Why the Dallas Mavericks traded young forward at the perfect time

The Dallas Mavericks have a quick turnaround as they face off against the Cleveland Cavaliers on Tuesday after suffering a blowout loss to the Indiana Pacers on Sunday evening. Newly-acquired Mavericks wing P.J. Washington had his worst game since he's been in Dallas in that contest versus Indiana, as Washington had four clumsy turnovers and only connected on one out of six field attempts.

However, Washington played a crucial role in containing Pascal Siakam, who he held to 12 points on 5-11 shooting from the field as the primary defender on him. Washington's offensive struggles have been well documented since he's been in Dallas, but that's not to say that he hasn't been crucial for Dallas on the defensive end.

Washington can still develop his 3-point shot in the coming seasons and we've seen how multi-faceted he can be as a three-level scorer when he's really dialed in, as he had multiple 40-plus point performances during his tenure in Charlotte.

Why the Dallas Mavericks traded young forward at the perfect time

With all that being said, it's clear that the Mavericks made the right decision at the trade deadline to acquire Washington in exchange for Grant Williams, Seth Curry, and their 2027 first-round pick. Even if you don't agree that Washington still has the potential to thrive in Dallas once his offensive game clicks, no one can deny that the Mavericks were extremely smart to get off of Grant Williams' contract when they did.

Williams had a promising start to his tenure in Dallas, but skepticism toward his standing in the Mavs' organization was raised by fans due to Williams' depreciating play on both sides of the ball as well as his "loud" on-court antics that he would often implement in untimely scenarios.

Williams is still starting beef in Charlotte, as Draymond Green recently clowned Williams for intruding upon and escalating a scuffle between Miles Bridges and Lester Quinones at the end of a Warriors-Hornets game. This further proves that Williams wasn't the right fit in Dallas, as his gimmicks and inconsistent play didn't fit the mold of the athletic two-way wing that Dallas wants at their four-spot.

After an extremely hot start to his tenure in Charlotte, Williams has cooled off the last two games and is still assuming a role off the bench as was the case during the latter half of his time in Dallas. It doesn't seem like Williams took the trade too favorably at first glance, so it will be interesting to see what happens next time the Mavericks take on the Hornets.

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