The Dallas Mavericks won’t have a draft pick in the first round of the 2019 NBA Draft, but could still add talent with the No. 37 selection.
When the Dallas Mavericks traded up for Luka Doncic in last year’s NBA Draft, they sent the Atlanta Hawks a top-five protected pick. That selection, the No. 10 pick in the 2019 NBA Draft, is now owned by the Hawks and means that the Mavs will only have a second round pick in this year’s draft.
Although the Mavs would’ve preferred to be picking in the top five of this year’s top-heavy draft, that pick fell to No. 10, they got a future star in Doncic and they’ll own their 2020 and 2022 first round picks. Another consolation is that Dallas was fortunate to draft point guard Jalen Brunson with the No. 33 pick last season, and could potentially find an equally talented player in the second round again.
Brunson won two national titles in three years at Villanova, and proved to have a big impact with the Mavericks. He averaged 9.3 points, 3.2 assists and 2.3 rebounds per game while shooting 34.8 percent from 3-point range in his rookie season.
Following the Dennis Smith Jr. trade to New York and J.J. Barea’s Achilles injury, Brunson began to play more and started 38 of the 72 games he appeared in. He had his best month in March, where he averaged 15.1 points, 4.3 assists and 3.1 rebounds per game on 52.7 percent shooting.
Brunson proved he can provide quality minutes off the bench and fill in as the starter alongside Doncic, who is the favorite for Rookie of the Year. With their second-rounder in this year’s draft, the Mavs could address one of many positional needs on the roster or add another immediate impact player that could fill in due to untimely injuries.
With Dirk Nowitzki’s retirement, Kristaps Porzingis recovering from a torn ACL and Dwight Powell opting out of his player option, the power forward position is looking thin. With Barea also coming back from a significant injury and the signing of targeted guards like Kemba Walker and Patrick Beverley being far from guaranteed, adding depth at the 1-spot also couldn’t hurt. Here are five players the Dallas Mavericks need to target with the No. 37 overall pick in the 2019 NBA Draft.