Dallas Passed on Lively and Sasser — Wallace Just Got $139M
GOATIFYThe Dallas Mavericks reached Monday's 5 p.m. Central deadline with two unresolved contracts and chose to let the clock expire. Center Dereck Lively II and guard Marcus Sasser will play the final seasons of their rookie-scale deals without new long-term extensions. Lively is due $7,239,131 in 2026-27; Sasser is due $5,198,983. If Dallas makes the required qualifying offers next summer, both can become restricted free agents, giving the club the ability to match another team's offer sheet.
The decision is more complicated than a simple refusal to pay two young players. Lively has already shown he can change a playoff series, but repeated injuries have made his availability difficult to forecast. Sasser has useful shooting and defensive tools, yet he is still trying to secure a lasting role after arriving from Detroit in July. The contrast became sharper over the same deadline weekend: Cason Wallace, the guard Dallas drafted and traded for Lively in 2023, agreed to a five-year, $139 million extension with Oklahoma City.
That juxtaposition creates an irresistible draft-night comparison. It also risks missing the central issue. Dallas has not surrendered Lively or Sasser, and Wallace's contract does not erase what Lively contributed to a Finals team as a rookie. The Mavericks are deciding how much guaranteed money to commit before they have a clearer picture of two very different players. Their 2026-27 seasons will determine whether patience preserved flexibility or merely raised the eventual price.
Lively's Finals upside is real — so is the cost of 148 missed games
Lively's rookie season showed why Dallas viewed him as a potential long-term center. He averaged 8.8 points and 6.9 rebounds across 55 games, made the All-Rookie Second Team and played 21 postseason games during the Mavericks' 2024 Finals run. He supplied vertical spacing, efficient finishing and rim protection. The trouble is availability: through three seasons, he has played only 98 of 246 possible regular-season games. Dallas now has to decide how much guaranteed money to commit before it knows whether he can return to that level for a full season.
Lively played only 36 games in 2024-25 and seven in 2025-26. Foot problems have made availability the central contract question. The Mavericks need to understand his role before making a major commitment. He can still help a winning team with rebounding, screens and interior defense, but a full season of consistent play would be more persuasive. Lively remains a compelling basketball prospect because his size changes how opponents attack the rim. He can create easy scoring chances with a well-timed screen and a lob finish, and his activity on the glass gives teammates second chances. The challenge is that Dallas has not seen those strengths consistently across an entire campaign. The front office must weigh the player it remembers from the Finals run against the uncertainty of how many games he can realistically contribute during the next contract. Lively's recent record explains the caution. He appeared in 36 games in 2024-25 and seven the following season. His right-foot rehabilitation continued into October 2026, and he missed every preseason exhibition. Dallas officials have emphasized a careful return-to-play process rather than a fixed date. Even a promising workout cannot demonstrate that he is ready to defend at full speed, handle regular contact and recover between games. The club needs evidence across weeks and months, not a single encouraging afternoon. Dallas has reasons to delay its final judgment. Daniel Gafford offers a traditional center option, rookie Morez Johnson Jr. adds another frontcourt look, and the new coaching staff can evaluate combinations around Cooper Flagg and Kyrie Irving. None of those alternatives necessarily matches Lively's best defensive work, but they reduce the need to rush a major guarantee. If Lively stays available and returns to his rookie playoff form, waiting may make him more expensive in 2027. If his minutes remain limited, the same patience could protect the Mavericks from a long commitment they would struggle to unwind.
Sasser's deadline is a bet on role and minutes, not a lost star
Marcus Sasser's situation is different from Lively's. He is not an established Finals contributor trying to regain a starting role; he is a guard looking to secure regular minutes after arriving from Detroit in a six-team trade on July 8. The Dallas-area native played at Red Oak High School before starring at the University of Houston, where he won the Jerry West Award. His hometown return offers an appealing story, but a contract extension must be justified by the role he can play now. The Mavericks have not yet seen him perform over a full season in their system.
Across 166 regular-season NBA games, Sasser has averaged 7.0 points, 2.7 assists and 1.4 rebounds while making 38.6% of his three-point attempts. In Detroit last season, he averaged 5.2 points in 12 minutes across 38 appearances and hit 41.5% from deep. That shooting percentage is encouraging, but it came in a limited role. Dallas still needs to know whether he can maintain useful efficiency at a larger volume, defend consistently against first-unit guards and organize possessions when the primary ball handlers rest. Those questions are harder to answer from short bench cameos. Coach Dusty May has liked the guard's movement without the ball, quick decisions and defensive effort. Those skills could complement Kyrie Irving and the team's other creators because they do not demand many possessions. Sasser can cut into space, punish an open three and pick up an opposing guard high on the floor. Yet a crowded rotation and a new coaching staff make his place uncertain. The early preseason did little to clarify matters: left-adductor tightness kept him out of three exhibitions before he returned for the finale against Atlanta and scored five points. His $5.2 million final-year salary gives Dallas a chance to evaluate that fit without guaranteeing several more seasons. Sasser's case for a stronger contract would improve if he earns reliable minutes, protects the ball, makes open threes and supplies disciplined perimeter defense. He also needs opportunities to show those strengths. A player cannot prove he can manage a larger role if he never leaves the end of the bench. May's allocation of minutes will be an important part of this season's evaluation, particularly as the Mavericks experiment with different guard combinations. The absence of an extension is not a declaration that Sasser cannot become a useful NBA guard. He has already shown enough as a shooter to deserve consideration. But the Mavericks have less reason to make an early financial commitment than a team with a settled young starter. A qualifying offer next summer could preserve their matching rights, allowing another season of evidence before the long-term decision. That approach risks a higher price if he breaks out, but it also avoids paying for a role he has not yet demonstrated in Dallas.
Wallace's $139 million deal makes the 2023 draft-night swap impossible to ignore
Dallas and Oklahoma City have made different contract decisions.
The Mavericks drafted Cason Wallace with the No. 10 selection in 2023 and sent his rights to the Thunder in the transaction that brought Dereck Lively II, picked 12th, to Dallas. Wallace has now agreed to a five-year extension worth $139 million, while Lively begins his final rookie-contract season without a new deal. That contrast is striking, but it does not automatically mean Dallas lost the original exchange. Lively helped the Mavericks reach the 2024 NBA Finals as a rookie, a meaningful return on the draft choice. Wallace's case is built on dependable defense and a much fuller record of availability. He played 77 regular-season games in 2025-26, starting 58, and averaged 8.6 points, 2.6 assists and 1.9 steals. His 150 steals and 339 deflections led the league, and he earned All-Defensive Second Team recognition. Those contributions matter to a contender even when the scoring average is modest. He can guard difficult matchups, disrupt passing lanes and supply reliable minutes without demanding a large share of the offense. Oklahoma City also has a clearer role for Wallace after moving veteran defender Luguentz Dort. The extension rewards his established contributions and anticipates more responsibility. Dallas faces a different calculation with Lively: it must judge a center whose best work is valuable but whose recent seasons contain long absences. A dependable young guard with consistent minutes is easier to price than a player whose workload remains uncertain. Both teams have received value from the 2023 exchange. Lively contributed to a Finals run and provided the interior presence Dallas needed at the time. Wallace became an important defensive guard for Oklahoma City. Their current contracts reflect what has happened since, not merely where they were selected on draft night. It would be misleading to use the $139 million figure as proof that Dallas made a poor trade without accounting for Lively's rookie contribution, his interrupted development and the different needs of the two rosters. The next season will test Dallas' patience. Lively needs sustained minutes and the mobility that made him an effective rim protector; Sasser needs a regular rotation role and efficient perimeter play. The Mavericks can protect their matching rights in 2027 through qualifying offers, but they cannot control what a breakout season would do to the market. Wallace's agreement shows what a young contributor can earn once his value is established. Dallas has chosen to wait for evidence before deciding how closely its two pending deals should resemble that commitment.
The extension deadline did not mean Dallas decided Lively and Sasser are expendable. It meant the Mavericks declined to price their next contracts before a crucial season of evidence. Lively's health could swing the value of a major long-term deal; Sasser's opportunity to become a dependable rotation guard is still unfolding. Neither case is settled by the fact that another 2023 draft pick, Wallace, received $139 million in Oklahoma City.
There is an obvious temptation to declare a winner in the old draft-night exchange today. The better test begins when the games count. Dallas will learn how much of Lively's Finals-era mobility has returned, how Sasser fits its new rotation and whether both can stay available long enough to make the numbers meaningful. If those answers are positive, the club may have to pay more next summer. If they are not, waiting will have protected future flexibility. Either way, the decision has moved from a negotiation table to the court.
