Dallas Mavericks’ head coach Rick Carlisle may be one of the most underrated coaches in the NBA. His ability to develop young players and squeeze all every ounce of usability out of veterans is mostly unsurpassed. Normally, Carlisle and the Mavs would be preparing for their first-round playoff matchup. This year, things are a little different. The Mavericks are not normally drafting in the lottery. Since 2000 the Mavs have drafted in the top 20 just three times, excluding this upcoming draft. Carlisle recently went on 103.3-FM ESPN Dallas‘ Dennis and Cowlishaw Show and discussed the drafting process.
The Mavericks hold the 9th pick in this upcoming draft. When asked about the preparation that is needed, Carlisle offered a timeline:
It’s a good year to be in the top-10. We’ll take advantage of it. There’s a lot of work to do between now and draft night. Chicago pre-draft is coming up in 3-4 weeks, there will be a lot of workouts, there will be a lot of interviews. There will be a lot of vetting out of players and finding things out along with watching a lot of film. And then we’ll have a big decision to make.”
As for how much pressure is on Dallas to get this pick right, he simply called it “an opportunity”. “This is great. There should be reason for great optimism,” Carlisle said. “There’s always a chance you can get lucky and move into the top-three on the night of the draft lottery. We’ll keep our fingers crossed there. But again, it’s not like some other years where you have two or three good players and the rest of them you’re just not sure; you can kinda just throw them all in a bucket and just pick one. This is very deep.”
Carlisle is right too. This upcoming draft is exceptionally strong through the lottery and offers some high-upside picks like Harry Giles potentially sliding into the later part of the first round. Extensive work has been done to examine the players in this upcoming draft by both the front office and the coaching staff. That being said, Carlisle acknowledges that team-owner Mark Cuban has the final say on any draft selection. While this scenario is not always ideal for some teams across various sports, Carlisle values Cuban’s input and overall decision-making. That includes if taking the top player available is the right choice.
“We gotta take the best player available. I think Mark makes a good point — if you have any chance to develop a guy who has a chance to be a legitimate star, that’s something you got to look at because stars are such an important part of being successful in the NBA. I just think that sometimes a pick can transcend a positional need. If a player is that level of ability or if you see something in that player that you think this guy could be really, truly special.”
Rick Carlisle knows the team’s needs better than anyone else, so his opinion is quite valuable. The notion of taking the best player available is something that many teams grapple with. “Need” versus “best player” depends on the team itself. With the Mavericks, a team that has an excellent coach and a decent roster, taking the best player helps the overall team. Going for “need” narrows down the options in the draft, leaving open the possibility of reaching for a player. Dallas, with the right pick in this draft, could and should make the leap back into the postseason – in potentially Dirk Nowitzki’s last season.
The Mavericks have a very interesting roster. Harrison Barnes proved valuable despite his enormous contract, Yogi Ferrell was a pleasant surprise coming off of a 10-day contract, and the acquisition of Nerlens Noel proved to be a terrific move that gives the team a potent rim defender. Rick Carlisle makes do with every player on his roster and there is little doubt that the Mavericks will be a more competitive team next season.
