Mavericks have to move up if they want Luka Doncic
The NBA Draft rumor mill claims the Dallas Mavericks want Luka Doncic. If they do, it’ll require a trade up the draft to make it happen.
The lack of love for Luka Doncic as a draft prospect continues to confound draft fans and analysts alike. It always seemed likely a team would fall in love with the Slovenian wonderkid. Apparently, the Dallas Mavericks may be that franchise.
The only problem for Mark Cuban’s team is that they currently own the No. 5 pick in the draft. That’s a selection with plenty of value, but it’s not quite good enough to land Doncic. The Mavericks will need to move into the top four if they want to land the reported objection of their affection.
That could be easier said than done. Phoenix seems to have their heart set on taking DeAndre Ayton with the first pick. Dallas won’t be willing or able to offer them a package tantalizing enough to change their plans.
Making a trade with Sacramento for the second pick would be the safest plan for the Mavericks. That’s really the only way they can be 100 percent sure they’ll get their man. Trying to predict what the Kings might do is largely a futile exercise. It’s entirely possible Dallas would need to send Harrison Barnes to Sacramento to get a deal done. That may or may not be a deal-breaker for the Mavericks.
The easiest deal for Dallas to make would be to swap picks with Atlanta at No. 3. Travis Schlenk has made it very clear his team is open to moving up or down in the draft for the right offer. The Hawks also head into Thursday night’s draft armed with four selections. The trouble for the Mavs, again, is that they lack tangible assets outside of Barnes. The team might view that as too much to give up to move up two spots.
Lastly, the Mavericks could be content to move up one spot in a move with the Grizzlies. Memphis likely represents Doncic’s floor on draft night. It’s hard to imagine him getting past the No. 4 selection. The Grizzlies also enter the draft looking for talent at nearly every position. The Mavericks might get away with offering Memphis extra draft picks in the future to take their spot in the draft.
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The moral to the story here is that Dallas needs to be one of the most active teams on the phone at the moment. If they’re really set on bringing Doncic to Big D, they can’t sit back and hope for him to fall to No. 5. The Mavs have to be aggressive if they want to land the player they covet.