Dallas Mavericks: Revisiting the 2015 NBA Draft

The most recent NBA Draft for the Dallas Mavericks landed us a young stud by the name of Justin Anderson. Only time will really tell whether we made the right decision.

As we wrap up the Dallas Mavericks draft revisits with the most recent NBA Draft, we take a look at how the Mavs did with the selections made in the 2015 draft. As the most recent NBA Draft, this will be our final revisit in preparation for the 2016 draft in just over a week.

The 2015 draft was headlined by the likes of Karl-Anthony Towns who was chosen number 1 overall by the Minnesota Timberwolves after just one year at Kentucky. These players are all still very young and have not reached a level of play where we can call any of them a steal or a bust, but we will revisit nonetheless.

Notable Players Drafted in 2015

D’Angelo Russell – Rd. 1 Pk. 2 (LAL)

Jahlil Okafor – Rd.1 Pk. 3 (PHI)

Kristaps Porzingis – Rd. 1 Pk. 4 (NYK)

Emmanuel Mudiay – Rd. 1 Pk. 7 (DEN)

Justise Winslow – Rd. 1 Pk. 10 (MIA)

Devin Booker – Rd. 1 Pk. 13 (PHX)

Justin Anderson – Rd. 1 Pk. 21 (DAL)

Bobby Portis – Rd. 1 Pk. 22 (CHI)

Josh Richardson – Rd. 2 Pk. 40 (MIA)

T.J. McConnell – Undrafted (PHI)

State of the Mavs

The Dallas Mavericks were coming off of yet another rough season. Despite a 50 win season, the Mavs still ended at 7th in the west and snuck into that spot as is. A major high year for the western conference as a whole saw Dallas faced off against the second seeded Houston Rockets.

Despite a fairly solid season in which the Mavs ended with a .610 win percentage, it was clear that Dallas was going to be a major underdog in the playoffs. When Chandler Parsons went down with a knee injury, it was even more apparent.

Heading into the offseason, the Mavericks needed some improvement and, with a decent draft pick and a deep class, Dallas looked primed to use their first rounder on a piece for the future. Dirk wasn’t getting any younger and question marks surrounded the knee injury to Parsons so it was time to act.

What the Mavs Did

The Mavericks finally elected not to trade away their picks and made a selection in both rounds of the draft. The first selection (and 21st overall) was used on Justin Anderson, a 3 and D guy from the University of Virginia.

Justin Anderson was considered one of the steals of the draft when grades came out shortly after, but the Mavericks didn’t really see that side of him until late in the season when he began to show his real potential. Up to that point, he was not getting the playing time he probably needed to make an impact.

Anderson’s development will be an interesting thing to watch over the years as Coach Carlisle is an excellent coach but generally makes rookies and young players work for their time on the court.

With the 2nd round selection (52nd overall) Dallas selected Satnam Singh Bhamara, becoming the first player from India to be drafted into the NBA. Singh does have some potential to be a decent role player in the NBA but this pick was taken more as a selection to appease one of the more well known agents of the NBA, Dan Fegan.

It was also cool to see a player from India selected. Singh played the year with the Texas Legends and will be in the Mavericks system this year as well. If he progresses, we could see him on the roster in the future, depending on free agency and the upcoming draft.

What the Mavs Should’ve Done

Because we are only looking back a year, it is hard to say exactly what the Mavericks should have done. A number of players drafted after Anderson have made a difference on their respective teams, but Anderson has also made his name known.

As of right now, I don’t think Dallas made any mistakes in 2015. Justin Anderson is showing signs that he will be a great role player with even the possibility of a potential starter in the future. There are only a handful of players drafted after him that have shown that same potential and, in a league dominated by versatile wing players, his stock is that much higher.

In the future it is not hard to see a possibility of us looking back and saying why didn’t we get Bobby Portis or Rondae Hollis-Jefferson but the same could be said about Anderson as well. Anything could happen at this point.

As far as Singh goes, he hasn’t made an impact in the NBA as of yet but neither have any of the players drafted after him. In fact only one player drafted after him has even made an appearance in an NBA game and Branden Dawson was not able to make much of an impact in those games.

Next: A Dallas Mavericks Draft Preview on Big Men

With our draft revisits all finished up for the Dallas Mavericks, we now look ahead to the upcoming draft and all the coverage that it will include. Keep an eye out for more potential draft prospects for the Mavs as well as free agency coverage all summer here at The Smoking Cuban.