Can we build around Derek Lively?

[Mavs2021]

Foot and leg injuries are the bane for bigs 7 ft and taller. That's what derailed Yao Ming, Greg Oden, Rik Smits, and Bill Walton's careers. I hope Lively can overcome them, but the proof is there.

They were all much heavier than Lively, and I´d argue Yao and Smits had "long" careers. Yao was horrendously managed by the Rockets. Playing 100 games without a break for three straight seasons ruined him. If you factor in his Chinese career, he´s still 120 games ahead of Embiid for example. Smits played 867 games. That´s more than 10 full seasons. He´s literally the child on the Kareem poster for durable big men.

Walton and especially Oden were screwed from the start. To me Oden over Durant is still one of the top 3 draft blunders of all-time It´s not hindsight either. This was so obvious from the beginning.