Dereck Lively's 43 Games Leave Camp Status Open

Photo: NBA.com / NBAE — Dereck Lively II, Dallas Mavericks

Dereck Lively II has not been cleared for Dallas Mavericks training camp as he recovers from right foot surgery, sources told ESPN's Tim MacMahon.

Lively has played 43 games across the past two seasons, and his status for the regular-season opener remains open with camp starting Saturday.

The second surgery came in December and ended his 2025-26 after only seven games. That right foot has been surgically repaired twice in the past 14 months. After the December procedure, Dallas said Lively was expected healthy for camp. Coverage from MacMahon and Yahoo Sports frames the rehab as longer than anticipated. Sources say he is ramping toward basketball activity and that the team is not discouraged by the progress. No setback has been reported. The opener question sits on top of a schedule that opens camp without him cleared to take the floor.

Camp without Lively rearranges the frontcourt tape Dallas wants to build. The 7-foot-1, 230-pound center was the athletic finisher and rim protector who made the 2024 Finals run feel real as a rookie. Career numbers sit at 8.4 points, 7.0 rebounds, and 1.5 blocks in 22.9 minutes. Those are starter-grade minutes for a big who dunks on schedule and erases help-side drives. When that body is missing from September walkthroughs, the five-man groups that Dusty May and the new front office draw up have to invent the vertical spacer and the weak-side chase without the player who was drafted to own both.

The Flagg timeline makes the absence louder. ESPN frames Lively, if healthy, as a significant piece of Dallas' long-term core while the Mavericks try to build a contender around reigning Rookie of the Year Cooper Flagg. A healthy Lively next to Flagg is the easy picture: Flagg attacking closeouts, Lively finishing lobs and protecting the paint behind the help. Camp is where that spacing gets installed. Opening camp without the center cleared means the install starts with placeholders and the real pairing waits on medical clearance that has not arrived yet.

This is also the final season of Lively's rookie contract. He is 22, the No. 12 pick in the 2023 draft, and the next contract talk sits on top of a two-year sample of 43 games. Front offices buy the Finals-rookie tape and the finishing profile. They also price availability. Forty-three games in two seasons is the number every extension conversation has to carry into the room. Dallas can still believe in the upside while camp opens without him. Belief and minutes on the floor are different ledgers.

What matters for October is the ramp, not the rumor file. Sources emphasize progress toward basketball activity with no discouragement from the club. That is the honest read of a foot that needed two repairs in 14 months and a recovery that outlasted the post-December camp target. Regular-season availability is still TBD. Until clearance comes, Dallas builds its early five-man groups around a frontcourt that cannot count on Lively's minutes, and the Flagg-era plan waits for the big who was supposed to share the paint with him.

Sources

• ESPN / Tim MacMahon. Lively not cleared for camp. Regular-season opener status TBD. Ramping toward basketball activity. Team not discouraged. Camp starts Saturday. Right foot surgically repaired twice in past 14 months. 43 games past two seasons. Second surgery December ended 2025-26 after seven games. Age 22, No. 12 pick 2023, final season of rookie contract. 7-foot-1, 230 pounds. Career 8.4 PPG, 7.0 RPG, 1.5 BPG in 22.9 MPG. Rookie role in 2024 Finals run. Long-term core around Cooper Flagg (reigning ROY) if healthy. Sep 23, 2026.
• Yahoo Sports / Dan Devine. After December surgery Dallas said Lively was expected healthy for training camp. Process longer than initially anticipated. MacMahon report context.
• Photos: NBA.com official Dereck Lively II headshot player ID 1641726.