Dereck Lively II's Foot Injury Reportedly Caused 'Significant Tensions' Within Mavs
The Dallas Mavericks' rollercoaster season came to an end on Friday in the play-in tournament, and more details are emerging about their tumultuous year.
NBA insiders Marc Stein and Jake Fischer reported that the foot injury sustained by Mavs center Dereck Lively II in February "caused what league sources describe as some significant tensions within the organization, including a notable blowup between director of player health and performance Johann Bilsborough and athletic performance director Keith Belton."
Lively was hoping to build off his promising rookie year but instead was limited to 36 games with 29 starts after suffering a stress fracture in his right foot. He averaged 8.7 points, 7.5 rebounds, 2.4 assists and 1.6 blocks while shooting 70.2 percent from the field.
Lively's injury was just one of the many bumps in the road for the Mavs this season, as they finished with a 39-43 record and lost to the Memphis Grizzlies with the No. 8 seed in the Western Conference Playoffs on the line. General manager Nico Harrison made the shocking decision to trade star guard Luka Doncic to the Los Angeles Lakers, kicking off a run of bad luck in Dallas as star forward Anthony Davis missed six weeks with an adductor strain and star guard Kyrie Irving suffered a season-ending torn ACL.
Stein noted that this year marked "the first season for both Bilsborough and Belton in Dallas after Harrison removed highly regarded Casey Smith from his role as the head of Dallas' medical matters for nearly 20 years." Harrison vehemently defended the team's medical staff when he met with reporters last week:
Lively is believed to be a big part of the Mavs' future, but he has yet to prove that he can stay healthy over the course of a full season. Dallas will need to be cautious with its handling of the 21-year-old big man if it wants to bring the best out of him next year and beyond.
