Mavs Notes: No. 9 Pick, Matthews, Harris

The Mavericks are set to pick at No. 9 tonight, and team president Donnie Nelson sounds like he expects to stay in that spot, as Earl K. Sneed of Mavs.com tweets. “I don’t think you’re going to see a lot of movement with the Mavericks,” Nelson said. “Certainly not down.”

Here are a few more tidbits Nelson offered up tonight:

• The Mavericks may be tempted to try to contend this season, since the team wants to make it “an enjoyable ride” for Dirk Nowitzki, as Nelson says. However, the team president adds that the Mavs are looking for building blocks for their future (Twitter link). And the No. 9 pick is “a building block opportunity that we won’t miss out on,” per Nelson (Twitter link).
• Nelson says the Mavs are happy with the point guards in this draft, admitting that the position is probably the team’s biggest hole on paper (Twitter link).
• Although veteran swingman Wesley Matthews has been involved in trade rumors this week, Nelson said that the Mavs “like Matthews right where he’s at” (Twitter link).
• Devin Harris has a partially guaranteed contract with Dallas for 2017/18, raising questions about his future with the team. Nelson said tonight that the Mavs would like to see Harris – who started his career with Dallas – finish his career with the club as well (Twitter link).