Dereck Lively

Mavs’ Anthony Davis Out At Least Two More Weeks

While star big man Anthony Davis is “making good progress” from his left adductor strain, he will be sidelined for at least two more weeks, which is when he’ll be reevaluated, the Mavericks announced today in a press release (Twitter link).

This is the first formal timeline Dallas has provided on Davis since he sustained the injury on February 8 against Houston. It was his first game in Mavs uniform following the blockbuster trade that sent Luka Doncic to the Lakers.

Reporting at the time indicated that Davis was expected to miss multiple weeks with the injury, with Marc Stein later reporting that there was hope that surgery could be avoided.

Head coach Jason Kidd told reporters today (Twitter link via Mike Curtis of The Dallas Morning News) that Davis and fellow big men Daniel Gafford (Grade 3 MCL Sprain) and Dereck Lively (ankle fracture) will all be reevaluated on Mar. 6. Reports have indicated that Gafford, who was injured on Feb. 10, and Lively, who is now out of a walking boot , are expected to miss additional time beyond Mar. 6.

On a more positive note, starting forward P.J. Washington, who sprained his right ankle on Feb. 8 and missed the final three games before the All-Star break, was a full participant in Thursday’s practice and will be questionable for Friday’s contest vs. New Orleans (Twitter links via the Mavs).

Backup center Dwight Powell, who has been out of action since Jan. 17 due to a right hip strain, went through the non-contact portions of Thursday’s practice. He’s doubtful for Friday’s game, but Kidd said both players are “trending in the right direction,” tweets Christian Clark of The Athletic.

Despite the litany of frontcourt injuries, the Mavs entered the break having won four of their past five games. They’ll also have journeyman center Moses Brown active tomorrow against the Pelicans — he went through today’s practice after his 10-day contract became official.

Southwest Notes: Davis, Mavs, Rockets, Fox

Star big man Anthony Davis is on track to return from his abdominal strain and make his Mavericks debut on Saturday, having been officially listed as probable to play in Dallas vs. the Rockets.

As Tim MacMahon of ESPN details, it’s expected to be a charged environment in Dallas, where a protest is planned from fans angry about the decision to trade away franchise player Luka Doncic. Davis said on Friday that he “can’t control” how fans will react, but that he understands why they’re upset about the trade.

“Obviously it’s a business, and I get who Luka was to this franchise, to the city,” Davis said. “I’m never going to downplay that — just how I know what I meant to the city of L.A. So I’m not surprised by the fans’ reaction and the city’s reaction, but it’s my job to come in and play basketball and do what I’m supposed to do and give the fans hope and reassurance on why [general manager] Nico [Harrison] brought me here.

“…I understand who Luka is and what he’s able to do and what he’s already done for our game. He’s a phenomenal player, going to be one of the best to ever play the game of basketball. But to have Nico trade for me just shows his belief in me and what I can do on the floor. It’s my job to produce every night and have Mavs nation believe that as well. So I’m excited for the challenge.”

While it’s no surprise that some Mavs fans have handled news of the Doncic/Davis trade poorly, “lines have been crossed,” according to MacMahon, who said during a TV appearance (Twitter video link) that Harrison has received threats and faced racial epithets.

Sources tell MacMahon that the team has beefed up security for Saturday’s contest and that Harrison – who has employed his own personal security – won’t be in his usual seat for the game.

Here’s more from around the Southwest:

  • Mavericks head coach Jason Kidd said on Thursday that he envisions a starting lineup that features P.J. Washington at small forward and Davis at power forward alongside a center (Twitter link via Mike Curtis of The Dallas Morning News). When Dereck Lively is healthy, he may be the team’s starting five, but until then, Daniel Gafford will likely get that assignment. Washington, who has missed the past three games due to right knee soreness and personal reasons, is off the injury report and should be available on Saturday.
  • Rockets officials expressed for months leading up to Thursday’s deadline that they planned to stick with their current roster making than making any major in-season deals and they stuck to that plan this week, as Kelly Iko of The Athletic writes. Reports have suggested Houston wants to see how its young core performs in the postseason before making any major roster decisions — head coach Ime Udoka reiterated that point on Thursday. “We like what we have,” Udoka said. “We’ve been doing OK and feel we can do a lot better. (We) want to continue to grow as a group, watch our young guys develop, play in big situations and see what we have.”
  • Citing team and league sources, Iko reports that the Rockets received calls this week on Jae’Sean Tate, Jock Landale, Aaron Holiday, and Steven Adams, all of whom are on expiring or pseudo-expiring contracts. However, Houston didn’t feel compelled to make any move that would compromise the team’s depth, according to Iko, who says Tate generated the most interest of those four players.
  • De’Aaron Fox‘s 24-point, 13-assist Spurs debut on Wednesday in a tight win over Atlanta provided a compelling case for the star guard’s fit in San Antonio, writes ESPN’s Michael C. Wright. “Selfishly, as a coach, I think that’s probably about as complete of a game you’d hope for the first game,” acting head coach Mitch Johnson said. “You saw the potential. It’s tantalizing. He’s dynamic. He’s going to unlock a whole different element for our team.”

Inside The Stunning Luka Doncic/Anthony Davis Trade

Luka Doncic “was completely floored” when he learned that he had been traded to the Lakers, league sources tell Dallas-based NBA insider Marc Stein (Substack link).

Stein reiterates that Doncic did not request to be traded and confirms reporting from ESPN that the Mavericks had reservations about giving the Slovenian star a five-year, super-max extension in the offseason due to his “conditioning, ability to stay healthy and his off-court commitments to those pursuits.”

In an appearance on SportsCenter last night (YouTube link), ESPN’s Brian Windhorst called the trade a “rebuke” of Doncic from the Mavericks’ perspective. While the primary focus from people around the league has been on Dallas’ end of the deal, Windhorst says LeBron James has “dreamed” of playing with Doncic, though it’s unclear how he feels about the move, given his close relationship with Anthony Davis.

As Stein writes, there had been whispers in the week leading up to perhaps the most shocking trade in NBA history that the Mavs were on the verge of making a deal, but rival teams weren’t sure what they were planning. General manager Nico Harrison has a preexisting relationship with Davis and zeroed in on the 10-time All-Star as an ideal return package for Doncic.

According to Stein, Harrison “essentially” only had the Lakers in mind as a trade partner, in large part due to Davis. That choice of wording is interesting, because league sources tell Sam Amick of The Athletic that “at least one other team” was approached by Dallas nearly two weeks ago about the prospect of trading Doncic for a different star. That offer was declined.

Amick’s story has several sourced details, particularly from the Lakers’ end. According to Amick, Lakers leadership has grown weary of James and Davis’ continual public requests for more on-court help. Amick also hears Los Angeles had concerns about Davis’ “durability and availability and a belief that he could never truly be counted on as a top option” going forward.

In a fascinating interview with Brad Townsend of The Dallas Morning News, Harrison said he approached Lakers head of basketball operations Rob Pelinka more than a month ago to have “basketball” conversations. Harrison noted that the two have known each other for a couple of decades from their previous jobs, when Harrison was a Nike executive and Pelinka was a player agent.

Then all of a sudden we’re like, ‘Would you ever do this?’

‘Nah, you’re joking, right?’

‘Hmm. Interesting. Maybe I would.’

And then it just built over time over the last three weeks,” Harrison told Townsend.

Harrison admitted Doncic’s contract situation was a primary motivating factor in making the trade. Doncic will no longer be eligible for an extension worth 35% of the salary cap this summer after being moved; the most he can make now is 30%.

We really feel like we got ahead of what was going to be a tumultuous summer, him being eligible for the super-max and also a year away from him being able to opt out of any contract,” Harrison said. “And so we really felt like we got out in front of that. We know teams, they’ve had it out there, teams have been loading up to try to sign him once that comes available.”

He also said he hasn’t had direct communication with Doncic since the news broke, having talked to his agent Bill Duffy. His text and phone call to Doncic went unanswered, with Harrison telling Townsend, “My guess is he probably doesn’t want to talk to me.”

Davis has publicly said multiple times he views himself as more of a power forward rather than a center. Harrison told Townsend that while Davis will likely finish games in the middle, he will also play alongside Daniel Gafford and Dereck Lively when the latter returns from an ankle fracture, pointing to Cleveland (Evan Mobley and Jarrett Allen) as an example of a two-big pairing that has been successful.

Here’s more on the blockbuster trade:

  • James has a full no-trade clause, but both Stein and Amick write that the four-time MVP must be evaluating whether he’s still determined to finish his career in Los Angeles after the trade. According to Amick, there was an expectation that James would decline his $52.6MM player option for ’25/26 in the offseason to seek another contract, but it’s unclear if the Lakers would be willing to offer it.
  • Sources tell Stein (Twitter link) that the first time Harrison and Pelinka talked about trading Doncic for Davis was in person on January 7, when the Lakers were in Dallas to play the Mavs. League insider Chris Haynes hears the Lakers contacted Davis’ agent Rich Paul sometime after they heard the offer, viewing Doncic as a long-term replacement for James (Twitter video link).
  • After the trade was completed, Pelinka made three phone calls, per ESPN’s Dave McMenamin (Twitter links): the first was a joint call with Davis and head coach JJ Redick; the second a call to Paul; and the third to James. McMenamin also hears from sources that Davis chose to waive his trade kicker for multiple reasons, one being that he wants to sign an extension with Dallas in the future.
  • According to Stein, Doncic had been targeting February 8 as his return date from a left calf strain prior to the trade. The five-time All-NBA guard has been out with the injury since Christmas.
  • Doncic’s now-former teammate Kyrie Irving was also “stunned” by the deal that will send Davis, Max Christie and the Lakers’ 2029 first-round pick to the Mavericks, Ramona Shelburne of ESPN reports (via Twitter).
  • Both the Lakers and Mavericks are expected to continue to be active in trade talks leading up to Thursday’s deadline, according to Stein, Tim Reynolds of The Associated Press and Christian Clark of The Athletic (Twitter links). Everybody knows the Lakers are trying to do more even after this,” a source told Reynolds.
  • In a full story for The Athletic, Clark takes a look at Harrison’s history of making major roster moves at three consecutive deadlines. John Hollinger of The Athletic views the trade as a potential disaster for the Mavs, given the ages and injury histories of Irving and Davis. Hollinger also speculates that Doncic could sign a short-term extension with the Lakers in the offseason in order to maximize his future earnings, a possibility Bobby Marks of ESPN (YouTube link) discussed as well.
  • Mavs fans were understandably heartbroken by the trade, writes Shawn McFarland of The Dallas Morning News. “I’m hoping to wake up from a bad dream,” one fan said. “You have the most talented Mavericks team in Mavericks history and you have Luka right here. It’s like, ‘Boom.’ We just went to the finals, we finally get this team around him, it’s all right here, and then you trade him? It’s the biggest joke ever.”

NBA Announces Player Pool For 2025 Rising Stars Event

The NBA has officially revealed the 10 rookies, 11 sophomores, and seven G League players who have been selected to take part in the 2025 Rising Stars event at All-Star weekend in San Francisco next month.

The following players made the cut, as voted on by NBA assistant coaches (rookies and sophomores) and selected by the league office (G Leaguers):

Rookies

Sophomores

G League Players

* Note: Players marked with asterisks are on standard or two-way contracts with NBA teams.

As usual, the Rising Stars event will consist of four teams and three games. The seven G League players will comprise one team, while the other 21 players will be drafted to three squads on February 4.

The four teams will be split into two first-round matchups and the winners of those two games will face one another for the Rising Stars championship. The two semifinals will be played to a target score of 40 points, while the final will be played to a target score of 25 points.

All three contests will take place on Friday, February 14 as part of All-Star weekend’s opening night. The winning team will compete on Sunday in a similar four-team tournament, with the three other rosters made up of NBA All-Stars.

A handful of injury replacements will be necessary, with McCain, Lively, and Brandon Miller among the players who won’t be available to suit up. Additionally, since players selected as All-Stars won’t play in the Rising Stars event, Wembanyama will almost certainly need to be replaced.

Mavs’ Lively Has Fracture In Ankle, Expected To Miss 2-3 Months

4:42pm: Lively suffered a stress fracture in his right ankle and will be reevaluated in four weeks, the Mavericks announced (via Twitter).


12:20pm: Mavericks center Dereck Lively has been diagnosed with a small fracture in his right foot and is expected to be sidelined for the next two-to-three months, reports Shams Charania of ESPN.

Lively has missed the past three games due to an injury he suffered last Tuesday vs. Denver that was initially listed as a right ankle sprain. Further testing revealed the fracture in that foot, sources tell Charania.

It’s a brutal blow for a Mavericks team that is already dealing with a series of injuries to key players, starting with top scorer Luka Doncic, who has been out since Christmas Day due to a calf strain.

Dante Exum (right wrist surgery) has yet to make his season debut, while Jaden Hardy (right ankle sprain) and Dwight Powell (right hip strain) are also currently unavailable. Kyrie Irving recently missed several games due to a back ailment and a handful of other Mavs are battling day-to-day issues. After starting the season 20-11, Dallas has lost nine of its last 12 games.

Lively was a key part of the Mavs’ early-season success. His +8.1 net rating in 768 minutes of action is the second-best mark on the team, behind only Doncic (+9.9 in 785 minutes). The second-year center, who will turn 21 next month, has averaged 9.1 points, 7.8 rebounds, 2.6 assists, and 1.7 blocks in 24.0 minutes per night across 32 games (25 starts).

In Lively’s absence, the Mavs figure to lean more heavily on Daniel Gafford, who has split center minutes with Lively since arriving in Dallas at last year’s trade deadline. A recent report indicated that the club had been willing to discuss Gafford as it sought an impact perimeter defender, but I imagine that will no longer be the case.

Maxi Kleber and Powell are among the Mavs’ other options up front, with P.J. Washington also seeing some time as a small-ball center.

If Lively is able to make it back on the court within two or two-and-a-half months, he should be available for the end of the regular season and all of the postseason. If his recovery timeline is closer to three months – or beyond – he won’t have a chance to return until the playoffs, assuming the Mavs make it. They’re currently seventh in the West, with a 23-20 record.

Southwest Notes: Wembanyama, France Trip, Pelicans, Green, Mavs

Spurs big man Victor Wembanyama will play two games in his native France this week against the Pacers. It’s an opportunity he doesn’t take lightly, The Athletic’s Joe Vardon writes.

“There are a lot of emotions, seeing familiar people, whether from the club or even from the city,” Wembanyama said. “It’s a bit like two worlds meeting. It’s special, you don’t expect that in a career. It’s a bit my way of making people happy who will never have the opportunity to go to the United States. It’s very important to me.”

The Spurs already had a connection to France with Tony Parker playing most of his career in San Antonio, and Boris Diaw playing four-and-a-half seasons there, The Associated Press’ Tim Reynolds notes.

“We have a long history with France for obvious reasons in many ways. So, it’s just another milestone or opportunity, I think, to probably strengthen that bond or connection,” Spurs interim coach Mitch Johnson said. “Very cool for Vic. Obviously, he just got done in the Olympics as well.”

The games will be played on Thursday and Saturday.

We have more from the Southwest Division:

  • The Pelicans staged their biggest comeback in franchise history, rallying from a 25-point deficit to upend Utah in overtime on Monday night. CJ McCollum led the way with 45 points, including 24 during the fourth quarter and overtime. “Coach (Willie Green) just challenged us to be more disciplined, to be more engaged, to be more aggressive and assertive,” McCollum told Rod Walker of NOLA.com.
  • Pelicans wing Javonte Green is playing on a one-year, minimum-salary contract and he’s reportedly drawing some interest around the league. Green is averaging 6.0 points in 21.8 minutes per game in 39 appearances, including 15 starts. The veteran swingman doesn’t take a lot of shots, instead he focuses on the underrated aspects of the game. “I’m just trying to go out there and try to win, make winning plays, play as hard as I can, and just be a professional. I want to do the things that got me here,” Green told Grant Afseth of RG.org. “I have to continue doing that.”
  • The Mavericks offered a lengthy injury report heading into their game against Minnesota on Wednesday, ESPN’s Tim MacMahon tweets. Klay Thompson (left ankle sprain), Dereck Lively (right ankle sprain), Naji Marshall (illness) and Quentin Grimes (back spasms) are listed as questionable. Four other players are listed as out.

Mavericks Notes: Injuries, Irving, Gafford, Exum, Washington

The shorthanded Mavericks lost to Charlotte, 110-105, on Monday afternoon and have now lost nine of their last 12 games, all with Luka Doncic sidelined by a calf strain.

Dereck Lively (right ankle sprain) was downgraded from questionable to out earlier in the day, while Quentin Grimes (back spasms) was a late scratch, Grant Afseth of the Dallas Hoops Journal notes. Jaden Hardy (right ankle sprain), Dwight Powell (right hip strain) and Dante Exum (right wrist surgery) have been out for an extended period.

“It would be nice at this point in the season to have everyone healthy,” said Kyrie Irving, who recently returned from a back injury. “I’ve missed 10 games, and that’s not something I set as a goal for myself coming into the season. I want to play as many games as possible. But with my MRI coming back on my back and D. Live going down, Luka going down, J. Hardy going down, and other people missing games, it’s unfortunate.”

We have more on the Mavericks:

  • Daniel Gafford‘s career-high 31 points, 15 rebounds, and seven blocks went to waste on Monday. “Yeah, I’m frustrated when you get a game like that, but you don’t come out with a win,” Gafford said after the game, per Afseth. “It’s pretty frustrating, but I don’t really want to, you know, be too selfish. You know, I felt like we did a lot of things great out there on the floor to put us in a position to win the game.” The team is reportedly willing to trade Gafford for a top-level perimeter defender.
  • Speaking of Exum, coach Jason Kidd said the veteran guard has been shooting, but he’s “still a ways away” before a timetable can be established regarding a return to action, Afseth tweets. Exum has yet to make his season debut after appearing in 55 regular season games last season. He underwent his wrist surgery in October.
  • P.J. Washington is averaging 32.5 minutes per game, more than any other Dallas player not named Doncic or Irving. Washington’s defensive versatility is an essential element, Christian Clark of The Athletic writes. He’ll continue to draw the toughest assignments, even if the front office makes a trade to improve the perimeter defense. “I feel like I can guard anybody,” Washington said. “I feel like I’m comfortable guarding smalls, bigs, it doesn’t really matter.”

Southwest Notes: Morant, Pelicans Bench, Spurs Slump, Lively

The Grizzlies could play again without their floor leader on Monday. Ja Morant is listed as questionable against Minnesota due to right foot soreness, the team’s PR department tweets.

Morant, who is averaging 21.4 points and 7.5 assists, has already missed 18 games this season and is ineligible for postseason honors. He was also unavailable for Friday’s 28-point win over San Antonio.

We have more from the Southwest Division:

  • The Pelicans reserves have made a major impact during the team’s three-game winning streak, Rod Walker of the New Orleans Times Picayune writes. “This bench is a team that wants to win every minute that we get,” guard Jose Alvarado said. “We know that it can be 10 minutes, five minutes, two minutes or 20 minutes. We’re going to attack it like it’s the (NBA) Finals.” Alvarado led the bench brigade on Friday with 19 points, including six 3-pointers.
  • The Spurs, who are headed to Paris to face Indiana, will look at the trip as a chance to turn their fortunes around. They have lost three straight and six of their last seven after falling to Miami on Sunday. “This hasn’t been our best stretch of basketball and there are some things we need to shore up, and we’ve played some really good teams and they’ve exposed some things,” acting coach Mitch Johnson told Tom Orsborn of the San Antonio Express-News. “We’re looking forward to Paris, but I don’t think we overlooked this team or in (losing twice to) Memphis.”
  • The Mavericks list Dereck Lively as questionable to play against Charlotte on Monday due to a right ankle sprain, Grant Afseth tweets. Lively has missed the last two games after suffering the injury on Tuesday against Denver.

Mavs Reportedly Seek Impact Perimeter Defender, Make Gafford Available

The Mavericks, who remain on the look for an impact perimeter defender, have dangled center Daniel Gafford in those talks, according to Christian Clark of The Athletic.

Clark first reported at the start of the month that Dallas was exploring the idea of pursuing a player who could upgrade the club’s perimeter defense. He mentioned Pelicans forward Herbert Jones at that time, but acknowledged that New Orleans was unlikely to move him.

Jones is now out indefinitely with a shoulder ailment, but prior to that injury, the Pelicans’ asking price for him was “extraordinarily high,” according to Clark, who doesn’t identify any other specific players the Mavs may be eyeing, noting that the options available on the trade market for a needle-moving impact defender may be limited.

Still, Clark’s suggestion that Dallas is open to making Gafford available is noteworthy. The Mavs gave up a late 2024 first-round pick for the veteran big man at last season’s deadline and he helped the team make a run to the NBA Finals, starting all 21 playoff games in the spring.

As effective as Gafford has been since arriving in Dallas, he’s essentially a backup center, averaging a modest 20.0 minutes per game this season as he has taken a back seat to rising second-year big man Dereck Lively. Gafford is contributing 11.7 points and 6.0 rebounds per night, with a .706 FG%. The Mavs have a -2.0 net rating in his minutes, compared to a +8.1 mark when Lively is on the floor.

It’s also worth mentioning that if Dallas needs to aggregate contracts to acquire a player earning $20MM or more, Gafford’s $13.4MM cap hit could be useful. Outside of Maxi Kleber ($11MM), every other Maverick earning above $4MM is a regular part of the rotation when healthy.

Gafford is under contract for one season beyond 2024/25, with a $14.4MM guaranteed salary for ’25/26. He’s currently back in the Mavs’ starting lineup while Lively recovers a right ankle sprain, which will sideline him again on Friday vs. Oklahoma City.

Mavericks Notes: Lively, Irving, Dudley, Losing Streak

Mavericks center Dereck Lively suffered a right ankle sprain in the first quarter of Tuesday’s loss to Denver, causing him to exit the game after just four minutes. X-rays on Lively’s ankle were negative, according to NBA insider Chris Haynes (Twitter link), but a return timeline has yet to be established for the second-year big man.

Lively and Kyrie Irving, who is dealing with a bulging disc in his back, were both sidelined for Wednesday’s loss in New Orleans, notes Tim MacMahon of ESPN.

Here’s more on the Mavericks:

  • Speaking of Irving, one of the people he’s been leaning on for advice for the back issue is assistant coach Jared Dudley, a longtime former player who dealt with a back problem during his career. “I had a back injury, and mine was more severe; I had back surgery,” Dudley told Grant Afseth and Rashad Miller of DallasHoopsJournal.com (Substack link). “Kyrie’s injury is less serious than mine, but with any back injury, it’s usually the nerve that’s affected. There’s a technique called nerve gliding that helps the nerve get back on track. Kyrie will need to do that and also follow a core regimen to keep everything stable. He’s already someone who follows a routine, so it’s just about continuing that.”
  • The Mavs dropped their third straight game on Wednesday, losing to the lowly Pelicans in controversial fashion, writes Brad Townsend of The Dallas Morning News. Trailing by one point with 15 seconds remaining, Dallas forced Jordan Hawkins into a turnover and had a fast break opportunity. With about five seconds left, Spencer Dinwiddie‘s layup attempt hit the backboard and then was goaltended by Trey Murphy, but the officials didn’t call it (YouTube link). The NBA’s last two-minute report acknowledged that the referees missed the call, tweets MacMahon.
  • In a radio appearance on 96.7 The Ticket, Mavs general manager Nico Harrison said the team was unlikely to file a protest for the loss, relays Mike Curtis of The Dallas Morning News (Twitter link). “You can do an appeal but if you do it, you have to spend some money,” Harrison said. “It might make you feel good, but it’s not going to change the outcome. Refs make mistakes. It’s frustrating. … It is what it is. You have to move on to the next game.” Marc Stein confirms (via Twitter) that the Mavs will not file an official protest with the league.