The Oklahoma City Thunder has acquired the draft rights to guard Cason Wallace (10th overall) and forward Dāvis Bertāns in a trade with the Dallas Mavericks for the draft rights to Dereck Lively II (12th overall), it was announced today by Executive Vice President and General Manager Sam Presti.
Wallace (6-4, 193) was named to the SEC All-Freshman team this past season after averaging 11.7 points, 4.3 assists, 3.7 rebounds and 2.0 steals in 32 games at the University of Kentucky. His 63 steals this past season represent the third most by a freshman in Kentucky history.
Bertans (6-10, 225) has appeared in 432 NBA games (40 starts) and averaged 7.8 points, 2.5 rebounds and 1.0 assist in 18.2 minutes per game with the San Antonio Spurs, Washington Wizards and Mavericks.
Lively (7-1, 234) was an early-entry candidate to this year’s draft after spending one season at Duke. In his lone season with the Blue Devils, he averaged 5.2 points (.658 FG%), 5.4 rebounds and 2.4 blocks per game across 34 appearances. Lively was named to the ACC All-Freshman Team and the ACC All-Defensive Team.
“We really love Dereck’s combination of size, shot blocking ability and defensive versatility,” Mavericks General Manager Nico Harrison said. “As one of the youngest players in the draft we are looking forward to Dereck growing with the team and fostering his development.”
In his lone year at Duke, Lively blocked 82 shots – only five shy of the NCAA lead. With a 7-4 wingspan, he led all Division I freshmen in blocks and ranked second in the ACC (eighth nationally).
The Philadelphia native was ranked as the No. 1 overall player in the ESPN 100 for the class of 2022 as a five-star center out of Westtown School in West Chester, PA. He was named the Pennsylvania Gatorade Player of the Year in 2022 after leading Westtown to a 31-7 record and the Pennsylvania Independent Schools Athletic Association state championship in 2022.