Dereck Lively's foot injury led to tensions in Mavericks medical ranks, says insider
As shared by NBA insider Marc Stein on X, Dereck Lively II's foot injury was at the center of significant tensions among new members of the Dallas Mavericks' medical and performance team at their practice facility in February.
Stein highlighted the matter while sharing transcripts of Mavs GM Nico Harrison defending their medical staff's handling of Lively's injury.
Dereck Lively II was on a 36-game hiatus due to the injury he suffered in January. While he made his return when the Mavericks had eight regular-season games remaining, the 7-foot-1 center played limited minutes and was also much less productive compared to his pre-injury stats.
Lively continued to be limited during the Mavericks' two play-in tournament games over the past week.
He played just under 18 minutes in the first play-in game against the Sacramento Kings, finishing with five points, one rebound, four assists, two steals and a block. The 21-year-old played 20 minutes against the Memphis Grizzlies on Friday and failed to score any points as the Mavericks couldn't secure a spot in the playoffs.
NBA fans react to Dereck Lively's performance in crucial Grizzlies matchup
The Dallas Mavericks suffered a 106-120 road loss to the Memphis Grizzlies on Friday, leading to their elimination from playoff contention after making the NBA Finals in the previous season. Dereck Lively shot 0-of-2 in the game and finished with six rebounds, three assists, two steals and two blocks.
Reacting to his underwhelming performance in the crucial matchup, fans too to X to share their reactions, with many citing Luka Doncic's trade for Lively's downfall.
"Dereck Lively shouldn’t have been on the floor tonight, AT ALL," a fan tweeted.
"Don’t look up Lively stats without Luka," a fan tweeted.
"The Luka trade cooking Lively is so sad," a fan tweeted.
"The Luka-AD trade really f***ed up the development of Lively," a fan tweeted.
"Luka left and Lively turned into a bum tears," a fan tweeted.
"Lively is horrible now that Luka is there to feed him, and the fact that he got compared to Giannis is absolutely pathetic," a fan tweeted.
Luka Doncic was traded by the Dallas Mavericks when Dereck Lively was out with his foot injury. Ever since his return from the ailment, the second-year center averaged 4.5 points, 4.3 rebounds, 1.3 assists and 1.2 steals in 17.1 minutes of playtime per game, a significant drop from his output previously.