The Dallas Mavericks haven't had many successful draft picks over the years, but in 2012 they picked a guy who has proven to be a solid impact player.

And they gave him away.

With the 34th pick in the 2012 draft, the Mavericks selected Jae Crowder out of Marquette. In his first two years in the NBA, Crowder proved to be a solid player in limited action. He averaged 17 minutes in his rookie season and 16 in his second year, scoring about five points per game but providing a solid defensive presence off the bench.

In his third year, Crowder played 25 games for the Mavericks before being traded in a package to Boston that brought Dallas Rajon Rondo and Dwight Powell.

Rondo flamed out in Dallas. Crowder meanwhile averaged almost 32 minutes and 14 points per game last year in Boston. If Dallas management regrets not having Crowder, they aren't alone.

New York Knicks president Phil Jackson had an opportunity to get Crowder from Dallas in a deal but instead opted to take a future second round pick. Jackson told Charley Rosen of Today's Fastbreak that missing out on Crowder was "the biggest mistake" he's made in his tenure with the Knicks.

"I think the biggest mistake I made was actually this...One of the first deals I engineered when I came back to New York was to trade Tyson Chandler and Raymond Felton to Dallas for Shane Larkin, Jose Calderon, Wayne Ellington, Samuel Dalembert, plus a second-round pick that the Mavs owed to the Celtics. In talking with Boston, I was given the option of taking that pick or else taking Jae Crowder. I liked Crowder but I thought he wouldn't get much of a chance to play behind Carmelo, so I took the pick which turned out to be Cleanthony Early. While Cleanthony has missed lots of time in the past two seasons with us, he still has the potential to be a valuable player. Even so, I should have taken Crowder."

Join the club, Phil.