Dallas Mavericks Traded Kristaps Porzingis For Davis Bertans And Spencer Dinwiddie On Feb 10

Dallas Mavericks

The Dallas Mavericks agreed to transfer Kristaps P and a future second-round selection to Washington Wizards in exchange for Davis Bertans and Spencer Dinwiddie with less than half an hour until Thursday’s 3 p.m. ET trade deadline.

This appears to be an odd deal for the Dallas Mavericks at first sight, but we’ll get to that quickly. The Wizards, on the other hand, look to have fared well in this situation. Let’s take a look at the deal from both perspectives.

Porzingis takes a lot of fire, and the story around him has gotten rather nasty in recent years because he always appears to be injured.

Dallas Mavericks Make A Seemingly Odd Trade

He’s now missed 21 games this season and hasn’t played in two weeks due to a bone contusion in his right knee. It is not as if the Wizards have an All-Star on their roster.

However, when Porzingis has been on the floor this season, he has performed admirably. As Dallas Mavericks has risen to the top tier of defensive ratings, his defensive activity has increased, and he is now averaging just under 20 points per game. Jason Kidd was giving him a lot more opportunities to post up than most coaches would, and the results weren’t fantastic (0.89 points per possession, 38th percentile per Synergy). But there’s still an opportunity for him to play the floor-spacing shooter role that he’s become known for.

We know he’s a better shooter than that, but he’s only hitting 28 percent from three this season. In theory, he can be what Davis Bertans was for the Wizards before his game deteriorated, but with better defensive skills.

Porzingis isn’t a cheap player. He’s making $31.6 million this season, and he’ll make $33.8 million next season, with a $36 million player option for 2023-24, which he’ll almost certainly exercise at this pace. But, once again, the thinking is that he can help the Wizards win as they try to put enough around Bradley Beal to persuade him to re-sign on a max agreement and then remain long-term after signing.