Nearly every mock draft leading up to Thursday night’s festivities caveated their selection for Dallas at number 10 by saying “Dallas will probably trade this, BUT…” and more often than not, Dereck Lively II was the pick. It just made too much sense. The Mavericks have been bereft of high-end frontcourt talent in the front court for years, no offense to Maxi Kleber or Dwight Powell, and finished dead last in rebounding last year.
Lively, outside of the obvious number-one pick Victor Wembenyama, was the best center in the draft, and by a fairly wide margin apparently, as no other centers were drafted between Lively at 12 and the end of the first round.