Duke’s Dereck Lively II Declares for NBA Draft

Duke center Dereck Lively II has declared for the NBA Draft, he announced on social media. 

Thankful for this journey, thankful for my teammates, thankful for my coaches, and thankful for all of Duke Nation. It’s about the get LIVELY. pic.twitter.com/dfz0PoTbIQ

— Dereck Lively II (@DereckLively) April 4, 2023

Our own mock draft has Lively going to the Rockets at No. 18 in the first round. With that said, it is so early, it’s really hard to predict that far in the future. Several teams, including nation champion Connecticut, have players that are making decisions. 

Lively will be an interesting option for a number of teams. As the No. 2 overall prospect entering the 2022 season with Duke, Lively got better and better as the season went along. While his 5.2 points per game are not something that will catch the attention of NBA scouts, the 2.4 blocks per game might. He is not the current NBA model of a 7-foot player but what he can provide is rim protection, lobs, and rebounds. He will be a draft project and not an immediate starter. 

Comparisons are always difficult but he would likely be like Clint Capela for Atlanta in terms of immediate impact. It can be assumed that he will continue to get bigger, and stronger, and grow his game.

For Duke, this is the second player from their outstanding freshman class to declare for the NBA draft. They have another outstanding class coming in and at least two dominant players returning. The Blue Devils could easily be the pre-season number one next season with or without Lively.