Tom Ziller of SB Nation has posted his newest 2011 NBA mock draft, and his projection for the Mavericks at No. 26 does make sense.
26. Dallas Mavericks: Davis Bertans, F, Latvia
When your DraftExpress best-case/worst-case comparisons are Mike Dunleavy and Steve Novak, you are definitely a person who plays basketball.
Donnie Nelson has been on a perpetual search for a three-point shooting forward to stretch defenses and help back up Dirk. This season began with Novak himself and Brian Cardinal filling that role and is ending with Peja Stojakovic handling those duties. Peja doesn’t appear to have much left in the tank, and Nelson figures to continue to be tempted by bigger shooters, so this pick could certainly come to fruition.
Elsewhere, Kyrie Irving is projected to go first once again, followed by Derrick Williamd and Brandon Knight. That would leave Enes Kanter for Cleveland’s second pick and Kemba Walker for Toronto.
The Lonhorn duo of Tristan Thompson and Jordan Hamilton are projected at Nos. 10 and 20 respectively, to Milwaukee and Minnesota.