NBA Draft Lottery: Should the Dallas Mavericks Entertain Trade Offers?

The Dallas Mavericks got the 5th overall pick in the NBA Draft Lottery last night. This will be the highest they have picked since 2004 when the Mavs traded up to the 5th pick to select Devin Harris. Could Dallas benefit at all by talking trades involving their recently acquired draft pick?

No one wants to talk about anything other than the draft these days. The Golden State Warriors of 2015 changed the game in more ways than one for NBA fans. Not only did teams start to focus more on three-point shooting than ever before, but fanbases began to believe that tanking for draft picks was the only way to build a championship team.

That is not to say it isn’t an effective way of doing it. Draft picks can be mightily important and useful to putting a team together. It is not the only way, as the Cleveland Cavaliers showed us just one year later but, with the way the league is headed, there is no doubt that stockpiling young talent appears to be the best option going forward.

Still, the Mavs have Mark Cuban, Donnie Nelson and Rick Carlisle at the head of the organization. All three of these guys are very good at what they do, but they also have their views rooted in team building through free agency as we have seen over the years. Hopefully this year will be more like last year where the Mavs stay put for a great young piece.

Obviously you can see that I am opposed to trading this pick. I think the Mavs are going to have a few really good young players available at the 5th pick. One of either Marvin Bagley III, Jaren Jackson Jr., Mohamed Bamba, or Michael Porter Jr. are definitely going to be around at pick #5.

Do I think that this knowledge will stop Cuban and Donnie from shopping the pick around to other teams? No, because I’m not crazy and I know that these guys never say no before hearing the offers. That is just how it works. However, I also believe that they realize how valuable this pick can be.

Next: Dallas Mavericks: NBA Draft Lottery Immediate Reaction

I don’t want to trade this pick. I don’t want to go up and I don’t want to go down. Number 5 is a very good choice and it takes away a little bit of craziness that will likely accompany it. I just hope the Mavericks do the right thing.