Tyson Chandler on Mavs Rookie Dereck Lively II: ‘My Project to Work On'

Former Dallas Mavericks championship-winning big man Tyson Chandler is now in a player development role, and he's taken rookie center Dereck Lively II under his wing.

The Dallas Mavericks have several reasons to be excited for the 2023-24 NBA season, but one of the biggest has to do with rookie big man Dereck Lively II ... and not just because of his talent and potential.

Ever since being drafted with the 12th pick in this year's draft that was traded to the Mavs, Lively has been taken under the wing of former Mavs championship-winning center and current player development coach Tyson Chandler. Chandler recently joined the All The Smoke podcast to talk about his new, intriguing 'project.'

"He's active," Chandler said of Lively. "Very athletic, young kid. He reminds me of myself a lot. Funny thing, Jason [Kidd] when I came to the gym the day after he had the workout, pre-draft workout, and J-Kidd was like, 'man I wish you would've came yesterday. There's a kid they're thinking about taking that reminds me a lot of you ... he's got a lot of the same attributes.'"

Before the draft began, Chandler had to check out Lively for himself by digging into his film. What he discovered was that Jason Kidd wasn't bluffing when talking about those similarities, and the opportunity to mentor Lively excited Chandler.

"As the draft was coming along, I watched a little bit of tape, and I was like, 'I hope they get this kid.' Gives me something to do, like a project," Chandler said. "A project to work on. And then they take him, I get to meet him ... and he's a great, great dude. They definitely, definitely needed [him]. That's always been the missing key for the Mavs, [a defensive-anchor center.]"

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Chandler was a big key for Mavs legend Dirk Nowitzki finally being able to break through and win a championship, and the hope is that Lively can potentially help do the same for current franchise star Luka Doncic. That obviously won't happen over night, but Lively certainly seems willing to put in the work while being coached by a fellow big man for the first time in his young basketball career.

"Man, It's honestly amazing," Lively told DallasBasketball.com when asked about Chandler's mentorship. "You know, I've never actually been coached by a big. I've never been coached by someone who's [a seven-footer], somebody who's been in this game, who knows the details, the tricks, the nitty-gritty things."

Lively is a hard worker who has the physical tools and high basketball IQ to help him potentially be an even better player than Chandler was. But to surpass that level, Lively must first reach that level, and soaking in all the knowledge he can from Chandler should help him get to where he needs to be.

"Just being able to be in games, be in practices, and just having somebody to ask questions – ask about timing, ask about footwork, ask about when to do something and when not to – is just a great asset to have," Lively said. "Being able to have him in my corner right now, I'm just so grateful, and I'm just gonna take advantage of it daily."

Lively might not be the Mavs' starting center from Day 1 of this rookie campaign, but given the talent he already possesses, paired with him having Chandler coach him up daily, it wouldn't shock us if he is elevated into that role sooner than later.

"[I'm] trying to get him right," Chandler said. "He wants to learn, he's active, and right now he's a sponge."

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