Draft Central 2008

A section dedicated to next week’s NBA Draft and the Mavericks’ second-round pick (No. 51) -- Draft Central 2008 -- is going up on mavs.com. It details the team’s outlook going into the Draft, the team’s Draft history, trades made through the years, a photo gallery of past drafts, a look at the prospects and much more.

Here’s an excerpt from the overview:

The Mavericks are sitting with the 51st pick in the upcoming NBA Draft. Don’t expect them to sit still. Though nothing is guaranteed, dealing into the first round is a very real option.

“I don’t think there’s any doubt that we’ll try,” coach Rick Carlisle said. “First-round picks, this time of year, everybody gets enamored with them.”

Pulling the trigger on a trade before the annual dispersal of new talent is unlikely, but all bets are off on June 26. The franchise is usually quite active once David Stern steps up to the podium to announce the No. 1 pick.

In eight drafts during Mark Cuban’s tenure, nine trades have been made involving draft picks. The team has held pat just three times (2001-02 and 2005) over that span.