Dereck Lively II Injury Update Reveals Status for Mavs Camp Amid Foot Issue Ahead of NBA Season

Dallas Mavericks center Dereck Lively II has reportedly not been cleared to participate in training camp while he recovers from a December surgery on his injured right foot, according to ESPN's Tim MacMahon .

Per that report, "His status for the start of the season has yet to be determined. He has not suffered any setback and is slowly ramping up to begin basketball activity."

Lively said back in June that he wasn't rushing through his rehabilitation.

"I'm taking even more time than I need to make sure I don't have to deal with this foot again," he told Eddie Sefko of NBA.com. "Whenever I get over this hill, I know I'll be stress-free. I'm just waiting to see that my foot's good. And even when it's good, I got to wait even more to make sure I don't have to do this again. I'm never going to rush back and worry about that. Things that the fans are probably going to say about me? Cool. But whenever I come back, don't forget who I am."

The 22-year-old center is considered an important part of the Mavericks' core, joining Cooper Flagg, Kyrie Irving, PJ Washington and rookies Morez Johnson Jr. and Sergio de Larrea in that regard. But staying on the court has been an issue—Lively has played just 43 games in the past two seasons.

When healthy he's a solid rim-running center, averaging 8.4 points, seven rebounds and 1.5 blocks for his career. Staying healthy, however, has become the central focus of his career.

Lively said over the summer that he consulted with former Dallas center Tyson Chandler during his recovery.

"He's helped me stay centered and worried about the things I need to be worried about," he told reporters . "And that's what I can control. My diet. That's definitely been a big change. I'm able to lift a lot more. I'm a lot more flexible. I've been trying to do 10,000-15,000 steps a day. No matter if I'm swimming or if I'm walking, just trying to stay in shape."