Believe it or not, the Dallas Mavericks are still a very young franchise in the NBA. Having been around since 1980, the Mavericks have existed just a little over half of the NBA’s 76 years as an organization. The Mavericks enjoyed early success with good scouting and draft picks as they picked up the likes of Mark Aguirre, Rolando Blackman, and others. Over the next 35-plus years, the Mavericks enjoyed more hits in the NBA Draft, but there was also their fair share of misses, as is the case for every NBA team.
The Mavericks have always seemed to be able to find their franchise star through draft night trades. In 1998, they selected Robert Traylor with their first-round selection and immediately traded him in exchange for Dirk Nowitzki in one of the most lopsided trades in NBA history. Dirk would go on to become the greatest player in franchise history and the driving force behind their only NBA championship in 2011. They also made a more modern-day trade for a superstar in 2018 when they acquired Luka Doncic on draft night in exchange for Trae Young. We aren’t here to discuss their success, though, as we take a look at the times they whiffed and missed the boat on a championship-winning team.
These are the worst draft mistakes in Dallas Mavericks’ history.
Bill Garnett (1982 NBA Draft) – 4th Overall PickBetter Available Pick: Fat Lever – 11th Overall Pick
Credit: Fadeaway World
The 1982 NBA Draft marked just the 3rd draft in Dallas Mavericks history. They hit pretty well on their first 2 selections and didn’t really make a mistake until 1982. In this draft, they selected a 6’9’’ big man Bill Garnett out of Wyoming. Garnett began his career in a promising manner but ultimately finished with 6.3 PPG and 5.4 RPG during his rookie season. Garnett would play just 1 more season with the Mavericks in 1983-84 before he was traded to the Pacers in 1984. Garnett would play 2 underwhelming seasons with the Pacers before walking away from the game at the end of the 1985-86 season at 25 years old.
The point guard situation for Dallas consisted of Brad Davis, and Kelvin Ransey headed into the NBA Draft. Looming down in the draft was a point guard who could have been a perfect compliment to both Mark Aguirre and Rolando Blackman on the court. Fat Lever took a few seasons and a trade to Denver to get things going in his career, but once he did, he was spectacular. Lever would go on to make 2 All-Star Games at his peak with the Nuggets and averaged 17.0 PPG, 7.6 RPG, 7.5 APG, and 2.5 SPG in his 6 seasons with the team. Another guard who could do it all for the Mavericks would have competed for an NBA title.
Sam Perkins (1984 NBA Draft) – 4th Overall PickBetter Available Pick: Charles Barkley – 5th Overall Pick
Credit: Fadeaway World
The next pick by the Mavericks in 1984 cannot be classified completely as a mistake. Sam Perkins was a great selection coming out of UNC and turned out to be a solid player for Dallas during the first 6 seasons of his career. He averaged 14.4 PPG, 8.0 RPG, 1.0 SPG, and 0.9 BPG in his 6 years with the Mavericks, earning an All-Rookie selection in 1984-85. Perkins was a good pick then and would even be considered a good pick now, but he certainly didn’t end up being the best player available pick.
The player selected directly after Perkins with the 5th pick was a future MVP, 11-time All-Star, and an 11-time All-NBA Team selection. Charles Barkley is known as one of the 5 greatest power forwards that ever lived, with his high-scoring, physical style of play earning him that honor. Barkley was a rebounding machine as well, with great defensive instincts and the ability to score the ball however he wanted. While Perkins is a solid selection, Barkley performed at a completely different level and would have done wonders for the Mavericks at the time.
Randy White (1989 NBA Draft) – 8th Overall PickBetter Available Picks: Tim Hardaway – 14th Overall Pick, Shawn Kemp – 17th Overall Pick
Credit: Fadeaway World
In 1989, the Mavericks had the 8th overall pick in the draft. They decided to go 6’8’’ power forward out of Louisiana Tech, Randy White. White would play just 5 seasons in the NBA, all with the Mavericks before injuries got the best of him, and he retired after the 1994 season. His best year in Dallas came in 1992-93 when he appeared in 64 games and averaged 9.7 PPG and 5.8 RPG. White finished with career averages of 7.4 PPG, and 4.9 RPG in 281 games played in Dallas.
Little did Dallas Know that an NBA Hall Of Famer and an all-time physically gifted athlete were there for the taking. The Mavericks could have used their pick on a point guard and, more specifically, the 14th overall pick Tim Hardaway. Hardaway is considered one of the best players in Heat and Warriors history, who earned 5 All-Star selections and 5 All-NBA Team selections in his career. Alo sitting there for Dallas, was another power forward who went on to have a much better career than White. Shawn Kemp was an athletic freak who ricked the rim en route to 6 All-Star selections with the SuperSonics and Cavaliers, as well as 3 All-NBA Team selections and a berth in the 1996 NBA Finals. Either one of these men would have faired far better for Dallas over Randy White.
Samaki Walker (1996 NBA Draft) – 9th Overall PickBetter Available Pick: Kobe Bryant – 13th Overall Pick
Credit: Fadeaway World
The Mavericks had a stretch where they either traded their first-round picks or drafted well enough to warrant exclusion from this list. In 1996 however, they made their way back onto the list with their 9th overall selection. The Mavericks decided on another big man by the name of Samaki Walker out of Louisville. Walker would last just 3 seasons for the Mavericks, never appearing in more than 43 games in any one season. He averaged 8.9 PPG and 7.4 RPG in 1997-98 but signed with the Spurs in free agency after the 1999 season.
What the Mavericks could have done is grab the next big generational star after Michael Jordan. Kobe Bryant went 13th to the Hornets and then was traded to the Lakers before the 1996-97 season began. For the Mavericks, they decided that the Three J’s, Jason Kidd, Jim Jackson, and Jamal Mashburn, deserved another year to put things together rather than take Bryant, who was coming out of high school. The Three J’s experiment folded while Bryant went on to play a huge role in 5 Los Angeles Lakers championships.
Etan Thomas (2000 NBA Draft) – 12th Overall PickBetter Available Pick: Hedo Turkoglu – 16th Overall Pick
Credit: Fadeaway World
Just 4 years after the Kobe Bryant blunder, the Dallas Mavericks made a minor yet devastating mistake. With the 12th overall pick, they selected Etan Thomas, a power forward/center out of Syracuse. See the pattern yet with Dallas and big men? Anyway, Thomas would never play a second for the Mavericks as he was traded to the Wizards in exchange for Juwan Howard, Calvin Booth, and Obinna Ekezie. The trade didn’t help Dallas Much either, as Howard was gone early the next season anyway.
The pick that could have combined similarly effective playstyles in Dallas was Hedo Turkoglu, who was chosen 4 picks later by the Kings. Turkoglu and Dirk Nowitzki could have been a dynamic international duo who was as gifted as any in basketball. Turkoglu would go on to be an effective scorer and defender who impacted winning in many different ways. He won the 2008 Most Improved Player award and played a big role on the 2009 Orlando Magic NBA Finals team.
Dennis Smith Jr. (2017 NBA Draft) – 9th Overall PickBetter Available Pick: Donovan Mitchell – 13th Overall Pick
Credit: Fadeaway World
The tale of Dennis Smith Jr. is one of mismanagement and missed opportunities. Smith was drafted to the Mavericks 9th overall in 2017 and revered for his athleticism and propensity to score in bunches. He played well in his rookie season with Dallas, starting 69 games and averaging 15.2 PPG. He was then traded halfway through the following season in a package that sent Tim Hardaway Jr. to Dallas. He struggled with injury and to find a home over the next few seasons until he landed in Charlotte for the 2022-23 season.
Just 4 picks later, one of the best current-day shooting guards in, Donovan Mitchell, was taken. Mitchell was drafted by the Nuggets then traded to the Jazz, and almost immediately put his name in the history books. He finished 2nd in the Rookie of the Year voting while becoming a 3-time All-Star in Utah over the next 5 seasons. In 2022-23, Mitchell is a Top 10 MVP candidate and became the 7th member of the 70-point club in NBA history for scoring 71 points in a game earlier this season. Mitchell is currently averaging 28.8 PPG and 4.8 APG for the Cavaliers. Could you imagine the duo of him and Luka Doncic?
Josh Green (2020 NBA Draft) – 18th Overall PickBetter Available Pick: Tyrese Maxey – 21st Overall Pick
Credit: Fadeaway World
It is hard to declare any draft pick within the last 5 years a mistake, but for the 2020 draft, we will make an exception. In 2020, the Mavericks picked toward the bottom of the first round and used their selection on Josh Green. He has remained with the Mavericks to the current day and has steadily seen his time on the court increase as he remains with them. Green is enjoying his best year in Callas so far with 24 appearances off the bench and 1 start so far this year. He is averaging 7.0 PPG and 2.3 RPG on 58.3% shooting from the field overall.
Meanwhile, in Philadelphia, Tyrese Maxey has made a name for himself with the 76ers. Maxey was chosen 3 spots after Green and has made a far bigger impact on his team. Maxey took over as the starting point guard for the 76ers in 2022 amid all the drama that surrounded the team with Ben Simmons. Maxey appeared in 75 games for Philly and averaged 17.5 PPG. Despite battling injury in 2022-23, Maxey is still a large part of the Sixers’ plans moving forward, sharing a backcourt with James Harden. In 20 games so far this season, he is averaging a career-high 21.5 PPG and shooting 40.8% from three-point range on 6.5 attempts.
Source: fadeawayworld
