Dennis Smith, Jr. (NC State) is introduced by NBA commissioner Adam Silver. Brad Penner-Imagn Images

Mavs still looking to erase 8-year NBA Draft mistake

Originally posted on Dallas Mavericks on SI
By Jeremy Brener | Last updated Jun 19, 2025 1:32 PM ET

The Dallas Mavericks are less than a week away from the NBA Draft, where it will be hard to see them not take Cooper Flagg with the No. 1 overall pick.

Some decisions are easier than others when it comes to the draft, and the Mavs have an easy choice with Flagg. That wasn't the case back in 2017 when Dallas held the No. 9 overall pick and took NC State point guard Dennis Smith Jr., who played at Real Madrid this season.

Bleacher Report writer Matt Velazquez looked back at the Mavs' decision to take Smith over eventual All-Star Donovan Mitchell, who went four picks later at No. 13.

Mavs messed up Mitchell pick

"How would the Mavericks' trajectory—and with it that of the whole league—have changed if Dallas had taken Donovan Mitchell with the ninth pick that year? Now arguably the second-best player in the 2017 class behind Jayson Tatum, Mitchell could have raised the Mavs' ceiling immediately as a rookie like he did with the Utah Jazz," Velazquez wrote.

"Would Dallas have traded him the following season as it did Smith? Would Dallas still have had the opportunity to draft Luka Dončić in 2018? What could a Mitchell-Dončić backcourt have looked like had it come to fruition?"

It remains to be seen if choosing Mitchell over Smith would have allowed the Mavs to take Doncic the following year.

If Dallas took Mitchell and Doncic in consecutive drafts, there's a good chance the Mavs would be one of the top teams in the league for a long time.

They would possibly even have a championship or two by now.

Instead, the Mavs will look to find a way to win a championship with Flagg as their main piece.

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

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