How the Mavericks and Wizards Are Faring Following Daniel Gafford Trade
One month ago the Washington Wizards sent center Daniel Gafford to the Dallas Mavericks in exchange for forward Richaun Holmes and a 2024 first-round NBA Draft pick that originally belonged to the Oklahoma City Thumber.
Kyle Kuzma spent time at the five position for the Wizards against the Boston Celtics in a 133-129 loss in the first game playing without Gafford.
Washington Wizards center Daniel Gafford (21) celebrates after scoring a basket against the Oklahoma City Thunder during the second half at Paycom Center. Washington won 101-99.
Mandatory Credit: Alonzo Adams-USA TODAY Sports
Two games later Gafford and his new teammates hosted Washington for the first time after the trade and handed his former mates a 112-104 loss, the organization's seventh-straight at the time.
That game was part of a four-game winning streak for the Mavericks after acquiring Gafford but things haven't gone as well since.
"It was all good less than two weeks ago. The Mavs won their first four games (beating the Thunder and Suns along the way) with Gafford," writes NBA.com. "But they’ve since lost five of six and rank last defensively since the All-Star break by a wide margin.
"The Mavs are one of three teams — the Grizzlies and Heat are the others — without a lineup that’s played at least 100 total minutes. The current starting lineup (with P.J. Washington at the four) has played 86 minutes thus far, and it’s scored a super-efficient 132.3 points per 100 possessions. But the Mavs are just 3-5 in the eight games it played together, and it had a rough defensive night (43 points allowed on 29 possessions) against Indiana on Tuesday."
While Dallas has hit a rough spot the Wizards continue to crawl through their season-long patch of struggles.
Guard Jordan Poole was supposed to be a scoring machine coming in as a starter via trade with the Golden State Warriors this weekend but has struggled and is now coming off the bench.
Meanwhile, rookie guard Bilal Coulibaly has been getting time with the starting unit despite missing time with a recent pelvic injury.
All eyes appear to be set on the future in Washington, and while things are going so smoothly right now the two first-round picks coming next offseason may help in the long run.
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