Jon Scheyer gives final endorsement of Dereck Lively before NBA Draft

Players will see their lives chance on Thursday night, with the 2023 NBA Draft taking place in Brooklyn, NY. Years of work will finally pay off when they hear Commissioner Adam Silver say their name. Duke‘s Dereck Lively is expected to be one of them, being a projected first-round pick.

Mock drafts have varied on where Lively is going to fall. Some believe there is a chance he will wind up in the lottery, while others see him closer toward the middle of the first round. Evaluations have differed but if anyone is going to support Lively, it’s his head coach, Jon Scheyer.

Lively is a one-and-done prospect, spending just one season at Duke. He got off to a slow start but once Scheyer got the ball rolling, he really made an impact for the Blue Devils. Scheyer broke down why Lively will be a useful player for teams, on both ends of the court.

“Somebody is going to get a future starting big man for a long time,” Scheyer said. “Dereck’s growth that he made throughout the course of the season — it changed our entire team. You can’t find guys like him — he can protect the rim, step out and play pick ‘n roll defense away from the basket, switch 1-5.

“He has amazing passing ability & his three-point shooting is gonna be a weapon. Somebody is going to get really lucky to grab him.”

Lively averaged just 5.2 points and 5.4 rebounds per game while at Duke. His defensive capability is why a team will draft him high on Thursday night, though. A member of the 2022-2023 ACC All-Defense team, Lively blocked nearly 2.5 shots per game.

Scheyer did mention Lively’s three-point shooting — probably an area he needs to improve. Lively had just 13 attempts from deep, making two of them. Something he will definitely want to improve heading into the NBA.

In an ESPN mock draft released on Tuesday, Lively was projected as No. 10 overall to the Dallas Mavericks. A popular destination for the Duke big man thanks to Dallas’ serious rim protection problems.

Having Luka Doncic and Kyrie Irving is great on the offensive end but they are quality defenders down low. Christian Wood is likely on his way out and although he is expected out, Dwight Powell is an unrestricted free agent.

No matter who winds up being the pick, Scheyer really likes the potential Lively has. Now, the goal is to get him into the right situation.