Jun. 27--Piano players are hot commodities for the Mavericks these days.
With appealing chances to move up in the NBA draft lacking, the Mavericks spent Thursday night biding their time and finally took Vanderbilt sharpshooter Shan Foster with the 51st overall pick.
The 6-6 shooting guard spent four years in college and was the Southeastern Conference player of the year as a senior.
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"We had a list of 'A' candidates, 'B's', 'C's,' and Shan Foster was the last 'A' on our list (who was still on the board," coach Rick Carlisle said. "He has an opportunity to make the team. He's got a skill that we need."
That skill is shooting. Foster hit 42 percent of his 3-pointers during his college career. As a senior, he was 134-of-286 (.469) from 3-point land.
With only eight roster spots spoken for and shooters needed to help open up the floor for Jason Kidd, Dirk Nowitzki and Josh Howard, Foster seems to be a wonderful fit.
And he's a gifted pianist and singer, too.
"You're always looking for shooting, and that's the one thing that usually carries over from college," said Donnie Nelson, president of basketball operations. "We were active toward the end of the first round and in the second round [in trying to move up]. But I've never seen the second-round [picks] go for that much cash."
Before the draft, Nelson talked about trigger points and how the Mavericks would aggressively seek an entry into the first round -- if the right player fell far enough.
Sure enough, some intriguing names began to slip past the middle of the first round, past the end of the first round and into the second.
And still, the Mavericks could find no trigger worth pulling.
Coach Bib13 
