Earlier this offseason, rumors were going around that the Dallas Mavericks were interested in going after Giannis Antetokounmpo. Other teams also wanted to keep a close eye on him.
The Golden State Warriors, the New York Knicks, and the San Antonio Spurs were some teams that wanted the Milwaukee Bucks superstar. Milwaukee has a chance to shut down the trade talk noise if they make a deep run in the 2025 NBA playoffs.
The Dallas Mavericks Almost Drafted Giannis Antetokounmpo In the 2013 NBA Draft
In the 2013 NBA Draft, the Dallas Mavericks owned the 13th overall pick, In that NBA Draft, Dallas decided to trade back to the 18th overall pick. The Milwaukee Bucks owned the 15th overall pick in the 2013 NBA Draft and they decided to draft Giannis Antetokounmpo.
At the time, it was a major risk, but it turned out to be good for them in the long run. On Club Shay Shay, Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban said:
“We had Dirk, and we had just won the championship two years ago. Some of our people wanted to go for Giannis. I wanted to trade down, and we ended up getting Shane Larkin because we needed that cap room to try to go out and sign somebody to propel Dirk.We wanted to go for that gold again. It is just the way it worked out, and had we gotten Giannis, we would have never got Luka.”
Luka Doncic was the third overall pick in the 2018 NBA Draft by the Atlanta Hawks but a draft day trade sent him to the Dallas Mavericks. Doncic is going to be good in the long run for them as he is already a Top 5 player in the NBA. Giannis Antetokounmpo of the Milwaukee Bucks has been one of the top players in the league over the past several years.
Cuban Also Discusses About Antetokounmpo Playing Overseas
Giannis Antetokounmpo was playing overseas in Greece before he got drafted. Cuban also added:
“I vividly remember there were like two VHS tapes of him playing in the Greek (Basketball) League. That was all they had to show me. You know when you go to a yard sale, and they got all these tapes, and it looks like someone’s mom shot it. That is what it was. He got drafted at 13 or something like that, so it wasn’t like every other team knew about him, either. You have to respect Dirk, you have to respect what he has done for us… It was my final decision.”
Imagine if the Dallas Mavericks had Giannis Antetokounmpo and Luka Doncic on the same team now. It would be one of the best dynamic duos in the NBA. Milwaukee Bucks fans should be thankful that Dallas traded back in the 2013 NBA Draft.
There is no doubt that Luka Doncic can very well win an NBA title in his career as he just brought Dallas to the NBA Finals a season ago. They lost to the Boston Celtics in five games, but there is no doubt this could work out for the Mavericks in the end also.
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