Mavs rumors: Dallas targeting Luka Doncic in NBA Draft

The Dallas Mavericks have a relatively enviable position in this week’s NBA Draft. In a draft perceived to be one of the deepest in recent memory, holding the no. 5 pick definitely sounds like a huge asset for the Mavs. However, the Mavs are reportedly considering trading up in order to get Luke Doncic, who is not generally expected to slip down as far as no. 5 in the draft, per Adrian Wojnarowksi of ESPN.

Woj says the Mavs have their targets set on Luka Doncic pic.twitter.com/P1sSCRyg6q

— Rob Lopez (@r0bato) June 18, 2018

The Mavericks do indeed have the option to trade up if there’s a willing partner. It was previously reported that the Mavs are willing to take on Chandler Parsons’ burdensome contract from the Memphis Grizzlies in exchange for the Grizz’s no. 4 pick. That said, the Mavs still have a chance to get Doncic even without trading up, as some experts think that the European phenom’s stock has fallen of late.

In a recent appearance on Wojnarowski’s podcast The Woj Pod, ESPN analyst Mike Schmitz said that he believes that there’s a big chance Doncic would still be available once Dallas gets its turn to name its selection (h/t Jasmyn Wimbish of The Smoking Cuban).

“I think absolutely he could. We talked about if Bagley’s the guy who goes No. 2 and Jaren Jackson at three, I mean it’s hard to pass on a guy like Mo Bamba. There are interesting guys at the top of this draft. Mo Bamba has killed the pre-draft process, which is no surprise to me because you have a guy with a 7’10” wingspan who can shoot 3’s and is as intelligent as he is. His camp has done an awesome job in terms of packaging him to these NBA teams. You have these freaks at the top, so I think Doncic could very well be there for Dallas, which would be a match made in heaven I think.”