DALLAS _ Pulling off a lotto trade for a Euro worked for the Mavericks 20 years ago, so they did it again and will now commence praying they have their franchise bridge to a new era.
Credit to Mavs owner Mark Cuban and team President Donnie Nelson for finding their guy and doing whatever necessary to grab Luka Doncic.
Kinda wish they had this same intensity to pick Giannis Antetokounmpo, and no amount of therapy is going to convince me to let this one go.
Nonetheless, a starting backcourt of Dennis Smith Jr. and Luka Doncic is something to watch.
No one has a clue whether this Euro can actually play in the U.S.; at this point, no one has a clue as to Doncic's height. He's either 6-foot-5; 6-foot-6; 6-foot-7; 6-foot-9. Or, maybe, all the way to 6-foot-11.
Given the way the Europeans have transitioned to the NBA since the Mavs bagged Dirk Nowitzki back in what feels like 1968 it's hard not to like this pick.
The only way this trade fails, immediately, is if we all expect Luka to be Dirk, simply because he's another Euro whom the Mavs acquired in a draft day swap 20 years later.
Dirk is Dirk, and there will never be another, as a player or a person.
Let Luka be Luka.
The obtain Luka the Mavs dealt their first round selection, No. 5 overall, and sent it to Atlanta in exchange for the rights to Doncic, who was selected with the third pick; the deal went through as long as the Mavs could select Oklahoma guard Trae Young.
The deal also includes the Mavs' sending Atlanta a protected first round pick in 2019.
No players, or their awful salaries, were included. Sorry, Mavs fans, Wesley Matthews is coming back.
All that matters is Young will go to Atlanta, and Doncic will come to Texas.
Son, here's a crash course to make this transition easier: Start by befriending the owner. As a basketball player, this will be the easiest thing you've ever done. Then, learn football, and barbecue. After that, do whatever Dirk says or does.
The only real comparison that should exist between Dirk and Luka are how they were acquired.
In 1998, the Mavs selected Michigan forward Robert "Tractor" Traylor with the sixth overall pick. Shortly thereafter they traded him to Milwaukee, who had selected Dirk with the ninth pick.
The comparisons should end there.
Doncic is not Dirk; he's been compared more to San Antonio slasher Manu Ginobili. If Doncic is Manu, plan for the jersey retirement ceremony.
The Mavs have not given us much to celebrate in years, but acquiring Doncic feels like it a good reason to do just that.
