Mavericks miss out on perfect draft night trade for rumored target from Wizards

Trade rumors have been flying about the Dallas Mavericks over the last couple of days, with the majority of the rumors being about Tim Hardaway Jr.

The Mavs are looking to trade Hardaway Jr. after a disappointing playoff performance and frustration around his role, and the Mavs have the chance to get better by trading him due to his appealing expiring contract.

A tanking team could absorb Hardaway Jr.'s expiring contract while acquiring some draft capital, and a team that was emerging in the hunt for Hardaway Jr. is the Washington Wizards.

Mavericks miss out on perfect draft night trade for Deni Avdija

The Wizards and Mavs pulled off a blockbuster trade at the trade deadline last year as the Mavs acquired Daniel Gafford, and they could have had the perfect opportunity to pull off a blockbuster trade on draft night surrounding Deni Avdija, but the Wizards sent him elsewhere.

The Wizards traded Avdija to the Portland Trail Blazers in exchange for Malcolm Brogdon and draft capital, and the Mavs missed the chance to land their third scorer of the future in Avdija. The Mavs showed interest in Avdija at the trade deadline last year, and this would have been the perfect chance for the Mavs to trade for him considering that the Wizards were emerging as a suitor for Hardaway Jr.

Last season for Washington, Avdija averaged 14.7 points, 7.2 rebounds, 3.8 assists, and 0.8 steals per game while shooting 50.6 percent from the field and 37.4 percent from downtown. Avdija is developing into an all-around scorer who can play point forward, and he would have been a fun fit in Dallas next to Luka Doncic and Kyrie Irving.

This doesn't mean that Dallas is out of the race for Avdija entirely, but it seems like it just became much more unlikely considering that he is on the Blazers now. The Mavs have shown interest in trading for Jerami Grant of the Blazers, but a trade with these two franchises could be unlikely if Hardaway Jr. is included in the deal.

Dallas doesn't have first-round picks to give up for just anybody, as their future could rest on their final couple of tradable firsts, but Avdija was definitely a dream trade target for Mavs fans.

Dallas hadn't been in any trade rumors for Avdija since last season, but he would have been a great fit, to say the least.

For all the latest news and rumors on Tim Hardaway Jr. and the Dallas Mavericks this offseason, stay tuned.