The Dallas Mavericks should trade their pick for Frank Ntilikina

Ahead of the NBA Draft, there haven’t been any indications as to who the Dallas Mavericks will choose with their second round pick. Maybe they will choose to trade for a certain New York Knicks guard, Frank Ntilikina.

Every year around the time of the NBA Draft, you hear multiple draftees become associated with teams that have acquired interest in the player. It soon becomes clear that the team would be choosing that certain draftee before the NBA Draft begins.

This never seems to be the case for the Mavericks. They keep their privacy to prevent any exposure of who they will be drafting. Previous years have held to that standard when Dallas drafted both Dennis Smith Jr. and Luka Doncic.

Unfortunately for the Mavericks, they don’t own their first round pick this year due to last year’s trade involving both Luka Doncic and Atlanta Hawk, Trae Young. Instead, they will only have their second round pick.

However, instead of choosing another second round prospect that may take years to grow and improve, they could instead choose a player that has already gained NBA experience and would just need mentorship from veteran players.

For me, I personally like Frank Ntilikina. He may have had two rough seasons with the Knicks as well as his last season being cut short due to a groin injury, but he has a ton of potential and a new place to play might just be what he needs. Dallas apparently had their eyes set on Frank Ntilikina in the 2017 NBA Draft before the Knicks decided to select him one spot ahead of the Mavs.

It seems like the Knicks are ready to move the French guard to a new team as well. According to Ian Begley of SNY.tv, New York is actively looking to acquire a late first round pick or second round pick in exchange for the services of Ntilikina.

Enter the Mavericks, who may or may not have plans on who to choose with their 37th pick in the draft. The Mavericks will be able to add in a young guard who still has time to grow while the Knicks would have an extra pick where they are able to choose a prospect of their choice. This would also free up the traffic in the guard spot for the Knicks, who are likely to have Duke player, R.J. Barrett, Emmanuel Mudiay, and former Maverick Dennis Smith Jr.

There still haven’t been any indications concerning the Mavericks draft pick. They may trade down to acquire future second round picks, trade out of the draft entirely for a player such as Ntilikina, or just choose a prospect that they have set their sights on. Whichever it may be, get ready to watch the NBA Draft tonight at 6:00 PM CT on ESPN.