Jason Kidd Clarifies Mavericks' Center Rotation

Dallas has two great options to rotate throughout the season

Jan 27, 2024; Dallas, Texas, USA; Dallas Mavericks center Dereck Lively II (2) walks off the court after the Mavericks lose to the Sacramento Kings at the American Airlines Center. Mandatory Credit: Jerome Miron-Imagn Images / Jerome Miron-Imagn Images

For the first time in forever, the Dallas Mavericks have two legitimate starting options at center: Dereck Lively II and Daniel Gafford. They acquired Lively in a trade back with the Oklahoma City Thunder during the 2023 NBA Draft and used a 2024 first-round pick, also acquired through the Thunder, to bring in the veteran Gafford from the Washington Wizards.

This has given Jason Kidd and his coaching staff a good problem: quality options. No longer will Dallas try to get quality minutes from centers like JaVale McGee, Christian Wood, Salah Mejri, Nerlens Noel, or whoever else. Kidd was asked about his centers during Monday's media day and clarified how he plans to use them.

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"Both offensively can catch the lob," Kidd started. "If you ask [Gafford] and D-Live, they both can shoot threes. You also have [Dwight Powell] at center, and then also Maxi [Kleber], so there's a lot of ways we can go at the center position. I think the competition at center is great; it's a healthy competition because they both support each other, it's kind of like a relay race... I think both of them are going to have opportunities to start at some point in this season... It's open, we're probably going to start D-Live with the first group and see how that goes."

The expected move all summer was Dereck Lively starting to begin the season. He's younger, is a similar player to Gafford, and has a higher ceiling. As Kidd mentioned, they have nearly identical skill sets, but what separates Lively is his ability to pass out of the short roll or as the safety option off of double teams on Luka Doncic and Kyrie Irving. Gafford is more comfortable catching the ball and attacking the rim, and while Lively can do that, he's always looking to make the best play and can put the ball on the ground for a dribble or two when needed.

Lively's playoff run, where he dominated Oklahoma City on the glass, showed what kind of ceiling he has. The Mavericks believe he has All-Star potential, and if the three-point range he showed in The Finals becomes a real thing, there's no reason he can't be an All-Star. At worst, he'll be in discussions for All-Defensive teams for years to come.

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