WRG 2012 Mock Draft - #17 Dallas Mavericks

Huge offseason for us.

We basically threw in the towel this season for a chance to land Deron Williams and/or Dwight Howard this offseason. If we get one or both...success. If not...we'll have about a million angry Dallasites that need some explaining.

Jason Kidd is a free agent. If he leaves and we don't get Deron we don't have a point guard. Kendall Marshall was a perfect pick for us, but our Lone Star neighbors just snatched him right in front of us. We can't say we're happy about this. 

We desperately need an infusion of some young talent. Dirk, JET (who we expect to resign), Vince Carter and Shawn Marion are all 34 or older.

We have no big man depth. We might have no point guard. Our players are old. Things can spiral out of control VERY quickly unless we land a top free agent and nail this pick.

Good thing there is a top 5 talent on the board for us.

With the 17th pick, the Mavericks select Perry Jones III.

 A blinding talent.

We're confident that our veteran laden team can bring the best out of Perry, who fell due to an unimpressive sophomore season at Baylor. Not only will he learn from true professionals, but he grew up in Dallas County, and we believe that this scenario is the best possibility for him to succeed and grow into a star.

WRG Mock Draft #22: Dallas Mavericks

This offseason is generally regarded as the expiration date of our title run.

We spent more money than anyone and took more risks than anyone to keep our window open, but now it appears to be slammed shut.

However, it's tough to just give up and retreat into lottery-land when we have a couple of real advantages over other franchises.

1. Our franchise player is playing some of his best basketball. If we can get him back to the playoffs, we feel like we have a chance to beat anyone.

2. The cap is going down, salaries are tight, and we are one of the very few teams that will even consider paying the luxury tax. We will pay players that other teams won't, and we think the lack of buyers in the market can keep our roster competitive.

That means regardless of whether we sign our own free agents or make deals to acquire players to replace them, we think we will have a very good starting lineup.

So we aren't looking at the draft as the main tool to fill our roster. We just want a quality player who we think will help us this season and is young enough to grow with us when we eventually rebuild. The top player left on our board is the the strongest, toughest guy available. Regardless of position, that feeds our need.

The Dallas Mavericks select DeJuan Blair, who we thought would be long gone by now - sort of the same way the rest of the league feels about us.

You don't need knee ligaments when you have balls.

The Sacramento Kings are on the clock.