From
HOOPSWORLD.com
Draft Prospects: Dallas Mavericks
By Bill Ingram
Jun 7, 2007, 08:57
The buzz out of Orlando last week had more to do with the players who
weren't there than it did with those who were. Of course, top first round picks have nothing to gain from showing up for the pre-draft camp, but late first rounders can often improve their standing by putting on a show in the weaker talent pool of the pre-draft camp. This year, even the projected late first round picks weren't around, meaning there was very little for the gathered who's-who of NBA front offices to evaluate.
"I'm not aware of a lot of the college guys," admits Mavericks assistant coach Joe Prunty. "But what stood out to me was that most of the guys I had heard of weren't there. Pre-draft has become that, unfortunately. A lot of guys think they can just be sneaky and don't have to show up. It's still productive, though. They do a good job of running it and I think there's value in it. Maybe it could be tweaked, but that's for someone else to decide. But for a guy like me, who doesn't get a chance to watch any of the college games, it's great to be able to see them come together and play. It gives me a chance to know who they are, at least."
Ironically, the Mavericks don't have a first round pick in this year's draft, so the field of talent in Orlando could very well be the pool the Mavs get to pick from when they finally get on the board in the second round. Given the lack of buzz coming out of Orlando, though, can the Mavericks realistically expect to improve their team in the immediate future with their 2007 picks?
"That's always the issue with a second round pick is whether or not you can get a player who can really help you out," says Prunty, who spent last week checking out the Orlando camp. "There haven't been many second round picks who really made it in the history of he draft and there's only a handful of guys every tear who come in and make an impact and they usually wind up on bad teams. That's why those teams are picking where they are. There's an odd exception like the Spurs with Tim Duncan, where they had injuries and then got the top pick and were very good. If Durant goes to Seattle this year that's a team that was injured and could be very good next year. At the end of the day you're looking for a chance to get better. When you're in Dallas and you're not always picking with a top pick it's amazing to get guys like Josh (Howard), Devin (Harris) - turning situations that weren't ideal pick situations around and getting guys that can come in and help."
With the second round talent pool looking fairly shallow and the Mavs needing some help in improving the team while staying under the cap, does the team feel pressure to get into the first round?
"You're always looking to improve your situation, whether it's through trade or the draft or free agency, but we don't feel like there's a need," says Prunty. "There's no burning desire to get into the first round just to get there. There's a desire to make our team better and if there's a way to do that, we'll do it. But there's no reason to ever get into the first round just to be in there, even though everybody's saying this will be a very good first round. We would only do it if we feel it's a piece that helps us. You don't want to just jump into something and right now there's no real intention to get into the first round. Some teams do that - they want to get into the first round at all costs - but we're not there."
So don't get your hopes up if you're expecting to see the Mavericks moving into the first round on June 28th. There are certainly ways the team could move up, but at what expense? Are they willing to do what it would take to get into the first round? Probably not. And they don't really need to. At the same time, they have a serious salary cap issue facing them as they seek to re-sign Jerry Stackhouse and find another scorer to combat the smaller, quicker offensive teams. Part two of my conversation with Joe Prunty addresses the free agency issue - coming soon!
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