The temptation with a center taking a three is to treat one shot as a career announcement. The occasional attempt might be entertaining, but Dallas has a more substantial question to answer about Daniel Gafford’s expanding responsibilities. For the Dallas Mavericks, the more useful experiment is whether Gafford can make quicker, cleaner decisions as a passer without losing the finishing that already gives him value.
Dusty May’s comments on September 27 established the right framework for that experiment. Gafford can work on the perimeter as a decision-maker and connector while retaining his rim finishing. An occasional three can be earned in rhythm. That is a broader offensive assignment, not a conversion into a stretch center.
The distinction around spacing needs to be precise. A center standing beyond the arc may occupy a nominal perimeter spot, but that alone does not create a driving lane. The question is what the help defender does: whether that defender stays attached, shades toward the ball, or is free to clog the next action.
Until Gafford’s shooting becomes credible enough to influence those choices, his perimeter presence will not carry the same value as a proven shooter’s.
Gafford’s 2025-26 numbers point toward a sensible hierarchy. He shot 65.5% from the field, making 207 of 316 attempts, and scored 9.5 points in 21.7 minutes per game. He averaged 2.5 offensive rebounds and 6.9 rebounds overall.
Those figures do not mean every possession should end with a Gafford touch. They do show that Dallas already has dependable value in his finishing, second efforts and work near the basket. Any new responsibility should support those strengths rather than make them incidental.
Passing can do that in a way an unproven jumper cannot. Gafford finished the season with 58 assists and 63 turnovers. That is a modestly negative balance, but it is an adequate reason to test his reads, not a verdict against the idea.
The target is not high-volume creation. It is a timely pass when the first option draws help: a cutter arriving behind the defense, a shooter shifting into a clean window or a teammate benefiting from the advantage Gafford’s roll has already created.
That kind of distribution would make his touches less predictable. A catch near the elbow or on a short roll could become a genuine decision rather than a mandatory shot attempt. The benefit would come from keeping the possession alive after the defense reacts, not from pretending Gafford is an offensive organizer.
His pass can be simple and still matter if it arrives before the opening disappears.
