Mavericks' newly projected draft pick is a disaster waiting to happen

After making the 2024 NBA Finals, the Dallas Mavericks had championship dreams entering the 2024-25 season. Unfortunately for the Mavericks, this season has certainly felt like a big failure.

From an injury on Christmas to Luka Doncic, to Doncic being traded to the Los Angeles Lakers, to Anthony Davis then getting injured and potentially growing into the worst trade in Mavericks history, to Kyrie Irving tearing his ACL. It seems that nothing has gone the Mavericks' way this season.

Some of the Mavs fans have certainly checked out this season with fair reason. Some of those fans may think it could be in the best interest of the Mavericks to tank the remainder of the season. Fans are looking ahead to the 2025 NBA Draft, where a recent mock draft could have a mistake awaiting the Mavericks. Dallas owns their first-round pick this summer, and they can't afford to miss on it.

Recent mock draft has Mavericks completely ignoring their biggest need

On March 18, Jonathan Wasserman of Bleacher Report wrote an article titled "2025 NBA Mock Draft: Full 2-Round Predictions and Pro Comps Before NCAA Tournament." In the article, Wasserman had the Mavericks drafting South Carolina's Collin Murray-Boyles with the 13th overall pick in the first round.

Wasserman described Murray Boyles as someone who "would certainly give any lineup a different look with his unique mix of physicality, agility, passing, and defensive foot speed." Wasserman compared Murray Boyles to Julius Randle and Anthony Mason.

Murray-Boyles did have a solid year this season at South Carolina with averaging 18.6 points per game and 8.3 rebounds. Murray-Boyles also shot over 58 percent from the field. In his last college game against Arkansas in the NCAA Tournament, Murray-Boyles recorded a double-double.

The 6-foot-7, 245-pounder could be a solid power forward, but there's one major issue with his game. That is his struggles with his jump shot.

In today's NBA, nearly everyone needs a consistent jumper. Dallas' bigs like Anthony Davis, P.J. Washington, and even Kai Jones (in doses) have the ability to shoot the jumper, but Murray-Boyles doesn't at the moment, as well as having the inability to shoot the three, which is another thing most players need to have today. Murray-Boyles shot under 27 percent from three this season, and considering the Mavs' new two-big system, they can't afford to pair Dereck Lively II or Daniel Gafford with someone who can't space the floor.

Most of Murray-Boyles' scoring comes from attacking the paint with layups and dunks. If the Mavericks were to draft him, they would need him to develop a jumpshot very quickly, considering how their offense is run.

What also could hurt drafting Murray-Boyles is that the Mavericks already have strong depth down low. With Davis, Gafford, Washington, and Lively II, the Mavericks may not want to have too many bigs. Four solid ones at the moment could be enough for next season, and they need guard help much more than they need another big.

Kyrie Irving, Spencer Dinwiddie, and Dante Exum can potentially all become free agents this summer, and it's clear they need to inject some youth into their backcourt. Dallas does not need to draft another big-bodied forward with their first-round pick, and their need for another point guard is clear as day when watching recent games.

The 2025 NBA Draft will be a crucial day for the Mavericks to draft another good role player to build around. With an aging Irving and Davis, the Mavericks are desperate to find a youngster who can contribute right away.

While Wasserman may have predicted the Mavericks to take Murray-Boyles, it might be in their best interest to stay away from him. They must focus on drafting a guard, and ignoring this need would be a costly mistake.