The Dallas Mavericks rode an up and down season to the ninth pick in the 2017 NBA Draft. What players could they select with their first lottery pick in years?
The Dallas Mavericks need a star player.
That seems like an obvious statement on the surface. Every NBA team could use more star power, and every team other than perhaps the Cleveland Cavaliers and Golden State Warriors need another star to reach title contention.
But the Dallas Mavericks need a star player more than most, as their star wanes into the very last years of his career. They have been a pillar of consistency and success throughout Dirk Nowitzki’s career, but that has existed in finding lesser talent and maximizing it around the singular star.
Owner Mark Cuban, head coach Rick Carlisle, and the entire team have excelled in finding castoffs and journeymen to turn them into rotation players. For starters falling short of their ceilings elsewhere, the Mavericks have been an opportunity to maximize their gifts. Players always overachieve in Dallas, and that is a testament to the fiber of the entire organization.
Just this past season the team took Seth Curry and proved he is a capable starter. Yogi Ferrell went from D-League to Big-D, starting 29 games for Dallas down the stretch. Harrison Barnes went from NBA Finals laughingstock to a 20-point per game scorer and namesake of his own All-Star burger.
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But star power? That has been almost solely Dirk for his entire career. Despite making the playoffs 15 out of 16 seasons before this year, and winning the NBA title in 2011, it’s been the Dirk Nowitzki show. The future Hall-of-Famer is a 13-time All-Star; over that span the Mavericks have had just four other All-Star selections – Steve Nash (twice), Josh Howard and Jason Kidd.
As Nowitzki nears the end, the Mavericks have to find a way to replace his talent with someone approximating a star, even if they don’t find another Hall-of-Fame player who changes the game of basketball. Armed with the ninth pick in the 2017 NBA Draft, their chance is now to find that next star.
What players could be available at pick No. 9 that fit the bill? Who should the Mavericks target to give them the best chance at another star?