DRAFT: #18 [Green] & #31 [Terry] & trade for #36 [Tyler Bey]

[Scott41theMavs]

Been reading much of the posts here and the player awes have been all over the place. Mavs were known last season to be a fast tempo, high-scoring team (Strength). But being known down the 4th quarter as the team that loses the most within single digits (Weakness).

So my question to the board is, what kind of identity do you want to establish by drafting?

-Do you want to address rebounding and defensive issues and go with lengthy athletic players? (Vassell, S.Bey, T.Bey, Woodard, Azubukie)
-Draft fast, high IQ players that create there own shots so Luka won't do it all? (Haliburton, Lewis, Hampton, Nesmith, Maxey)
-Or do you want to simply draft the best talent available?

I have always said that the Mavs' single greatest need this offseason is an additional playmaker next to Luka. Of course, that's the league's most expensive/rare commodity right now, because most of the players who can do that effectively are going to be top-100-in-the-league players, at least. Moreover, in the Mavs' case, there are a series of additional caveats to that guy that make him even harder to find - 1) top-level C-and-S, because he's not going to have the ball much when on the floor with Luka, 2) the willingness to defer and play off ball for that very reason, and 3) solid defense because a) Luka, and b) it's an all-around team need. All that on top of being a guy who can create his own shot and make plays for others. I have also said that Jrue Holiday is the guy that does the best job of checking all the boxes, but he's too expensive in trade right now - he might be the most expensive expiring player in trade this year because of all of the teams who want him for 2020-21. If the Mavs see a guy who they think can do that within a year or two, they should draft him.

If that guy is not available, then I think you go to the second need - a 3-and-D wing.

But to me, the single most important thing I want to see is that, by 2021-22 at the latest, the guy is a starter. That means not only not whiffing on the pick; it means freaking nailing it. I think the probabilities of that are higher the higher you draft. That's why I want them to trade up. Moreover, given the key importance of having a starter at rookie scale when Luka's extension kicks in, I think that trading out of 18-or-higher altogether would be disastrous - especially if we plan to be players in the 2021 offseason.