Not that Hope had a lot of room for a roster spot on the 2012-'13 Dallas Mavericks' season, but he officially has been released along with the other collection of stiffs the team has cut this season.
The Mavs are dead. Their 23-point loss against the Houston Rockets on Sunday night all but killed their dying chances of landing the eighth spot in the Western Conference.
The Mavs are 26-33, and now seven wins behind Houston for eighth. No playoffs for the first time since 2000.
Two words. Draft. Party. The NBA draft lottery is May 21. The draft itself is June 27.
The Mavs will have a lottery selection - exactly where that spot is merely a guess. The last time they picked high was 1998, when they used the sixth pick on University of Michigan forward Robert "Tractor" Traylor. You may recall the team sent his rights to the Milwaukee Bucks for the rights to Pat Garrity, and some stiff named Dirk Nowitzki.
If the draft selections are based purely on record, meaning no team with an blah record slips into the top 3, the order will look like:
1. Charlotte
2. Orlando
3. Washington
4. Cleveland
5. Sacramento
6. New Olreans
7. Phoenix
8. Minnesota
9. Detroit
10. Oklahoma City (trade)
11. Philladelphia
12. DALLAS MAVERICKS
13. Phoenix
14. Charlotte
Picking No. 12 isn't exactly great. You are a lottery team in name only.
The names to look for - Kentucky forward Alex Poythress, Syracuse guard Michael Carter-Williams, and Indiana two-guard Victor Oladipo.
No player the Mavs draft at 12 is going to make much of an immediate impact; all of these guys are three-year projects, at least.
Given how this season has gone for your Mavs, it's not much ... but this is what happens when you don't make the playoffs.
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