The 2012 NBA Draft begins on Thursday night and the Dallas Mavericks have a mid-first round pick at No. 17, and with that pick the Mavericks are looking to come away with someone who can contribute off the bench right away. The draft is deep enough to accomplish that goal, and the Mavericks, like every NBA team, are listening to all offers and could possibly make a draft day trade if things fall a certain way.
Mavericks president Donnie Nelson see too much different in players taken between 12 and 17, and said that if they are going to trade it likely would be to move down:
"I can't tell you; it's one of those draft day things," Nelson said of making a move. "We do have some situations that are contingent on certain guys getting there. Whether we pull the trigger on those remains to be seen. If we do flip down, we won't do so unless we know that there's going to be a player that we really like and could get at 17 that we could otherwise get a little bit lower. It's a possibility."
Moving up into the top-10 is going to take a lot and the Mavericks might not have the chips to make that kind of move. Draft day is fluid as teams are always listening or trying to make a deal up until the last possible second that their pick is due, so anything could happen.
For more on the Mavericks draft plans, stay tuned to the SB Nation Dallas storystream as well as Mavs Moneyball.