The Mavericks assigned a trio of injured big men to their G League affiliate on Friday, announcing (via Twitter) that Anthony Davis, Dereck Lively and Daniel Gafford will be heading to the Texas Legends.
According to Dallas-based NBA insider Marc Stein (Twitter links), Davis will be going through his second round of 5-on-5 practice with the Legends, while Lively and Gafford are expected to start with a 3-on-3 session.
Davis first practiced with Dallas’ affiliate team on Monday, though head coach Jason Kidd later cautioned that the star forward/center had to clear additional hurdles before he’s able to play again. Davis has been out since February 8, when he sustained a left adductor strain in his Mavericks debut.
Second-year center Lively is recovering from a right ankle stress fracture that has kept him on the shelf since January 14. He has been doing individual on-court work in recent weeks.
Gafford was set to be reevaluated today after suffering a Grade 3 MCL sprain in his right knee on February 10. Evidently that examination went well, as Gafford will be practicing today for the first time in nearly six weeks.
Stein reported a couple weeks ago that Davis and Lively were on track to be healthy before the end of the season, though it wasn’t clear if they’d actually play again in 2024/25. A subsequent report stated there have been no indications the Mavs plan to shut down any of Davis, Lively or Gafford while they remain in postseason contention.
Amid a devastating wave of injuries, the Mavericks have dropped four straight and 11 of their past 13 games. At 33-37, Dallas is currently the No. 11 seed in the West. The Mavs have the same record as Phoenix, but the Suns control the head-to-head tiebreaker and thus the No. 10 seed.
Sadly, Mavs have little chance to make playoffs.
What I want to see is
7th and 8th seeds – Clippers and fully healthy Mavs
Wolves are unlikely to defeat top 2 seeds in playoffs
AD finds himself again trying to help a team be play-in bound.
I’m Dallas. I shut it down play for next year. Kirye now is biggest issue. And he has a player option next year. A top 10 pick in next yrs drat. Is potentially a huge pick for them. Plenty of guards and wings there. Kasparas would be god sent.
They have to win some games to keep the arena from being torched by the fans
I saw AD out golfing a couple days ago. What a fraud.
That’s really damning since golfing is basically the same sport as basketball
This is why they are paid the big bucks