Grade the Trade: Mavericks cash in on Wizards' fire sale in mock blockbuster

Mavericks bolster their front-court in mega-trade with Wizards

In this blockbuster trade with the Washington Wizards, Dallas goes all in towards a championship run by acquiring Kyle Kuzma and Daniel Gafford in exchange for Josh Green, Jaden Hardy, Tim Hardaway Jr., and their 2027 first-round pick.

At face value Dallas is giving up quite a bit in this trade, but it should be noted that there's a bit of a sour taste in the Wizards' mouth after not getting a single future first round pick in both the Bradley Beal and Kristaps Porzingis trades.

Kyle Kuzma would be a massive pull for the Mavericks, as the 6-foot-9 wing is averaging 21.8 points, 6.8 rebounds, and 4.3 assists per game this year for the 7-35 Washington Wizards. Kuzma may not be the ideal defensive stopper at the power forward position that Dallas has been looking for, but he'd be their definitive third shot creator/playmaker in the starting lineup and would provided a needed influx of size.

Kuzma is still an above average defender even if he isn't elite on that end too, but those concerns would be alleviated to an extent because Dallas would also get a starting-caliber rim protector in Daniel Gafford to backup Dereck Lively II. Gafford has had an up-and-down season for Washington, but a move to the bench in Dallas could pay huge dividends for his confidence given he could split lots of his usual workload with Lively II.

Dallas doesn't have the draft capital that the Wizards are seeking so they give up many of their coveted assets to match Washington's asking price in this trade. Richaun Holmes isn't playing much for Dallas and the Mavericks would be bringing back Gafford anyways, so Holmes wouldn't be too hard to part with. However, a lot of fans may cringe when having to say goodbye to Dallas' only current deployable first round pick as well as Hardy, Hardaway Jr., and Green.