The Dallas Mavericks pulled off one of the biggest coups in the draft when they acquired top European prospect Luka Doncic.They secured a draft night trade with the Atlanta Hawks that saw them give up the rights to Trae Young and a future pick to get the talented Slovenian.For much of the year, the 19-year-old was projected to be a top-two pick but both the Phoenix Suns and Sacramento Kings passed on him as they selected Deandre Ayton and Marvin Bagley III, respectively.That gave the Mavs the chance to conclude a deal with the Hawks to get the man they always wanted.
Love at first sight
The team and head coach Rick Carlisle fell in love with Doncic in the pre-draft process and didn't hesitate to give up a future first-round pick to get his services.
He has the ability to become a franchise player and with Dallas legend Dirk Nowitzki possibly entering the final year of his career, he could take over as the face of the team.
The youngster enjoyed a remarkable season with Real Madrid as he won both the Euroleague and the ACB Liga titles.
Doncic was named as the Euroleague MVP, Euroleague Final Four MVP and the ACB Liga MVP.
He was such an influential figure for Madrid despite his young age and there was huge anticipation surrounding his arrival in the NBA.
Position
The talented ball-handler has stated that he prefers to play at point guard but he's effective all over the court and can play multiple positions.
Carlisle already has an idea of how he wants to use Doncic and believes it will cause real problems for opponents.
"Him playing four (power forward) is gonna be a problem for teams to match up with," he said.
Standing at 6'8", the youngster can easily feature in the frontcourt and allow the Mavs to roll out several lineups thanks to his versatility.
But Carlisle doesn't want to limit Doncic to a position and expects him to make people better on the floor regardless of what spot he's occupying.
”This kid has won everything there is to win in European and international basketball and he’s done it at an age that’s unprecedented,” Carlisle said via NBA.com.
”I’m not sure what position he is. I think his position is on the floor, making plays and making people better.”
Doncic is regarded as one of the best players to ever come out of the Euroleague and after enjoying the talents of the greatest European player of all time over the last 20 years in Dirk, the Mavericks will hope he can follow in his footsteps and potentially emulate his success.
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