One sleep away, and the Dallas Mavericks have question marks ahead of their No. 9 pick, which is something they badly have to hit on to get Cooper Flagg in the right position.
ESPN's Jeremy Woo has a mock draft that has Tennessee forward Nate Ament to the Mavericks at No. 9. While that may be a controversial pick to some, thanks to Ament's concerns for post defense and strength, Arizona guard Brayden Burries is starting to slip away, largely in part to a potential rebuild in a Giannis Antetokounmpo.
It's also important to keep in mind that Woo's mock draft was published hours before Dusty May was hired as the Mavs' head coach. But a Giannis trade still may mess with the Mavericks' plans to draft their consensus pick.
The Milwaukee Bucks would likely get four to five first-rounders in an Antetokounmpo trade, and according to Woo, that starts with Burries being selected by the Bucks at No. 10.
It's looking like a Giannis trade would mess up Dallas' draft target in Brayden Burries
A Burries pick for the Bucks almost assures the beginning of a reboot, but Woo adds that Burries has a broad range and would be perfect for a Bucks rebuild.
"Burries appears to have a narrow range between 8 and 11, with Dallas frequently mentioned and Golden State viewed as his backstop. He would have a best-available case here for the Bucks, giving them another ball handler and interchangeable perimeter option and a player who can immediately plug into their backcourt."
It was reported that the Mavs were already linked to Ament, and while he was a legitimate scorer in his lone season at Tennessee (16.7 PPG), there are questions about his body at 210 pounds. How can he defend inside the post and score at his own rate against NBA defenders? He's also another forward, and it doesn't address the need at guard.
With Kyrie Irving coming off an ACL injury over a year ago, it sounds like the Mavs are keeping him off the market, but at 34 and the way Irving handles the basketball, we can only wonder how long he can keep up his insane dribbling skills.
The Mavs could use a young guard to pair next to Flagg, and Burries checks all the boxes to shoot, pass and defend. The Bucks selecting Burries at No. 10 makes sense for the Bucks organization to start over, and Burries is an excellent start.
Would Dallas even care at this point, though? With May as the next HC, there are three potential options: big man Aday Mara, Yaxel Lendeborg, or Morez Johnson Jr. Any one of those has an obvious connection to May, and if Burries isn't the guy, we all know why at this point.
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