After a half of a season plus a playoff run of titanic dunks, noisy blocks, timely put-backs and cathartic yells, Gafford was a lighthouse shining brightly amidst a sea of confusion by simply doing more of the same.
This was the season for Daniel Gafford to show that the Dereck Lively/Gafford center tandem was still a tandem and not simply a budding defensive star and his understudy, as it became in last year’s playoffs. At least, that’s what this season was supposed to be.
As enthralling as the Mavericks’ 2024 playoff run was, many players were unsurprisingly sore about how it ended and some of the obstacles that exposed holes in the roster construction along the way. Gafford was no different as he saw his field goal percentage fall precipitously from 78% (an obvious would-be career high) in his 29 games with Dallas post-deadline to 63% in 22 playoff games that very same season.
During the playoff run, the starting center became a stepping stone in the evolution of the Clippers’ Ivica Zubac, baby’s first playoff matchup for Oklahoma City’s Chet Holmgren, a scratching post for KAT of the Timberwolves, and a shooting drill cone for Kristaps Porzingis, Al Horford, and Jayson Tatum of the Celtics. Gafford rose to the occasion in the first three series and had a game or two where he matched his opponent’s advantages with sheer intensity and athleticism on the offensive boards, in transition and as a screener/roller. However, his limitations as a playmaker and as a defender both in space and in the post were laid bare for all to see while Dereck Lively II’s ascent had begun for the whole world to see.
Season in Review
A new dawn, a new day, a new Gafford for 2024-25 was the plan at least. The season of New Dan began with a clear tweak to the formula we knew: Gafford had put on a non-insignificant amount of bulk over the summer to help deal with bigger, bruising, paint-beast centers. This tactic, while well-intentioned and a sign of New Dan’s commitment to the team’s lofty goals for this season, had some clear drawbacks. New Dan’s feet were stuck in more mud when defending on the perimeter than Solomon Grundy’s. His conditioning seemed to be worse from carrying the extra muscle around. Worst of all Myles Turner (30 points & 11 rebounds), John Collins (28 points & 9 rebounds), and even Jusuf Nurkic (18 points & 14 rebounds) all scorched Dallas’ faces off within a month of opening day.
At some point, something had to give. It did when Dereck Lively II’s ascent began as he was named full-time starter in mid-November (only to briefly lose the title and regain it again from the 6-year vet).
Gafford slogged his way through late November and December, providing energy where he could in limited minutes, covering for Lively II in his foul-ridden nightly efforts, and seemingly shedding the excess muscle weight he had gained before the season. He eventually bounced back in January amid the Mavs’ continued health nosedive averaging 14 points, 8 rebounds, 1.8 assists, and 2.7 blocks while shooting 75% from the floor in the 15 games he played that month (9 of which were starts partly due to the controversial discovery of Lively II’s ankle injury mid month).
Before a right knee sprain that would see Dan leave a game on February 10th against the Sacramento Kings and not play again until March 31st against Brooklyn, he had returned to a level of unruly confidence and punishing interior play on both ends that Mavericks fans had not seen since the final stretch of the 2023-24 regular season where he helped lead the team to the 50-win mark and clear of the play-in as a starter. His spring returned on rolls and offensive rebounds, his hand-eye coordination was sharp on put-backs, blocks, and even his favored left shoulder hook shot against mismatches in the post. The thunderous roars that sent chills down opponents’ spines and goosebumps up teammates’ and the fan base’s arms had returned. He was blocking and dunking the other team into a crater in the Earth’s crust. The human adrenaline shot that was Daniel Gafford was back, and Mavericks fans were content to ride the rush into a much-awaited return that never came.
Gafford would finish the season with averages of 12 points, 6.8 rebounds, 1.4 assists, and 1.8 blocks in 21 minutes while shooting 70.2% from the floor. It was a season that sparked more debate within the Mavericks fanbase about a backup center than many would care to remember, but a season from a player worth appreciating nonetheless.
Best Game
Against a lackluster Charlotte team on January 20th, Gafford finished with 31 points, 15 rebounds (8 offensive), 3 assists, a steal, and SEVEN blocks on 12 of 15 shooting from the field. He dominated Mark Williams and any Hornets foolish enough to switch onto him that night when it was clear from the jump that the Nos switch flipped on for the day.
With Lively out, a focused Gafford dominated a Hornets team wholly unprepared for the physicality he planned to inflict. Kyrie Irving poured in 33 points by game’s end despite one of his vintage lackadaisical first halves (tallying only 9 points on 4 of 10 from the field with 1 assist and 2 turnovers at half). This was the Mavericks’ game to lose by the end of the third quarter. Then, the Mavericks happened to themselves again in the clutch, but that’s for a separate post.
Contract Status
Gafford enters next season in the final year of a three-year $40.1 million contract signed while still with the Washington Wizards. He is due to make an estimated $14.4 million next season and will enter unrestricted free agency if a contract extension is not agreed upon.
Looking Ahead
If you thought that the Mavericks were under a ton of pressure to make roster upgrades and deliver results going into the summer of 2024, you could throw a bag of raw coal under GM Nico Harrison’s seat and watch the heat and pressure being applied to it by fans, media, and now possibly even team governor Patrick Dumont mold into diamond in front of your very eyes this summer. This leaves Daniel Gafford in a precarious position.
With an expiring contract due to pay $14.4 million in the 2025-26 season, Gafford’s contract before even considering performance, makes him a potentially valuable trade piece on the market this summer. With a contract that can be sent with picks the Mavericks sparsely have to net a younger player at a position of greater need or stack alongside other sweet spot contracts such as PJ Washington, Caleb Martin and Max Christie in combination with picks, Gafford is a name you will hear in trade buzz around the NBA Draft in June and amid free agency trade rumors soon after.
As a player currently slotted to be a Dallas Maverick next year, while the Mavericks scour the bargain bin for a playmaker to set Gafford, Lively II, and their many other players finishers up for success until Kyrie Irving’s return from ACL surgery rehab, Dan must not be idle. He has to become better at scoring on the low block and capitalizing on the few opportunities he will receive to score in a reasonably unclogged paint and continue to grow as a dunker spot play finisher. Developing any form of jumper that could provide space for one of his other front-court mates to make use of the paint is a pipe dream, but becoming great at the things he is already good if inconsistent at is an attainable goal.
Grade: B
Overall this season was a testament to Dan’s toughness and blunt force ability in the paint. It also served as a warning to Lively II and other young bigs making their way in the NBA of how up and down your relationship with a coach can be if you cannot be trusted with fundamental duties like defensive rebounding, consistent help defensive positioning and decision making as a short roller when playing with pick-and-roll creators in the modern NBA.
Gafford is a flawed player. The Mavericks knew that. He was also a human battery pack that powered the team to a 50-win finish a year ago and a force that teams must account for as an athletic roller and effort rebounder when he is firing on all cylinders. Whether his long term future sees him remaining in Dallas or traded away for playmaking help, he will remain appreciated for his contributions both pre- and post-Nico Harrison’s unfortunate succumbing to egomania.