Trade Deadline Losers: Dallas Mavericks
I give the Dallas Mavericks credit for being aggressive at the trade deadline but they made a couple of puzzling decisions. The first involved Dallas trading Grant Williams and Seth Curry to the Charlotte Hornets in exchange for PJ Washington.
The Mavericks also gave up a top-two protected 2027 first-round pick in the deal for Washington but gave up a 2030 first to the Spurs in a three-team sign-and-trade to acquire Williams this past summer. That essentially means that they gave up two firsts to acquire Washington when they could have signed and traded for him during the summer.
They then gave up swap rights to their 2028 first to the Oklahoma City Thunder for their 2024 first and then traded that and Richuan Holmes to the Washington Wizards for Daniel Gafford. Gafford is a better player but they essentially gave up two firsts and a pick swap for Washington and Gafford and they aren't better than they were before the deadline. Odd decision-making.