NBA Draft 2020: 5 teams who most needs a Small Forward/Wing player

Dallas Mavericks

After seriously challenging the Los Angeles Clippers during this year’s Playoffs, the Dallas Mavericks let the entire league know how closely an NBA Finals berth lies before them. Lacking only a few more pieces, the NBA draft offers the team a solid chance to find at least one when they select at 18 this year.

Although Dorian Finney-Smith improved modestly this year especially with his shooting, his 9.5  points, 5.7 rebounds, and 1.6 assists per game lack the pop which a team now ready to contend with other western conference powerhouses requires. This reason paired with the team’s earlier than expected, yet undoubted readiness to go after a title behind Luka Doncic and Kristaps Porzingis pushes them to upgrade beyond Finney Smith through the draft.

Although they certainly might love to have him, Vassell feels like a decently sized stretch to land with the Mavericks, but crazy things happen far too often on draft night, so the team might just find themselves with yet another gigantic draft steal.

Several mock drafts see Dallas selecting Nesmith though, so he instead enters as the most likely favorite to receive Mark Cuban’s call come draft night. As a dark horse candidate though, Tyrese Maxey’s playstyle certainly mirrors Tim Hardaway Jr’s, potentially prompting the Mavs to pick him and set up a well-oiled apprentice-mentor dynamic between the two.

Hampton exists as another possible option as well if Dallas chooses to continue to build their team up with foreign players as its core pieces rather than NCAA athletes, as does Bane thanks to his catch and shoot abilities likely to thrive beside an exceptional facilitator like Doncic. Tossing Bey’s name into consideration comes as a wise move as well, similarly based on his shooting skills and general relevance around picks 15-20.