The Dallas Mavericks came into the 2023 NBA Draft with the expectation of parting ways with their No. 10 overall pick. Ultimately, the Mavs greenlighted the deal, opting to move down in the draft by swapping their pick with the Oklahoma City Thunder's No. 12 pick. In the end, Dallas got their man in Dereck Lively II, while also finally parting ways with Davis Bertans and the $17.0 million he's owed this coming season.

Mavs owner Mark Cuban has now spoken about his team's draft day dealings and how they came to the decision to trade away their No. 10 pick to OKC. According to the billionaire entrepreneur, they had their eyes on Lively all along:

“Well, believe it or not, we really were going for the best player available,” Cuban said, via The Hardline on Sportsradio 96.7 FM (h/t Grant Afseth of Fan Nation). “And the ties went to the positions that we needed and the skill set we needed. When it came to (Lively), he was the guy we wanted. He was available, we would have taken him at 10 if we couldn’t do the deal.”

For their part, the Thunder were intent on drafting Carson Wallace, and they were willing to trade up with the Mavs to make sure that this was going to happen. This has turned out to be a win-win situation for both teams. However, given how the Mavs really wanted Dereck Lively II in the first place, you have to say that they lucked out.