Mavericks' new front office's past tendency puts costly draft dilemma in play

As vetted as new hires Masai Ujiri and Mike Schmitz are, they could be setting the Dallas Mavericks up for a costly draft dilemma this summer, as they have notoriously disregarded positional overlap when making selections in the first round. This can be evidenced by many of the longer wings that Ujiri took during his time with the Toronto Raptors, as well as when he selected big man Collin Murray-Boyles with the ninth pick in last year's draft.

Schmitz was instrumental in the Portland Trail Blazers' selection of Yang Hansen at No. 16 overall in last year's draft as well, despite the Trail Blazers already having Donovan Clingan and Robert Williams III on their roster heading into that draft.

Ujiri and Schmitz could cause a positional dilemma in Dallas

Murray-Boyles has turned into one of the most promising young bigs in the NBA for the Raptors, but the Hansen pick is starting to seem like a whiff by Schmitz and company, and the Mavericks aren't in a position to draft a player that positionally overlaps right now. Many of Ujiri's long and athletic wings went on to become great NBA players, but it definitely caused some roster-building issues while he was in Toronto.

The Raptors were practically forced to trade OG Anunoby and Pascal Siakam at certain points due to the ascension of Scottie Barnes, as they simply couldn't afford to pay so many of the same players with similar skillsets, despite how polished they were.

With Dallas not having control of their first-round picks until 2031 after this draft, finding a talented player at No. 9 is essential, but ensuring this player doesn't interfere with the future trajectory of the roster is also a huge priority.

If the Mavericks make a major mistake here, they're wasting the perfect chance to bring in a co-star around Cooper Flagg. Roster balance is extremely important when building a contender, and Dallas doesn't have the leeway to ignore their biggest needs in the draft.

Selecting a point guard or shooting guard is going to be Dallas' best bet as far as finding a creator that can take off some of the burden around Flagg, as they are currently flush on wings and big men.

Not addressing the Mavericks' backcourt need would be a major mistake, and it could quickly become dangerous. Dallas' point guard play was one of their roughest spots last season, and the best way to fix this is through the draft.

They must veer away from old tendencies for the sake of the Mavs' future

Ujiri and Schmitz are inheriting an entirely new situation in Dallas, as well as a fanbase that is still recovering from Nico Harrison's Luka Doncic trade, so they can't afford to screw up the construction of the roster around Flagg. Mavericks fans should be cautiously optimistic given their pedigrees working in front offices, but old tendencies of drafting players that positionally overlap need to stay in the past, unless the talent is simply irrefutable to pass up.

If they drafted a bigger-bodied wing like Yaxel Lendeborg or Nate Ament this summer, some immediate recourse in the form of trading someone like P.J. Washington for another guard would be extremely necessary, so there are multiple ways to go about getting another guard. However, they can't just draft a player like that and then go on to make minimal moves around the margins, as that isn't going to do anything for Dallas' playoff hopes next year and into the future.

It'll be very interesting to see how they approach the ninth pick and what kind of trades this new front office makes over the next year, but they have to learn from old mistakes in Portland and Toronto, as their track record alone isn't enough to ensure they won't fall back onto old methodology and cause a positional dilemma in Dallas.

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