Daniel Gafford gingerly peeled back the multiple layers of tape from his right foot and ankle that, once again, were not enough to prevent a painful and scary occurrence.
This time, Gafford went down late in the first half of the Mavericks’ Tuesday night loss to Boston. The other nine players continued to play out two full possessions while Gafford remained prone on the American Airlines Center court, clearly in agony.
The sight of 6-foot-10 center Gafford clutching that same right ankle has occurred more times than even Gafford can count in the Mavericks’ first 50 games this season. The difference this time is he was able to come back and play 11 second-half minutes, finishing with 10 points and 12 rebounds in Dallas’ 110-100 loss.
And this time, coming in the Mavericks’ last game before Thursday’s NBA trade deadline, the uncomfortable question had to be asked: Was there any thought in Gafford’s mind that those painful minutes might be his last in a Mavericks uniform?
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“No, not at all,” Gafford told The Dallas Morning News. “There’s no surprise to me when it comes to this league.
“It’s a business, so at the end of the day, if it takes me having to be moved, I just put the next foot forward and keep pushing. You know, God’s got me at the end of the day.”
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Gafford, 27, knows the trade deadline all too well. In 2021, he was traded from Chicago to Washington. In 2024, the Wizards traded him to Dallas, one of two trade-deadline deals that helped propel the Mavericks to a surprising run to the NBA Finals, where they fell to Boston.
On Tuesday, coincidentally, it was the Celtics (32-18) beating Dallas (19-31) under far different circumstances.
Gafford signed a three-year, $54 million contract extension last summer, but the Mavericks are not the Western Conference contending team they expected to be. The rebuild around Cooper Flagg needs to commence and Gafford, ankle problems and all, appears to be Dallas’ most tradeable asset of worth.
Boston was considered a possibility for Gafford until the Celtics on Tuesday agreed to a deal to acquire Nikola Vucevic. Toronto and Indiana also reportedly seek help in the middle.
“I focus on the main task at hand,” Gafford said. “That’s coming in and doing my job, no matter what team that I’m on. I mean, I love it here, so if I can stay here, that’s the main goal.”
The ankle issues have caused Gafford to miss 16 games this season. He’s averaging 8.4 points and 6.0 rebounds.
He was coming off one of his better games Saturday in Houston, scoring 16 points and pulling down 11 rebounds.
When he went down in Tuesday’s first half, some Mavericks fans probably were concerned about the team’s shorthandedness in the middle against the Celtics. Other fans probably were concerned that the ability to trade Gafford might have landed with a thud when he fell to the court.
Typical of Gafford’s 120-game Dallas career, he got the ankle retaped at halftime and, even though he didn’t start the third quarter, he re-entered soon after.
“It’s just a love for the game, honestly,” he said. “Every day ain’t promised. So I’m trying to take advantage of the things I can do – and not worry about the things that I can’t, whenever I’m not on the floor.”
Gafford says this injury-filled season reminds him of one of his seasons in Washington. He overcame that and became one of Dallas’ best players in a memorable NBA Finals run, to face the Celtics.
Might coming back in Tuesday’s mostly forgettable second half against the Celtics be Gafford’s final Mavericks encore?
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