The Dallas Mavericks Should Target Theo Pinson in NBA Draft

One player who has not been mentioned much in NBA Draft talks is former North Carolina Tar Heel, Theo Pinson. Could the Dallas Mavericks target the former high school All-American and member of the 2017 National Championship team?

Theo Pinson has been an oft overlooked player in NBA mock drafts since the end of the NBA season. He was the Swiss Army Knife of a Tar Heel squad that had a solid season despite no overwhelming players on the roster. They may not have been as good as they have been in the past, but that does not mean that Pinson should get overlooked.

The Dallas Mavericks would love to find a guy that can be a shut down defender on the wing. Although Pinson is only 6’6″, he is a proven defender with solid athleticism, quick hands, and a high basketball IQ. Despite the Tar Heels being headlined by the likes of Luke May and Joel Berry, Pinson looked like the best player on the team regularly.

Strengths

Pinson is an experienced player with a lot of college games under his belt. That comes with some concerns, of course, but there is also a strength to having that kind of experience and being a leader on a great NCAA team. Being coached by Roy Williams has its perks, too, if switching to someone like Rick Carlisle.

He was aa solid fixture on the offense during his senior year, showing his ability to score, grab rebounds, and pass the ball. He was a very well-rounded player with a very natural feel on the court. There was no doubt that he earned his time in Coach Williams’ system. Pinson is also a bigger guard that can play multiple positions, including point guard to give Dennis Smith Jr. some rest.

Obviously the most impressive part of Pinson’s game is his defense. Being able to move quickly and guard multiple positions effectively is a great thing for an NBA prospect. His defense should translate well into the NBA and a 6’6″ guard defending some of these uber-athletic NBA point guards would be pretty nice.

Weaknesses

The first weakness people are going to want to mention is that Pinson is 22 years old, going on 23. This seems pretty young to me, but I understand that many want to be able to develop these teenagers into stars as opposed to missing out on the first 3-4 years of potential NBA-level basketball.

The more important weakness that needs to be mentioned is that Pinson is a below-average shooter. Even though he wasn’t terrible at getting the ball through the hoop in college, most of his points came while attacking the rim. His actual shooting numbers were pretty bad, especially from three-point, where he never shot better than 29% in a season. His senior season was the worst, when he shot below 23% from deep.

The only other major setback to Pinson’s game is the fact that he missed time with a broken foot. He came back and looked pretty good, but there has been a lot of fear drafting players with pre-existing foot injuries.

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Obviously there are going to be pros and cons to players this late in the draft but I think the Mavs should consider Pinson with their final pick of the draft at number 54. He is a great player with some proven skills and some upside. Could be a solid pick for Dallas.