CHICAGO — The NBA draft lottery is complete, and the Mavericks’ mini-tank paid off.
Dallas remained 10th in the ping-pong ball drawing Tuesday night and will hold the rights to the 10th pick in the June 22 draft.
Many expect the Mavericks to shop the draft-night rights to their first-rounder, likely in a package with other assets, to help rebuild the rotation around Luka Doncic and free-agent-to-be Kyrie Irving, whom they hope to re-sign when free agency starts eight days after the draft.
What else can they offer?
The NBA’s equation for determining trade eligibility for draft picks can be tricky.
League rules prohibit teams from trading first-round picks in consecutive seasons or more than seven years out.
The Mavericks owed their 2023 first-rounder to the New York Knicks as final payment in the January 2019 Kristaps Porzingis trade, but the top-10 protection means they will now send New York either a top-10 protected first-round pick in 2024, a top-10 protected first in 2025 or — if all protections remain — a 2025 second-round selection.
Dallas cannot trade any of those three selections until it’s clear which one will transfer to the Knicks.
The Mavericks also traded their 2029 first-round pick (with no protections) to the Brooklyn Nets as part of the deal to acquire Irving in early February.
That leaves Dallas’ 2027 first-round selection as the only other first-round pick they can move, in addition to their No. 10 spot in 2023.
The Mavericks do not hold the rights to a second-round pick in the 2023 draft after including it in the November 2020 trade for fringe rotation player James Johnson. They have also already traded their second-rounders in 2024, 2026, 2027, 2028 and 2029.
Dallas will find more flexibility when deciding on potential players to include in trades.
All eight Mavericks under contract for the 2023-24 season are eligible to be traded under NBA rules that prohibit player movement within six months of signing a new contract or extension.
That list includes Doncic — who would have to request a trade for Dallas to even consider parting with him — and Maxi Kleber, whose three-year, $33 million extension last September made him ineligible to change teams before last season’s trade deadline.
The Mavericks will enter an offseason many expect to feature significant player movement with seven open roster spots from pending free agents: Irving, Christian Wood, Dwight Powell, Frank Ntilikina, Justin Holiday, Markieff Morris and Theo Pinson.
Dallas’ leadership has openly expressed interest in re-signing Irving after his blockbuster trade arrival added to the franchise’s future draft-pick debt.
“We’re still hoping to re-sign him,” general manager Nico Harrison said after representing the Mavericks on the draft lottery stage. “There’s really not much we can do between now and then. Nothing’s changed since the end of the season.”
Draft picks available for 2023 trades
| Year | First rounder? | Second rounder? |
|---|---|---|
| 2023 | Yes | No (to Thunder for James Johnson) |
| 2024 | No (possible to Knicks) | No (to Kings for Jaden Hardy) |
| 2025 | No (possible to Knicks) | No (possible to Knicks) |
| 2026 | No (will change if 2024 pick goes to Knicks) | No (to Thunder for James Johnson) |
| 2027 | Yes | No (to Nets for Kyrie Irving) |
| 2028 | No (NBA rules prohibit first-round trades in consecutive years) | No (to Kings for Jaden Hardy) |
| 2029 | No (to Nets for Kyrie Irving) | No (to Nets for Kyrie Irving) |
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