Dereck Lively gets horrendous contract prediction from Mavericks amid struggles since Luka Doncic trade

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Dereck Lively gets horrendous contract prediction from Mavericks amid struggles since Luka Doncic trade originally appeared on The Sporting News. Add The Sporting News as a Preferred Source by clicking here.

A few years ago, many expected Dallas Mavericks center Dereck Lively to get a big-time contract one day. Playing with Luka Doncic, Lively looked like one of the better young centers in the league.

Unfortunately for the young man, he's dealt with some injuries, and the gravity of playing with Doncic has gone away since the Mavericks made one of the worst trades the NBA has ever seen, if not the worst. It's a tough scenario for all involved now, but it's going to impact his pockets, with one cap expert recently predicting that he's not even going to get an extension after he was believed to be a max-extension-caliber player.

“At one point, it looked like Lively might be a no-brainer max extension guy. That’s how good he looked when Dallas made an NBA Finals run during Lively’s rookie season. Since then, it’s been nothing but injuries. Lively is still a potential big-time talent at center. The idea of him and Copper Flagg leading a defense is terrifying for opponents. But Lively has to prove he can stay on the floor before the Mavs can lock him up long-term. This one will go to restricted free agency in 2027.

“Projection: No extension,” Keith Smith of Spotrac wrote.

I do think the Mavericks will look to keep Lively around, though there's obviously no guarantee about what will happen given his recent play.

Had he looked the same as he did with Doncic on the roster, this would definitely be a guy who's going to get paid. Unfortunately for him, that hasn't been the case, and there will likely be consequences.

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