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ESPN Staff Writer- Joined ESPNDallas.com in September 2009
- Covers the Dallas Cowboys and Dallas Mavericks
- Appears regularly on ESPN Dallas 103.3 FM
Dallas Mavericks center Dereck Lively II will undergo season-ending surgery on his right foot to address lingering discomfort, the team announced Wednesday.
Lively, who played seven games this season, is expected to make a full recovery and be available for the start of training camp.
Lively, a major contributor as a rookie to the Mavs' 2024 NBA Finals run, has been plagued by injury issues throughout his career. He has played in only 98 of 185 possible regular-season games, averaging 8.8 points, 7.0 rebounds and 1.5 blocks.
Lively had surgery on his right foot in July to clean out bone spurs. He missed 2½ months last season due to a stress fracture in his right ankle, an injury that was originally misdiagnosed as a right ankle sprain.
He missed nine games earlier this season due to a sprained right knee, returning on Nov. 14, playing four games on an 18-minutes limit.
Lively sat the Nov. 22 loss to the Memphis Grizzlies, the second night of a back-to-back with right knee injury management as the reason listed on the injury report.
His listing on the injury report was attributed to right foot injury management before Monday's road loss to the Miami Heat. The team announced Tuesday that Lively was experiencing swelling and discomfort in his surgically repaired foot and would be reevaluated in seven to 10 days.
