Mavs EXCLUSIVE: Legends Coach 'Excited' for Gym-Rat Rookies Dereck Lively II & O-Max Prosper

"Both of those guys love to come back to the gym at night as much as they can ... They're so hungry, and they're so excited," Texas Legends head coach Jordan Sears tells DallasBasketball.com of Dallas Mavs rookies Dereck Lively II and O-Max Prosper.

As the Dallas Mavericks prepare to open training camp on Wednesday, there are many reasons for excitement and optimism heading into the 2023-24 season. Two of the biggest reasons can be attributed to the promise rookies Dereck Lively II and Olivier-Maxence Prosper have shown throughout the summer after being picked up by the Mavs in the first round of this year's NBA Draft.

In an exclusive interview on our Mavs Step Back Podcast, Texas Legends head coach Jordan Sears, who also works with the Mavs in a video room and player development capacity, gushed about Lively and Prosper's abilities – both physically and mentally.

"Honestly, we've spent a lot of time with them from Summer league through now," Sears told DallasBasketball.com when asked about his involvement with Lively and Prosper. "Because they've been in the gym every week, and they've been really committed to their work. You really can't find guys like who are just so genuine and are just so focused and committed to learning. I think those are two of the best young guys I've seen with that. They're very mature in their approach on the day-to-day, [and] they understand what they don't know."

When it comes to Livley specifically, the Mavs know he has a lot of potential with his physical gifts and high basketball IQ, but they also want to make sure they keep things simple for the 19-year-old big man heading into his first season.

"I know everybody's talked about his defense, and obviously he has the size and the mobility and the athleticism to do all of those things," Sears said of Lively. "I think for a big, you try to keep the game simple for them in terms of screening angles, rolling to the rim, putting pressure on the rim, finishing around the rim and protecting the rim conversely on the defensive side of the ball, [and] being able to communicate your pick-and-roll coverages."

David Dow/NBAE via Getty Images

Although it has only been two months since the NBA Summer League in Las Vegas, Sears says Livley has 'grown tremendously' by paying attention to the small details and showing off some of his surprising offensive potential as well.

"Dereck has grown tremendously since Summer League with those things. He works on the little details everyday,” Sears said. “I think some things we've seen with him are his feel for the game in terms of passing, being a facilitating big at 7-1, which are things you don't see for guys that size that often.

"He's been making some really good plays. He understands how to keep the offense moving, how to facilitate the offense as a big in trail. He's made tremendous strides defensively as well in terms of his rim protection, his positioning, his communication, and I think the sky is the limit for him on that end of the floor."

One big thing that stood out from Lively's pre-draft process was his shooting touch from deep at his Pro Day workout. Although he still has to prove that it can translate to real NBA games, the Mavs have been impressed by his ability to space the floor in workouts and pickup games this summer.

"He's also, surprisingly, in a workout setting, been able to shoot the ball pretty well. ... I'm not rubber stamping it that he'll be able to do that this season, but just within a workout context, within a pickup context, he's been able to do it," Sears said of Lively’s shooting. "Mechanically, [his shot form] is sound. So that's something he can look forward to developing throughout his career as well."

As for Prosper, Sears is excited about his versatility on both sides of the court. Defensively, the 6-8 forward is expected to be able to guard all positions with his 7-1 wingspan and 8-8 standing reach. For a team that finished 25th in overall defense last season, that kind of potential on that end of the court is a sight for sore Mavs eyes.

"O-Max is another guy who is just laser-focused. The first thing we think with a guy like that [him being] a 3-and-D guy. A guy who's going to spot up, wait for the ball to find him, and then he's going to play defense on the other end of the floor," Sears said.

"I think that's something we can expect from him over time throughout the course of this season, because he's able to knock down spot-up shots at a pretty effective rate right now and he's able to guard positions 1-4. I've seen him do it pretty well, in terms of being able to defend without fouling, move his feet, and use his length to his advantage."

Offensively, Sears believes Prosper will surprise a lot of people with what he brings to the table. To start his NBA career, he might be in more of a 3-and-D role until he gets his feet wet, but throughout this summer, he's already shown signs of having a much more complex skillset than that.

Mavs.com

"Obviously we have to continue to teach him these things within the context of our defensive system, but I think he's got a lot more to his game, especially on the offensive side of the ball, than people would think," Sears said.

"In terms of being able to put the ball on the floor, I think we've seen it a little bit in Summer League. We saw him play against the likes of Jarace Walker, who was a top-10 pick, and he didn't shy away from it. [O-Max] went straight at him in terms of taking him off the bounce, shooting it from the perimeter, getting to the free-throw line, using pivots."

Sears continued: "All of those different things, [O-Max] has shown comfort being able to put the ball on the floor, being able to play in the post, especially versus mismatches. He's just got such a versatile game, and I'm really excited to see what his ceiling is with those things. … As he gets more comfortable, what we can expect out of him going forward will be interesting."

Many different skills can be learned and refined throughout a basketball career, but one thing that can't be taught is having a consistently-high motor, and according to Sears, both Lively and Prosper have that. In fact, those two have been such gym rats over the course of this offseason that the Mavs' training staff has had to slow them down a little bit.

"Both of those guys love to come back to the gym at night as much as they can, to the point where you kind of have to explain to them how the NBA works, in terms of wanting to take care of your body, needing to," Sears said. 

"It's an extremely long season. I think that's something we've had to explain to a lot of our young guys ... because they're so hungry, and they're so excited because they see the level of resources that we have."

A lot of rookies aren't as enthusiastic about always being in the weight room, getting in the ice tubs, and other little things of that nature, but Sears says he's been surprised by Lively and Prosper's relentless commitment to excellence in their training. It's that kind of mindset that has Mavs head coach Jason Kidd considering starting both rookies from Day 1, and that's a goal Lively says he's had 'circled on his board' since being drafted.

"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."

Whether they end up being immediate starters or not, both Lively and Prosper's road to having consistent minutes in Kidd's rotation begins on Wednesday when training camp begins. From there, the Mavs will travel to Abu Dhabi for two preseason games against the Minnesota Timberwolves, then to Spain for a matchup against Luka Doncic's old squad Real Madrid, then back home for one more preseason game before the real thing begins on Oct. 25 against Victor Wembanyama and the San Antonio Spurs on opening night.

"Once training camp hits, you're just going to be going nonstop," Spears said. "So for [Lively and Prosper], they've been really good about coming back [to the gym], but mindful of their load throughout the week. Both of those guys, to my surprise, because I don't see it very often ... they like to go in the weight room, they like to stretch, they like to get in the tubs, they like to do all of those things to take care of their bodies.

"For you to have two young guys of that mental makeup, who approach the game like that, I think is something that's tremendous for us."

---