Ranking top 5 prospects for Dallas Mavericks with 10th pick in 2023 NBA Draft

Heading into the NBA Draft Lottery on Tuesday night, the Dallas Mavericks had a small chance to jump into the top four. They also had a shot to fall backward out of the top ten, which would have meant they owed their pick to the New York Knicks.

Instead, they stayed exactly where they projected to land, at the tenth pick in the draft. Now, they have to decide whether or not they want to trade the selection.

If the Mavericks choose to trade the pick, they’d almost certainly look for an upgrade to improve the team around Luka Doncic and Kyrie Irving. Ideally, this would be a defensive-minded wing or a center.

However, they could also decide to keep the pick and select one of the available rookies, and while that may not sound ideal to some Mavericks fans, there will be some solid options at pick ten. The question is, what position of need should they target if they decide to select a rookie instead of trading the pick?

Ranking top 5 prospects for Dallas Mavericks with 10th pick in 2023 NBA Draft

There will be a wide variety of youngsters who play plenty of different positions. Taking a guard may not be the best choice for the Mavericks, as they already have guys like Doncic, Irving, and Jaden Hardy, meaning they’ll likely target a forward or center.

This means they’d potentially look away from guys like Carson Wallace, Keyonte George, and Jordan Hawkins.

Dallas could take a rookie with lots of defensive promise, a big man who could turn into their go-to guy in the middle, or even a shooter who will help space the floor for Doncic and Irving.

With all that in mind, here are the top five prospects that Dallas should target with the tenth overall pick in the 2023 NBA Draft.