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NBA Draft Grades: ESPN Gives Dallas An A-

The Dallas Mavericks didn't make a selection at all on Thursday night in the 2011 NBA Draft, yet, still received a high grade from ESPN's Chad Ford for their draft day antics. Ford gave the Mavericks an A- (Insider) for their draft, despite not keeping a draft pick.

Dallas traded both their first and second round selections in order to acquire former Portland Trail Blazer Rudy Fernandez and Petteri Kopenen. While Fernandez only has a year remaining on his contract, he'll be much more of an asset in the immediate future than any player available at No. 26 overall. 

That player selected at No. 26 is Jordan Hamilton, who is now currently a Denver Nugget after the three-team trade between Portland, Dallas and Denver. The former Texas Longhorn is the second-first round player that the Nuggets picked up on Thursday, as they drafted Kenneth Faried at No. 22 overall. 

All in all, though, not a bad little haul for the Mavericks with Fernandez and Kopenen - especially considering that this was a weak draft and that the Mavericks weren't drafting until late in the first and second rounds.

Photographs by jamesbrandon, jdtornow, phlezk, flygraphix, mcdlttx, tomasland, and literalbarrage used in background montage under Creative Commons. Thank you.