Mavericks finally have perfect shot to erase unforgettable Brunson blunder in draft

The Dallas Mavericks are playing the waiting game at the moment, as the organization has largely been out of the news cycle for a few weeks after a season-ending loss to the Memphis Grizzlies in the Play-In Tournament. Ultimately, the Mavericks dodged a bullet by not making the playoffs, as their roster would've been obliterated in the first round by the Oklahoma City Thunder.

Not to mention, Dallas would've been out of the NBA Draft Lottery had they made the playoffs, but they fortunately received the 11th-best odds for the No. 1 overall pick after winning a tiebreaker coin toss with the Chicago Bulls. The Mavericks could almost certainly land a future All-Star if they land inside the top four of this draft, but the odds are slim that Dallas will actually move up, and there are still plenty of gems in this draft later in the lottery and first round.

Dallas drafted an eventual superstar in Jalen Brunson with the first pick of the second round in the 2018 NBA Draft, and this draft class is eerily similar to that class in terms of the potential talent it could provide. Brunson came out of college as a junior and didn't have crazy measurements physically or athletically, but his work ethic has taken him to new heights in the NBA, as he took an unprecedented jump toward the back-half of his final season with the Mavericks.

As every Mavericks fan knows, the team ultimately ended up losing him for nothing when he signed with the New York Knicks, and now Dallas has a chance to make up for the Brunson mess in this summer's draft.

Mavericks could land their Jalen Brunson 2.0 in Walter Clayton Jr.

One prospect in this draft who gives Brunson vibes is none other than Walter Clayton Jr. from the University of Florida, and with the Mavericks desperately needing another ball handler and shot creator in the lineup, Clayton Jr. would be the perfect pick for the Mavericks in this draft. Just like Brunson, Clayton Jr. is an older prospect coming out of the draft as a 22-year-old senior, and he also won an NCAA Championship in his final season.

Many mock drafts currently have Clayton Jr. slated toward the end of the first round, and with Dallas likely picking somewhere between 10-14 in this year's draft, this could be the perfect opportunity for Dallas to trade back and draft a surefire guard that many teams are overlooking because of age. Many prospects in the modern NBA are starting to disprove the notion that older college players can't develop once in the league, and based on Clayton Jr.'s winning pedigree and clutch shotmaking in the NCAA Tournament last season, it seems like he plays with the same type of chip on his shoulder as Brunson does.

However, Clayton Jr. and Brunson aren't carbon copies as players, though they both can score at all three levels, which is essential for shorter guards in today's league. Clayton Jr. is 6-foot-3 and 195 pounds, and he's certainly a little bit more athletic and lengthier than Brunson. Clayton Jr. is an explosive guard who can finish through contact, and he's a great pick-and-roll ball handler. While Clayton Jr. may not be quite the mid-range maestro that Brunson is, he still has a solid pull-up and fadeaway jumper, and he has the potential to be one of the best volume 3-point shooters in the league if things pan out for him.

Clayton Jr. showed he's willing to shoot from downtown with even the slightest crevice of space last season for the Gators, and he's also a quick and savvy defender on the other end of the floor as well. Through 39 games with the Gators last season, Clayton Jr. averaged 18.3 points, 4.2 assists, and 1.2 steals per game on 44.1/37.9/87.5 shooting splits.

Clayton Jr. improved every season throughout the course of his college career and transferred to the University of Florida from a mid-major in Iona College, which shows his desire to get better is clear. Even though he's a different type of player compared to Brunson, they are/were both older guards (draft-wise), and Clayton Jr. expresses many of the same winning intangibles Brunson showed as well.

Clayton Jr. may not have as much home-run potential as some other first round picks in this draft, but his ceiling is likely far higher than many scouts and analysts are accrediting, and he'd be one of the best guards Dallas could select in this draft, especially if they got the opportunity to trade back for him and accrue other assets in the process as well.