The Dallas Mavericks will sign big man Daniel Gafford to a contract extension, according to ESPN’s Shams Charania. The deal is reportedly three years for $60 million, locking him down until the end of the 2028-29 regular season.
Gafford is just one piece of Dallas’ top frontcourt talent, alongside Derrick Lively II and Anthony Davis. He averaged 12.3 points, 6.8 rebounds, and 1.8 blocks per game on 70.2% shooting in the regular season. He provided a key contribution during the Mavericks run to the 2024 NBA Finals and now becomes their longest-contracted player.
The move comes just about 48 hours before the 2025 NBA Draft. Dallas holds the first overall pick and expects to select Duke’s Cooper Flagg.
Gafford’s Efficiency Is Top-Notch
Gafford has been on three teams through his first six NBA seasons. The Chicago Bulls drafted him in 2019 and traded him to the Washington Wizards just a year and a half later. He was then sent to Dallas at the 2024 NBA trade deadline, where he was the fifth-highest scorer on their run to the 2024 NBA Finals.
In his 86 total games played with the Mavericks, Gafford has proven to be a strong rim protector and lob threat. He is also one of the most efficient scorers in the league, as his career 70.% field-goal percentage is atop all NBA players since the 2019-2020 season.
Despite not yet reaching the league’s minimum of 2,000 field goal attempts, his career shooting average would be the highest in NBA history, ahead of players like Jarrett Allen, Rudy Gobert, and De’Andre Jordan.
Gafford has had some health concerns early on in his career, but when on the court, he has the potential to drastically impact both sides of the floor. His career 1.5 blocks per game rank 10th amongst current players, and his scoring average has increased in each of the past four seasons.
Gafford is currently in the last year of a three-year $40 million extension he signed with the Wizards in 2021. This new deal will begin after next season, making Gafford the only Dallas player under contract until the 2028-29 season.
The Mavericks Going Forward
Dallas finished with a 39-43 record during the regular season and lost in the Play-In Tournament. After the massive trade that saw the Mavericks send Luka Doncic to the Los Angeles Lakers for Davis and Max Christie, they ended the year struggling to come to close their peak from the season before.
The late-season troubles were also due to Kyrie Irving tearing his ACL in March. The nine-time All-Star is expected to miss all of next season as he enters the final year of his contract.
Tied with the Bulls at just 1.8% odds to win the lottery, Dallas landed the first overall pick in the 2025 Draft. With Flagg now expected to become a Maverick, the Gafford extension becomes a bit mysterious. With Gafford, Davis, Lively II, and presumably Flagg, Dallas has one of the deepest frontcourts in the league.
While there were rumors that Gafford would be a trade piece for the Mavericks this summer to acquire a player like Lonzo Ball or Jrue Holiday, the extension all but puts those rumors to bed. Dallas could still make a trade for an Irving replacement, but the contract makes it a bit harder for them to find a trade partner.
The Mavericks don’t currently have a true point guard on their roster for next season, which means if it isn’t Gafford, another player could be on the trade block during the offseason.
After making the NBA Finals in 2024 and subsequently trading Doncic, general manager Nico Harrison said that Dallas is in ‘win-now mode.’ While the trade and Irving injury have drastically impacted their playmaking and ball-handling depth, the Mavericks have locked down one of the strongest frontcourts in the NBA.
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