Apr 9, 2025; Dallas, Texas, USA; Dallas Mavericks general manager Nico Harrison during the game between the Dallas Mavericks and the Los Angeles Lakers at American Airlines Center. Mandatory Credit: Jerome Miron-Imagn Images Jerome Miron-Imagn Images

Mavericks could look to move around in 2025 NBA Draft

Originally posted on Dallas Mavericks on SI
By Austin Veazey | Last updated Jun 15, 2025 8:00 AM ET

It is now 10 days until the first round of the 2025 NBA Draft and until the Dallas Mavericks can officially select Cooper Flagg with the first overall pick. As of now, that is their only pick in the draft.

They could've (and should've) had a top pick in the second round, but Nico Harrison made a series of disastrous trades at the trade deadline. The first was obviously the Luka Doncic trade, one where Dallas' second-round pick was re-routed to the Utah Jazz so they could facilitate the financial side of the trade. That pick became the 43rd overall pick.

The second was the Quentin Grimes trade, a sneakily horrible move that went under the radar because of the Doncic trade. In that trade, Harrison sent the Philadelphia 76ers their own second-round pick back knowing Joel Embiid and Paul George weren't playing much due to injury and they were trying to keep their top-six protected pick. That second-round pick became the 35th overall pick.

Instead of having two early-to-mid second-round picks to play with, the Mavs will have to get creative if they want to get back into the draft, something Rafael Barlowe said on the latest Locked on NBA Big Board podcast.

"I've heard the Mavs are a team that could be looking to get into the back end of the first round to add a point guard," Barlowe said.

If the Mavericks do move back into the draft, what are some pathways to get that done? And who could be a trade partner?

Dallas doesn't have many future picks, only owning the complete rights to their picks in 2026 and 2031 (and beyond) and the LA Lakers 2029 first, while their picks in 2028, 2029, and 2030 can be swapped from control by the other teams involved in those trades. They also own a 2031 second-round pick that came back in the Quentin Grimes trade once Caleb Martin failed his physical.

So they don't really have a lot of assets to give up, but could a team be interested in Jaden Hardy, Caleb Martin, or Olivier-Maxence Prosper? The Brooklyn Nets have four first-round picks, including picks 26 and 27, and likely don't want to use all those, they could be a trade partner.

There's also always the possibility that the Mavericks move Daniel Gafford or P.J. Washington, something that's rumored they don't want to do. But they're the most valuable players on the roster that could be expendable.

As far as targets, The Ringer's big board has Florida's Walter Clayton Jr., Israel's Ben Saraf, Duke's Tyrese Proctor, and Marquette's Kam Jones as guard options from 25-40. Clayton would make sense and is someone who was connected to the Mavs before they landed the first pick. If he starts to fall to the end of the draft, it wouldn't be surprising to see them move up.

This article first appeared on Dallas Mavericks on SI and was syndicated with permission.

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