Dallas Mavericks avoid disaster by not trading for Wizards star forward

The Dallas Mavericks had one of the busiest trade deadlines in the entire NBA as they made deals for Daniel Gafford and P.J. Washington.

Both deals were made to help with Dallas' rebounding, defense, and frontcourt depth, and both players have been great for the Mavs already. Gafford has proved that he is a great fit next to Luka Doncic, and he has the ability to anchor the defense when needed.

Washington has provided plenty of versatility and looks as if he is Dallas' best perimeter defender.

Dallas Mavericks avoid disaster by not trading for Wizards star forward

With all of this being said, one trade could have derailed the Mavs from landing either one of the aforementioned players and Dallas seems to be lucky that the trade didn't go through.

The Mavs and Washington Wizards were in advanced trade talks for forward Kyle Kuzma, and the deal almost went through. Wizards president Michael Winger asked Kuzma if he wanted to go to Dallas, but he elected to stay in Washington. Kuzma was given the choice, and if he approved, he would almost guaranteedly be dealt to Dallas.

Although Kuzma has great offensive talent and would have provided solid size in the frontcourt, it looks as if Dallas dodged a bullet by not dealing for Kuzma. Through his quotes that were reported by Josh Robbins of The Athletic (subscription required), it can be assumed that Kuzma is more focused on being the man in Washington rather than being a complimentary piece for a playoff run in Dallas.

Kuzma would have been the third option in Dallas behind Luka and Kyrie Irving, but he elected to stay in Washington, where they are 9-44 on the season. It was an overall confusing set of comments by Kuzma, and because he didn't want to be here combined with Dallas' probable and hypothetical inability to deal for Washington and Gafford if they traded for Kuzma, the Mavs got lucky.

It could have been a disaster if Kuzma was dealt to Dallas and he didn't want to be here, and the vibes are already extremely high with the new additions. They clearly want to be in Dallas and have been key for Dallas in their two most recent wins.

If Winger didn't ask Kuzma if he wanted to be traded and just made the deal, things could have been much different.

For all the latest news on P.J. Washington, Daniel Gafford, and the Dallas Mavericks, stay tuned.