Report: Carlisle wanted Mavs to draft Donovan Mitchell

If Rick Carlisle had his way, the Dallas Mavericks would have drafted Donovan Mitchell with the No. 9 pick in the 2017 NBA Draft.

The current Indiana Pacers coach and former Mavericks bench boss reportedly wanted Mitchell on the team over Dennis Smith Jr., according to ESPN's Tim MacMahon. Dallas selected Smith at No. 9 while Mitchell fell to the Utah Jazz, who owned the No. 13 pick.

Smith wound up only having a brief season-plus tenure with the Mavs, largely because of his reportedly strained relationship with Carlisle. Dallas later included him as a key piece of the blockbuster trade that landed former New York Knicks star Kristaps Porzingis. After fizzling out in the Big Apple, Smith has bounced around the league as a role player with brief stints in Detroit, and most recently, Portland.

Meanwhile, Mitchell has blossomed into one of the game's top shooting guards for the Jazz. The Louisville product has averaged 23.5 points and five assists for his career and also earned a pair of All-Star appearances.

Considering the Mavericks acquired a generational talent in Luka Doncic the following year during the 2018 draft, it's hard not to wonder what could've been if Doncic and Mitchell had potentially gotten a chance to share the court.