Dereck Lively Offers Longterm Upside for Dallas Mavericks, Luka Doncic

With the drafting of Duke’s Dereck Lively II twelfth overall in the 2023 NBA Draft, many thought the Mavericks had found their immediate solution at center.

And while that may not necessarily be the case, he does offer Dallas a high-floor, high-ceiling pick that gels well with their current core.

There’s no disputing that Lively is talented and was coveted by more than a few lottery teams, as detailed by the several reports he was trending up in the pre-draft process.

At Duke, the 7-foot-1 former No. 1 prospect averaged just 5.2 points, 5.4 rebounds and 2.4 blocks in around 20 minutes per game. But as the season wore on, he became more and more of an impactful force inside.

Despite that, he’s also a work in progress. And likely isn’t slated to see much time as the starting five in year one. Instead, he’ll likely hone both his offensive and defensive skills, continuing to work on his perimeter prowess and learning to limit fouls while learning the NBA system.

The upside lies within his fit with superstar Luka Doncic, the epicenter of the current iteration of the Mavericks.

Rudy Gobert — a three-time Defensive Player of the Year Award winner and one of the most formidable shot blockers in league history — had long been linked to the Mavericks as a good fit for Doncic.

Doncic is a supernova on offense, but understandably has some fairly exploitable defense holes that would be filled by a traditional-style rim protector like Gobert.

Now, Dallas has taken a chance on a prospect who, while he likely won't reach Gobert's status, will still offer the team similar traits when hitting his stride.

If Lively can manage to put together a strong rookie campaign while working in the Mavericks' backup unit, he may be a huge piece to Dallas' puzzle in getting back to the NBA Finals in the future.

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