After a disappointing season, where they finished only 33-49 and which saw the franchise fall into the lottery for only the second time in the last 17 years, the Dallas Mavericks will have the 9th pick in the upcoming draft. With the team looking like it needs the boost of a talented, perspective player, there is a lot of focus on who they will select with that pick. Right now, according to reports, the team is looking for a pass-first point guard, but there are also other options considered.
As for the pass-first point guard, the selection, according to most notable NBA draft projection sites, will fall on the French youngster Frank Ntilikina. According to NBADraft.net, Ntkilina is a true pass-first point guard who possesses great court vision, and he might be exactly what the Mavs need.
Mavericks owner, Mark Cuban, has stated earlier in the season that they are looking to better the point guard position of their team, if not through the draft, then through free agency. He also added that their preferred choice would be a pass-first point guard, because they do not have that in their roster.
However, there are other issues with the squad as well, and one of them is the lack of front court depth. A selection that could help the Mavs in that area is the Finish youngster Lauri Markkanen, the freshman from Arizona. His strengths, according to NBADraft.net, are eerily similar to those of Mavs legend and still their best player, Dirk Nowitzki, as Markkanen is a tall power forward with good shooting ability, but someone who might struggle on the defensive end. If they do select him, he could learn a lot playing with Nowitzki, and we could see a reincarnation of the German legend in the same Mavs jersey.
As for the current roster of the Mavs, it is difficult to tell which position is lacking more. While Cuban and the whole team of executives in Dallas might look at Ntikilina and see exactly what they want, a pass-first point guard, it is hard to see a need for that kind of a player in the NBA as it is today. However, Markkanen's ability to score and stretch the floor as a big man might give him the edge over the French guard.
Unfortunately for us, we will still need to wait around a month to see who exactly the Mavs will take at their draft position. Until then, there will be talks about both players and even more, and all we can do is guess.
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