The Dallas Mavericks were one of the busiest teams in the NBA ahead of the trade deadline on Thursday afternoon. They made multiple moves, all aimed at upgrading their frontcourt at power forward and center.
The first team the Mavericks completed was a shrewd one with the Washington Wizards. They acquired Daniel Gafford and were able to rope the Oklahoma City Thunder in as a third team, agreeing to a future first-round pick swap so that they could acquire a 2024 first-round pick to send to Washington.
Gafford will immediately help improve the team in the paint, upgrading their rebounding and shot-blocking along with rookie Dereck Lively II. The second trade Dallas made was acquiring P.J. Washington from the Charlotte Hornets.
NBA NEWS & TRADE RUMORS: P.J. Washington, Grant Williams, Charlotte Hornets, Dallas Mavericks Updates
To land Washington, Dallas parted ways with Grant Williams, Seth Curry and their 2027 first-round pick, which is top-two protected. Some people will be surprised to see Williams in this deal, as he was a prized addition by the Mavericks during the 2023 NBA offseason.
However, moving him ahead of the trade deadline became the No. 1 priority for the team recently. According to Tim MacMahon of ESPN, Dallas was determined to move Williams as he was rubbing a lot of people within the organization the wrong way. Changing his signature shoes from Luka Doncic to Jayson Tatum, his former Boston Celtics teammate, was also part of the fracture.
Detailing more as to why the Mavericks were inclined to move Williams was Grant Afseth of NBA Analysis Network and DallasBasketball.com. The underwhelming production he was providing was a major factor in the decision to seek an upgrade.
Williams got off to a strong start in Dallas but was unable to sustain it. When he was failing to make an impact as a power forward, head coach Jason Kidd opted to try him out as a small-ball center. He didn’t aid the team’s production at all on either side of the ball, leading to the trade.
NBA NEWS & TRADE RUMORS: P.J. Washington, Grant Williams, Charlotte Hornets, Dallas Mavericks Updates
In addition, Afseth echoed similar sentiments to what MacMahon had shared. Williams was wearing in the locker room, proving to be a poor personality fit with the rest of the team.
“Another element of this trade, a source tells DallasBasketball.com, is that Williams’ personality had worn on the Mavs’ locker room in recent months. In terms of on-court production, Williams had a solid start to the season but quickly fell off in his impact.
Williams averaged 15.1 points and 4.4 rebounds in his first eight games in 31.9 minutes, shooting 55.6 percent from the floor and 54.3 percent from beyond the arc. He appeared to provide precisely what the team sought. However, his production plummeted over his last 40 games, averaging 6.9 points and 3.5 rebounds in 25.2 minutes, shooting 37.8 percent overall and 32.9 percent from the perimeter,” wrote Afseth.
The Mavericks are hoping that Washington can provide the kind of impact they were hoping to get from Williams. He has a similar build and skill set as a versatile power forward, capable of playing minutes at center.
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