The Mavericks watched with a keen and opportunistic eye as the NBA's draft lottery went down Tuesday night.
The results have been resonating through the league since the Los Angeles Clippers won the No. 1 overall pick and, presumably, the rights to Oklahoma's Blake Griffin. Even the historically bumbling Clippers can't mess this one up, right?
Rest assured, a ton of teams will be waiting to pounce if they do. That includes the Mavericks , who are keeping close tabs on wide-ranging personnel situations as they enter what figures to be a very active off-season for many teams.
Draft scenarios became more complicated when the Clippers won the lottery. They already have big men Marcus Camby, Chris Kaman and Zach Randolph.
Even though the Clippers say they plan to select and keep Griffin, a 6-10 forward, their logjam of big men would seem to indicate other movement is likely.
And clearly, one or more of those players will be jettisoned, particularly if the Clippers can unload another of their long-term, lucrative contracts at the same time, presumably point guard Baron Davis.
How does that impact the Mavericks ? At the moment, it doesn't, but it could as the June 25 draft nears.
"We have to be open to anything - anything - that would improve our team,'' president of Basketball operations Donnie Nelson said Wednesday.
The Mavericks will be one of 29 teams in contact with the Clippers about everything from their bevy of big men to the No. 1 pick and Davis, who is under contract for four more seasons at more than $50 million.
First, the Mavericks must address the Jason Kidd issue. If they re-sign Kidd, Davis would become a nonfactor unless a third team was involved.
But a player like Camby or Kaman, who played with Dirk Nowitzki on the German national team in last year's Olympics, would make a lot of sense for the Mavericks .
But there will be no shortage of competition, particularly from Oklahoma City, which has the third pick in the draft. The Thunder is expected to make a play for Griffin, using the third pick and one of their young core players (Jeff Green or Russell Westbrook) as bait for the top overall pick, which would allow them to keep Griffin in his hometown.
That would be a huge move in terms of local interest and, by extension, ticket sales.
The Mavericks have to take a proactive approach on this. The Clippers were trying to dump salary all last season. They have a nice core with Al Thornton, their big guys, Davis and Eric Gordon. Pairing Griffin with that group should make the Clippers playoff worthy.
But if they can pare some of that salary, presumably Davis and/or one of their big men, the Mavericks have to be ready to move, something they've never been shy about in the past.
