Jason Kidd Reveals Mavs Could Start Rookies Dereck Lively II, O-Max Prosper
DALLAS — After finishing the 2022-23 season with a 38-44 record and failing to qualify for the play-in tournament, the Dallas Mavericks gained the opportunity to select in the NBA Draft lottery for the first time in the Luka Doncic era. The team managed to add two intriguing rookies as a result, Dereck Lively II and Olivier-Maxence Prosper.
A significant factor in the Mavs' failed campaign was a lack of execution on defense and rebounding, with a lack of athleticism and positional size being clear limitations. With Lively standing at 7-foot-1 with a 7-foot-7 wingspan and a lot of athleticism, he has the tools to be an impactful rim protector in the NBA. Dallas lacked an interior presence for quite some time, even during the team's run to the Western Conference Finals in 2022.
As much as the Mavs lacked rim protection last season, they also had a clear need to add more size, athleticism, and defensive talent on the wing. Prosper has a strong frame at 6-foot-8 and a 7-foot-1 wingspan, with the physical intangibles to be an impactful defender on the wing by guarding multiple positions and flying around the half-court.
Ahead of the training camp opening on Sept. 27, there is growing buzz regarding the potential for more of an instant impact from both of the Mavs' first-round selections from this year's draft.
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During an exclusive interview with Marc Stein on 97.1 The Freak on Saturday, Mavs coach Jason Kidd described the two as being "NBA ready" and anticipates them being in the mix for minutes from Day 1.
"They're NBA ready. They got drafted. I think there's different stages of NBA ready," Kidd said. "When you look at Olivier Maxence-Prosper and being able to get him again, I think that was a big, big part of that success that night, and also with Dereck Lively II. Not short changing, being able to get him and one of the pieces that we need as a center, it's exciting."
Lively and Prosper have each been training at the Mavs facility for most of the summer since finding out they were headed to Dallas on draft night. Since impressing at NBA Summer League in Las Vegas in July, both rookies have shown improvement, resulting in Kidd expecting them to "play a lot" this season. He went as far as to say that one of them could even start.
"They've done everything we've asked them to do," Kidd said. "Each week they get better. So we're excited. I look for those rookies to play a lot this season. They're going to be a part of our fabric. There could be a chance of one of them starting. So, we'll see."
The Mavs plan to start Lively alongside Doncic, Kyrie Irving, and Grant Williams to begin training camp, describing a center competition that involves Dwight Powell and Richaun Holmes as being "up for grabs."
"It's up for grabs," Kidd said of the Mavs' starting center job. "I will start Lively with the big group and see how that goes."
Earlier this summer, Lively spoke with DallasBasketball.com and expressed his desire to start for the Mavs while also acknowledging that he hasn’t earned that privilege just yet.
"That's something that's circled on my board – to be a starter for the Mavs" Lively told DallasBasketball.com. "That's something I'm definitely not at right now, but I'm scraping away, getting closer and closer each day. But I'm not there now, so that just means I've gotta keep working so I can get to it and get better."
There is further potential for the Mavs' lineup to be shaken up by youth stepping into larger roles next to Doncic and Irving. Kidd mentioned the possibility of Josh Green or Prosper starting on the wing with highlighting the possible value of Tim Hardaway Jr. being a sixth-man.
"Maybe Josh will start with the big group, maybe O-Max will start with the big group," Kidd said. "Starting both rookies out with the big group and that being with, Grant, Kai and Luka, just to take a look to see if where they are."
The calculus behind starting Lively and/or Prosper revolves around gaining the best chance to evaluate where they are at in terms of NBA readiness by playing them next to top talent like Doncic and Irving.
"I think anytime you can put rookies or your younger players with the star players to see how they handle the situation, I think you can get a grasp of where they are," Kidd said of starting Lively and Prosper.
Prosper also spoke with DallasBasketball.com this summer to reveal his expectations for his rookie season.
"I plan on having a significant impact," Prosper tells DallasBasketball.com. “[I’m want to be] a guy that's coming in and asked to guard the best player on the other side. And a guy that's going to, every game, get better and improve, and get the confidence of his coaches and teammates. And then, end the end, [I'm] going to be a big contributor to this team's success. That's the way I look at my season."
Kidd reaffirmed the notion that Lively and Prosper have "taken jumps" in the eyes of the Mavs' coaching staff in recent weeks. The plan is likely to start both players in either one or both of the two games the team will play against the Minnesota Timberwolves on Oct. 5 and 7 in Abu Dhabi in part of the NBA Global Games preseason slate.
"These last couple of weeks, our rookies have taken jumps as I've talked to the coaching staff and Nico about starting Lively with Luka, Kai, and Grant," Kidd said. "We'll see how that goes, but I can say that we'll probably start both rookies here early in camp and probably in one, if not both games in Abu Dhabi, just to see how they handle the situation."
The Mavs will travel from Abu Dhabi to Spain to face Doncic's former team, Real Madrid, to conclude the team's international preseason schedule. The only preseason game the team plays in North America will take place on Oct. 20 against the Detroit Pistons at the American Airlines Center
