With the Mavericks set to begin training camp on Saturday, a key piece of their lineup still hasn’t been cleared for action.
Lively hasn’t suffered any setback, according to the report. He’s just slowly ramping back up toward basketball activities.
Unfortunately for the 22-year-old Lively, it’s just the latest update in what’s been a young career heavily impacted by injuries. Lively has missed significant time in each of his first three seasons, playing just 98 of a possible 246 regular-season games.
When healthy, Lively is one of the most promising young centers in the NBA. He has career averages of 8.4 points and 7.0 rebounds with 1.5 blocks on 72.5% shooting from the field. He’s a rim deterrent and lob threat, which bodes well in a starting lineup headlined by Cooper Flagg and Kyrie Irving.
Lively spoke with The Dallas Morning News in June while recovering from his foot surgery, saying: “I’m taking even more time than I need to make sure I never have to deal with this foot again. So whenever I can get past that and get over this hill, I know I’ll be home stretch free.”