| 30 Teams, 30 Days: Dallas Draft Preview Authored by Jason M. Williams - June 21, 2009 - 11:53 pm
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2009 Draft Picks: 22nd
Pre-Draft 2009-10 Projected Starters:
PG Jason Kidd
SG Antoine Wright
SF Josh Howard
PF Dirk Nowitzki
C Erick Dampier
Key Reserves:
PG Jason Terry
PG Jose Juan Barea
SG Matt Carroll
PF Brandon Bass
C Ryan Hollins
What The Mavericks Do Well:
The Mavericks won 50 games this past season to continue their impressive streak of nine consecutive 50-plus-win seasons. Wow. However, this past season was a bit different than the previous seasons.
The Mavs opened the season after an embarrassing first round exit in which Chris Paul brutalized the newest Maverick, Jason Kidd. Kidd was brought to Dallas in exchange for Devin Harris and a package of others in attempt to get the Mavs back into the Finals. That was about as big a backfire as they could have expected, especially since the speedy quick Harris was probably the lone opposing point guard in the league that could slow down CP3.
So, already viewed as a mistake, Kidd took the reigns of the team and played as efficiently as anyone could have asked of him. He got his teammates involved often and put up a respectable 9.0 points, 6.1 rebounds, and a team-leading 8.7 assists per game. He shot the ball extremely well, connecting on 41.6% of his shots from the field – his highest season FG% since 1998-99, and shot over 40% (40.6%) from deep over the entire season for the first time in his career.
Dirk Nowitzki continued to be the franchise superstar, as he once again led the Mavs in scoring (25.9 ppg) and rebounding (8.4 rpg). While his scoring numbers were at their highest since his MVP season of 2005-06, his assists were down from 3.5 to 2.4 this past season. Kidd’s presence allowed first year Maverick coach Rick Carlisle to take the ball out of Nowitzki’s hands at all times, and thus could be the reason for his slight deduction in assists.
Jason Terry had an unbelievable year that culminated in his first ever Sixth Man Award. With Kidd manning the starting point position, Terry slid in perfectly as the first man off the bench to provide instant offense. Terry sparked the club with 19.6 points and 3.4 assists per game to go along with his sound 88% shooting from the free throw stripe.
Greatest Areas Of Improvement:
Did Somebody Say Point Guard?
With Kidd hitting unrestricted free agency this summer, who knows if he will be back in the Big D. The Mavs would love this deep point guard draft class to linger and allow them to snag a talented point when their turn comes at number 22.
An Actual Power Forward
Nowitzki is one of the game’s premier players who happens to call himself a power forward, but we all know that he’s just a shooting guard trapped inside a power forward’s body. While Brandon Bass continues to impress off the bench with 8.5 points in only 19.4 minutes per game, the Mavs still lack that true power forward that they can dump the ball into to score in the paint.
Who’s Gone Number 22 Recently?
The 22nd pick has been hit or miss over the past three years, with Jarrett Jack and Courtney Lee being the two biggest hits. While many viewed Marcus Williams as a lottery pick, his attitude has soured and his minutes have dwindled down to nearly nothing in Golden State.
2008
Courtney Lee, Orlando Magic
2007
Jared Dudley, Charlotte Bobcats
2006
Marcus Williams, New Jersey Nets
2005
Jarrett Jack, Denver Nuggets (traded to Portland)
2004
Viktor Khryapa, New Jersey Nets
Who Should The Mavericks Target?
- Eric Maynor of VCU
Maynor would be a perfect fit for the Mavericks. He is a big point guard that can step in immediately and contribute to this team that is focused on winning today. This four-year college prospect has an uncanny ability to get through traffic to either score or create for his teammates.
- Toney Douglas of Florida State
While Douglas is more of a sharpshooter on the perimeter – much like Terry – he would also be able to step in and help the Mavs next season. While the Mavs might be looking for another option at the point in the mold of the potentially departing Kidd, they would be hard pressed to pass if Douglas is still waiting for his name to be called come draft night.
- James Johnson of Wake Forest
Many teams will shy away from Johnson because of two reasons – 1) he is already 22 years old and 2) he is a bit on the small side for an NBA power forward. However, his game will translate well to the pros because he will be an immediate mismatch for teams that will try to line up when the Mavs use him at the 4 and go small. His talent level is way too high for Dallas to pass on.
Picks Over the Past Five Years
The only first rounders that the Mavs have gotten over the past five years are Devin Harris, Pavel Podkolzine, and Maurice Ager. Both Harris and Ager were dealt to New Jersey for J-Kidd, and Pavel Podkolzine continues to be a reminder that the 2005 draft was the worst possible time for NBA teams to start believing they’d find legit talent in Russia – Pavel went 21st, Viktor Khryapa went 22nd, and Sergei Monia went 23rd. Wow.
2008
Shan Foster, 51st
2007
Nick Fazekas, 34th
Renaldas Seibutis, 50th
Milovan Rakovic, 60th (traded to Orlando)
2006
Maurice Ager, 28th
JR Pinnock, 58th (traded to LA Lakers)
2005
No picks
2004
Devin Harris, 5th (acquired from Washington)
Pavel Podkolzine, 21st (acquired from Utah)
Vassilis Spanoulis, 50th
Who Do the Fans Want?
According to Andrew Perna’s Dallas Mavericks Draft Summit, an interactive forum featuring the responses of true RealGM hoops fans hoping to add their two cents to the Mavericks Draft discussion, the fans of Dallas have made it known that they would like to draft
The Verdicts
1. What could the team have done differently to advance further in the playoffs?
JES12: If they weren’t so old at point guard and center, and so thin at shooting guard. Given the talent and health of the team, I think we went as far as we could.
mrmreg: If they traded Josh Howard for Ron Artest last offseason when they had the chance.
dirkforpres: If we found a center that could actually play worth a lick. Tim Duncan and Nene had field days against Erick Dampier.
matt6715: They shouldn’t have wasted the mid-level on DeSagana Diop. There were too many solid players out there, many who played the wing, that would’ve helped much more than Diop ever could have.
cmavswin: If they acquired a shooting guard/depth in the offseason.
2. Where were the team’s biggest strengths?
JES12: Power forward. They have an All-NBA First-Teamer and a backup (Brandon Bass) can be a starter on some teams. James Singleton competed with Bass for minutes. Though the last two are UFA, I expect one of them back on the team next year.
mrmreg: Dirk.
dirkforpres: Dirk and Jason Terry. Other than that, there weren’t too many bright spots on the team.
matt6715: The power forward spot, obviously, was our biggest strength. Dirk is a stud and Bass was a great backup.
cmavswin: Dirk.
3. Who had a surprisingly effective season?
JES12: Role players like Jose Barea, Antoine Wright, and Singleton stepped up this year. Bass played as expected.
mrmreg: Barea.
dirkforpres: Barea was great. He was like a poor, poor man’s Devin Harris, who is sorely missed.
matt6715: I thought Barea was a one-season wonder, he proved me wrong.
cmavswin: Jason Kidd. I really thought he would fall off this year.
4. Who had a surprisingly ineffective season?
JES12: Josh Howard, due to injury. When he played, he was great. Some may say Jerry Stackhouse, but he has sucked for over two years.
mrmreg: Dampier. I'm not sure it was much of a surprise.
dirkforpres: Dampier/Diop. They were both total busts considering they have perfect builds and bloated contracts.
matt6715: Diop couldn’t even stay on the court when we had him, even though everyone saw so much promise in his mobility and shot-blocking.
cmavswin: The front office and their "we like are team" stance.
5. How confident are you in the front office heading into the offseason?
JES12: Not at all.
mrmreg: If they've finally figured out they need to make big changes, then I'd have some confidence in Donnie Nelson/Mark Cuban to get some guys in here. I fear they still think the thing is close enough as is.
dirkforpres: I haven’t been confident in our front office since the Kidd trade. Can you blame me? Not confident at all, even though I’m sure Mark will make a deal or two, but that doesn’t mean they’ll be good deals.
matt6715: We have the pieces, but I'm not confident in our front office's ability to make them into something. Cuban has told everyone he will take on salary and spend money; we will have to wait and see.
cmavswin: I’m 50-50. This is a make-or-break year for Donnie.
6. What are the team’s biggest needs in the draft?
JES12: I don't think the draft is going to solve anything for us as we tend to play proven players. However, Rick Carlisle has been pretty good about giving the end of the bench guys quality minutes. So, backup point guard, starting two-guard, and a starting center.
mrmreg: A point guard and center.
dirkforpres: We really just need young talent at any position. A center that doesn’t necessarily need to score, but can just play solid defense (like a Chris Andersen type player) would probably help the most.
matt6715: As much as I love Barea, he is not the prototypical backup to Kidd and definitely isn’t a starter if Kidd leaves. This draft is loaded with point guards; the choice should be the best one still on the board.
cmavswin: Point guard, shooting guard and center.
7. Who would you like the Mavericks to take with the 22nd pick?
JES12: It depends on who's still there. At this point, I can't honestly answer or say that pick won't be traded.
mrmreg: B.J. Mullens.
dirkforpres: I would hope that they are looking to trade up in the draft (cough, Rubio), but if they don’t (which they wont), and if either of them are around at 22, I would say Gerald Henderson or Tyler Hansbrough.
matt6715: As stated above, a point guard. If Ty Lawson is on the board, sign me up.
Click here to read other draft previews in our 30 Teams, 30 Days series
Who do you want the Mavericks to draft at number 22? Feel free to contact Jason M. Williams with your thoughts. He can be reached at Jason.Williams@RealGM.com for comments and questions. |
