Breaking News: Mavericks finally sign forward Melvin Ajinça for $75 Million from France… See more
The Dallas Mavericks traded up to the 51st pick of the 2024 NBA Draft Thursday and selected Melvin Ajinca, a 6’8 forward from France.
Dallas entered day two of the draft, which is for the second round only, armed with just the 58th overall pick, which was actually the last pick in the draft this year.
Instead of waiting, they moved up seven spots to take Ajinca, a 20-year-old forward from France who projects as a 3-and-D player. ESPN’s Tim MacMahon reports that the Mavericks only gave up cash and the 58th pick to New York to move up to 51.
Ajinca, who is the nephew of former Mavericks big man Alexis Ajinca, declared for the draft after a strong run at the FIBA U19 World Cup last summer and then a solid season with the French pro-team Saint-Quentin. With Saint-Quentin last season, Ajinca averaged 9.3 points and 3.3 rebounds per game while shooting 50.7 percent on twos and 30.9 percent from three.
Most scouts anticipate Ajinca developing into a 3-and-D wing, with maybe some room to be a slasher off-the-dribble. Not helping matters is he doesn’t appear to be a great athlete — at the NBA Combine last month, Ajinca measured 6’7.25 without shoes, only a 6’7.5 wingspan, and just a 31-inch vertical jump.
That vertical jump was amongst the lowest of combine participants. Needless to say Ajinca will have his work cut out for him to play against NBA-level athletes, but he was productive enough enough in his lone pro-season in France to give himself a chance to be drafted and the Mavericks will take as many potential defensive-minded role players as they can get their hands on. We’ll be seeing a lot more of Ajinca in July during NBA Summer League.
