The Dallas Mavericks have exercised the third-year rookie scale options on center Dereck Lively II and forward Olivier-Maxence Prosper.
Lively, a 7-foot-1-inch, 234-pound center out of Duke, was originally selected by the Oklahoma City Thunder as the 12th overall pick of the 2023 NBA Draft, before having his draft rights traded to Dallas in exchange for Dāvis Bertāns and the draft rights to 10th overall pick Cason Wallace. In 2023-24, Lively earned NBA All-Rookie Second Team honors after averaging 8.8 points, 6.9 rebounds, 1.1 assists, 1.4 blocks and 23.5 minutes per game throughout 55 games, 42 of which were starts.
Prosper, a 6-foot-8-inch, 215-pound forward out of Marquette, was originally drafted by the Sacramento Kings in the first round as the 24th overall pick of the 2023 NBA Draft, before having his draft rights traded along with Richaun Holmes to Dallas in exchange for cash considerations. Appearing in 40 games for the Mavericks as a rookie last year, Prosper averaged 3.0 points and 2.0 rebounds in 8.4 minutes.