Luka Doncic 'Very Enthusiastic' About Mavs' Trade for P.J. Washington
NEW YORK CITY — The Dallas Mavericks were one of the NBA's more active teams ahead of the trade deadline, doing deals to acquire players such as P.J. Washington and Daniel Gafford to add more talent around Luka Doncic and Kyrie Irving.
During an appearance on ESPN's broadcast, NBA insider Adrian Wojnarowski reported Docnic being "very enthusiastic" about trading for Washington as a "motivating factor" for the Mavs to get a deal done with the Hornets.
"I was told that Luka Doncic was very enthusiastic about the idea of landing P.J. Washington. I think that was a little bit of a motivating factor that he was excited about the possibility of getting him at this trade deadline to add him to this team to make a run."
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To acquire Washington from the Hornets, the Mavs parted with Grant Williams, Seth Curry, and a 2027 first-round pick (top two protected) while receiving the forward and multiple second-round picks. Dallas was interested in acquiring Washington during restricted free agency before pivoting to Williams.
The Mavs managed to complete a trade for Washington without having to part with Josh Green, who was rumored to be a trade target the Hornets were high on in previous stages of discussions with Dallas.
The Mavs now stand at 28-23 entering Thursday's matchup against a severely shorthanded New York Knicks team. With no shortage of injuries throughout this season, Dallas envisions a lot of potential for this group when the team regains Dereck Lively II and Dante Exum from injury.
With Washington and Gafford in the fold, the Mavs upgraded at the starting power forward position while gaining needed depth at center. Williams lost his full-time starting role entering the Christmas Day matchup with the Phoenix Suns and never found his footing. Depth has remained a problem behind Lively, considering they are 6-9 in 15 games he misses.
It remains to be seen if the Mavs will complete another upgrade to the roster. They are among the teams interested in signing Spencer Dinwiddie after he was traded to and waived by the Toronto Raptors. Dallas can offer up to $5.3 million to sign him since they still have spending room from the mid-level exception.
