Getty Dejounte Murray of the Atlanta Hawks and Dallas Mavericks star Luka Doncic.
Rumors surrounding the Dallas Mavericks‘ No. 10 overall pick in the 2023 NBA Draft are beginning to heat up. Just two days prior to the event, ESPN’s Jonathan Givony and Jeremy Woo released their updated mock draft, which is full of the latest intel about possible moves.
When previewing Dallas’ selection, Woo went into detail about the interest that surrounds it. He revealed that the Orlando Magic, Oklahoma City Thunder, and Atlanta Hawks could all wind up being potential suitors for the pick because of their interest in Duke center Dereck Lively.
“With draft night approaching, a large swath of the league has called the Mavericks about this pick, which is widely known to be available,” Woo wrote. “Dallas continues to weigh its options in trading back, looking for the right opportunity to upgrade the roster while also preferring to stay in the draft and select a player they like later on… Lively has potential suitors right after this pick in Orlando and Oklahoma City, making him a trade target for other teams at this spot — most notably Atlanta, which could aim to package the No. 15 pick with Clint Capela to move up and draft him.”
Of the three, Atlanta was seemingly the most realistic, as Givony went into further detail about their interest in trading up to pick Lively.
“The Mavericks are said to be one potential trade partner, but the Hawks may balk at using the No. 15 pick in a deal for Capela, who still has positive trade value,” Givony added. “Lively is said to be viewed as a potential successor for Capela should the draftee fall this far.”
Mavericks Have Been Shopping No. 10 Pick
Dallas’ interest in trading the No. 10 overall pick isn’t a new thing. It’s been widely reported for the last month or so, ever since their draft position was set at the NBA Draft Lottery.
Yahoo Sports’ Jake Fischer has been all over the story ever since, reporting the front office’s interest in moving the pick from the jump.
“There are other teams rival executives are already pinning as potential trade candidates,” Fischer reported on May 18. “Dallas avoided disaster by landing its top-10 protected pick at the No. 10 spot, and the Mavericks are certainly expected to explore the market for that selection in hopes of adding to their All-Star backcourt of Luka Doncic and Kyrie Irving, the latter of which will become an unrestricted free agent this summer.”
Fischer followed up the initial report a few weeks later, explaining that teams around the league were well aware of what the Mavs were up to.
“Dallas is widely known to be evaluating trade possibilities with the 10th pick to bring reinforcements to Luka Doncic, as well as All-Star guard Kyrie Irving, who will become an unrestricted free agent,” he wrote on June 6.
Mock Trade Sees Mavs Swap No. 10 With Hawks for Frontcourt Depth
With the draft right around the corner, Bleacher Report’s Greg Swartz took a swing at outlining a possible deal between Atlanta and Dallas.
Atlanta Hawks Receive: No. 10 overall pick, PF Dāvis Bertāns, C JaVale McGee
Dallas Mavericks Receive: PF John Collins, C Onyeka Okongwu
Swartz’s mock trade may represent what could be one of the better returns that the Mavs could garner for No. 10. Their roster certainly needs frontcourt help. So much so that Jason Kidd was forced to use a carousel of middling big men last season and it just didn’t work.
