[3_Ball]

I said this a couple months ago. Looking at the example of Kristaps Porzingis, who would not let his agent have contact with the 76ers, he was able to persuade them to pass on him at #3 (even though Porzingis is exactly who the 76ers wanted) & he became a Knick.

This seems to be working in the Mavs favor. Only Bagley has released his medical records to the Kings. The Hawks are a mystery & so are some of the players who may or may not want to play there. The Grizzlies seem hell bent on a win now with Conley Jr & Gasol strategy & they're in salary dump mode. Maybe the Mavs luck out & someone who shouldn't fall to us, based on the teams in front of us' draft boards, will because of some home cooking, if you will.

On the other hand, this appears to be a 4 player tier 1 & the Mavs have the 5th pick. That still irks me because if you finish with the worst record in the league, then you're guaranteed a top 4 pick. If the Kings do take Bagley & Ayton goes #1, then the Mavs would be able to take either Jackson Jr or Doncic at #4 and hold onto all future assets. If we have to trade away future assets to move up to 3 or 4, it'll only be because we didn't tank hard enough for the worst record in the league. A lot will disagree with me, but I just don't understand what those handful of extra wins accomplished.

Nonetheless, tomorrow will be a very exciting day! I'll barely be able to think about anything else while at work. I have my fingers crossed that somehow the Mavs can come away with Doncic or Jackson Jr. I'm not interested in anyone else. You could maybe talk me into Carter Jr or Mikal Bridges, but they'll seem like pretty sorry consolation prizes when Doncic and/or Jackson Jr could be had. I'll be downright pissed off if we don't move up to #4 and take Doncic because the organization thinks Harrison Barnes is the next "Whoever". He's not. He's just a guy, a guy who doesn't even average over 1.0 combined steals & blocks. That's JJ Redick territory.

Also, don't hear a lot of talk about it, but the Mavs are in great position with the #33 overall pick. We look back at this draft 5 years from now and there will be a half dozen or so guys drafted 33rd or later who are solid rotational players. I hope like hell the Mavs land one of them at 33! *fingers crossed*

Edit: Oh & Doncic will be an All Star, and Jackson Jr a 1st team All Defense player both numerous times. That's my prediction. Doncic makes the other players on the floor better on offense & it's not talked about enough with him. He'll make the game easier for a guy like Dwight Powell. Jackson Jr will make the game easier for other players on defense. A guy like Doug McDermott will have help on the perimter, knowing Jackson Jr is one of the best help-side defenders in the league. Some of this 2-3 years down the road, but that's when the Mavs will be ready to compete again, hopefully.