Dallas Mavericks: Two Players to Consider in 2nd Round

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SAN ANTONIO, TX – APRIL 02: The Villanova Wildcats celebrate after defeating the Michigan Wolverines during the 2018 NCAA Men’s Final Four National Championship game at the Alamodome on April 2, 2018 in San Antonio, Texas. Villanova defeated Michigan 79-62. (Photo by Ronald Martinez/Getty Images) /

Omari Spellman

We will start off with the guy that looks like he could be an immediate impact type player in Dallas. After a championship season with the Villanova Wildcats, headlined by Jalen Brunson’s NCAA Player of the Year award, Donte DiVincenzo’s Final Four MVP award, and Mikal Bridges being considered a potential top 7 pick in the upcoming draft, Spellman kind of fell to the backburner.

That does not mean he is not a very capable player however. Although he did not have the consistency of Bridges/Brunson or the ability to take over a game like DiVincenzo, Spellman was an incredibly important player for that team. And he proved that he should be viewed that way with his timely buckets throughout the March Madness tournament.

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His stats are really not very overwhelming: 10.9 points, 8 rebounds, 1.5 blocks, and 0.7 steals per game, despite being the 3rd or 4th option at best for the team. He was a freshman working with upperclassmen so the fact that he was not the focal point is no surprise. He proved he can shoot the ball very efficiently with averages of 47.6% FG, 43.3% 3P, and 70% FT.

At 6’9″ and around 260 lbs., Spellman is an interesting fit in a standard basketball lineup. He would be on the short end of most power forwards, but he would definitely be on the bigger end of the small forward position. And his speed would be worrisome too.

If Spellman is going to make it in the NBA, it will be as an undersized power forward. His rebounding will work just fine for him despite his height limitations and his ability to effectively shoot the three will find him a nice home in the NBA.

As far as a player to compare him to, I think that he could turn into a less athletic Al-Farouq Aminu type player. He does everything well without being particularly excellent at one specific thing. His three-point shooting will probably be better than Aminu, but his athleticism is nowhere near. The comp isn’t exact, but I feel like he could have a similar impact for a team.

Next: Kostas Antetokounmpo