Breaking Down Dereck Lively’s fit on the Dallas Mavericks

The Dallas Mavericks have a young superstar talent in Luka Doncic paired with star point guard Kyrie Irving. With the No. 12 pick in the recent draft, the Mavericks drafted Dereck Lively II. How does he fit in Dallas?

Dereck Lively II coming out of high school was a consensus top five senior prospect given his ridiculous size, length, and interior presence. The Dallas Mavericks drafted him with the No. 12 overall pick in the 2023 NBA Draft, making it clear that they were looking to add defensive players to this team to fit next to their star players during the offseason.

When talking specifically about the 7-foot-1 center, he fits this core so well while possessing a ton of upside. On the defensive end Lively provides elite rim protection which will greatly help the Mavericks as ranked 28th in the NBA in blocks per game. Lively’s impact goes beyond the stat sheet though as he consistently alters shots inside the paint and has made a ton of improvements as a pick and roll defender.

Luka Doncic and Kyrie Irving aren’t known for their perimeter defense so having a reliable help-side defender and rim protector behind them at all times when he’s on the court will help take a lot of pressure off the guards. The Duke big man will obviously have his struggles with fouls and learning the NBA, but once he figures it all out I expect him to be in the conversation as one of the best shot-blockers in the entire league.

Offensively he can generate easy points for the team as a lob threat, getting put-backs, and layups. On the downside he doesn’t offer much scoring upside or creation skills and basically relies on his teammates to create open shots for himself but given that they already have their offensive weapons figured out, they won’t need him to be some kind of high level scorer.

What makes Lively so enticing is that he has legit shooting upside at 7-foot-1 which would allow him to bring rim protectors out of the paint and open up the paint for guys like Doncic and Irving. It’s unlikely we see Lively getting starter minutes as a rookie in the NBA due to how much he has to learn, but by the end of his rookie contract it’s easy to envision him being a full-time starter and complementing Doncic and the Mavericks extremely well.

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