Mohamed Bamba is the consensus pick for the Dallas Mavericks at No. 5 in this year’s draft. At least that’s an assumption you can make after reading columns from various members of the local media.
Nationally, though, the story is quite different. There, reports say that the Mavs aren’t interested in the freshman center from the University of Texas, preferring to chase a big man in free agency, which is the furthest thing from new information. Both can’t be right. While there’s likely some truth to both sides, the question is which one will play out, becoming reality next month?
It’s not surprising that Bamba is linked to Dallas. With the fifth selection in June’s NBA Draft, Bamba’s draft stock falls neatly within the range of options available to the Mavs, according to many draft prognosticators. Additionally, there’s the matter of Dallas’ history with centers. The team has been manically pursuing one like Captain Ahab for 20 years. Now, there’s one that might fall into their laps. The narrative writes itself.
Furthering the connection is Bamba himself. At last week’s NBA Draft Combine, he spoke about his potential fit in Dallas.
“He's really good,” Bamba told reporters about the possibility of playing with Dennis Smith Jr. “And I believe I'm the type of big he wants to play with, who screens and rolls and can finish high above the rim.
“Rick Carlisle has said himself that he thinks Dennis is best with a big who rolls hard and finishes above the rim. It would be an interesting deal, me and Dennis.”
To be fair, the Mavs’ system is predicated on having a rim-rolling center. Dwight Powell is thriving in that role but Powell isn’t close to the same tier as Bamba in terms of physical build. The idea of a seven-foot center with the wingspan of an albatross catching alley-oops from Dallas’ budding young star has SportsCenter written all over it. It’s okay to drool.
Not so fast, though. Don’t forget about those pesky reports saying that the Mavs will pass on Bamba. If the team wants to add a center, there are plenty of established ones available in this summer. DeMarcus Cousins anyone? Julius Randle maybe? DeAndre Jordan (again) perhaps? Rumors swirled at various times during the regular season that they were all potential Mavs targets. If Dallas is serious about trying to get back into the playoffs as quick as possible, then free agency is certainly the place they’ll go hunting. Why draft a guy that comes with a development curve?
Both arguments seem reasonable and rational. It’s indicative of the options the Mavs have. The thing is, no one really knows what Dallas’ plans are outside of the team. The Mavericks are notoriously tight-lipped. Yes, there are people who are tuned into the team better than others are, but some of them are little more than mouthpieces for the front office’s spin cycle.
When rumors and reports come out, view them with a healthy degree of skepticism because many of them will be contradictory. Draft and free agency speculation is part of the fun of the NBA off-season because it drives everyone into a frenzy. There’s nothing wrong with that. Just remember that it can be misleading. Mo Bamba might be drafted by the Mavericks on June 21. However, it’s just as likely that he isn’t.
