Mavs Free Agency Review; P.J. Washington Sign & Trade Next?
Before this NBA offseason began, we knew these two things to be true: 1) the Dallas Mavericks had to make a lot of changes to their roster after they followed up a Western Conference Finals appearance by missing the postseason entirely a year later, and 2) given their lack of assets, it was going to be hard to fill every roster hole in one summer.
Although the latter point is still holding up, given that the Mavs are still in search of a veteran starting center, the front office has done a great job chipping away at some of the team’s biggest needs by executing some savvy trades and bargain free-agency signings.
Promising rookies Dereck Lively II and OMax Prosper were both traded for on draft night, and the Mavs added Boston Celtics versatile 3-and-D forward Grant Williams via sign-and trade this week while sending Reggie Bullock to the San Antonio Spurs. Dallas accomplished it’s top offseason goal of re-signing Kyrie Irving, and it also added some value signings with Seth Curry and former top-five pick Dante Exum joining the team.
Veteran big man Richaun Holmes was acquired from the Sacramento Kings in a draft night salary-dump deal that also netted them Prosper with the No. 24 pick. Although there were talks about the Mavs rerouting Holmes by expanding that trade, he was still on the Dallas roster when the dust settled and the trade was finalized. Holmes isn’t a great defender, but he is an effective offensive big, and his high energy on the boards will be much-welcomed by the worst rebounding team in the league.
Despite all the roster shuffling the Mavs have done so far, more changes feel imminent. Dallas still has its $12.4 million mid-level exception to use after the Portland Trail Blazers matched the three-year, $33 million offer sheet Matisse Thybulle signed with the Mavs this week. The makeup and the outlook of this team has drastically changed from where it was two weeks ago, and yet, there’s still some work to do. So, what’s next?
The best player the Mavs could add in free agency at this point is Charlotte Hornets’ P.J. Washington, who is a restricted free agent and has yet to sign a new deal or an offer sheet. Washington averaged a career-high 15.7 points, 4.9 rebounds, and 2.4 assists while shooting just under 35 percent from 3-point range on six attempts in 33 minutes per game for the Hornets last season. He'd be an excellent, younger stretch-four to take over the role Maxi Kleber has played for the Mavs over the last several years.
If the Mavs want to add Washington, it would be tricky, though. He surely wants more than the $12.4 million MLE the Mavs have to offer, but even if he agreed to sign an offer sheet for that amount, the Hornets would likely match it faster than the Blazers matched Thybulle’s offer sheet on Thursday. So, if Dallas wants to make this happen, it would likely have to be via sign-and-trade like the Williams trade was.
In theory, the Mavs could trade Tim Hardaway Jr., JaVale McGee and their 2027 first-round pick (as sweetener for the Hornets not only taking McGee, but agreeing to do a sign-and-trade in general) in exchange for Washington on a new long-term deal that pays him around $20 million per year.
There still some potential trades for veteran centers that make sense for the Mavs, including Phoenix Suns’ Deandre Ayton, Atlanta Hawks’ Clint Capela, Cleveland Cavaliers’ Jarrett Allen and Indiana Pacers’ Myles Turner. However, with the Holmes trade pushing through, it feels like Dallas’ big-man bullpen is set … at least for another 60 days until Holmes is able to be traded in multi-player deals again.
Mavs GM Nico Harrison has done as good of a job as one could've asked for coming into this offseason, but it has a chance to be even better if the Mavs can catch another break or two. We'll find out soon what will happen with Charlotte's Washington situation, as well as what other trade or free-agency opportunities become available for Dallas throughout the rest of the summer.
In the meantime, though, it's already looking like Luka Doncic, Kyrie Irving and the Mavs are poised to have a big bounce-back 2023-24 season as they look to get back to postseason.
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