The Dallas Mavericks swapped Grant Williams for Charlotte Hornets forward P.J. Washington and added Washington Wizards center Daniel Gafford at the NBA’s trade deadline, according to multiple reports.
The Mavericks sent Williams and Seth Curry, along with a top-two protected 2027 first-round draft pick, to the Hornets for Washington and a pair of second-round picks, according to The Athletic’s Shams Charania.
Dallas also agreed to swap 2028 first-round picks with Oklahoma City in exchange for the Thunder’s 2024 first-round pick, which the Mavericks sent to Washington — along with Richaun Holmes — for Gafford.
Williams, who helped the Boston Celtics to the 2022 NBA Finals and 2023 Eastern Conference finals, inked a four-year, $53.3 million contract with the Mavericks in a sign-and-trade deal in July. That transaction cost the Mavericks an additional unprotected first-round pick swap in 2030 and Reggie Bullock to clear salary.
The 2027 pick was the last first-rounder Dallas had available to trade until the offseason.
Williams averaged 8.1 points (on 41/38/75 shooting splits), 3.6 rebounds and 1.7 assists in 26.4 minutes over 47 appearances for the Mavericks. Prior to resting three games in early December with a sore right knee, Williams started every game and shot better than 40% from 3-point range, looking very much like the 3-and-D forward option Dallas imagined for Luka Dončić and Kyrie Irving. Since his return, Williams’ 3-point percentage dipped below league average, and he lost his starting job to a number of small-ball options.
Williams and Curry, who played sparingly in his return to Dallas, are both natives of the Charlotte area.
Theoretically, Washington fills the void the Mavericks had hoped Williams would. The 25-year-old averaged 13 points (45/36/71 splits), 5.5 rebounds and 2.3 assists over four-plus seasons on the Hornets. Mired in Charlotte, Washington has yet to appear in the playoffs. That should change if he can help Dallas. The Mavericks (28-23) are currently in eighth place in the West, two games out of a guaranteed playoff spot.
Gafford averaged 10.9 points (69 FG%, 71 FT%), eight rebounds and 2.2 blocks per game for the Wizards. He will back up rookie center Dereck Lively II, forging 48 minutes of a rim-running-and-protecting tag team. Gafford also provides a layer of insurance behind Lively, who has missed the past five games because of a nasal fracture. Lively has also battled lower-back and ankle injuries in his debut campaign for Dallas.
The Mavericks are also expected to pitch Spencer Dinwiddie, who was bought out by the Toronto Raptors following his trade from the Brooklyn Nets, on a reunion in Dallas, according to Marc Stein of Substack.
