Debating a Contract Extension for Mavericks' Dereck Lively II

The deadline to extend first-round picks from the 2023 NBA Draft is on Monday, one day before the start of the 2026-27 season, and no team has a bigger conundrum than the Dallas Mavericks.

They left that draft with two first-round picks: Dereck Lively II and Olivier-Maxence Prosper.

The Mavericks already moved on from Prosper, as Nico Harrison stretched and waived his contract ahead of the 2025-26 season in order to re-sign Dante Exum.

That, like many of Harrison's other decisions, blew up in his face: Exum underwent knee surgery in the offseason and then needed another one early in the season, forcing him to miss the entire season.

So, that leaves Dereck Lively II. Should the Mavericks extend him? It's a fascinating decision that they're considering.

Oct 26, 2025; Dallas, Texas, USA; Dallas Mavericks center Dereck Lively II (2) looks for the ball during the game between the Mavericks and the Raptors at the American Airlines Center. Mandatory Credit: Jerome Miron-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

Why Mavericks Could Extend Dereck Lively II

When healthy, Dereck Lively II has shown flashes of being a legitimate All-Defensive player. He anchored the Mavericks' defense in the 2024 playoff run as a rookie, which ended in an appearance in the NBA Finals.

Lively has the best combination of athleticism, shot-blocking, and passing of any center on the roster. He's an underrated passer, which was really utilized when Luka Doncic was still on the team. Lively would roll short, get a pass, and could either attack the basket with one dribble or kick out to an open shooter.

That versatility would make him the perfect big for today's era, even if any scoring ability away from the basket is still a major work in progress. However...

Why Mavericks May Pass on Extension

Dereck Lively II has yet to show that he can stay healthy. He played in 55 games as a rookie, but has played just 43 games since, including only 7 games in the 2025-26 season.

Part of that can once again be traced back to the incompetence of Nico Harrison, who hired an unlicensed training staff. That training staff misdiagnosed a foot injury that Lively suffered in January 2025. They thought it was a sprained ankle, and it actually turned out to be a stress fracture. That needed surgery.

Lively then had a procedure that offseason to remove bone spurs, but the foot was still giving him issues. He had another surgery in December, which he hopes will finally be the end of his injury issues, but his timeline to return is still unknown.

Will Dereck Lively II Be Extended?

The most likely outcome is that Lively will take the qualifying offer next year to give him another chance to stay healthy.

ESPN's Bobby Marks has an interesting take on what he would do, though.

"Three years, $35 million. The first-year $10.8 million salary is comparable to the one-year qualifying offer Lively is eligible for next summer if an extension is not reached. The second year is guaranteed, but the third is contingent on Lively playing at least 41 games in the first or second season of the contract," Marks said.

That would be the best of both worlds for each party. The Mavericks would get a good player on a good contract, but they could get out of it quickly if he continues to be injured.

For Lively, he gets a couple of extra years of guaranteed money and can hit the market again quickly to make more money down the road. If they follow this path, it wouldn't even be surprising to see a mutual option in the final year, where either party could opt out if they wanted.

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