Why Isaiah Livers Has Great Value In The NBA Draft's Second Round

Michigan Wolverines basketball's Franz Wagner and other first-round prospects are getting plenty of attention ahead of the 2021 NBA Draft — and deservedly so. But one name flying under the radar, for a multitude of reasons, is another former Wolverine, forward Isaiah Livers.

The 6-7, 230-pounder missed the final five games of the Maize and Blue's season, all in postseason play, with a stress injury to his right foot. Following the campaign, he underwent successful surgery and faced a sixth-month recovery period, meaning he won't be able to participate in individual pre-draft workouts or the late-June NBA Draft Combine.

“It hurts him because guys like that, they need the workout process, they need the interview process,” Bleacher Report draft analyst Jonathan Wasserman told TheWolverine.com. “On the other hand, he played a lot of games at Michigan, and teams are familiar with him. And so maybe with him they don’t really need to [see him work out].

“I always say this, all it takes is one team — there could be one out of 30 teams who, a year ago, picked Livers as a potential second-round steal. And maybe they’re even a little bit happy about this injury — the timing of it — so other teams don’t catch on and he’s not able to rise up the pre-draft process and that they can have him slip under the radar.”

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Livers was a mainstay in the Michigan lineup for four seasons, and gradually improved during his time in Ann Arbor. The Kalamazoo, Mich., native was second on the team in scoring this past season — behind only freshman center Hunter Dickinson — averaging 13.1 points per game, while also adding six rebounds and two assists per contest. He shot 45.7 percent overall, a team-high 43.1 percent from three-point range (out of players who attempted more than two shots from deep) and at an 87-percent clip from the free throw line.

Despite not being able to work out for teams ahead of the draft, Livers will be able to go through interviews and have conversations with scouts and front offices. This is where Livers can shine, especially after beginning some relationships last spring and summer while going through the draft process, before ultimately deciding to return for his senior season.