Getty Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban celebrates during Game 3 of the 2022 Western Conference Finals versus the Golden State Warriors.
The Dallas Mavericks have never been the same since they chose to let Jalen Brunson walk away and sign with the New York Knicks. Not even Kyrie Irving’s arrival at the trade deadline could save them from falling outside the play-in tournament with three games left in their schedule.
With their collapse after reaching the Western Conference Finals last year, the Mavericks are desperately looking at improving their roster around Doncic and Irving, which could affect the Knicks’ off-season plans.
The Athletic’s Shams Charania reported that Mavericks are seriously considering shutting down Luka Doncic and Irving to keep their 2023 first-round pick from conveying to the New York Knicks this year and use it as a trade chip.
“I’m told that the organization is seriously considering shutting down those guys. They have a top-10 protected pick. So being out of the play-in race, it behooves them not to try to keep their pick,” Charania said on FanDuel TV’s Run It Back Monday episode.
The Mavericks owe the Knicks a top-10 protected selection in the next draft from the Kristaps Porzingis trade in 2019.
Entering Monday’s NBA games, the Mavericks’ pick is currently positioned at No. 10, per Tankathon. If they tank their remaining games, it will virtually guarantee the selection will not convey to the Knicks this year and give the Mavericks a greater chance to go up in the lottery.
If Dallas stands pat with 10th-best lottery odds … Mavs would have a 76.3% chance of keeping their top-10-protected pick this year, a 13.9% chance of moving into the top 4 and a 3% chance of winning the Victor Wembanyama sweepstakes.
It will also mean the Knicks will be without a first-round selection this year, as they have already traded their own pick, with top-14 protection, to the Portland Trail Blazers in the Josh Hart trade. Portland is guaranteed to have that pick after the Knicks clinched a playoff berth Sunday night.
The Knicks’ other first-round picks from Detroit Pistons (top-18 protection this year) and Washington Wizards (top-14 protection this year) will also not convey in the next draft as they are both lottery-bound.
The ideal scenario for the Knicks is for that Mavericks’ pick to convey this year in a deep draft class headlined by French prodigy Victor Wembanyama, hoping to add that as a potential trade chip this summer.
But if it doesn’t convey this year, the Knicks will still have two more cracks at Mavericks’ first-round selections with the same protections in 2024 and 2025 before it becomes a second-round pick.
The Knicks can still add that to their own three future first-round selections (2024, 2026 and 2028) in a potential trade for the next star available after their 2023 first-round pick is conveyed to the Trail Blazers on NBA Draft Night.
Jalen Brunson Named Sportsmanship Award Finalist
Brunson has been everything more than what the Knicks have dreamed of. Brunson, a former Mavericks’ second-round pick, has been the Knicks’ leader on and off the floor this season.
His outstanding professionalism has led to his selection as among the season’s finalists for the NBA Sportsmanship award.
Brunson joins Miami Heat’s Bam Adebayo, Sacramento Kings’ Harrison Barnes, Cleveland Cavaliers’ Darius Garland, Houston Rockets’ Boban Marjanovic and Minnesota Timberwolves’ Mike Conley, a three-time recipient of the award.
The finalists for the 2022-23 NBA Sportsmanship Award.
The annual honor recognizes the player who best represents the ideals of sportsmanship on the court. Current NBA players will select the winner from these six finalists (one finalist from each NBA division).
Knicks’s Magic Number for 5th Seed Down to 1
New York coach Tom Thibodeau said after clinching a playoff berth Sunday night that he will not be resting his healthy key players until everything is locked up.
The Knicks need one more win or a Brooklyn Nets loss to clinch the fifth seed. The fourth seed, currently occupied by the Cleveland Cavaliers, are still mathematically possible but it will take a miracle.
For them to clinch the fourth seed and a homecourt advantage in the first round of the playoffs, the Knicks have to win their three remaining games and hope the Cavaliers lose their final three games.
The Nets (against Minnesota Timberwolves) and Cavaliers (against Orlando Magic) will play on Tuesday, while the Knicks will take on the Indiana Pacers on the road on Wednesday.