Mavs Trade 10th Pick? NBA Insider Makes Draft Prediction: 'Take It To The Bank'

One NBA insider shared his prediction regarding what the Mavs will do with the 10th pick in the 2023 NBA Draft based on presently available information.

DALLAS — The Dallas Mavericks have some important decisions to make in the coming days with the 2023 NBA Draft looming. With the 10th pick in the order after finishing with a 38-44 record, there is a real pressure to improve the roster around Luka Doncic and impending free agent Kyrie Irving. 

While things certainly can change as new information becomes available, there appears to be some trends emerging regarding the Mavs' potential draft outcome. 

During an appearance on the 'Inside The Mavs' podcast, Jake Fischer of Yahoo! Sports made a prediction for what the Mavs will do with the 10th pick based on the current information available in the days leading into the NBA Draft.

"Yeah, they're going to trade it [the 10th pick]," Fischer said. "If Dallas is picking at 10, I will be absolutely floored."

There are still a variety of different possibilities regarding what the Mavs could acquire in exchange for the 10th pick. Whether Dallas trades the selection outright for a player, or there is more moving parts involved, Fischer is confident that a trade will occur. 

"I don't know if it's just gonna be for a straight, you know, 'we're trading 10 for this player.' If they're moving down, if there's a little other shuffling with it," Fischer said. "But they're going to trade this pick. I think there's just so much opportunity for movement and they're in a pretty prime position in order to get something of value back."

When surveying the trade landscape for potential trade down partners for the Mavs, Fischer highlighted the Atlanta Hawks and Utah Jazz as being among teams to monitor. There are a variety of teams with multiple late first-round selections. 

"Whether it is something like that Atlanta thing or something with Utah, what have you," Fischer explained. "I would take it to the bank that Dallas is going to move this selection."

Another element to take into consideration is the potential interest from teams to trade up higher than 10th in the order. The Jazz are open to parting with the 9th pick in trade discussions, which 

"Utah at nine, like they're talking about trading up. They're talking about trading down. So that's definitely a thing to keep an eye on for Mavericks fans," Fischer said. "And the Mavericks are keeping an eye on it too, because if all of a sudden nine is a hot spot to trade into, that's obviously one spot above them. And that could potentially take someone off the table for Dallas to trade for, or to trade with."

The Los Angeles Lakers and Golden State Warriors are among teams with selections in the late teens of the NBA Draft order with interest in trading up, but may not be a fitting partner for the Mavs in a deal. 

"The Lakers I think would have interest in getting up that high. I just don't know what they have to really make it worth Dallas's while. Golden State is a team [interested in trading up], but I think they would like to get up higher than 10."

"If the Warriors are going to move up with Jonathan Kuminga, it's going to be a little bit higher than where Dallas is right now," Fischer explained. "But if that's something that works out where it's a bigger situation because there's a lot of cards on the table for both teams. I wouldn't be shocked, 19 to ten's a pretty big jump, but I'll say this, from what I've been told, for who Golden State will be targeting there, I don't think that player will be available at 10."

Among the various trade scenarios the Mavs have been linked to in trade down frameworks, Fischer recently reported Dallas' talks with the Hawks in deals that involve sending out Davis Bertans' contract with the 10th pick in exchange for a veteran frontcourt player and the 15th pick. However, there hasn't been progress achieved.

While the specific outcome remains to be seen, the Mavs' priorities for roster improvement include defense and rebounding. If that can be achieved by trading away the 10th pick, expect there to be a strong pursuit to do so. 

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Grant Afseth is a Dallas Mavericks reporter for DallasBasketball.com and an NBA reporter for NBA Analysis Network. He previously covered the Indiana Pacers and NBA for CNHI's Kokomo Tribune and various NBA teams for USA TODAY Sports Media Group. Follow him on Twitter (@grantafseth), Facebook (@grantgafseth), and YouTube (@grantafseth).

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