Dallas Mavericks Planned To Draft ‘Greek Freak’ Giannis Antetokounmpo

Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban admits the team nearly drafted Giannis Antetokounmpo with the No. 13 pick in the 2013 NBA Draft.

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What would the Dallas Mavericks look like if they had drafted Giannis Antetokounmpo? It’s something we’ll never know, though the ‘Greek Freak’ would have likely become a member of the Texas based basketball franchise if not for owner Mark Cuban.

That’s the word from the Dallas Morning News who says Mavs president of basketball operations Donnie Nelson planned to draft Giannis Antetokounmpo with the No. 13 pick in the 2013 NBA Draft.

Alas such didn’t happen as Mark Cuban and company decided the best move would be to draft Shane Larkin who they eventually traded for current center Tyson Chandler.

“He’s making us look bad for sticking to our plan,” Cuban said Tuesday. “That was Donnie. That (taking Antetokounmpo) is what Donnie wanted to do and I said we should stick to the plan. The whole point was that I wanted to stick to the plan and Donnie was like, this guy’s going to be good. I’ll risk everything that he’s going to be good. I said, I believe you Donnie.”

Giannis Antetokounmpo was selected minutes later by the Milwaukee Bucks who owned the No. 15 selection and has since taken the NBA by storm with his lengthy play.

Could the Mavs have been able to draft Antetokounmpo and have the pieces needed to swing a trade for Tyson Chandler? That’s too tough to call, though with a win-now mentality it seems as if the addition of Tyson Chandler may have been more important for the Mavs despite the fact they’d love to have Giannis Antetokounmpo on their roster.

The Milwaukee Bucks sure seem happy the ‘Greek Freak’ slipped another two picks though as he’s emerging as one of the NBA’s best young stars.

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