Mavs Compare Rookie Dereck Lively II to 'Young Tyson Chandler'

The Mavs have high hopes for what Dereck Lively II can become as he develops during his NBA career. He's already giving the franchise flashes of Tyson Chandler potential.

DALLAS — The Dallas Mavericks came away from the 2023 NBA Draft with a new center to develop in Dereck Lively II. The team entered with the 10th overall pick, but got compensated to trade down with the Oklahoma City Thunder to the 12th spot before selecting the former Duke big man. 

"Lively was pretty high on our board," Mavs president Michael Finley said. "We were excited to see him, quote unquote, slip into a position where we could choose him. So, we were excited that he was available for us."

Lively, who stands at 7-foot-1 center with a 7-foot-7 wingspan, started 27 of 34 games at Duke. He averaged 5.2 points, 5.4 rebounds, and 2.4 blocks in 20.6 minutes per game. With his improved timing and approach on defense, many are intrigued by his long-term potential as a rim protector. He also has shown the tools to be an intriguing rim roller and vertical lob threat.  

"Being able to be an anchor on defense," Lively said of his impact. "Someone that my teammates can rely on to have their back. I'm going to be able to protect the rim, be able to call out everything I can in the floor on the defensive end."

"When it comes to the offensive end, I'm gonna be able to just do whatever I can to help my teammates get open and find the right play and the right shot," Lively explained.

There was a common theme among Mavs leadership for the vision of what Lively could ultimately become in the NBA. Whether it was president of basketball operations Michael Finley or general manager Nico Harrison, they saw shades of former dirty work specialist Tyson Chandler when observing Lively.

“He kind of reminded me of a younger Tyson Chandler,” Finley said. “That’s unfair, but if he continues to grow, improve in areas that I think he needs to improve in, that would be a comparison that would be fair for him as his career goes on.”

With the Mavs setting out to overhaul the center position, Lively's potential will factor into the equation in a major way. The team lacked an interior presence that could deter opponents from aggressively attacking the paint and lacked a forceful rebounder on either end of the floor. 

How soon Lively can provide such an impact remains to be seen, but ideally, he'll set the tone in those areas sooner rather than later for the Mavs. If he can get the job done comparably to how Chandler during the peak of his NBA career, then Dallas will look back on its selection as a major success.

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Grant Afseth is a Dallas Mavericks reporter for DallasBasketball.com and an NBA reporter for NBA Analysis Network. He previously covered the Indiana Pacers and NBA for CNHI's Kokomo Tribune and various NBA teams for USA TODAY Sports Media Group. Follow him on Twitter (@grantafseth), Facebook (@grantgafseth), and YouTube (@grantafseth).

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