The Mavericks declined 'mid-first round picks' for Justin Anderson, Dwight Powell

The Mavericks could have traded Justin Anderson or Dwight Powell for a mid-first round pick at this year's trade deadline, per the Dallas Morning News' Brad Townsend.

Source says Mavs received "mid-first-round-pick" trade offers for Powell, Anderson.

— Brad Townsend (@townbrad) February 18, 2016

This is an interesting tidbit of news. Let's break it down.

1) There's no telling what exactly a mid-first round draft pick means. Obviously, the season isn't over, so the pick isn't set. Teams that sit around pick No. 15 are the Pistons, the Jazz, the Rockets and the Trail Blazers, just to give you a few examples. The Mavericks themselves are only the 14th-best team in the league. Essentially, they could have regained a draft pick, since Dallas' is owed to Boston this season.

2) This year's draft is supposed to be weaker than last year's.

3) Justin Anderson was quite literal mid-first round draft pick last year and has shown some potential recently. I don't think the Mavericks want a "do over" on him.

4) Powell's a more interesting case, because despite his inclusion in the Rising Stars Game, I'm really not sure how much better he can get. (Clearly he can improve, but I'm not sure his ceiling is all that high.) But again, a mid-first round prospect isn't going to be definitely better, not in a slightly weaker draft. It would also leave Dallas without a smaller center to use on more athletic big men.

5) Without knowing exactly which team was offering this, I'd say Dallas was right to hold onto the players, although Powell's case could go either way.