ESPN just predicted Mavericks to pull off the draft steal fans are begging for

In ESPN's most recent mock draft by Jeremy Woo from this morning, he has the Dallas Mavericks selecting Louisville's Mikel Brown Jr. with the No. 9 overall pick. This is a move that seemingly every Mavericks fan has been begging for since Brown Jr. publicly stated that Dallas is his favorite city in the country at the NBA Draft Lottery, and him falling to nine would easily be one of the biggest steals of the draft.

Mavericks fans haven't been able to stop talking about Brown Jr. since he spoke glowingly of Dallas and the opportunity to play for the Mavs, and eight teams passing on him would be a major shock that MFFLs would welcome with open arms.

Mikel Brown Jr. is Mavericks fans' dream pick

He was ranked as the No. 1 point guard in the class of 2025 heading into his freshman season at Louisville, according to 247 Sports Composite rankings, and the Mavericks landing this type of talent with the ninth pick of the draft would be monumental for them. Brown Jr. has the potential to develop into one of the best guards in his draft class, especially in Dallas, and Mavericks fans' fondness for him goes way beyond his comments about Dallas last week.

He truly has the chance to be a star in today's NBA, and there were flashes of this during his time as a Cardinal. Brown Jr. averaged 18.2 points, 4.7 assists, and 1.2 steals per game in 21 games, including a 45-point game against NC State in which he made 10 3-pointers. He has a real gift for putting the ball in the bucket, passing, and ball handling, and the Mavericks need all of these things as they look for a co-star for Cooper Flagg.

This is their best chance at finding one, given that they don't fully control any of their own first-round picks after this year until 2031, and drafting Brown Jr. overall would start the Flagg era with a bang. Dallas already knows they have a star in Flagg. Now just imagine him with a star point guard to build around for years to come. That's what they'd be getting if they draft Brown, and fans would be thrilled if he falls to nine like Woo predicted.

Why Dallas could be the perfect place for him

Dallas would have the perfect guard to learn behind Kyrie Irving before taking over as the floor general of the future, and he also has the size and shooting to play alongside Irving at times. Brown Jr. shot 34.4 percent from three at Louisville, leaving room for improvement, but games like the NC State one don't come by accident. He is extremely hard to slow down when his jumper is falling, and he can shoot off the catch or the bounce.

Mavericks fans now just have to hope that he makes it to the ninth pick, and if he does, he'd be a no-brainer pick. He has a strong case to become one of the best point guards in his class if he stays healthy, especially getting to play with Flagg, learning from Irving, and having two elite pick-and-roll bigs with Dereck Lively II and Daniel Gafford.

Brown Jr.'s potential fit in Dallas is too strong to ignore, and if Mavericks fans can get their hands on him, fans would be jumping for joy across the metroplex.

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