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Mavericks ink Daniel Gafford to a huge three-year extension
Dallas Mavericks center Daniel Gafford. Jerome Miron-Imagn Images

The Dallas Mavericks brought out their checkbook to keep Daniel Gafford in Texas.

Several reporters confirmed Monday that Gafford and the Mavericks have agreed to a three-year contract extension. But there have been conflicting reports about the deal’s exact monetary value.

ESPN’s Shams Charania broke the contract news, pegging the deal to be worth “nearly $60M.” But NBA reporter Marc Stein reported the extension’s value to be at $54Mover three years.

Given the Mavericks’ roster situation, Stein’s reported $54M value makes more sense. The number is right under the threshold that would allow Dallas to sign and immediately trade Gafford if a deal comes to fruition. If the contract crosses the threshold, the team would have to wait six months before including the veteran big man in a deal.

The flexibility is crucial because Dallas has a serious logjam in the frontcourt. Aside from Gafford, the Mavs also roster Anthony Davis, Dereck Lively II, P.J. Washington and likely No. 1 pick Cooper Flagg.

With Kyrie Irving out for the foreseeable future due to injury, the team may want to move some of their frontcourt pieces in exchange for a temporary starting point guard.

In 57 games last season, Gafford averaged a career-high 12.3 points to go along with 6.8 rebounds and 1.8 blocks. He missed multiple weeks after the All-Star break due to an MCL sprain.

Based on recent footage of Gafford dunking on civilians at a local gym, the injury woes seem to be behind him.

This article first appeared on Larry Brown Sports and was syndicated with permission.

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