Dallas Mavericks Need To Draft Point Guard

By Christian Blood | Jun 23, 2015

Apr 6, 2015; Indianapolis, IN, USA; Duke Blue Devils guard Tyus Jones speaks at a press conference after the game against the Wisconsin Badgers in the 2015 NCAA Men /

The 2015 NBA Draft is just a matter of hours hours away and the greatest need for the Dallas Mavericks is pretty clear: point guard.

Granted, you hate to go into any draft situation, in any sport, having to target a certain position. Simply selecting the best player available is generally the best route.

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For the Mavericks, both elements basically apply here. While owner Mark Cuban certainly doesn’t have to choose one of the top few point guards in the draft, even if available, it’s a reasonable suggestion that the best player available at the 21st selection might very well be a point guard anyway.

If that last scenario holds true, then good things could be coming for a Dallas franchise that’s trying to maintain relevance in the Western Conference while also having to rebuild, at least in large part.

History shows that the Mavericks are a much better team when directed on the floor by a good point guard. This could be anybody from Brad Davis all the way to Jason Kidd.

Who does Dallas have right now?

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Aside from Raymond Felton, who just opted in for next season, absolutely nobody.

Yes, the franchise made a huge trade last December for former Boston Celtics floor general Rajon Rondo, but after he played more like a private, the Mavericks are literally back to the drawing board.

Hoops Habit’s very own Paolo Santamaria recently profiled the top five point guard prospects available in Thursday night’s NBA draft in New York City. While names such as D’Angelo Russell of Ohio State or young Chinese professional Emmanuel Mudiay of North Texas probably won’t be available, there should still be other options – and good ones.

I have to say that Tyus Jones of Duke University might be the most intriguing point guard prospect in this class. There’s certainly room for growth with this particular player, but considering what exactly he’s accomplished to this point makes his future require extra-dark shades. Talk to J.J. Barea about Jones being too short for the NBA.

Dallas can only hope that this Blue Devil is still on the board when it selects first.

It seems that with big men like power forward Dirk Nowitzki still on the roster, it wouldn’t be the most prudent decision to draft yet another forward – this also factors in Dallas’ expected hot pursuit of Portland Trail Blazers counterpart LaMarcus Aldridge later this summer.

The Mavs have been linked to, or have already employed, free agent centers Tyson Chandler, Amar’e Stoudemire or DeAndre Jordan. Either one is likely to be called upon to guard the rim in 2015-16, and given the lack of heart-stopping talent at either guard spot in FA, the arrow for Dallas really should be pointing towards the back court, period.

Yes, things get tricky when you claim to be focused on simply grabbing the best player available. But the Mavericks seem to be in a spot where the guard positions have to be addressed, especially given the Rondo fiasco.

Chatted w/ Amar'e Stoudemire today. For free agency, high on Dallas return. Even Phoenix. And won't be opposed to NY return. Loves Triangle.
— Jared Zwerling (@JaredZwerling) June 19, 2015

Where’s today’s Kidd, Davis, Derek Harper or Steve Nash? Very good Dallas teams have been put together over the years with versatile and talented backcourts that might have only lacked a franchise center.

Heading into the draft anyway, it appears that the Mavs have access to the type of “bigs” that either Roy Tarpley or a few lotteries in the early 1990s denied.

Now, the point guard position has to be the biggest and most glaring need for a franchise that will certainly spend a lot of money on veteran FAs after July 1 to rebuild it’s roster. But young cornerstone players need to be discovered and it looks like this year’s draft is a great place to start locating those – and also at the right positions.

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