10 Under-the-radar players for Dallas Mavericks to target in 2024 NBA Draft

6. Melvin Ajinca (Saint Quentin; France)

Melvin Ajinca may not be the top French prospect in this draft class, but he’d be an interesting find for this Mavericks team if he fell to them with the last pick in the 2024 NBA Draft. Ajinca profiles as a 3-and-D wing, but he strays a little further from that label then some may hope for.

Ajinca has been a streaky 3-point shooter throughout his career, as he shot 39.4 percent from beyond the arc for Saint Quentin in the 2022-23 season, but only 31 percent this past season. Ajinca has an NBA-ready body at 6-foot-8 and 215 pounds, and he maintains a solid frame whilst still having really good length.

This has been extremely advantageous for Ajinca as an on and off-ball defender, as his strength and athleticism help him guard 2-4 at a high clip. He does occasionally struggle with quicker guards though, and doesn’t have so much athleticism at his size that he can consistently guard big-men.

Ajinca has proven that he can use his length and athleticism to get to the rim and finish through contact, and he’ll occasionally take a pull-up jumper off of attacking  a closeout, but he settled for 3-pointers far too often for Saint Quentin last season and will need to improve his shot selection.

Ajinca’s athleticism makes him a great cog in transition as well, and he still has quite a bit of room to grow at only 20-years-old. Ajinca is far from the most polished prospect in this draft, but Dallas wouldn’t mind taking a chance on him if he fell into their lap at pick 58.