Last year, in a deal to get Luka Doncic, my Slovenian son, the Mavs sent the Atlanta Hawks their 2019 first round pick — if it falls outside of the top four. They would have had better odds of that happening if not for a few unexpected wins toward the end of the season, but whatever. It’s fine. As it stands, they have about a one in four shot (I think it’s 26 percent) of landing in the top four and keeping that pick. If they don’t, Luka was worth it, so again, it’s fine. [Stephen A. Smith scream-voice] BUT.
I don’t really care about the Mavs picking second or third or fourth, or not until the second round. What I do care about is the guy at No. 1, Zion Williamson, who is like a young Charles Barkley mixed with a pre-1998-lockout-so-not-fat-yet Shawn Kemp with the potential — untapped at Duke — to be something like a point center?
It’s like Bill Murray in Rushmore!
Sooooo can the Mavs get him? They have one in 17 odds.
Roughly the same as me getting one of the good parking spaces downtown if I show up at 8:58. About my success rate on the Nike SNKRS app over the last three years. The same odds that I’ll blindly reach into my closet of black t-shirts and grab the one that my girlfriend ironed a dolphin patch onto and, no, I am not explaining any of that. The same ratio, essentially, of Kristaps Porzingis’ drama-free to drama-heavy months.
In other words: decent. Not out of the realm of possibility. Let’s all cross everything we can.
