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Dereck Lively II 2023 NBA Draft Profile

Trey Daubert / NBA / June 7, 2023

Dereck Lively II 2023 NBA Draft Profile

Dereck Lively appears to be one of the biggest wildcards in the 2023 NBA Draft. After an up and down season at Duke, should teams prioritize Dereck Lively II during the draft? Let’s go over the full Dereck Lively II 2023 NBA Draft profile to see if you believe your favorite team should pull the trigger on the Duke product!

Height/Weight/Age: 7’1″/230 lbs/19 years old
Primary Position: Center

Freshman Season Stats: 5.2 PPG, 5.4 RPG, 1.1 APG, 65.8% FG, 15.4% 3PT, 60% FT, 0.5 SPG, 2.4 BPG, 0.7 TOPG

Strengths: Rim protection, Athlete profile, Stretch five potential

Lively is a former five star recruit that showed serious promise. Just not all the time. Lively was once the number two ranked player in the class and you can see why. 7-foot-1 demi god that can block shots and hit outside shots.

I know the draft politics are in full swing but it does feel like the Philadelphia native has the potential to be a stretch five. He’s also 19 with plenty of room to grow. Lively has shot the ball really well during the pre-draft process.

Duke's Dereck Lively showed off his soft touch and expanding shooting range at the Klutch pro day in LA. pic.twitter.com/g56k9H5o5C
— Jonathan Givony (@DraftExpress) May 30, 2023

Lively is also a ridiculous shot blocker. As a freshman, he averaged 2.4 per game while not having a huge minute workload right away. Once Lively grows into his body the shot blocking results should be there.

Weaknesses: Inconsistency, Bulk, Limited Offense

It should be a reminder that this one is still very much a projection. We’re many years away from finding out what kind of player Lively will actually become. Right now his offense is basically put backs and lob dunks. Is the shooting a fluke or are the college numbers indicative of what Lively really is?

Lively definitely needs to put on more mass and become more consistent overall. Will Lively peak at DeAndre Jordan offensively or is there more in the tank? Can he become a better playmaker? Will Lively show a consistent ability to hit shots further than the elbow?

NBA Comparison: Myles Turner

Lively feels a lot like a less polished version of the freshman Myles Turner we saw at Texas. A lot more upside to go too. If everything goes right, I think this is the kind of player fans can hope for. Great rim protection with long range shot making ability. Needs to not be a bean pole too.

Draft Projection: Lottery

Karl has Lively going 20th to the Rockets in his current mock draft. Putting the Alperen Şengün slander aside, I think Lively has the chance to go higher. Just too much upside for someone to pass.