Dallas Mavericks: 3 lessons the Mavs can learn from the Cowboys

What Dallas Mavericks can learn from Cowboys: 2. Value the draft

The Cowboys have set a positive example for the Mavericks in understanding that the draft is the lifeblood for a team. It is probably more so in football because of the constant turnover, but the Mavericks have neglected the draft for years. Whether it’s been intentional or unintentional, the Mavs have a track record of viewing draft picks as nothing more than bargaining chips in trades.

What has that practice netted them? In late 2014, the Mavericks traded three role players and a first-round pick for Rajon Rondo and Dwight Powell. The draft selection wound up being 16 overall in 2016 with notable players such as Malik Beasley, Caris Levert, Pascal Siakam, and Malcolm Brogdon all on the board at Boston’s pick.

Does that not hurt enough? How about in 2014 when the Mavs had four selections at one point (picks 21, 34, 47, and 51) and traded them all away in a draft where Nikola Jokic, Clint Capela, Spencer Dinwiddie, and Bogdan Bogdanovic were all available when the Mavs would’ve been on the board?

The story was similar in 2013. That was the infamous year the Mavericks traded their rights to the No. 13 pick before settling with the 18th selection in what turned out to be nothing more than a cost-cutting measure. Giannis Antetokounmpo was sandwiched in between those picks at No. 15. GM Donnie Nelson was reportedly high on the Greek Freak too. Another player available at the time was Rudy Gobert, but instead, the Mavs selected Shane Larkin.

It has been a pattern in the Cuban-Nelson era. The Cowboys reopened a window that seemed to be closing in 2016 by replenishing their roster with new key role players. The Mavericks try so hard to fill the top end of their roster that they have often neglected filling out the rest with young capable draftees. Instead, they opt to trade the picks for veterans pieces to extend a closing window.

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