10 Reasons the Dallas Mavericks aced the 2024 offseason

5. Dallas still bought stock in the NBA Draft despite not needing to

When a team gets to the NBA Finals and only has a late second-round pick to their name in the impending NBA Draft a few days later, that team typically has a tendency to blow the draft off to an extent, as teams scarcely find talent that is ready to contribute at the NBA level at that stage in the draft.

However, the Dallas Mavericks did a great job at winning within the margins during the 2024 NBA Draft, as Dallas opted to trade up from the 58th overall pick to the 51st overall pick en route to selecting French product Melvin Ajinca.

The Mavericks wouldn't have drawn harsh criticism for selecting a player in the draft who doesn't necessarily fit any needs, but after years of Dallas' front office not recognizing the draft as a viable avenue for talent acquisition, they've done a great job at recognizing the importance of the draft over the last few seasons.

Ajinca is a 6-foot-8 wing who possesses a solid ability to attack driving lanes for nifty finishes at the rim and is also an NBA-ready defender, though he plans on playing in the EuroLeague next season for French club LDLC ASVEL, as he clearly still has some intangibles to work on before being truly ready to contribute for the Mavericks.

Ajinca may be a draft-and-stash player for the time being, but Dallas was smart to take a gamble on him given their recent success in the draft, as you never know when a late second-round pick could blossom into a rotation player in the NBA.

While it's a far fetch at this stage to say Ajinca will carve out a long and illustrious NBA career, the Mavericks did their due diligence in this past draft by giving themselves a puncher's chance that Ajinca pans out into a rotational player who fits a need at some point, something that not every NBA team selecting late in the second round can say.