Some thoughts on the 2023 NBA Draft

With the 2023 NBA Draft tomorrow night, I just wanted to get some thoughts down.

• I’m excited for the prospect of having new players to root for. I would rather be in a submarine with Mavs Man and Champ right now than watch last year’s roster again.
• There has been a lot of talk about what path is the right one with the 10th pick and there are multiple options. The team desperately needs an infusion of talent, so if Dallas stays and picks a player, that’ll be great. If the Mavericks trade down and add a vet or two while still picking a player, that’ll be great. Both work great for me.
• The Hawks trades that have been floating around are interesting. Adding Clint Capela and 15 for 10 and Davis Bertans is appealing to me. John Collins not so much. Seems like Christian Wood all over again.
• ESPN’s lead draft expert Jonathan Givony floated us giving 10 and Bertans to Utah for 16 and 28. I assume we’d be taking back Kelly Olynyk and maybe Talen Horten-Tucker. I don’t love either of those guys, but they would be improvements on what we had last year for depth and I like the idea of having two shots to add rookies, so this trade would work for me if we get wiped out at 10.
• I know absolutely nothing about draft talent. Every year I get into March Madness and then vow to start paying attention to college basketball the next year. Then I never even consider watching one second of it until March Madness starts.
• With that said, I reserve the right to get super angry about whoever they draft. Taylor Hendricks seems to be the guy everyone wants us to end up with. Sounds great. I have seen him play zero seconds of basketball, but if we pass on Taylor Hendricks, I will go insane and wreck my house.
• Bilal Coulibaly has a cool name so I’d be good with taking him too. The other coolest names in this draft in no particular order are Scoot Henderson, Amen Thompson, Jarace Walker, Ricky Council IV, Emoni Bates and Isaiah Wong.
• I don’t have a good feeling about Derek Lively II. The potential is there but a guy with such a small amount of production in college makes me nervous. I also saw someone compare him to Willie Cauley-Stein at one point, so I’m out.
• Anthony Black seems like a great player, is a DFW guy and would be a good fit. But in every picture I’ve seen, it looks his hair covers his eyes, so I’m worried he won’t be able to see. If you can’t see it’s hard to play basketball, so I’m ok with him getting drafted before we can pick him.
• I would like to announce that I have accepted a position as Jason Kidd’s lead assistant. My primary duty will be reminding him that we have to run plays sometimes out of time-outs. I will be fired quickly.
• No matter which options the Mavericks take tomorrow night, I have complete faith in them screwing it up. I can’t wait to see what annoying thing happens.