Maverick fans once again showed on draft night that they are ahead of the curve.
When ESPN televised the No. 10 pick, which the Mavericks owned going into the draft, a few hundred folks gathered at Echo Lounge for the official fan draft party gave only a muffled groan.
But about 10 minutes later, when Oklahoma City’s 12th overall pick – 7-foot-1 Dereck Lively II – was announced, the place went bonkers.
As green and blue balloons dropped from the rafters, fans began cheering and clapping as news of a trade that will be consummated at a later date was announced by the crew broadcasting from the party on 97.1 The Freak.
It was a festive atmosphere at Echo Lounge just across Stemmons Expressway from American Airlines Center. The all-ages party was presented by Choctaw Casinos and Resorts and featured all sorts of food and drink specials, sponsored by Michelob Ultra.
The fans also enjoyed goodie bags and a lot of giveaways from the Mavs’ ManiAACs and D-Town Crew.
And, of course, the announcement of Duke freshman Lively as the newest Maverick was at the center of the evening.
John Morgan, 22, recently graduated from SMU and was celebrating his birthday at the draft party.
When asked if he was a fan of Lively, Morgan said: “I would say yes, because he’s that good as a defender and rebounder that you’re looking for. He also has the height you want. Some guys that come from programs like that, you just know the type of athlete they are. You’re willing to take a stab at them.
“You’re not looking necessarily for a guy to put up 20 a night with the two point guards we have. You know where the ball is going to be. It’s more about filling the other roles on the team to make a complete team.”
That was a popular opinion among the fans who filled Echo Lounge and spilled out onto the patio and into the upper deck.
Lively did not put up big statistics in his one year at Duke. But he was regarded as the No. 1 high school recruit in the class of 2022 by ESPN. He had 82 blocked shots as a freshman (2.4 per game) and only averaged 20 minutes per game.
That the Mavericks were able to trade down two picks, securing a $17-million trade exception in addition to Lively, was met with great enthusiasm.
Evette and Charles Ignot are longtime Maverick fans and were so excited about the draft party that they switched up their normal routine.
“Friday is usually date night,” Charles said. “But we decided to move it up to Thursday for this.”
And was it worth it?
“Oh, yeah,” he said. “This is a blast. I wanted to see them get a veteran and still keep a pick for a young guy later in the first round. They have lots of options.”
Most fans were of the opinion that the Mavericks did a commendable job of getting assets, both Lively and the trade exception, but also shedding the cumbersome contract of Davis Bertans.
“Honestly, I think the whole thing with the pick is it boils down to: do you make a move for more of a sure thing or do you take the guy with the upside,” said Kyle Easley, 21. “That’s a lot of what happened. Out of the all the picks in the top 10, the Mavericks (were) the most likely to trade.”
Easley was hoping for a trade with Indiana to land Myles Turner, but was happy with the bottom line of Lively.
And, as general manager Nico Harrison said before the draft, there are other needs that now can be addressed later in the summer via free agency or trades.
Said Morgan: “If you have a Dereck Lively, that athletic big man, available to you, I feel it makes sense to go that way. I think there’s more ways to acquire 3-and-D guys with the mid-level exception or something like that. I’d say the focus tonight is to get a big man to build a core around.
“You have those two guys, Luka and Kyrie, who are about as good as any ballhandlers in the league. Hopefully, we get a few more guys around them now and complete a team similar to the one in 2022 that made the deep run.”
Mission accomplished on draft night, at least in terms of filling the void at the center position.
Twitter: @ESefko
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