Mavericks Trade Suggestion: Should Dallas Try Trading P.J. Washington for Grant Williams?

Dallas – Grant Williams, acquired from the Boston Celtics in a summer sign-and-trade, appeared to be one of the biggest offseason steals during the Dallas Mavericks’ opening ten games of the season. Williams averaged 11.4 points and 3.7 rebounds in 28.8 minutes during that time, helping the Mavs start the season with an 8-2 record. He also shot 50% from the field and 50% from beyond the arc. Naturally, no one anticipated that level of impressive 3-point shooting would last, but Williams needs to perform better than he has recently in order to justify the $52 million, four-year contract he was awarded in July. The fifth-year forward is scoring 6.9 points per game on average over his last 15 games, shooting 34.9 percent from the field and 28.6 percent on almost five attempts from beyond the arc. Despite his recent downward trajectory, Williams is still managing to shoot 38.2 percent from beyond the field overall. For USA TODAY Sports, Jerome Miron P.J. Washington of the Charlotte Hornets is another fifth-year forward who hasn’t performed up to par this season despite agreeing to a new contract. He has started 13 of the 25 games in which he has appeared, and he is averaging 13.8 points and 5.4 rebounds while shooting a career-worst 31.3 percent from beyond the arc and 42.5 percent overall. Washington and Charlotte agreed to a three-year, forty-six million dollar contract over the summer. Might Dallas and Charlotte help each other out by trading the two forwards before this season’s trade deadline? The Hornets were reportedly among the teams considering offering Williams an offer sheet in restricted free agency. Even though Washington earns $4 million more annually than Williams does, if both parties were willing, a straight-up trade could still be completed. One could argue that the Mavs wouldn’t have offered Williams the contract they did if they hadn’t had faith in his potential. He has the ability to play better than he has thus far, and as the season goes on, there’s still a chance he can improve. However, if his losing streak carries over into the new year, the Mavs may begin to question whether it’s simply a case of bad luck or a harsh reality.

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