Dallas Mavs to Start Dereck Lively II, Olivier-Maxence Prosper in Preseason; What it Means

The Mavs plan to start rookies Dereck Lively II and Olivier-Maxence Prosper to begin preseason action against the Timberwolves in Abu Dhabi.

DALLAS — As the Dallas Mavericks embark on a 12-day international preseason journey with stops in Abu Dhabi and Madrid, the team is set to gauge the readiness of rookies Dereck Lively II and Olivier-Maxence Prosper against live competition for the first time since they participated in NBA Summer League. 

"Yeah, [Lively and Prosper will start in preseason] just to see how they handle different situations," Mavs coach Jason Kidd said after Saturday's practice. "They'll start with Kai, Luka, and Grant."

Kidd often expresses how putting young players in uncomfortable positions in training camp and preseason can serve as a helpful tool in determining where they are entering the season. He looks forward to seeing how Lively and Prosper handle all the responsibilities of starting alongside the only three confirmed opening-night starters: Doncic, Irving, and Williams. 

"I'm excited to see how they handle it," Kidd said of Lively and Prosper. "They've done the work, but sometimes the lights can be a little different, or seeing a different opponent, but I think they'll handle it great. O-Max and D Live have been really good in the camp so far."

Lively has generated a lot of buzz as the starting center job is "up for grabs" ahead of the season. However, Kidd's decision to begin the preseason by starting Lively and Prosper is not an indication or confirmation of what the lineup will look like around Doncic, Irving, and Williams. Those jobs will need to be earned. 

"Somewhere in the season, you might need both guys to start," Kidd said of Lively and Prosper. " We just want to have that opportunity to see how they handle it. At the end of the day, both are doing the work. "I think when you ask the rest of the guys, they're fine with it."

Dallas Mavericks rookies Dereck Lively II (left) and Olivier-Maxence Prosper (right) / Mavs.com

Kidd likes to start young players alongside starpower in the preseason to gauge their readiness. After being drafted in the second round, Jaden Hardy even started next to Doncic in a preseason loss against the Orlando Magic last year. Coming off a rookie season with minimal playing time, Josh Green started alongside Doncic in a preseason opener win over the Utah Jazz in 2021.

"Both of those guys, they've done the work," Kidd said of Lively and Prosper after Thursday's practice. "In the past, I've done this with all the rookies and with Josh Green [in his second season] when I first got here. Just to make sure you play with the first group, to see what he can do. We tend to put the young guys with the stars to see how they handled the situation. 

"And so for [Lively and Prosper], they've done a really good job so far, but again, they've done the work since we've had them in July and August," Kidd explained. "So, let's see how they handle playing with Luka and Kyrie.'

After the first day of training camp, Kidd shared that Lively had taken a "big jump" while working at the team training facility since August. There was a sense that a real connection had already been developing between Lively and Doncic when the two shared the floor in open runs in the first practice of camp.

"We've asked them to come here in August, and they've done everything we've asked them," Kidd said after Wednesday's practice of Lively and Prosper. "You look at D Live and the things he's done since August, he's taken a big jump for us here late. Being able to play with Luka in the pickup games, here's some excitement between those two."

From a big-picture standpoint, Kidd does view there is a genuine likelihood that one of Lively or Prosper will be a starter for the Mavs this season. He stated this after the team's first day of training camp on Wednesday. Lively will need to outcompete Dwight Powell and Richaun Holmes, while Prosper will likely need to beat out Green amid talk of Tim Hardaway Jr. filling a sixth-man role. 

"I think when we talk about starting them, one of them probably will be a starter," Kidd said after Wednesday's practice of Lively and Prosper. "But we'll see. I want to see how they react to playing with Kai, Luka, and Grant, but so far, so good."

The Mavs begin the preseason with a matchup against the Minnesota Timberwolves on Oct. 5 at Etihad Arena in Abu Dhabi.