Mavericks should trade one of their draft picks to escape forgotten rule

The Dallas Mavericks have multiple avenues they could take with picks No. 9, 30, and 48 in the upcoming NBA Draft on Tuesday and Wednesday, but trading the 30th pick back into the second round might be their best course of action to preserve some roster space for next season, as second-rounders don't have to be on guaranteed contracts as first-rounders do.

This is a contract rule that's often forgotten, and the Mavs should play smart here by escaping it and trading back from 30.

Dallas already has 10 guaranteed spots filled for next season, and it could easily be 11 if they exercise the team option on Ryan Nembhard's contract. Whoever they draft at nine would then give them basically 12 roster spots filled, so keeping their pick at 30 would probably only leave them with two roster spots to fill in free agency.

Mavs should trade 30th pick into second round to avoid a standard deal

Dallas could either use the 30th pick to move back in the draft, or they could even combine No. 9 and 30 to try and move up a slot or two from No. 9, as it's been reported they have interest in moving up from 30.

As is being outlined, the Mavericks have multiple ways they could go about not having to pay two first-rounders this summer, but it's definitely something they have to be cognizant of with the construction of their roster.

This plan would become even more appealing if Dallas traded back from No. 9 to acquire two other first-rounders a little bit lower on the board, as there would be practically no point in giving a standard deal to three first-round picks, regardless of how talented they are on film.

Mavs need to maximize flexibility while still getting good players in draft

If Dallas were to trade the 30th pick back into the second round, they could explore signing that player to their final two-way contract slot instead of having to give him a multi-year deal, as they don't want to overcrowd their roster and miss out on bringing back someone like Marvin Bagley III, or not be able to sign a coveted target with the full MLE because of being in a roster crunch.

This prospect becomes especially intriguing when taking into consideration how many projected late first-rounders and early second-rounders elected to go back to school ahead of the draft, as the 30th pick isn't looking as valuable as it once was for Dallas, even though this is one of the more loaded draft classes in recent memory.

Ultimately, the Mavericks need to evaluate all of their options ahead of this draft, as making sure they have some room to work with in free agency (or their trade exception if they use that instead) is going to be an essential development for them this offseason, but they also need to hone in on their selections this draft given they don't have control of their own future first-round draft capital until 2031 after this draft.

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