December 10, 2025 • 6 mins
“What does Derick Lively’s season-ending surgery really mean for the Mavericks—and is this the start of a bigger problem?” That’s the burning question Ben Rogers, Jeff “Skin” Wade, Kevin “KT” Turner, and Krystina Ray tackle in today’s Ben and Skin Show.The crew breaks down the shocking news that Mavs center Derrick Lively II will undergo season-ending foot surgery after playing just seven games this year. While the official line promises a full recovery by training camp, the gang isn’t buying it at face value. Skin dives deep into the history of injury issues for ultra-tall players—citing Yao Ming, Chet Holmgren, and even Anthony Davis—and wonders if Lively’s future is now in serious doubt.
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
Ben and Skin Show ninety one The Eagle. This segment
right her is brought to you by Frankel and Frankel.
That firm has been here in the DFW for over
thirty years. They are injury victim advocates fighting for you
when you get hurt in a wreck or out there
on the job site. Someone was careless, they were negligent,
they were reckless, and now you've got all these issues
(00:22):
to deal with. No, you need someone fighting for you.
That's Franklin Frankel two one four, three three three thirty
three thirty three. That number also works with eight one
seven all threes three three three two two two two
D three.
Speaker 2 (00:32):
But right now it's time for this. Now it is
around the sports.
Speaker 3 (00:38):
KTD twins has all the sports.
Speaker 4 (00:42):
Yes, I've been reported that uh Maverick center Derek Lively
will undergo season ending surgery on his right foot. He's
only played seven games this year. He did say in
the story he's expected to make a full recovery and
be available for the starts training camp next year.
Speaker 1 (01:00):
That's, by the way, probably the same press release when
he got his ankle surgery. They expect a full recovery
and he'll be back in time for training camp. They
might have just cut and paste the press release from
when he got his surgery last time.
Speaker 3 (01:13):
This is tough, but I can remember talking to you
this offseason about, hey, Derek Lively grew two inches and
I look in her face was ooh, just because anybody
that starts getting that tall typically throughout history has significant
injury issues, just like people are anticipating that.
Speaker 2 (01:30):
For Wemby, for instance, he's as great as he is. Yeah,
super tall, and go look at and it's different.
Speaker 1 (01:36):
It doesn't have to be any particular body type because
it happens with skinny guys. But man, go look at
how long Yao Ming's career lasted. And that's the opposite direction.
Too much weight on those on those wheels, you know.
Speaker 3 (01:49):
Now, For me, I never let facts get in the
way of a good narrative. And I love the narrative
of let's go get Nico, and so I immediately go
back to Nico.
Speaker 2 (01:58):
Firing Casey Smith, who's.
Speaker 3 (02:00):
The best in the world when it comes to taking
care of players and their health and so forth. A
big part of the fracturing of his relationship with everybody
was was firing Casey Smith and the way he did
it was classless. And so for me, I want to
swerve over. Maybe it's not eight lanes, maybe it's three lanes,
and Nico's changing the tire in a car, and I
(02:20):
want to run him over, because you know, Nico brought
in his own health guys that one of them wasn't
didn't have the right credentials, and you know, you know,
if there's a chance for me to throw a tomato
at Nico, I'm going to. And so I granted it's
probably not fair because of you know, the size and
the body type and all those things of Derek Lively,
but you know, I'm happy to do it.
Speaker 1 (02:45):
I mean, it's there's a there were a litany of
organizational problems that happened because of Nico Harrison, and if
you want to infer that this is one of them,
I don't think it's out of line.
Speaker 2 (02:56):
I mean, there's there are.
Speaker 1 (02:58):
Some factors left over from a person he brought in,
and then there's another person that he brought in that's
gone and has been you know, blown out, and then
those two people were, as per Tim mcman's reporting and
Tim Cato's reporting, those two people were at odds with
each other. Two different people that Nico brought in were
at war with one another in the medical department. So
(03:20):
it was dysfunctional. Uh, And that's that's been widely reported.
And so during that time period where people were fighting,
Derek Lively the second was listed as day to day
and then suddenly he's like, oh, he's not day to day.
Speaker 2 (03:35):
He has a stress fractor. We got to shut him down.
Speaker 1 (03:38):
So, you know, there was a lot of chaos that
was going on, I think structurally within the Mavericks because
a lot and a lot of it was a lot
of it was amplified and exacerbated when Cuban sold the
team because then you know, Nico is reporting directly to
(03:58):
Patrick Dumont, who was all over the world doing business
and not here every day, and you know, trusted Why
wouldn't he trust Nico. He got here, Nico made a
couple of moves and they went to the finals.
Speaker 2 (04:10):
Why wouldn't he trust Nico?
Speaker 3 (04:12):
Right, And especially if you're not there with your eyeballs
on it, so you're not watching each game seeing what
Luca's doing.
Speaker 2 (04:17):
You're just like, oh, look, we want again, Oh we
want again. I guess those trades are working out.
Speaker 1 (04:21):
Because when they got here, it was not Remember, it
wasn't good when they got here. There was a lot
of dysfunction. There was a lot of talk about whether
or not Luca was going to resign here, you know,
and whenever that happens, this happens. Go read stories today
about Rich Paul. Whenever a star can sign a contract
extension and doesn't like the direction of the team, guess
(04:43):
what his management is telling the front office, you better
get your act together. We're out of here usob So
the Dumont Addelson crew bought the team. There was stuff
that was uncertain, and then a month later he made
trades and they went to the finals and everyone was celebrating.
So I get Patrick Dumont thinking Nico was the guy.
Speaker 2 (05:02):
I get that.
Speaker 3 (05:03):
But regardless of all that, I think everybody loves Dereck
Lively the second. Yeah, such a sweet guy, nice guy,
such a bright future. At this point, I don't think
if you're the Mavericks you can plan on him being
a part of your future. I think if he is
a part of your future, what a huge bonus. But
he will now have played in I think thirty percent
of his available games, right, so you can't look and
(05:24):
I'm hard on Anthony Davis because he's never you see
him and street clothes all the time, just because you know,
Derek Lively's younger, and it's not fair to do the
same thing, you know what I'm saying. So I don't
I wouldn't plan on Anthony Davis, and I absolutely would
not plan on Derek Lively, I think at this point,
and look, there's rumors they're about to trade Gafford and
so this embarrassment of Richard of Riches you had at
(05:46):
the big you know, with Biggs, it's it's all about
to go away. And I think you hope, you you know,
you hope that Derek Lively can play next year, but
you by no means say absolutely we can count on him.
Speaker 2 (05:58):
Yeah, I think I think that's fair.
Speaker 1 (06:00):
I mean I think along those same lines, I don't
think the thunder can count on chet Holmgren. I mean,
he's amazing, but he just fell on the ground and
missed forty games. Like long, tall, skinny guys, that's kind
of the way it goes. So that's why a lot
of people are scared. But with someone like Wimby, for example,
you have to pull the trigger.
Speaker 2 (06:19):
I mean, my god.
Speaker 4 (06:20):
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (06:21):
By the way, Wimby's out right now. Yep, that's been
out for weeks.
Speaker 3 (06:24):
Well, we wish Derek Lively the second of Speedy Recovery. Yes,
great dude, super promising future yes, so get well soon?
Speaker 2 (06:30):
All right?
Speaker 3 (06:31):
Coming up next KT, We're you gonna take us in
the love shock.
Speaker 2 (06:34):
Well, porn hub release something today.
Speaker 4 (06:36):
Would you guys like to know what people were looking
for in twenty twenty five?
Speaker 2 (06:40):
So a porn Hub release Nex
Ben and Skin Show ninety one The Eagle. This segment
right her is brought to you by Frankel and Frankel.
That firm has been here in the DFW for over
thirty years. They are injury victim advocates fighting for you
when you get hurt in a wreck or out there
on the job site. Someone was careless, they were negligent,
they were reckless, and now you've got all these issues
(00:22):
to deal with. No, you need someone fighting for you.
That's Franklin Frankel two one four, three three three thirty
three thirty three. That number also works with eight one
seven all threes three three three two two two two
D three.
Speaker 2 (00:32):
But right now it's time for this. Now it is
around the sports.
Speaker 3 (00:38):
KTD twins has all the sports.
Speaker 4 (00:42):
Yes, I've been reported that uh Maverick center Derek Lively
will undergo season ending surgery on his right foot. He's
only played seven games this year. He did say in
the story he's expected to make a full recovery and
be available for the starts training camp next year.
Speaker 1 (01:00):
That's, by the way, probably the same press release when
he got his ankle surgery. They expect a full recovery
and he'll be back in time for training camp. They
might have just cut and paste the press release from
when he got his surgery last time.
Speaker 3 (01:13):
This is tough, but I can remember talking to you
this offseason about, hey, Derek Lively grew two inches and
I look in her face was ooh, just because anybody
that starts getting that tall typically throughout history has significant
injury issues, just like people are anticipating that.
Speaker 2 (01:30):
For Wemby, for instance, he's as great as he is. Yeah,
super tall, and go look at and it's different.
Speaker 1 (01:36):
It doesn't have to be any particular body type because
it happens with skinny guys. But man, go look at
how long Yao Ming's career lasted. And that's the opposite direction.
Too much weight on those on those wheels, you know.
Speaker 3 (01:49):
Now, For me, I never let facts get in the
way of a good narrative. And I love the narrative
of let's go get Nico, and so I immediately go
back to Nico.
Speaker 2 (01:58):
Firing Casey Smith, who's.
Speaker 3 (02:00):
The best in the world when it comes to taking
care of players and their health and so forth. A
big part of the fracturing of his relationship with everybody
was was firing Casey Smith and the way he did
it was classless. And so for me, I want to
swerve over. Maybe it's not eight lanes, maybe it's three lanes,
and Nico's changing the tire in a car, and I
(02:20):
want to run him over, because you know, Nico brought
in his own health guys that one of them wasn't
didn't have the right credentials, and you know, you know,
if there's a chance for me to throw a tomato
at Nico, I'm going to. And so I granted it's
probably not fair because of you know, the size and
the body type and all those things of Derek Lively,
but you know, I'm happy to do it.
Speaker 1 (02:45):
I mean, it's there's a there were a litany of
organizational problems that happened because of Nico Harrison, and if
you want to infer that this is one of them,
I don't think it's out of line.
Speaker 2 (02:56):
I mean, there's there are.
Speaker 1 (02:58):
Some factors left over from a person he brought in,
and then there's another person that he brought in that's
gone and has been you know, blown out, and then
those two people were, as per Tim mcman's reporting and
Tim Cato's reporting, those two people were at odds with
each other. Two different people that Nico brought in were
at war with one another in the medical department. So
(03:20):
it was dysfunctional. Uh, And that's that's been widely reported.
And so during that time period where people were fighting,
Derek Lively the second was listed as day to day
and then suddenly he's like, oh, he's not day to day.
Speaker 2 (03:35):
He has a stress fractor. We got to shut him down.
Speaker 1 (03:38):
So, you know, there was a lot of chaos that
was going on, I think structurally within the Mavericks because
a lot and a lot of it was a lot
of it was amplified and exacerbated when Cuban sold the
team because then you know, Nico is reporting directly to
(03:58):
Patrick Dumont, who was all over the world doing business
and not here every day, and you know, trusted Why
wouldn't he trust Nico. He got here, Nico made a
couple of moves and they went to the finals.
Speaker 2 (04:10):
Why wouldn't he trust Nico?
Speaker 3 (04:12):
Right, And especially if you're not there with your eyeballs
on it, so you're not watching each game seeing what
Luca's doing.
Speaker 2 (04:17):
You're just like, oh, look, we want again, Oh we
want again. I guess those trades are working out.
Speaker 1 (04:21):
Because when they got here, it was not Remember, it
wasn't good when they got here. There was a lot
of dysfunction. There was a lot of talk about whether
or not Luca was going to resign here, you know,
and whenever that happens, this happens. Go read stories today
about Rich Paul. Whenever a star can sign a contract
extension and doesn't like the direction of the team, guess
(04:43):
what his management is telling the front office, you better
get your act together. We're out of here usob So
the Dumont Addelson crew bought the team. There was stuff
that was uncertain, and then a month later he made
trades and they went to the finals and everyone was celebrating.
So I get Patrick Dumont thinking Nico was the guy.
Speaker 2 (05:02):
I get that.
Speaker 3 (05:03):
But regardless of all that, I think everybody loves Dereck
Lively the second. Yeah, such a sweet guy, nice guy,
such a bright future. At this point, I don't think
if you're the Mavericks you can plan on him being
a part of your future. I think if he is
a part of your future, what a huge bonus. But
he will now have played in I think thirty percent
of his available games, right, so you can't look and
(05:24):
I'm hard on Anthony Davis because he's never you see
him and street clothes all the time, just because you know,
Derek Lively's younger, and it's not fair to do the
same thing, you know what I'm saying. So I don't
I wouldn't plan on Anthony Davis, and I absolutely would
not plan on Derek Lively, I think at this point,
and look, there's rumors they're about to trade Gafford and
so this embarrassment of Richard of Riches you had at
(05:46):
the big you know, with Biggs, it's it's all about
to go away. And I think you hope, you you know,
you hope that Derek Lively can play next year, but
you by no means say absolutely we can count on him.
Speaker 2 (05:58):
Yeah, I think I think that's fair.
Speaker 1 (06:00):
I mean I think along those same lines, I don't
think the thunder can count on chet Holmgren. I mean,
he's amazing, but he just fell on the ground and
missed forty games. Like long, tall, skinny guys, that's kind
of the way it goes. So that's why a lot
of people are scared. But with someone like Wimby, for example,
you have to pull the trigger.
Speaker 2 (06:19):
I mean, my god.
Speaker 4 (06:20):
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (06:21):
By the way, Wimby's out right now. Yep, that's been
out for weeks.
Speaker 3 (06:24):
Well, we wish Derek Lively the second of Speedy Recovery. Yes,
great dude, super promising future yes, so get well soon?
Speaker 2 (06:30):
All right?
Speaker 3 (06:31):
Coming up next KT, We're you gonna take us in
the love shock.
Speaker 2 (06:34):
Well, porn hub release something today.
Speaker 4 (06:36):
Would you guys like to know what people were looking
for in twenty twenty five?
Speaker 2 (06:40):
So a porn Hub release Nex
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