Not a lot of NBA teams can say that their owner helps out in scouting and recruiting a draft prospect. The Dallas Mavericks have that luxury as Mark Cuban recently traveled to Italy and met with a young point guard from France.
The 58-year-old billionaire, together with General Manager Donnie Nelson and Director of Player Personnel Tony Ronzone were reportedly all in Venice to have some discussions with 18-year-old French point guard Frank Ntilikina, according to the New York Post's Marc Berman.
“According to sources, the Mavericks sent out a contingent that featured busy billionaire owner Mark Cuban, general manager Donnie Nelson and director of player personnel Tony Ronzone to Venice, Italy, to have meetings with Ntilikina on Saturday.”
“There was no workout, but the powwow came on the morning after Ntilikina led his Strasbourg club to the French League final that will all but prevent him from working out in the U.S. with NBA clubs before the draft on June 22.”
The Mavs own the ninth pick in this year’s draft and are looking for a point guard to add to backups Yogi Ferrell and J.J. Barea. However, the New York Knicks are believed to be the biggest hurdle for them to select the 6-foot-5 guard as they are also in need of a playmaker and might pick him earlier than them.
It remains to be seen which team Ntilikina will end up with, but if the attention from the Mavericks’ top brass is any indication of how good he is, the team is no doubt hoping the Knicks will pass up on him for them to have the opportunity to add him to their fold.
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