After riding a seven-game winning streak through the trade deadline and the All-Star break, the Dallas Mavericks have lost five of their last six games, as the Mavericks defense suffered enormously in this recent stretch against Eastern Conference opponents.
Dallas made trades to address some of its defensive deficiencies during the trade deadline by adding PJ Washington and Daniel Gafford to the roster, but in the middle Mavericks head coach Jason Kidd’s questionable rotations along with a less than ideal defensive effort across the board during this recent stretch, these moves haven’t shaken things up for Dallas on defense with the exception of the first few games after the deadline Exchanges.
The Mavericks have a lot to do moving forward if they want to have a chance at a competitive playoff run, as the Western Conference is more talented than ever. On the plus side though, Dallas added some talented defensive personnel during the trade deadline, and they have the depth on paper to be much better than they showed during this recent stretch.
According to NBA insider Shams Charania, the Mavericks might be living in a completely different reality right now, as a trade package that Dallas had proposed to Washington during the deadline was close to being accepted, but subsequently . refused at the last minute by Kyle Kuzma.
“The Wizards had the option to trade Kyle Kuzma at the deadline to the Mavericks for Grant Williams and an unprotected first round pick…Kyle Kuzma decided to stick with it, he wanted to stay and stick it out with the Wizards .”@ShamsCharania on Kyle Kuzma and the Washington… pic.twitter.com/48zvU50qfw
– Run It (@RunItBackFDTV) March 5, 2024
The package Charania said the Mavericks offered for Kuzma was eerily similar to the one Dallas sent for PJ Washington, but there would undoubtedly be more moving parts in the deal if Kuzma had been traded to Dallas, because Kuzma earns around $12 million. more than Grant Williams.
Dallas was tactical in its approach to the trade deadline in acquire both Washington and Gafford, and given that Gafford was on the Wizards, who knows if Dallas still could have negotiated with the Wizards front office to also acquire their coveted backup center. Kuzma wouldn’t have solved Dallas’ defensive issues anyway, as the Mavericks proved their problems in that regard ran deeper than personnel during this recent stretch.
For more on the Dallas Mavericks ahead of the playoffs, stay tuned because we’ll be here for you.
