Dereck Lively II 'Ecstatic' for Mavs Opportunity, Speaks on Fit With Luka Doncic
DALLAS — The Dallas Mavericks entered the 2023 NBA Draft with the 10th pick, but traded down two spots with the Oklahoma City Thunder while they were on the clock. The prospect they wanted — former Duke center Dereck Lively II — was still on the board for the Mavs to select at their new position.
"Once they told me I was going to Dallas, I was ecstatic about it," Lively said. "I feel like just I could fill the role there and try to play it as much impact on the team as possible."
It wasn't until NBA commissioner Adam Silver announced the trade that Lively knew he was going to be joining the Mavs. It was a quick lesson on how the business of the NBA works — requiring him to make a hat switch to represent the team that he will actually be joining.
"I heard whenever Mr. Silver came out and said there's a been a trade, so I turned around and wonder who it is and next thing you know, he's saying my name," Lively said. "So, you know, he is got to be able to roll with the flow and that's kind of how the NBA works."
Lively is a 7-foot-1 center with a staggering 7-foot-7 wingspan, who played one season at Duke after being a consensus five-star recruit in his high school class. He started 27 of 34 games for the Blue Devils and averaged 5.2 points, 5.4 rebounds, and 2.4 blocks in 20.6 minutes per game. He shot 65.8 percent from the floor, 72.1 percent on 2s, 15.4 percent on 3s, and 60 percent on free throws.
With the Mavs desiring to "remake" their center rotation this offseason, Lively will now serve as an integral element of it. He is ready to step in and be a defensive anchor as a rim protector, grab rebounds, and do the little things offensively to help an offense projected to have superstar talent in Luka Doncic and Kyrie Irving.
"Being able to be an anchor on defense," Lively said of what he brings to Dallas. "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.
During Lively's pre-draft workout in Dallas, the Mavs put him through a variety of different defensive concepts to gauge his understanding and potential impact. He had a strong recollection of the various situations he put in and understands the importance of being able to set the tone.
"You know, it was more of just like the coverages on screens, being able to understand when we're going to Veer [switch], when are we going to hedge and get back to my man," Lively said.
"Being able to work on like covering like a three man option — picking a pick and pop where the pop man gets the ball and then goes right into a DHO, but I got to be able to play two and then play two again to cover my man and then to cover either the man by my person is giving it to or the other defender's man because I'm the back line of defense, I got to be able to look at everything, not just one person."
The Mavs' offensive identity begins with how players fit around the individual excellence of Doncic. His half-court focused approach that features a lot of high pick-and-roll and attacking switches can lead to easy scoring chances for a vertical lob threat and interior play finisher like Lively.
"It's something I definitely think I could step into and I definitely think it's something I can excel at," Lively said of playing with Doncic. "I'm excited to just get to get to Dallas and excited to just start to get to work."
There are many NBA defenses that do not want to sit back in a drop coverage when guarding Doncic in high pick-and-roll since he's mastered the art of creating both scoring and passing advantages in those situations. Some will hard hedge or double-team, putting the screener into a short-roll situation.
Lively understands the value of being patient as a short roller, but also understands that he needs to be aggressive when there are opportunities to put the ball on the floor and take advantage of a smaller defender trying to protect the rim after making the low-man rotation. Whether the situation calls for a finish attempt or a pass to an open teammate, he is ready to make the right play.
"Just being able to be patient and being able to play out of it," Lively said of playing out of short-rolls. "You got to be able to read the man and read the defense. If there are two people in front of you, that means there's someone open. And if there's one person in front of you or one person next to you, that means you got to get to the rim."
"Just being able to know what's the right move, what's the wrong move, and just being able to be patient in and out of that passes something that you really got to be able to be patient with and you got to be able to master," Lively explained.
In terms of the 3-point shooting potential that Lively flashed during the pre-draft process, he believe that will translate to the NBA level. He is confident in being able to be a threat as a floor spacer and being able to attack closeouts to get into the paint.
"I'm going to be able to stretch the floor," Lively said of his shooting ability "I'm going to be able to work on my offensive game and be able to pick and pop, [shoot] catch-and-shoot 3s and just being able to space the floor, so the paint could be open for the drive to get to the rim or even drive kicks and one mores."
If all things go according to plan, Lively could emerge as a needed contributor in the Mavs' frontcourt. He has the physical tools necessary to be a dynamic play finisher next to Doncic, while also potentially being the paint protector the defense has needed to set the tone for the unit at large.
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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