NBA Draft 2012: Mavericks and Aging Contenders Who Must Draft Well

The NBA draft will be a time when aging title contenders such as the Dallas Mavericks must select a quality player that can contribute right away if they wish to contend in the immediate future.

Failure to do this could result in a blow up of these teams' rosters and a possible path toward a rebuild, which is one road fans never want to see their team go down.

The following teams are old and need an injection of young talent who can give the squad an athletic spark at both ends of the floor.

Let's look at why these teams cannot afford to miss on their first-round picks.

Dallas Mavericks

The Mavericks do have a lot of money under the salary cap to work with in the summer in hopes of landing star point guard Deron Williams in free agency, but banking on signing marquee free agents is a very risky strategy.

The New York Knicks probably thought they had the best chance to sign LeBron James in 2010, but he went to the Miami Heat instead.

Outside of Williams, there aren't any big-time unrestricted free agents that Mavericks owner Mark Cuban should pursue, so he must strike gold with his first-round pick.

The two biggest needs for Dallas are point guard and a scoring forward who could either start or come off the bench.

The Mavericks will likely pick around No. 17 through 23, and there are some nice options for them to look at in order to fill their needs.

Duke point guard Austin Rivers, North Carolina forward John Henson and Washington guard Terrence Ross would all be good fits in Dallas. They could also trade down and draft Kentucky point guard Marquis Teague at the end of the first round.

Dallas is the oldest team in the NBA and if they want to get back to the Finals, they must draft a talented young player in this draft.

Boston Celtics

The difference between the Celtics and Mavericks is that Boston's best player is actually a young superstar in point guard Rajon Rondo, whereas Dallas' best player is a 33-year-old Dirk Nowitzki.

With the possibility that the "Big 3" could be broken up in Boston with the upcoming free agency of Kevin Garnett and Ray Allen this summer, the Celtics must find some talent to build around Rondo.

This could be difficult since the Celtics could hurt their draft position by making another deep run in the playoffs this season like they did in 2009-10, when no one expected Boston as a No. 4 seed to reach the NBA Finals.

At worst, the Celtics will be eliminated in the second round of the playoffs, which means a pick in the mid-20's of the first round is where they'll likely end up.

Boston also has the Los Angeles Clippers' first-round pick, which will likely be in the mid-20s and will give GM Danny Ainge ammunition to trade up in the draft.

The Celtics have a massive need at center since the Jermaine O'Neal era is finally over. Garnett, who is not a natural center, has had to play the position a lot this season with O'Neal's constant injury issues.

The issue for the Celtics is that there aren't any centers worth taking in the first round from picks No. 18 on, so they will have to address their second most glaring weakness which is a lack of athleticism.

Kentucky guard Doron Lamb, Vanderbilt forward Jeffrey Taylor and North Carolina forward John Henson would be great fits in Boston.

The Celtics have a ton of money in the summer to spend on free agency, but this draft is quite important to the future of the green.

Atlanta Hawks

The Hawks are that classic "can't-get-out-of-the-second-round" team that just doesn't have enough talent to beat the Eastern Conference's best teams in the second round, which right now are the Chicago Bulls and Miami Heat.

The Hawks need a center in the worst way and have been playing star forward Al Horford at the position for years, but that's not where he's most effective. 

The best bet for the Hawks is to trade up in the first round to draft a center such as Meyers Leonard of Illinois or Tyler Zeller of North Carolina. If Atlanta was really feeling bold, they could trade into the top five and select Andre Drummond of UConn.

Without a true center that can be effective at both ends of the floor, the Hawks will never be legitimate title contenders.

As the second-oldest team in the NBA, the Hawks must add a big man in this draft that can contribute right away.

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