With the No. 26 pick in the SB Nation 2011 NBA Mock Draft, the Dallas Mavericks, represented by SB Nation's blog champion Mavs Moneyball, select Duke point guard (no not that one) Nolan Smith. Moneyball's Tim (aka tcat75) explains the pick.
NBA Mock Draft 2011: Mavericks Take Nolan Smith With No. 26 Pick
Believe it or not, the Mavericks do not view their 2011 NBA Championship as the end of their era. With Caron Butler considered likely to re-sign with the team after an injury that caused him to miss half the year, and hopefully solid production from exciting young player Rodrigue Beaubois, the Mavericks think they might even be better than they were last year. With that said, the Mavericks will be looking for someone to contribute now.
The Mavericks have several positions which could use some attention, but point guard stands out. After bringing his talents to the NBA postseason, J.J. Barea might just have earned himself a new home, along with quite a bit of money, as he is an unrestricted free agent. If Roddy is truly a 2-guard, then the only backup to Jason Kidd is the raw Dominique Jones. Bringing in Nolan Smith brings in a college senior who is ready to get meaningful minutes. He will help alleviate the lack of scoring from the PG position, although he wouldn't feel the pressure to score as he did at Duke.
If the Mavericks do still view Beaubois as a PG, then senior Justin Harper would also be a valuable choice to bolster the forward position. However, if they finally admit Roddy B’s future seems more and more likely to be at shooting guard, then Nolan Smith could immediately step into the backup point guard position, and perhaps take Jason Kidd’s position in a couple of years.
Follow this StoryStream to see our entire SB Nation mock draft play out over the next couple days. See our 2011 NBA Draft hub for full coverage.
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