Dereck Lively II Articles - Page 6

Dereck Lively II made the Dallas Mavericks’ front office look good Wednesday night. The rookie center, who landed with the Mavs via a draft day trade with the Oklahoma City Thunder last July, shined in his NBA debut against the San Antonio Spurs, even outplaying Victor Wembanyama in Dallas’ 126-119 win. “It was a lot […]

On Wednesday night, millions of fans around the world anticipated the debut of a young big man who’s bound to take over the league by storm and transform a certain NBA team from Texas after a disappointing 2022-23 season. Little did everyone know that they were going to tune into the Dereck Lively II show […]

The rookie who shined the most in the encounter between the Dallas Mavericks and the San Antonio Spurs was not Victor Wembanyama. Rather, it’s the Mavs’ first-year big man Dereck Lively II, who played a huge role in Dallas’ season-opening 126-119 win on the road over Wemby and the Spurs Wednesday night. So good was […]

The 2023-24 NBA season is just right around the corner. That means it’s time for fantasy basketball managers to start preparing for their respective drafts. Most managers will place their focus on targeting star players like Nikola Jokic, Joel Embiid, Luka Doncic, or Giannis Antetokounmpo who put up gaudy stat lines for their teams every […]

Tyson Chandler was an integral part of the Dallas Mavericks’ title run in 2011. His style of dominating the paint and grabbing boards stood out to every NBA who watched LeBron James’ Miami Heat crumble before their very eyes. One of those few spectators was Tim Hardaway Jr. and he posits that a similar dominant […]

The Dallas Mavericks are looking to put a nightmare 2022-23 season behind them. To that end, they have made adding capable rebounders and interior defenders a priority, whether it’s via trade, via draft, or via free agency. One such player that should help improve their soft defense in the coming seasons is rookie big man […]

Dereck Lively II and the Dallas Mavs are now done with 2023 NBA Summer League, and we’ve learned some things. The former Duke big man showed off many of the skills that made him the No. 12 pick in the NBA Draft. However, he also showed his biggest weakness when it comes to setting screens, […]

The Dallas Mavericks emerged as one of the biggest winners of the 2023 NBA Draft. They managed to turn the 10th pick into Dereck Lively II, Richaun Holmes, and Olivier Maxence-Prosper, with the three injecting some much-needed athleticism and defense into a Mavs team that hemorrhaged points to end the 2022-23 season. And now, it […]

NBA Summer League is underway, which means the Dallas Mavericks No. 12 overall pick in the 2023 NBA Draft, Duke center Dereck Lively II, made his Mavs debut in Las Vegas. Dallas took on the Oklahoma City Thunder and lost 91-80, but that doesn’t tell the tale of Lively’s first impressions. To do that, here […]

The Dallas Mavericks tanked the end of their season in the hopes of keeping their first-round pick (top-10 protected) from the New York Knicks. They accomplished the goal and ultimately walked away with two Mavs draft picks — Duke’s Dereck Lively II and Marquette’s Olivier-Maxence Prosper — in the 2023 NBA Draft. And of those, […]

The Dallas Mavericks are looking to rebound from a disappointing close to a promising 2023 campaign, and rookie Dereck Lively II is excited to get to work with his new teammate Luka Doncic. “It’s definitely going to get scary when I set a good pick and he gets down the lane,” Lively II told Callie […]

Previous NBA players try to make assessing rookies easier by comparing them to legends that came before them. This year’s NBA Draft is no different for Jason Kidd’s Dallas Mavericks as Dereck Lively II got his fair share of comparisons. The most prominent of which was when Michael Finley compared the Duke basketball center to […]

The Dallas Mavericks entered the 2023 NBA Draft with just the No. 10 overall pick. But they left Thursday night with a lot more than that. The Mavericks had a busy evening on June 22, making several moves that landed them two rookies in Dereck Lively II and Olivier-Maxence Prosper. Dallas traded that 10th pick […]

The Dallas Mavericks came into the 2023 NBA Draft with the expectation of parting ways with their No. 10 overall pick. Ultimately, the Mavs greenlighted the deal, opting to move down in the draft by swapping their pick with the Oklahoma City Thunder’s No. 12 pick. In the end, Dallas got their man in Dereck […]

The Dallas Mavericks have set their sights on a redemptive campaign in the 2023-2024 NBA season. That’s after a disappointing finish in the previous season that left them out of the playoffs. With limited assets at their disposal, the Mavericks had to make strategic moves during the 2023 NBA Draft to bolster their roster. Let’s […]

The Dallas Mavericks dug themselves a massive hole in how they constructed their roster, tried to climb out and somehow dug an even bigger one. Then, as desperation set in, owner Mark Cuban and company decided to dive fully into this crater and engage in tank mode at the end of the season. It will […]

Dallas Mavericks VP Michael Finley really likes their 2023 NBA Draft lottery pick Dereck Lively II, so much so he even has a comparison for the Duke standout that Luka Doncic and Mavs fans will love. The Mavs traded down to no. 12 in the draft to dump Davis Bertans’ contract, sending the no. 10 […]

One of the nation’s top recruits this past year, Dereck Lively II now finds himself as a lottery pick heading to the NBA after being selected 12th overall by the Dallas Mavericks in the 2023 NBA Draft. Many people pegged Lively to the Mavs at No. 10, but they wound up trading back two spots […]

Dereck Lively II, a 7’1″ big man from Duke University, is one of the more highly touted centers in the 2023 NBA Draft class. Lively II has scouts enamored, thanks to his tremendous defensive potential. He was arguably the best rim protector in the nation in his freshman year with the Blue Devils, as he […]

Duke center Dereck Lively worked out for the Brooklyn Nets on Tuesday ahead of the 2023 NBA Draft. At 7-foot-1 with a 7-foot-7 wingspan, the 19-year-old is among the top rim protectors in this year’s draft class, averaging 2.4 blocks in just 20.6 minutes per game during his freshman season. Lively has frequently been mocked […]

The NBA Draft is Thursday and while many of the players who will be going in the top picks seem to be a foregone conclusion, there are still going to be sleepers in the Top 10. It is now time to continue our NBA Draft odds series with a sleepers to be drafted in the […]

Heading into the 2022-23 NBA season, folks had high expectations for the New Orleans Pelicans. After all, the Pelicans were fresh off of the franchise’s first postseason appearance since the 2017-18 season and took the one-seeded Phoenix Suns to six games as the eighth seed in the West. But fast forward to the current day, […]

After making it all the way to the Western Conference Finals the year prior, folks had high expectations for the Dallas Mavericks heading into the 2022-23 season. But fast forward to the current day, and it’s clear that the Mavs fell short of expectations. The Mavericks’ 2022-23 campaign was nothing short of a disaster. Despite […]

There’s no denying the Golden State Warriors need to add more size and athleticism up front this summer. Their means of signing an impact big man extremely limited by luxury tax complications, could the Dubs instead find that type of player by trading up in the 2023 NBA Draft? The latest intel suggests Mike Dunleavy […]

The Houston Rockets have found themselves in the free agency hotbed as they are reportedly targeting big names such as James Harden and Kyrie Irving. This is obviously the news that keeps Rockets fans up at night. But the team has other concerns to address this offseason. An important one is the 2023 NBA Draft, […]

The Utah Jazz are in uncharted waters. For the first time since 2016, the Jazz have a lottery pick in the NBA Draft. Specifically, they own the ninth overall pick. And on top of their top-ten pick, the Jazz have two more first-round picks in the 2023 NBA Draft, one at pick 28 and, most […]

With the 2023 NBA Draft set to take place next week, many teams around the league are still attempting to figure out what this offseason will look like. The idea of certain teams being “buyers” while others turn into “sellers” is still not clear, and the direction of this NBA offseason could very well be […]

The Dallas Mavericks are in the midst of an important offseason in regards to the 2023 NBA Draft and NBA free agency. As of right now, the number one priority is figuring out a way to retain Kyrie Irving. Recent reporting has indicated that Irving reached out to LeBron James to gauge the interest of […]

The Golden State Warriors are in the midst of a strange offseason given their success over the past decade. The architect of their dynasty has left the organization, as Bob Myers will no longer be leading the charge as president and general manager. Meanwhile, they now have to tend to the contract situations of head […]

Duke basketball big man Dereck Lively II highlights a list of intriguing prospects set to workout for the Golden State Warriors on Monday ahead of the 2023 NBA Draft. Joining him at Chase Center will be Jalen Wilson of Kansas, Arthur Kaluma of Creighton, Keyontae Johnson of Kansas State and Colin Castleton of Florida, according […]

The Indiana Pacers were close, but not quite there yet. Indiana finished a record of 35-47, good enough to put them in 11th place in the Eastern Conference and five games behind a division rival in the Chicago Bulls for a spot in the Play-In tournament. The Pacers’ most significant need will likely be a […]

The second round of the 2023 NBA Playoffs is officially underway, with organizations being a step closer to the coveted Larry O’Brien Trophy. Unfortunately for the Los Angeles Clippers, that is not the case anymore. They were recently eliminated by the Phoenix Suns in the first round, meaning their season is over. Now, likely with eyes […]

With two first round picks in the 2023 NBA Draft and $41.2 million in projected cap space, the Utah Jazz have an opportunity to add a solid collection talent to their roster this offseason. Finishing the 2022-23 regular season at 37-45, the Jazz were 3.0 games outside of a spot in the Play-In Tournament. This […]

Duke basketball center Dereck Lively will enter his name into the 2023 NBA draft after one season with the Blue Devils, the freshman big announced via his Twitter page. “Overall, I love Duke,” said Lively. “I love everyone here. This has been an amazing experience for me. “I will be entering my name into the 2023 NBA […]

The New York Knicks are playing well and are currently focused on the upcoming NBA playoffs. However, with the 2023 NCAA Tournament about to start and the 2023 NBA Draft to follow, it’s time for fans to look toward the future as well. In that vein, here are the three best potential Knicks draft picks […]

While the NBA is in midst of a critical stretch run toward the playoffs, basketball fans of all stripes will nevertheless be paying close attention to college hoops over the next few weeks. The 2023 NCAA Tournament starts on Tuesday with the First Four and will wrap up in early April, giving NBA organizations the […]

The No. 17 Duke Blue Devils were not going to allow themselves to drop two games in a row to Big Ten teams, as they clobbered the No. 25 Ohio State Buckeyes Wednesday night at home, 81-72. Before that, Duke basketball lost to No. 24 Purdue Boilermakers last Sunday, 75-56. A major key to the […]