Mavs Pay For 'Nique

Dallas buys it's way into the first round of the NBA draft (25th overall) and gets a self-proclaimed Dwyane Wade/Rodney Stuckey mix in Dominique Jones out of South Florida. (AP Photo/Steve Nesius, File)

Here are some of the pluses and minus(es) for the Dallas Mavericks after the 2010 NBA Draft:

Pluses:

• Dallas was able to buy it's way into the first round without having to give up any real assets.
  

This is paramount as the Mavs still have a first round pick to play with in next year's draft, two young and potentially explosive young guys in Jones and Rodrigue Beaubois, and the giant expiring contract of Erick Dampier along with the potential expiring of Caron Butler. All of these things Dallas can dangle at a potential sign-and-trade partner this offseason.

"We got really lucky," Mavs president Donnie Nelson said. "We kept our powder dry for bigger things this summer."

• If all else fails, Dallas has a potentially potent backcourt for years to come.

"When we interviewed him, he said he felt like a cross between Dwyane Wade and (Rodney Stuckey); that sounded pretty good to me," Mavericks coach Rick Carlisle said, laughing.

Well, Jones certainly doesn't lack for confidence. The 6'5 guard with a 6'9 wingspan was the only player in the country to average 21 points, six rebounds, and three assists last season. For the year, Jones averaged 21.4 points per game and was a first-team All-Big East Selection.

Jones can get to the basket at will and showed that his junior year as he set the South Florida record for made free throws in a season at 209. But, according to various scouting reports, Jones needs to work on his outside game to increase his range and become a better all-around shooter.

Here is the CBSSports.com full scouting report. Along with the DraftExpress.com player profile.

Minus:

• There only one real complaint from me and that's that Dallas traded away a huge steal in the late rounds of the draft (Solomon Alabi, a projected top-20 pick by many mock-drafts) for a future second rounder from Toronto.

Not only could keeping this pick have helped Dallas in trade negotiations this summer, but the 7'0, Defensive All-ACC first-team choice would have looked great in a Mavericks uniform next season. Especially with the uncertainty at the position (both Brendan Haywood and Erick Dampier could be gone this offseason), and the fact that the guy slipped into the final 10 picks in the draft after being a projected first-rounder.

What could have helped about this trade is if this second-rounder was maybe next year's or even the year after that as the Raptors (especially if they lose Chris Bosh to free agency) look to be a pretty bad team for the next few years. But, the pick is for 2013.

Tell me how a pick three drafts from now is worth getting rid of a 7-footer who could conceivably contribute in the next couple of years?

Here is the scouting report on Alabi... oh what could have been.

Despite giving away a top-25 prospect in Alabi, the Mavericks were able to get a quality prospect (Jones) without having to give away any real assets to do so. This puts them in a great position a week from today (July 1) to give an outstanding offer to any team. It's going to be an active and exciting next two weeks for the Mavs and their fans, that's for sure.

(Portions of this article were taken from The Associated Press)