Dallas Mavericks anxiously following the NBA Draft Lottery – NBA Feature
The Dallas Mavericks are not participating in the NBA Draft lottery that will take place on Wednesday night. They qualified for the playoffs yet again, meaning that they will not be participating in the lottery. However, they have
a very good reason for following the Lottery very closely. And that reason is Deron Williams.
The New Jersey Nets finished with the 6th worst record in the NBA this season, and have a 25% chance of winning one of the top three picks of the Draft. They traded their pick to the Portland Trail Blazers during the
season in return for Gerald Wallace, but protected the pick meaning that if they land a top three pick, they get to keep it.
This is of concern for the Dallas Mavericks because if the Nets are able to land a top three pick, they can easily trade that pick with the Orlando Magic for Dwight Howard, the All Star Center and three time Defensive Player of
the Year. With Howard in a New Jersey uniform next year, it is quite probable that Nets point guard Deron Williams will resign to the team. Williams is all set to be a free agent this summer and is the hottest property on the market in this year’s free agent
class.
The Dallas Mavericks want Deron Williams to sign with them to play alongside Dirk Nowitzki, and hence would not want the Nets to win a top three pick. Mavericks owner Mark Cuban has a lot of cap space this year and can easily add
big stars to his team, with Deron Williams at the top of the list. Williams has made his intentions about leaving the Nets clear. But the Nets are still trying to lure him back if they can assemble a championship contending team.
Dwight Howard was expected to be a free agent this summer as well but after indicating that he wanted to leave Orlando, Howard signed on for another year with the Magic. However, he still has not shown any desire to sign long term
with the Magic and considering the kind of season the Magic had, with Coach Stan Van Gundy and Howard falling off and the Magic falling to 6th seed in the Eastern Conference, the Magic might want to trade Howard instead of dealing with another season
of uncertainty.
The Brooklyn Nets, formerly the New Jersey Nets, are looking forward to a big season. They are moving to a new arena and looking to sign new players or make trades that will create a championship contending team, as they have ambitious
aims for the club after living in the shadows of the New York Knicks for many years. A top three draft pick could make it all easy for them.
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