The Dallas Mavericks, in the process of wanting to expedite their contending timeline by trading for Kyrie Irving, shot themselves on the foot. As a result, they embarrassingly had to throw the final few games of the regular season just so they could keep their first-round pick that would have gone to the New York Knicks had it landed outside the top 10. Thankfully for them, it landed safely within the top 10, giving them an asset they could use to either add a youngster alongside Luka Doncic, or trade it to fill some glaring needs on their flawed roster.

It's not quite clear yet which direction the Mavs would take with the 10th overall pick of the 2023 NBA Draft. But surely enough, the early rumblings basically confirm that the Mavs are feeling out the trade market as to which impact player they can acquire with their first rounder.

According to Jake Fischer of Yahoo! Sports, the Mavs “are certainly expected to explore the market for that selection in hopes of adding to their All-Star backcourt of Luka Doncic and Kyrie Irving”. At the very least, GM Nico Harrison said that the Mavs will be looking at every possible scenario, per SI.

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With a player as talented as Doncic on the roster, it makes sense that the Mavs' first instinct may be to trade away a draft pick that more likely than not, won't have a great impact for next season. After all, most rookies need time to get it going as they transition to a higher level of basketball.

Yet another reason that drives the Mavs' desire to trade away the pick would be the need for them to make the most out of Luka Doncic's presence. The 2022-23 season, as everyone knows, was a waste for the Mavs, so they very much would like to not suffer yet another repeat of that disappointment.

It'll be interesting to see which player the Mavs can acquire for the 10th overall selection. Can they entice the Phoenix Suns in a potential buy-low trade for Deandre Ayton? Or perhaps the Indiana Pacers go all-in and acquire yet another top-10 pick, perhaps for Myles Turner? One thing's for sure: the Mavs will have a new frontcourt anchor to begin the 2023-24 season after they hemorrhaged points in the paint to end the year.