Earlier this week, we ran a poll looking back at the Dallas Mavericks draft. We asked you to grade it. Now, because of some technical limitations, I couldn\u2019t do a normal letter-scale grade, so I went with the broader set of statements: Passing, failing, incomplete.<\/p>\n
Here are the results of that poll.<\/p>\n
The majority of fans gave the Mavericks a passing grade, with a fairly close split between the other two options. Personally, I went with incomplete.<\/p>\n
The draft is but one tool for team improvement in the off-season but given the current CBA restrictions, the current contending teams have, by and large, shown the draft as the most direct way to rapid improvement. Trades still happen as do free agent signings, but they are more about rounding out your team. With that understanding, my grade came from the fact that the draft itself did little to address the specific team needs: playmaking.<\/p>\n
Dallas fell to 9th due to a coinfip and a bad lottery draw and missed out on the top set of guards according to all draft experts. They went with Morez Johnson as a result. He\u2019s a huge player and I look forward to seeing what he can do, but until the Mavericks make more roster changes, he\u2019s part of a logjam. They really need him to work as this is the last time Dallas should draft in the lottery for some time.<\/p>\n
Later in the draft the made a trade to secure Spanish guard Sergio De Larrea and he seems like a potential steal, but we\u2019ll need to see how he plays. Later they selected Tobi Lawai and Vsevolod Ishchenko, a couple of long-term prospects who may never suit up for Dallas.<\/p>\n