Did the 2018 NBA Draft Class Influence the Dennis Smith Jr. Pick?

The Dallas Mavericks got their point guard in Dennis Smith Jr. in the 2017 NBA Draft, but did the prospects at the top of the 2018 NBA Draft influence it?

For the first time in 18 years, the Dallas Mavericks finished with 33 wins or less during the 2016-17 season. Only the fourth time in Dirk Nowitzki’s prestigious career that the Mavericks didn’t reach the playoffs.

Whether they wanted to or not, the Mavericks finished with one of the worst records in the league and were awarded the 9th pick in the 2017 NBA Draft.

With Dirk Nowitzki entering his 20th season in the league and the Mavericks possessing a top ten pick, it was the perfect time to embark on a rebuild.

*From this point on, I present a personal theory that is purely speculative.

What if I told you this rebuild was a mini, two-year rebuild with the 2017 NBA Draft AND the 2018 NBA Draft in mind?

The 2017 NBA Draft was undoubtedly known as the draft of the point guard with Markelle Fultz and Lonzo Ball at the top. After them, many projected De’Aaron Fox, Dennis Smith Jr., Malik Monk and Frank Ntilikina to all go within the top ten of the draft.

There were also non-point guard prospects like Jayson Tatum, Josh Jackson, Jonathan Isaac, Lauri Markkanen, Zach Collins and even Donovan Mitchell that were projected to go inside of the lottery also.

Sitting at the 9th pick in the draft, Dallas hosted pre-draft workouts with players such as Smith Jr., Mitchell, Collins, Monk, Mitchell and others.

They could have went with a combo guard like Monk or Mitchell at the 9th spot. Some grumblings came out that they liked Zach Collins’ workout. Instead, the stood pat at nine and selected their true point guard in Dennis Smith Jr.

But what if I told you that some of the idea behind desiring Smith Jr. with their pick was the fact that the top of the 2018 NBA Draft was loaded with non-point guard prospects?

Dallas could go ahead and get their point guard of the future in 2017 while turning around in 2018 to grab his counterpart on the wing or up front. If there was any internal debate between a Smith Jr. and Collins or even a thought of trading up for Isaac, could the top prospects in the 2018 NBA Draft help sway them towards Smith Jr. at all?

This would obviously mean that Dallas would have to go into the offseason building a roster that would contend for a top five pick in 2018. Thus starting the “tank” in the offseason.

Over the summer, Dallas did exactly that.

To begin free agency, Dallas and Nerlens Noel couldn’t come to terms on a long-term deal that resulted in an ongoing situation all summer. On top of that, the Mavericks’ biggest signings were Jeff Withey, Maxi Kleber and Gian Clavell. They also used cap space to absorb the contract of Josh McRoberts, who has yet to play this season and might not ever suit up for the Mavericks.

Dallas took a 33 win team and added only Dennis Smith Jr. to the team. They didn’t chase any middle tier free agents and instead “saved their cap space” for next summer. Heading into opening night, Dallas had seven players (only one starting) 6’10” or taller. In addition to all of the bigs, they had five players 6’3″ or shorter.

Not exactly the roster makeup of a team competing for a playoff seed in the West.

Now, after a 1-10 start, the Mavericks are currently in position to grab a top five pick in the 2018 NBA Draft in a draft that is loaded with five players at the top that would pair nicely with a point guard like Dennis Smith Jr.

Suddenly, could the Mavericks pull off a successful, two-year, mini rebuild?

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If the Mavericks do end up with a top five pick, they will then have two players under 20 years old (Smith Jr and one of Luka Doncic/Deandre Ayton/Michael Porter Jr./Mohamed Bamba/Marvin Bagley III) to go with around $40-50 million in cap space where they could sign a high impact player.

Dallas would then pair their two young cornerstones with free agent additions and returning players such as Harrison Barnes, probably Wesley Matthews and maybe even Dirk Nowitzki.

Speaking hypothetically and using a name some are trying to connect to Dallas, what if they convince DeMarcus Cousins to come to Dallas and join a young core of Smith Jr., Doncic (insert any top five prospect), and Harrison Barnes?

That would be a heck of a mini rebuild by Donnie Nelson and the crew over a short period of time. A rebuild that could have been in place since this past spring.

Next: Looking at the 2018 Draft from Dallas' Perspective

Once again, this is all speculation on my part and a theory that is probably not true…but you never know.