season, then needed season-ending surgery on the same foot in December. Marc Stein described the Mavericks’ extension talks as being at an early stage back in July, and nothing public has moved since. Coach Dusty May said in Macao that Lively is moving well and working through a return-to-play protocol, deferring timing questions to the medical staff.

Marks’ suggested structure shows how a team protects itself here: three years and about $35 million, with a first-year salary near $10.8 million, roughly the qualifying offer Lively would be owed next summer anyway. The second season would be guaranteed, but the third would depend on Lively playing at least 41 games in one of the first two years. That kind of games-played trigger moves the injury risk onto the contract instead of onto the cap sheet.

Why Dallas can afford to wait

The Mavericks have bodies at center without him. Daniel Gafford, Santi Aldama, lottery pick Morez Johnson Jr. and Moussa Cisse, whose Knicks offer sheet Dallas matched this summer, all sit on the frontcourt depth chart. That depth lowers the urgency for the front office led by Masai Ujiri and general manager Mike Schmitz. Waiting would let Dallas see Lively play real minutes before committing, while keeping the right to match any offer next summer.

The risk runs the other way too. If Lively returns and looks like the rim protector from 2024, his restricted free agency price will rise fast. A modest, protected deal now is the cheapest he is likely to be, which is why the next five days matter for both sides.