Mavs draft backup plan for Dirk
11:58 PM CDT on Thursday, June 28, 2007
By EDDIE SEFKO / The Dallas Morning News
esefko@dallasnews.com
Last season, only two Division I players in the nation averaged at least 20 points and 10 rebounds per game.
The one not named Kevin Durant is coming to the Mavericks.
The Mavericks made the most of what they had Thursday night, selecting Nevada forward Nick Fazekas in the second round with the 34th overall pick.
Everybody thought this was one of the deepest drafts in memory and the selection of Fazekas proves it. Before the selection, president of basketball operations Donnie Nelson had said the 34th pick this year was on par with the 23rd to 25th picks of 2006.
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If that's the case, that should give Fazekas a decent chance to contribute as a rookie next season.
"We got a young guy who has plenty of energy," coach Avery Johnson said. "I called him on the phone and said, 'We're excited about having you and some of the things you can do,' and he said, 'Coach, I can do everything.' So at least he's confident."
The scouting report on the 6-foot-11 Fazekas is that he is an excellent face-the-basket shooter who can get to the free-throw line. He was a big-time rebounder throughout his four seasons at Nevada.
He's capable of some big games. He had 24 points and a career-best-tying 18 rebounds against Utah State.
How numbers like that will translate to the NBA remains to be seen. But the Mavericks have been searching for a backup to Dirk Nowitzki for years. They have gone through players like Keith Van Horn and Austin Croshere without much luck.
Now they will try to use a draftee to fill that role.
Then again, with Fazekas' confidence, maybe that's aiming too low. Does he have his sights on the MVP power forward's job?
"No, that's Dirk's job," Fazekas said. "I'm there to play with Dirk. But I am confident. That's the way I feel. I'm a winner and I'm excited to go to the winningest program in the NBA."
Johnson said the Mavericks' scouts zeroed in on Fazekas during the season and they were impressed by his workout last week.
"In our league, as much as I like defense and rebounding, the league has shown you've got to have big guys who can pass, big guys that can shoot and big guys that can score inside a little," Johnson said.
Nick Fazekas averaged 20.4 points and 11.1 rebounds last season for Nevada.
He added that drafting a big man was important, given that Croshere is an unrestricted free agent.
For Fazekas, the wait to get to No. 34 got a little excruciating as draft night went on. But it was worth the wait, he said.
"I'm not disappointed at all," he said. "I'm glad the Mavericks rolled the dice on me."
The Mavs also had the 50th pick and selected Renaldas Seibutis from Greece. They also took Milovan Rakovic from Serbia with the 60th pick.
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