Dusty May didn't waste any time being an influence when the Dallas Mavericks drafted Morez Johnson Jr. as the No. 9 pick in the draft. At No. 30, they selected Koa Peat, the forward from Arizona. That was -- the New York Knicks traded the No. 25 pick Sergio De Larrea to the Mavericks for No. 30 Koa Peat and two second-round picks (per Shams Charania).
De Larrea comes from Spain and is a proven winner at the second-highest level in the world. In his teens, he won the Spanish Supercup MVP. He also won the Liga ACB Best Young Player award. He's already an accomplished player, and at 20 years old, there's so much more for him to experience.
Peat would've been nice, but that's another power forward that the Mavs would've gotten on the same night. De Larrea offers a mix of inside scoring, cutting and deep-range shooting. The 20-year-old from Spain shoots 40.7 percent from deep, and he can act as a do-it-all-guard who fans are going to fall in love with.
Mavericks have fixed their greatest shooting flaw with Sergio De Larrea
The Mavericks have to get better at shooting from deep. It sounds simple, but it wasn't. They were in the bottom half of three-point percentage last season, shooting 34.4 percent, which ranked 26th in the NBA. Max Christie and Klay Thompson would usually be the ones to pick that up, but even they struggled at times.
Thompson may not even come back, and if that happens, the Mavericks will be in good hands with De Larrea.
De Larrea is already NBA-ready with his shooting, slashing and pacing. He's already an accomplished player in the EuroLeague and can be the difference-maker to help Dallas shoot better. If Cooper Flagg had any holes in his game, deep shooting is one of them, as he shot from 29.5 percent from beyond the arc in his rookie season. He will get better, but the Mavs can't wait any longer for that to happen.
The Mavs can use De Larrea off the bench as an energy scorer and an off-ball asset. Flagg is already a skilled passer and can find De Larrea slashing to the corner for three. Both Flagg and De Larrea have extremely high court vision, and both of them on the court will be fun to watch.
The Johnson Jr. pick was great for many reasons, but it missed the Mavericks' glaring issue, perimeter shooting. De Larrea will have to earn his minutes, but if he can find his shot, you bet he will earn tons of minutes next season.
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