didn\u2019t even have on its radar<\/a>.<\/p>\nOne of those teams: the Washington Wizards.<\/p>\n
The Mavericks and Wizards had exploratory talks in early November. On Wednesday, both sides determined that Dallas would send Davis, D\u2019Angelo Russell, Jaden Hardy and Dante Exum to Washington for what amounted to two first-round picks (both in the 20-30 range), three second-round picks and a collection of expiring contracts.<\/p>\n
Mavs co-interim general managers Matt Riccardi and Michael Finley both used the same word to describe why they made the trade: \u201cflexibility.\u201d<\/p>\n
The Mavericks cleared out Davis\u2019 enormous contract and two other bad multiyear deals belonging to Russell and Hardy in one fell swoop. The trade gives the Mavericks significant financial relief and somewhat replenishes their once practically empty cupboard of draft picks as they prepare to build their team around rookie sensation Cooper Flagg.<\/p>\n
\u201cI think we had to take an honest look at ourselves in the mirror and look at where we were and where we wanted to be,\u201d Riccardi said. \u201cSometimes, the path is not straightforward. Sometimes, you have to go a little roundabout way to get where you want to go.\u201d<\/p>\n
The Mavericks\u2019 discussions with the Wizards never leaked to the public until there was a handshake deal. Mavericks officials were proud that Finley could deliver the trade news to Davis face-to-face before word that he was being dealt began to circulate Wednesday afternoon.<\/p>\n
Davis only played in 29 games in his Mavericks tenure. He dealt with four separate injuries in his year-long stint in Dallas and did himself no favors by reporting to training camp in the fall weighing 15 pounds heavier than he did the previous season. Davis strained his left calf on Oct. 29 in Dallas\u2019 fifth game of the season. He was forced to leave the Mavericks\u2019 Jan. 8 game against the Utah Jazz with ligament damage in his left hand. It was the last time he wore a Dallas uniform.<\/p>\n
Mavericks coach Jason Kidd, who as a Los Angeles Lakers assistant won a championship with Davis in 2020, said he was disappointed that Davis, Kyrie Irving and Flagg were never able to play together.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt was unfortunate, (Davis\u2019) health,\u201d Kidd said. \u201cWe never got to see everyone together. Not just A.D. but Kyrie and with Coop (Flagg). Unfortunately, we didn\u2019t have that opportunity. But A.D. is an incredible basketball player and a great human being. We wish him the best in D.C.\u201d<\/p>\n
Davis leaves Dallas after playing in 20 games alongside Flagg. Irving has yet to play this season, as he recovers from a torn ACL he suffered in March.<\/p>\n
While Flagg was Dallas\u2019 only true untouchable player during this year\u2019s trade deadline, the Mavericks never considered moving Irving and clearly envision him playing next to their star 19-year-old forward.<\/p>\n
\u201cKyrie has the ultimate respect for Cooper,\u201d Finley said. \u201cHe loves the kid\u2019s work ethic. He loves the kid\u2019s love for the game. I think Kyrie is embracing the role as a mentor for Cooper. It\u2019s going to be amazing to see those guys together on the court and playing together. I think Cooper can learn a lot from Kyrie because of the type of player he is and what he brings to the table. Kyrie is looking forward to that task.\u201d<\/p>\n
The newest Mavericks \u2014 Tyus Jones, Khris Middleton, AJ Johnson and Marvin Bagley III \u2014 were scheduled to travel to Dallas on Friday. All of them could be available to play as soon as Saturday in San Antonio, pending physicals.<\/p>\n
Jones, whom the Mavericks acquired by re-routing Malaki Branham to the Charlotte Hornets, addresses one major area of need: point guard. Jones has a career 5.4:1 assist-to-turnover ratio. He was one of the NBA\u2019s best bench players a few seasons ago in Memphis, although he was in the midst of a down year with the Orlando Magic before the Mavericks traded for him.<\/p>\n
The Mavericks have been starting games without a traditional point guard for most of this season. Their poor guard play has been a major reason why they are ranked 26th in offense.<\/p>\n
\u201cI think if you look around the league, the teams that are most successful have great guard play,\u201d Finley said. \u201cSomeone who can lead the offense, get the guys in the right position to make easier shots. For us, I think guard play is as important. The less pressure and stress we can put on Cooper offensively \u2014 get him with a guy who can make his job a little easier \u2014 it does wonders for him and, hopefully, for his entire career.\u201d<\/p>\n
Flagg scored 32 points in the Mavericks\u2019 135-123 loss to the San Antonio Spurs<\/a> on Thursday. It was his fourth straight game with at least 30.<\/p>\nTrading Davis to the Wizards \u2014 a move no one saw coming \u2014 allows the Mavericks to begin the process of resetting around Flagg, now their undisputed face of the franchise.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe runway is long,\u201d Kidd said. \u201cHe\u2019s 19 years old. He\u2019s developing. Understanding the NBA game, the schedule, the physicality. His game is very impressive. Now it\u2019s on us to find some of those pieces that fit. We believe we have some of those pieces already.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"DALLAS \u2014 In the weeks leading up to Thursday\u2019s NBA trade deadline, Dallas Mavericks officials insisted they wouldn\u2019t…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":153685,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[9],"tags":[102,104,2582,103,6404],"class_list":{"0":"post-153684","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-dallas","8":"tag-dallas","9":"tag-dallas-headlines","10":"tag-dallas-mavericks","11":"tag-dallas-news","12":"tag-washington-wizards"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/153684","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=153684"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/153684\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/153685"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=153684"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=153684"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=153684"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}