2011 NBA Draft Results: Grading the Dallas Mavericks' Draft Night

While there were several trades and some surprising selections in the 2011 NBA Draft, the Dallas Mavericks flew under the radar for the most part.

Nobody expected Dallas to be able to draft a player capable of contributing right away and help them contend for a second championship. 

With an already aging core of veterans, the Mavericks would have not benefited at all from drafting a prospect solely on potential. They did the best they could in trading their pick away for a veteran player.

This veteran player was Rudy Fernandez.

For the Mavericks, it really couldn’t get any better than that. They have originally drafted Jordan Hamilton with the 26th pick, but quickly traded him.

Hamilton was projected to go several spots higher than 26th and some analysts even had him at the very bottom of the lottery. 

Hamilton can be an impact player right away, but this is a case of need, and Dallas did not need him. After all, his position is small forward, and the Mavericks are settled in there with Shawn Marion and several other role players.

What Dallas needed was a scoring shooting guard able to make the open three and score in transition. Those are the two things Rudy Fernandez does best.

The Mavericks got what they wanted. Even Rudy Fernandez got what he wanted. It was a good night n Dallas.

Grade: B+