6 Mavericks players who have no room for error in Jason Kidd's rotation

4. Dereck Lively II

Dereck Lively II is undoubtedly one of the best players on the Mavs outside of Luka Doncic and Kyrie Irving, but his starting spot is far from guaranteed. Even though Jason Kidd mentioned that Lively II would be the starting center to start the year at Media Day, he hasn't mentioned it since and may not confirm a starting five for opening night until he absolutely has to.

Daniel Gafford had an excellent preseason, and seeing Lively II struggle some in that starting unit could see Jason Kidd make him the starting big once again. There is no wrong choice when looking at both of these options, and Kidd will have a tough decision to make if Lively II gets outplayed by Gafford.

This seems unlikely after watching the preseason considering that Lively II grew tremendously as a post scorer and we haven't even seen him play with Doncic yet, but a couple of good performances from Gafford could have Kidd considering going back to the starting big that helped take Dallas to the NBA Finals last season. Gafford put on 20 pounds of muscle over the summer, and his energy is unmatched.

Both Lively II and Gafford are going to play big minutes every single night, but Lively II's potential starting spot could be in jeopardy if he isn't able to hold down the fort. All signs are pointing to him taking the next step in his development and becoming a star one day, but Kidd isn't ever afraid to make lineup changes when needed.