Considering the Mavs are owned by a guy who showed up in town flat broke with a hole in his floorboard, if not his ambitions, you'd think they could get fortunate in the lottery, too.
No such luck, as usual, meaning that instead of angling for the playoffs next season, the Mavs will be back in this same place next year.
Meanwhile, the Lakers and their new boss, Magic Johnson, move up to No. 2 in what's considered a two-star draft.
Conspiracy theorists, start your engines.
Don't get me wrong; picking ninth, as the Mavs will, is not such a bad deal in a deep draft.