Dallas Mavericks: A Rough Past Decade in the Draft

The annual NBA Draft is set to take place on Thursday and the Dallas Mavericks are loaded with just a second round pick, but would it even matter if they had a first?

With NBA Draft coverage in full steam, national media sites across the country are putting out mock drafts, analysis, and predictions. Some sites have even taken the luxury of looking back at the past drafts and examining how teams have succeeded or failed in the process.

The crew over at Basketball Insiders dug deep into the past decade of the draft and put together a chart noting how each of the players drafted by each team turned out. From eventual starters to all-stars, the chart is telling into each team’s draft choices.

For the Dallas Mavericks, it obviously didn’t look so pretty. Here were some notable results from over the last 10 years of the draft.

-The Dallas Mavericks have had16 draft picks (six in the 15-30 range and ten in the 31-60 range).

-ZERO of the 16 picks have been all-stars.

-ZERO of the 16 picks have become starters.

-ZERO of the 16 picks have played in an all-star game for Dallas or any other teams.

-13 out of the 16 players are not in the NBA currently.

Well that was brutal just to even type out, let alone reminisce as a fan.

This is how the Mavericks rank up to some other teams in the same categories.

-The Dallas Mavericks are the only team in the past decade to not draft a player who became a starter (three teams had one player, the others had two or more).

-The Dallas Mavericks are the only team not to draft in the top 15 over the last decade.

-Only four other teams have as many draft picks over the last decade that are not in the NBA currently.

-The Dallas Mavericks are one of nine teams not to draft an eventual all-star over the last decade.

*To qualify as a starter in this analysis, a player needed to start a minimum of 50 games for at least 40 percent of their career.  “Not in NBA” includes players who were not on a team’s roster to finish this past year, who played fewer than six seasons in the league. (per Basketball Insiders)

Ok, it’s finally over. I’m done with the statistics. Read full breakdown and chart for every team here.

On the bright side, there are factors that play into some of these horrible statistics. For instance, the Mavs not having a top 15 pick over the last 10 years shows the team’s willingness and aggressiveness to make the playoffs on an every year basis. I would much rather be in the playoffs than picking in the lottery every year.

Also, the Mavericks drafted many second rounders over the past decade that were simply draft-and-stash players so that Dallas would have more money over the summer for free agency. Free agency never worked out like fans wanted, but at least they have a front office that is going to be aggressive.

Next: Three Possible Draft Day Trades for Dallas

Hopefully last year’s first round draft pick, Justin Anderson, will change some of these statistics over the next couple of years.