{"id":52036,"date":"2023-07-27T07:00:12","date_gmt":"2023-07-27T11:00:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/?p=52036"},"modified":"2023-07-26T13:19:52","modified_gmt":"2023-07-26T17:19:52","slug":"dereck-lively-ii-was-the-wrong-choice-for-the-dallas-mavericks","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/2023\/07\/27\/dereck-lively-ii-was-the-wrong-choice-for-the-dallas-mavericks\/","title":{"rendered":"Dereck Lively II Was the Wrong Choice for the Dallas Mavericks"},"content":{"rendered":"

A night to remember for any young aspiring star is the NBA draft<\/a>. The more picks you have, the better your chances of landing a franchise player. That was exactly the game for the Dallas Mavericks.<\/p>\n

It was clear the Mavericks were one of the winners from the draft. Dallas initially only had one pick, which turned into three players by the end of the night. One of those was Dereck Lively II<\/a><\/strong>.<\/p>\n

Dereck Lively II Was the Wrong Choice for the Dallas Mavericks<\/h2>\n

Dereck Lively II Is Not the Root of the Problem\u00a0<\/strong><\/h3>\n

This is in no way an insult to Lively’s potential. His offense needs to be polished, but Lively entered the draft as arguably the best true big man not named Victor Wembenyama<\/a><\/strong>.<\/p>\n

Lively also finds himself in a situation where he gets to play with one of the NBA’s top guards Luka Doncic<\/a><\/strong>. It was a clear need for Dallas with Christian Wood<\/a><\/strong> being a free agent, so what seems to be the issue with drafting Lively?<\/p>\n

The way the league has developed, there’s really no need for a true big man anymore. All centers can shoot threes, which is exactly what Doncic would need to help space the floor.<\/p>\n

Lively shot an abysmal 15.4% from the three-point line in college<\/a>. In fact, he was not known for his scoring abilities at all. His defense kept his name afloat as he eventually became a lottery pick.<\/p>\n

Lively is an NBA talent, but with the way the Mavericks<\/a> are built around Doncic<\/a>, it looks to be a recipe for disaster. Dallas could look to some former championship teams built around players with the skillsets of Doncic.<\/p>\n

\n

Eight blocks (!!) and 14 rebounds for Dereck Lively II tonight vs. North Carolina. Only had 4 points on three shots but was *the* difference for Duke defensively. Easily the most promising game for him and his NBA prospects I've seen all season. pic.twitter.com\/dm0LuktzN8<\/a><\/p>\n

— Kyle Boone (@kyletheboone) February 5, 2023<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n