While the Denver Nuggets and Miami Heat battle it out in the NBA Finals, the rest of the league is beginning to look ahead to the upcoming NBA draft. With the official start of the NBA offseason inching closer, the draft is set to get underway in under two weeks.
With draft season heating up, mock drafts are peeling back the curtain to give a look at potential prospects that could be available in the first round of the 2023 draft.
In the latest mock draft from Bryan Kalbrosky of USA TODAY’s For The Win, the Golden State Warriors landed an intriguing prospect in the front court with their pick. With the No. 19 pick in For The Win’s mock, the Warriors added Duke’s Dereck Lively II in the first round. According to Kalbrosky, Lively II gives the Warriors a potential player that could guard players like Los Angeles Lakers big man Anthony Davis.
Via For The Win:
After a tough start to his collegiate career, Duke big man Dereck Lively eventually blossomed into a highly impactful player on the defensive end of the floor. Golden State needs someone like Lively to defend opponents like Anthony Davis.
Opponents were just 14-for-38 (36.8 percent) when he defended them in the restricted area of the paint, per Stats Perform. Meanwhile, via CBB Analytics, the other team was held to shoot just 29.8 percent in the paint during minutes when Lively was on the floor.
While he had a very low usage rate on offense, he was an efficient finisher on his chances.
Read Kalbrosky’s full mock draft via For The Win here.
On his way to earning ACC All-Defensive Team honors along with a place on the ACC All-Freshman Team, Lively averaged 5.2 points on 65.8% shooting from the field with 5.4 rebounds and 2.4 blocks in 20.6 minutes per game
Lively was one of five prospects to recently make a stop in the Bay Area for a pre-draft workout with the Warriors.
The 2023 NBA draft is set for Thursday, June 22 at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York.
This post originally appeared on Warriors Wire! Follow us on Facebook and Twitter!