Donnie Nelson speaks on Mavs' draft plans, free agency
Earl K. Sneed reports from the American Airlines Center, where Dallas Mavericks president of basketball operations and GM Donnie Nelson spoke openly on the team's plans for Thursday night's NBA Draft and the upcoming free agency period.
Donnie Nelson speaks on Mavs' draft plans, free agency
DALLAS -- Plenty of speculation is sure to spark over the next 24 hours or so leading up to the NBA Draft, but the Dallas Mavericks continue to have a tunnel vision-like approach as they search for a player to select with the No. 17 pick overall on Thursday night.
With that said, Mavericks president of basketball operations and GM Donnie Nelson held court with the media Wednesday morning with watchful eyes on the reshufflings in the first round of the draft and potential ramifications in free agency, which is set to start at the stroke of midnight on Sunday.
According to Nelson, in a draft filled with untapped potential, the Mavs will head into Thursday night well aware that they need to add a Day 1 contributor. But with free agency plans still manifesting and a hope to utilize financial flexibility to bring in another superstar to pair with 11-time All-Star Dirk Nowitzki, the former champs’ draft plans will not be centered solely on areas of need.
“We like the area a lot,” Nelson said while the Mavericks prepare to draft at their highest position since taking Etan Thomas with the 12th overall selection in 2000. "I don't think that we're gonna come out of this draft with an impact starter next year, but we absolutely will come out of this draft with a player that can be a rotation player for us. Whether it's next year or a year or two remains to be seen. But yes, we haven’t picked this high in a while, and the higher you go in the draft I think the less risky you are with those picks.”
Headlining the war room on Thursday night alongside Mavs owner Mark Cuban, Nelson will look to insert the best player left available on the team’s draft board after a series of private workouts last week. That selection is pending on what teams with the first 16 picks are positioning themselves for, however, with Nelson and the front office uncertain which players and positions will fall their way.
“We’re looking at best player. It’s not a situation where you want to draft or get locked into a need. If there’s an impact player, if there’s a fall guy that’s a mid-to-high lottery pick, if you get lucky in that form or fashion, but this is a non-specific draft for us,” Nelson explained.
He added: “We’re going into it wide-eyed and open-minded, and we’ll see what happens draft day. … Where we’re picking, it’s going to be interesting, because there’s really a little of everything down there. There’s guys that can get in the paint. There’s some true point guards that are gonna be in that area. There’s, we think, some players that could have some potential upside in terms of creating their own shot. It’s a center-heavy draft, so we might get a little bit lucky there and might get a big guy that falls into our area. So, we feel real good about the area. We think it’s gonna be a very active area, and so I’m not sitting here and telling you that if the right deal doesn’t crop up that we wouldn’t look at it hard and maybe even squeeze the trigger. But we like the grouping of players that’s gonna be at 17.”
The pick should also in no way affect the Mavericks’ free agency plans, which would get kick-started a couple of days after the team adds through the draft. And with six Mavericks set to hit the open market, a team option on swingman Vince Carter and a likely pending trade looming after the mutual parting of ways with forward Lamar Odom, there figures to be plenty of activity in the coming days.
“Unfortunately, you don’t have the luxury of knowing how free agency is gonna pan out,” Nelson admitted, “and so you make the best decision in terms of your franchise.”
