The Dallas Mavericks probably had one of the major moves on the NBA trade deadline which is quite uneventful compared to the past seasons.
The Mavs decided to beef up their frontcourt by making two trade deals.
First is with the Charlotte Hornets to receive PJ Washington in exchange for three assets.
"The Charlotte Hornets are finalizing a trade to send F PJ Washington to the Dallas Mavericks for Grant Williams, Seth Curry, and a first-round draft pick," NBA insider Adrian Wojnarowski wrote.
Another was with the Washington Wizards to acquire big man and rim protector Daniel Gafford. They let go of veteran Richaun Holmes and a 2024 first-round pick (from Mavs via Thunder) to complete the deal.
Mavs' focus is cleary based on these moves-to fix their big man problem.
Will these trades make them a playoff team?
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They will probably still make the playoffs even before these moves. That is only a question being raised because they missed the playoffs of 2023 after giving up on it (for a play-in spot) in the last week of last season.
Mavs a much better playoff team now?
Chemistry is one issue addressed by general manager Nico Harrison in trading away Williams whom they acquired over the summer from the Boston Celtics.
Williams came from a team that was consistently in the playoffs and with him playing a prominent role as defender of the opponents' best players.
More than half a season in, his fit with the Mavs was put into question.
Reports have it that he was dealt away because of chemistry issues.
"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," Dallasbasketball.com wrote.
The latter part is easier to substantiate. He hit double-digit scoring only two times in their last nine games. He even recorded -17 and -13 in efficiency ratings in two of those games.
Coach Jason Kidd could use an interior defender with great length instead of a bruiser.
If ever they reach the playoffs, which they should, they will have someone to challenge the likes of Nikola Jokic, Chet Holmgren, and Rudy Gobert in a rim warfare.
Luka Doncic will also have more options with his drives and alley-oops, which often times go to rookie Derek Lively.
Daniel Gafford may have seen himself on the wrong end of several poster plays but that's the price to pay if you commit yourself into defending the rim.
The 25-year-old center, averaging 10.9 points, 8.0 rebounds, 1.5 assists, 1.0 steals, and 2.2 blocks per game, progressed steadily while with the Wizards.
He would be deadlier with a good point guard to utilize his improving pick-and-roll skills.
Washington was acquired for the same purpose-to beef up the front court.
The 2019 12th overall pick produced 13.6 points per game as part of the Hornets this season. Whatever they lost in trading Williams, they received an upgrade in terms of scoring.
The gist is, the Dallas Mavericks were able to address their urgent needs in the roster. They were able to upgrade their big men options while also acquiring more offensive options.
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