MAVS NEWS:

[Scott41theMavs]

Unless Lively wants stability at a reasonable rate of 10-12 per year, I say make him earn it this year. The Mavs should not be comfortable handing him a huge contract regardless of his potential. Availability is what we need. For all the great things that he can do, it doesn't matter if he doesn't actually do it. I bet they make him play this season out and make him earn it and I'm totally good with that. It will be good for him to actually earn his next contract instead of it being handed to him.

At least one other poster has noted - even if he plays 65 games (and all of any playoff games they might have) this year, that still may be fool's good in terms of future availability, and will only result in him getting an offer sheet which the Mavs would be arguably nuts to match. If the Mavs can't get him to sign a lowball extension which isn't really lowball, their best hope might be that he plays about 40 games this year and that they can extend him quite cheaply next summer - perhaps to a one-year make-good contract that still maintains his Bird rights the following year.