Dallas Mavericks guard Kyrie Irving drives to the basket past Sacramento Kings forward Keegan Murray. Jerome Miron-Imagn Images

Mavs land potential future Kyrie Irving successor in mock draft

Originally posted on Dallas Mavericks on SI
By Jeremy Brener | Last updated May 5, 2025 12:08 PM ET

The Dallas Mavericks have a lottery pick to work with for the 2025 NBA Draft.

This comes after the team missed the playoffs despite being in the NBA Finals less than a year ago.

A lot can change in just one season, and the Mavs certainly proved that this year, trading Luka Doncic to the Los Angeles Lakers shortly before Kyrie Irving tore his ACL.

With Doncic and Irving gone, the Mavs will need a point guard to rely on, which is why CBS Sports writer Kyle Boone has Dallas taking Oklahoma point guard Jeremiah Fears in his latest mock draft.

Fears to the Mavs?

"With Kyrie Irving's ACL tear looming over the point guard spot in Dallas, embattled GM Nico Harrison looks to the future here in a high-risk, high-reward 18-year-old in Jeremiah Fears. He's an electric ball-handler with traits of a future star if he can become more well-rounded as a shooter and shape up his defense," Boone wrote.

Fears will have the chance to learn behind one of the best point guards of the generation in Irving, while also learning to potentially become his successor someday.

Even with Irving out, Fears would likely not start in his rookie season as he still just a teenager competing on a team that wants to win next season.

Either way, the Mavs would be adding someone who could be part of their core moving forward, and that is the biggest goal with this pick, which should land around No. 11 overall.

The Mavs will participate in the NBA Draft Lottery on Monday, May 12.

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

More must-reads: