NBA Draft Trade Review: What Olivier-Maxence Prosper Brings to Mavs
The Dallas Mavericks had an extremely productive and efficient NBA Draft on Thursday night, as they took the No. 10 pick and turned it into the No. 12 pick, the No. 24 pick and veteran center Richaun Holmes thanks to separate trades with the Oklahoma City Thunder and Sacramento Kings.
Dallas ended up selecting versatile young big man Dereck Lively II from Duke with the 12th pick, and then followed that up by taking Olivier-Maxence Prosper, who is a 20-year-old 'do-it-all' three-year player from Marquette. The 6-foot-8 versatile forward is defensive-minded and possess a 7-foot-1 wingspan.
So, while many people already have a general idea of what kind of player Lively could be – he has drawn many comparisons to former Mavericks champion center Tyson Chandler – what does Prosper plan to bring to the table?
"There's a lot of things that I do that I feel players don't necessarily pay attention to. Like, they feel like they should come in and score 20 — nah, that's not what it's all about. It's how can you come in and help a team win and impact the game," Prosper told CBS Sports.
"You see a guy like Christian Braun with the Nuggets, he earned his minutes by doing the little things. I'm a guy that's going to come in, that's going to defend multiple positions, that's going to play hard, that's going to cut, that's going to finish, that's going to rebound. All the things that can bring a lot of value to a team even if they've already got two superstars."
Basically, Prosper is built to be a 'glue guy,' and given his height, length and overall player profile, he reminds us of a slightly more-athletic version of another 'glue guy' the Mavs had to give away in the Kyrie Irving trade – Dorian Finney-Smith. Prosper likely has a higher ceiling, though, given that Finney-Smith was three years older before getting his start in the league with Dallas as an undrafted free agent in 2016.
"Whoever I gotta guard, whoever my assignment is ... I'm going for it," Prosper said in his pre-NBA Draft media availability. "I'm going for their neck."
The Mavs had the 25th-ranked defense last season, so hearing that kind of talk coming from a young and eager prospect like Prosper has to be music to their ears.
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