I'm having a difficult time getting connection here at the draft, so I'll try to be brief. Dallas made a bit of a curveball tonight, but when you look at the way the draft was shaping out, I think this makes more sense than the kneejerk reaction might give credit for. Some information on the pick.

Jared Cunningham:

This was a guy that was definitely discussed as a first rounder, so he's not a complete shocker at 25. He was a productive, scoring guard, and early reports are that Rick Carlisle took a liking to him.

Right now, Dallas is in a transitional phase. Getting several picks back allowed them to remain as flexible as possible, with three second round picks being non-guaranteed and thus having no cap hit.

Starting at pick 20, when Denver took Evan Fournier(someone rumor had it Dallas coveted), the draft began to take an unpredictable turn, and suddenly assumptions about players being available later on became moot. I think Dallas elected to simply take the guy they liked, after examining further trade down possibilities.

What we know about Cunningham is that he is athletic, and can score. This is what we wanted at the wings, right? Whether or not he is redundant from a skill perspective is far from certain, when you look at how fluid the Mavs' roster situation is.

As I tweeted after the pick, I am going to reserve full judgement until we know who Dallas is getting in the 2nd round. I will have updates and a more in-depth scouting report at that point. Stay tuned.