Recent rumor clears mud on how Mavericks really feel about trading Daniel Gafford

In the middle of last month, shock struck most Dallas Mavericks fans as it was reported that the team was floating Daniel Gafford's name in some trade talks in an effort to add more perimeter defense.

It was already known that Dallas was looking to add frontcourt depth, but the fact that Gafford was in some trade rumors was a major surprise considering he was one of the main reasons that the Mavs made the NBA Finals last season. Gafford quickly became the team's starting center, and his energy, dunks, and blocks always had the American Airlines Center on its feet.

Gafford's importance to the team has been taken to another level over the last few weeks since Dereck Lively II is out with a stress fracture in his ankle, and he is looking irreplaceable.

Since Lively II went down against the Denver Nuggets, Gafford is averaging 20.7 points, 10.6 rebounds, and 3.6 blocks per game while shooting 73.3 percent from the field, and early on into this run, we had a decent idea about how Dallas felt about his future with the team.

Mavericks are not looking to trade Daniel Gafford

According to NBA insider Marc Stein, "it is a misnomer to suggest (subscription required) that Dallas is shopping center Daniel Gafford." Stein made it clear that this could be a different story if Dallas was able to acquire a player as elite as Herbert Jones, but it sounds like Gafford is someone the Mavericks are going to hold on to unless they are able to land a star defender.

Holding on to Gafford is a necessity right now since he and Kylor Kelley are the only two healthy bigs on the roster right now, and it would be a major shock if they moved him. When Gafford is motivated and playing with high energy, he is nearly unstoppable inside, and that has been the exact case recently.

Gafford has visibly been more energized, and right after Dallas' loss to Denver on January 14 (the game in which Lively II got hurt), he admitted that he hadn't been playing with enough effort, energy, or physicality. One game later, he scored 27 points and pulled down 12 rebounds, showing that he put his self-criticism into practice.

Gafford has kept these good performances rolling all the way until now, and a little over a week after his honest reality check, he revealed that he was feeling much more motivated.

"I’ve got a lot of things that are going through my head when it comes to the team," Gafford said on January 25. "I just took a step back, reassessed a lot of stuff, and just took a deep breath."

Gafford admitted that he had gotten flustered amid the ups and downs of the season, and it's clear that his "step back" has helped lead to a major leap forward. He has been one of Dallas' most consistent and reliable players recently, and his improvement as a rebounder has been not overlooked.

Gafford's effort has been on an entirely new level over the past few weeks, and taking into account how great he is playing combined with the fact that the Mavericks aren't shopping him, it looks like he will be with Dallas beyond Thursday's trade deadline.