Mavericks must stay far away from a Zion Williamson trade despite past comments

After last night's loss to the Houston Rockets, the Dallas Mavericks are now 20-14 on the year. Their time without Luka Doncic since he went down with a calf strain on Christmas Day has not gone as planned as they have now lost three games in a row, and they are going to have to find a way to get back to their winning ways that fans are used to (even when Doncic isn't in the lineup).

To go along with the loss, the Mavs also lost P.J. Washington in this game to a knee sprain, and if this injury ends up being serious, Dallas is going to be in an extremely tough position. It's already been rumored that the Mavs are looking to upgrade their frontcourt on the trade market, and it might be smart to make a move sooner rather than later.

Dallas' depth at power forward was already running thin before Washington's injury, and despite being floated in trade rumblings recently, it may not be in Dallas' best interest to pursue a trade for New Orleans Pelicans star forward Zion Williamson.

Mavericks shouldn't even entertain the idea of trading for Williamson

Williamson has always been someone that Mavs fans bring up when speculating about trades ever since he said that Dallas is the best road city in the NBA, but they should look elsewhere when making a move to upgrade their frontcourt.

Despite Williamson being an intriguing potential fit next to Luka Doncic and Kyrie Irving due to his lob-catching ability, off-ball cutting, athleticism, and finishing, his availability has been his biggest kryptonite since he was drafted. He has only played above 60 games in a season twice in his career, and despite playing a career-high 70 games last season, he has only played in six games this season.

In these six games, Williamson has averaged 22.7 points, 8.0 rebounds, 5.3 assists, 0.7 steals, and 1.2 blocks per game while shooting 45.2 percent from the field and 33.3 percent from downtown. He was having a solid start to his 2024-25 season before injuring his hamstring nearly two months ago, and Jason Kidd wouldn't be able to rely upon him to be available consistently since he is seemingly always getting injured.

To go along with his injury history, Williamson is also on a massive contract that would be extremely risky to take on. Williamson is locked up until the end of the 2027-28 season while making nearly $40 million annually on average, and to make this deal work, Dallas would have to gut their depth.

Dallas' depth has been one of their biggest strengths this season, and they shouldn't jeopardize the chemistry they've built to bring in another star player. That doesn't seem like the correct formula the Mavericks should use to win the NBA Finals, and once everyone gets healthy, they'll be in a great spot to compete with the top teams in the Western Conference once again.

It doesn't look like Williamson is going to pursue a trade out of New Orleans anyway, but the Mavs shouldn't even look in his direction when thinking about how they can upgrade their roster. He is elite when healthy, but the Mavs can't make that gamble.