{"id":329380,"date":"2026-06-09T17:17:16","date_gmt":"2026-06-09T17:17:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/329380\/"},"modified":"2026-06-09T17:17:16","modified_gmt":"2026-06-09T17:17:16","slug":"dallas-mavericks-2026-nba-draft-preview","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/329380\/","title":{"rendered":"Dallas Mavericks 2026 NBA Draft Preview"},"content":{"rendered":"

If someone were to ask who\u2019s had the weirdest 24-month span in the history of the NBA, the answer would likely be the current iteration of the Dallas Mavericks<\/a>.<\/p>\n

At this time in 2024, they were in the process of absolutely dismantling the Minnesota Timberwolves<\/a> en route to their first NBA Finals appearance in 13 years.<\/p>\n

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This time last year, they were\u2026in limbo. A large portion of the fanbase was grieving \u2014 not the death of a player, thankfully, but what felt like a stripping of the Mavs\u2019 soul.<\/p>\n

It had been almost four months since Nico Harrison impulsively traded Luka Don\u010di\u0107<\/a> to the Los Angeles Lakers<\/a>. On the other hand, Dallas had been blessed with the honor of taking Cooper Flagg<\/a> at No. 1.<\/p>\n

Now, it\u2019s the present day. The Mavericks are still recovering from injury and life without Doncic, but there are some pretty decent signs, even though the team was in the lottery for the second consecutive year. Flagg is the new centerpiece of the team, and the goal now, under new management and a new coach<\/a> to be named, is to get back to competing.<\/p>\n

Mavericks Draft Picks:<\/p>\n

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Mavericks Draft Needs:<\/p>\n

The Mavericks\u2019 needs are evident and simple.<\/p>\n

The first is a fresh, young point guard talent. Yes, Kyrie Irving<\/a> is one of the greatest point guards of the century, up there with the best in NBA history. Kyrie Irving is also 34 years old and coming off an ACL<\/a> tear. Not only is Irving a massive question, but so is the depth behind him. Outside of Ryan Nembhard<\/a>, there\u2019s not a true solidified guard option off the bench.<\/p>\n

The next is three-point shooting. Dallas was 26th<\/a> in three-point percentage, 29th<\/a> in makes, and 27th<\/a> in attempts this year. For reference, the New York Knicks<\/a> were 4th, 10th, and 12th in those categories.<\/p>\n

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Finally, the Mavericks need some center depth. Both Dereck Lively<\/a> and Daniel Gafford<\/a> sat out for extended periods, with Lively essentially missing the whole year. The production at that position dropped significantly with those two out, so it\u2019s a must that they address it.<\/p>\n

Mavericks Draft TargetsMikel Brown Jr.<\/a> \u2014 PG \u2014 Louisville<\/p>\n

The Kyrie Irving understudy.<\/p>\n

Brown has all the traits a franchise would want from a potential franchise guard\u2014twitchy, fluid, and great decision-making to elevate the teammates around him. Brown can also score plenty, as he averaged 18.2 PPG this past season, including a 45-point explosion against NC State. He can also hold his own defensively, as he averaged 1.2 steals to lead the Cardinals.<\/p>\n

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If there is such a thing as a \u201cperfect Kyrie replacement\u201d, Brown is it.<\/p>\n

Henri Veesaar<\/a>\/Alex Karaban<\/a> \u2014 C\/PF \u2014 Louisville<\/p>\n

In this section, there are two prospects, and both are featured because either could be at pick 30 for Dallas, and both solve key need(s).<\/p>\n

In the case of Veesaar, the 7-foot center from North Carolina actually solves two issues: not only can he man the five spot, but he\u2019s also a 40% three-point shooter. However, he\u2019s the more likely of the two to be off the board before Dallas\u2019s pick.<\/p>\n

Karaban is more likely to be at pick 30, and the 6-foot-8 forward from UConn is a sniper in his own right. He shot 37.4% from three on just over five attempts a game last season.<\/p>\n

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Both give the Mavericks big spacing options that can improve their offensive output.<\/p>\n

Felix Okpara<\/a> \u2014 C \u2014 Tennessee<\/p>\n

Okpara is projected to wind up near the rear end of the draft, which is just perfect for Dallas. The 6-foot-11 center from Rocky Top is a perfect candidate to secure the Mavericks\u2019 center depth.<\/p>\n

Okpara is an excellent rim protector, as evidenced by his 7.0% BLK, which ranks sixth<\/a> in the SEC this year. He actually led<\/a> the SEC in that category the year before, as well, at 8%.<\/p>\n

Offensively, he serves as a great lob threat, similar to Lively and Gafford. He doesn\u2019t do it often, but if need be, he can jump shoot as well.<\/p>\n

The post Dallas Mavericks 2026 NBA Draft Preview<\/a> appeared first on The Lead<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"If someone were to ask who\u2019s had the weirdest 24-month span in the history of the NBA, the…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":329381,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[9],"tags":[4642,102,104,2582,103,4647,4641,6393,4646,6399,3080,6396,29291,15637],"class_list":["post-329380","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-dallas","tag-cooper-flagg","tag-dallas","tag-dallas-headlines","tag-dallas-mavericks","tag-dallas-news","tag-daniel-gafford","tag-kyrie-irving","tag-los-angeles-lakers","tag-luka-doncic","tag-minnesota-timberwolves","tag-nba","tag-new-york-knicks","tag-ryan-nembhard","tag-the-mavericks"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/329380","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=329380"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/329380\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/329381"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=329380"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=329380"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=329380"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}