In an under-the-wire surprise, the Mavericks made a splashy move Thursday, trading Kristaps Porzingis to the Wizards in exchange for Spencer Dinwiddie and Davis Bertans. Porzingis, 26, has played in only 34 games so far this season. He is signed through 2024, provided he picks up a player option in 2023. Bertans, 29, is signed through 2025, with the final year of that deal not fully guaranteed. Dinwiddie, 28, is under contract through 2024, with only $10 million guaranteed for that last season. Let’s grade the deal for both sides.
Mavericks: C+
Hmmm. On one hand, Dinwiddie fills a need as a secondary ball-handler to either put next to Luka or anchor some bench lineups. He’s also insurance for Jalen Brunson, who is a free agent this summer and could receive a healthy offer from another team. But Dinwiddie isn’t necessarily great insurance. He’s not had a good season for the Wizards, and his poor three-point shooting is a concern. Let’s say the Mavs keep both Brunson and Dinwiddie this summer—then you’re allocating a lot of resources at point guard. If Brunson leaves and Dinwiddie stays, then the Mavs have downgraded considerably.
Bertans is useful in theory. The problem is his three-point shooting has cooled off significantly this season. He’s played in only 34 games, shooting 31.9% from three. Healthy and playing off Luka should help Bertans get some better looks, even if he may give up some buckets on the other end.
It’s a curious trade for Dallas. Porzingis’s injury issues are a serious concern. He’s also played well this year when healthy, and this deal doesn’t fully absolve the Mavs of his contract because of the money coming back. The new additions could also chip away at some of Dallas’s recent defensive success. Ultimately, it’s a useful short-term move that’s not quite a home run.
Wizards: B
Washington needed to take a little bit of a swing to keep Bradley Beal happy. Maybe Porzingis will have better success playing off him than a more ball-dominant star in Luka. Especially if the Wiz aren’t taking on a ton of extra salary, why not do this trade? It’s a big if banking on Porzingis’s health—which Dallas learned the hard way—still this trade raises the Wizards’ ceiling. A Beal-Porzingis-Kentavious Caldwell-Pope-Kyle Kuzma core can be frisky. And Washington can rest KP down the stretch of this season and try to add another rotation piece in the lottery.
This feels like a low-risk, high-reward trade for the Wizards. Porzingis’s health has burned teams’ best laid plans before. Without many routes to adding a star next to Beal, though, it’s a sensible gamble from Washington’s front office.
