Dallas Mavericks

The Kristaps Porzingis era with the Dallas Mavericks has reportedly come to an end.

Per ESPN's Tim MacMahon, the Mavs are sending Porzingis to the Washington Wizards for Spencer Dinwiddie and Davis Bertans.

The Mavericks struggled to pair Porzingis with Luka Doncic. He is averaging 19.2 points and 7.7 rebounds per game in 34 starts this season, but his 28.3 three-point percentage is the worst of his career.

Going to Washington gives Porzingis an opportunity to jump-start his career, but his arrival will also impact Bradley Beal's future. The three-time All-Star, who will miss the rest of the season because of left wrist surgery, can become a free agent this summer by opting out of his contract worth $36.4 million in 2022-23. 

ESPN's Brian Windhorst reported Monday on NBA Today (starts at 2:35 mark) that Beal is seeking the full five-year supermax extension. 

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Mavericks' Updated Depth Chart and Payroll

PG: Luka Doncic, Spencer Dinwiddie, Trey Burke

SG: Jalen Brunson, Tim Hardaway Jr., Theo Pinson

SF: Dorian Finney-Smith, Reggie Bullock, Frank Ntilikina

PF: Maxi Kleber, Davis Bertans, Sterling Brown

C: Dwight Powell, Marquese Chriss, Boban Marjanovic

Team payroll: $122.8 million, per Spotrac

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Wizards' Updated Depth Chart and Payroll

PG: Raul Neto, Ish Smith, Joel Ayayi

SG: Corey Kispert, Deni Avdija

SF: Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, Anthony Gill

PF: Kyle Kuzma, Rui Hachimura

C: Kristaps Porzingis, Thomas Bryant

Team payroll: $125.6 million, per Spotrac

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Porzingis gives the Wizards a go-to scoring option with Beal unavailable. He can also reestablish himself as an All-Star-caliber player without playing second fiddle to Doncic.

Porzingis has one guaranteed year left on his contract at $33.8 million, plus a $36 million player option for 2023-24. 

The Wizards acquired Dinwiddie in a blockbuster five-team trade that sent Russell Westbrook to the Los Angeles Lakers ahead of the 2021-22 campaign. He inked a three-year, $54 million deal in the sign-and-trade to serve as the starting point guard alongside Beal.

However, Dinwiddie has struggled and failed to mesh with Beal. The 28-year-old is averaging 12.6 points, 4.7 rebounds and 5.8 assists while shooting 37.6 percent from the floor and 31.0 percent from deep through 44 games.

While Dinwiddie is coming off a torn ACL, Washington likely expected much more out of him after his career year with the Nets in 2019-20.

With the Wizards only posting a 24-29 record this season, 11th in the Eastern Conference, it's not surprising they parted ways with Dinwiddie.

Bertans has two guaranteed years left on his contract with a $16 million player option for 2024-25. 

The Mavs will bet on Bertans to revert to his play from previous seasons. He shot 40.7 percent from three-point range on 5.0 attempts per game from 2016 to 2021. 

This season, though, Bertans is only making 31.9 percent of his attempts from behind the arc. Since Doncic is one of the most dynamic playmakers in the NBA, it should be easier for him to find open opportunities.

The Dallas Mavericks are trading 2018 All-Star Kristaps Porzingis to the Washington Wizards for Spencer Dinwiddie and Davis Bertans, according to ESPN's Tim MacMahon. The trade also includes a second-round pick being sent from Dallas to Washington, per MacMahon and Adrian Wojnarowski.

The seeds for this move were planted during a 2020-21 season that came to a disappointing conclusion.

The Mavs finished fifth in the Western Conference before losing to the Los Angeles Clippers in the first round of the playoffs. Porzingis didn't play like a star in that series, averaging 13.1 points and 5.4 rebounds while shooting 29.6 percent from beyond the arc.

"There's a little bit of a mental battle because that's not what I'm used to and where I'm most comfortable," he told reporters after the team was eliminated. " ... Whatever I do, it seems like it's always something, so I just try to be as professional as I can."

Rumors about his future started well before the 2021 postseason, too.

B/R's Jake Fischer reported in February 2021 that Dallas had "quietly gauged the trade market" around the 7'3" center.

Team governor Mark Cuban subsequently denied the rumors:

As the Porzingis trade-talk smoke billows, I asked @mcuban about reports that Mavs have gauged @kporzee trade value.

"It's not accurate," he says. "We have not discussed him in a trade at all. Has not happened."

— Brad Townsend (@townbrad) February 23, 2021

. @mcuban elaborates, in stronger terms. pic.twitter.com/Oaldstvpba

— Brad Townsend (@townbrad) February 23, 2021

As they looked to build their roster around Luka Doncic, the Mavs made a big bet on Porzingis.

In addition to sending two first-round picks to the New York Knicks as part of the package to acquire him, they handed him a five-year, $158.2 million extension. At the time he signed the deal, the Latvian hadn't actually played for the team, having missed the entire 2018-19 season while recovering from a torn ACL.

Upon returning to the court, Porzingis hasn't been a significantly different player from the one who rose to stardom with the Knicks. He averaged 20.0 points, 7.8 rebounds and 1.9 blocks in 134 appearances for the Mavs. He also shot 44.8 percent from the field and 34.5 percent from three-point territory.

Unfortunately for Dallas, the 26-year-old's defense proved to be a bit of a liability. Speaking anonymously with Fischer, a Western Conference executive offered a harsh assessment.

"It looks like it's impossible for him to get in a stance," the executive said. "He looks like a scarecrow out there. You don't expect him to necessarily be great from the jump, but I've watched Porzingis a couple of times this year, and I'm not sure the guy can guard anybody."

In general, the 2021 playoffs seemed to drive home all of the concerns about the Doncic/Porzingis partnership. Along with the latter's poor performance (13.1 points, 5.4 rebounds and a 29.6 percent clip on three-pointers), MacMahon reported he "has been frustrated, often feeling more like an afterthought than a co-star as Doncic dominates the ball and the spotlight."

Under new head coach Jason Kidd, MacMahon reported in December that Porzingis "has felt refreshed" and appeared to have forged a stronger dynamic with Doncic.

The results weren't really showing up on the court, though, and it got more and more difficult to ignore the need to shake up the roster in a big way. Similarly, casting Porzingis as the second star alongside Doncic was a tougher sell over time.

Doncic isn't leaving anytime soon since he just signed a five-year, $207.1 million extension. Dallas clearly still felt a level of urgency to improve the roster now rather than wait and see whether Porzingis improved.

Because his stock has fallen so far, acquiring Porzingis could be a shrewd gamble for Washington. Quite simply, he can't be much worse than how he played with Dallas.

Wojnarowski reported Monday that Wizards star Bradley Beal was to undergo season-ending wrist surgery. His agent also met with team governor Ted Leonsis and general manager Tommy Sheppard to discuss his long-term future in the nation's capital.

The three-time All-Star has a $36.4 million player option for next season, and this trade seems like a move to appease Beal and convince him to stick around.

Shedding Dinwiddie and Bertans is basically net neutral for Washington since they combine to make $34 million in 2022-23. In Bertans' case, he has at least $38 million coming his way over the next two years—the Mavs can pay $5 million to avoid his full $16 million cap hit in 2024-25.

Getting off Bertans' salary is nice but doesn't ultimately change the Wizards' financial situation given what Porzingis is earning.

Considering what they invested into Porzingis, ultimately landing Dinwiddie and Bertans is an underwhelming return, and it can reasonably lead to speculation about whether the Porzingis/Doncic partnership was worse than Dallas had let on.

Porzingis' inability to stay healthy was also less than ideal for a team that wants to win a championship at some point.

Pending formal completion of the trade/physicals, it appears Porzingis era ends with his having played 134 of a possible 209 games as a Maverick, including 34 of 55 this season. No one from Mavs is telling me this, but have to think that factors heavily into this trade.

— Brad Townsend (@townbrad) February 10, 2022

Dinwiddie is averaging 12.6 points and 5.8 assists while shooting 31.0 percent from the perimeter. While the 28-year-old is failing to match his peak with the Brooklyn Nets, he's theoretically the kind of scorer and playmaker who can ease the burden on Doncic.

Bertans, meanwhile, is a floor-spacer, albeit one who's shooting a career-worst 31.9 percent from beyond the arc. His willingness to play off the ball also makes him a good fit in the offense.

Still, general manager Nico Harrison will face big questions if neither Dinwiddie nor Bertans is meaningfully better than how each has played with the Wizards.

The Dallas Mavericks defeated the Atlanta Hawks 103-94 on Sunday at American Airlines Center to move to 31-23 on the season. The win comes after the team mounted a 16-point comeback to defeat the Philadelphia 76ers 107-98 on Friday.

Sunday's win was another massive one for Dallas as both Luka Doncic and Jalen Brunson were limited in the second half after racking up five fouls each. Despite being limited, Doncic still finished with a triple-double, and the bench was particularly impressive in what has been a phenomenal week for the Mavs.

Dallas is continuing to make a statement in the Western Conference, sitting in fifth place behind the Phoenix Suns, Golden State Warriors, Memphis Grizzlies and the Utah Jazz.

Doncic has been on a tear, and he continues to be a significant reason Dallas continues to rise in the standings. His performance in Sunday's game was nothing short of impressive, especially with Kristaps Porzingis, Tim Hardaway Jr., Sterling Brown and Maxi Kleber out due to injuries.

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Notable Stats

Luka Doncic, PG, DAL: 18 PTS, 10 REB, 11 AST, 1 STL

Trae Young, PG, ATL: 17 PTS, 2 REB, 11 AST

Jalen Brunson, PG, DAL: 22 PTS, 5 REB, 5 AST, 1 STL

John Collins, PF, ATL: 22 PTS, 18 REB, 1 AST, 1 STL

Reggie Bullock, SF, DAL: 22 PTS, 9 REB, 2 AST,  2 STL

De'Andre Hunter, SF, ATL: 14 PTS, 6 REB, 2 AST

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Mavericks Depth Tested

Doncic and Brunson found themselves in foul trouble in the second half, so Mavs head coach Jason Kidd opted to bench and then rotate the two until the end of the fourth quarter when he put both players back on the floor to close out the game.

With Doncic and Brunson limited, the Dallas bench was tested against the high-scoring Hawks, and it did an impressive job of keeping the team in it until the very end.

Josh Green, Trey Burke and Marquese Chriss combined for 18 points, 13 rebounds and two assists in the win. They also played lockdown defense down the stretch, though that should come as no surprise.

@JoshBGreen corner 👌 pic.twitter.com/ejWQzvgmgp

— Dallas Mavericks (@dallasmavs) February 7, 2022

.@TreyBurke doing a lil bit of everything! pic.twitter.com/kJjzBIrJ9E

— Dallas Mavericks (@dallasmavs) February 7, 2022

The Mavericks entered Sunday's game with the fifth-best defensive rating in the NBA, per NBA.com, and they held Atlanta to just 94 points. In addition, they held Young to 0-of-6 shooting from deep.

It's also important to note that the Mavs were missing Porzingis, Hardaway, Brown and Kleber. That makes the performance of their bench that much more impressive and puts into context just how deep the team is.

If the Mavericks can continue getting more contributions out of unlikely players, such as Green, the team has a great chance of making it past the first round of the playoffs for the first time since 2011.

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Trae Young, Hawks' Offense Struggles

The Hawks offense on Sunday night wasn't good, and that's putting it lightly.

Young, who has starred all season for the franchise, finished with just 17 points in what was his lowest scoring output since a Jan. 26 win over the Sacramento Kings, when he also had just 17 points.

Young also went 0-of-6 from deep, which is quite uncharacteristic for someone who entered the game making 37.8 percent of his shots from beyond the arc.

However, this is the second straight game Young has gone without a three-pointer, having gone 0-of-4 from deep against the Toronto Raptors on Friday. It marks the first time this season that he has been held scoreless from deep in two straight games.

In addition to Young, though, the entire Hawks offense struggled. The team made just 37 of 95 shots (38.9 percent) from the floor and five of 25 (20 percent) from deep.

To put those numbers into context, the Hawks entered Sunday's game with the second-best offense in the NBA, averaging 113.5 points per game. They were also making 37.6 of their shots from deep, the best in the league.

In addition, Atlanta hadn't scored less than 100 points since a 115-91 loss to the Miami Heat on Jan. 12.

With the second half of the season well underway and the trade deadline coming up Thursday, the Hawks could look to add some reinforcements to make a push for the playoffs.

However, it all starts with the team being better on offense. If the Hawks want to make another run to the Eastern Conference Finals, they'll need to be much more consistent moving forward. 

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What's Next?

The Hawks will host the Indiana Pacers on Tuesday, while the Mavericks will host the Detroit Pistons.

The Dallas Mavericks announced Tuesday that Tim Hardaway Jr. underwent surgery for the fractured fifth metatarsal in his left foot and has no timetable for return.

He suffered the injury during a Jan. 25 loss to the Golden State Warriors after he scored 10 points in 10 minutes of action. 

The injury was a significant loss for the Mavericks, considering Hardaway is their fourth-leading scorer and can provide an immediate spark off the bench or work into the starting lineup if necessary and depending on the matchup.

He is averaging 14.2 points, 3.7 rebounds and 2.2 assists per game while shooting 39.4 percent from the field and 33.6 percent from deep this season.

The Michigan product has played for the New York Knicks, Atlanta Hawks and Mavericks since he was a first-round pick in 2013, and he has averaged double-digit scoring totals every season except one.

Hardaway can stretch the floor with his ability to shoot from the outside and attack off the bounce, and he shot better than 39 percent from deep the previous two seasons in Dallas. He can take advantage of the spacing that playing alongside Luka Doncic creates and has 28 games of postseason experience.

His absence and Kristaps Porzingis' knee injury puts more pressure on Doncic to carry the offense on a nightly basis for the Mavericks, who are attempting to keep pace with the best teams in the Western Conference.

The team will likely rely more on Dorian Finney-Smith and Reggie Bullock in the meantime to do some of the things that Hardaway did in the offense.

Dallas is 29-22 and holds the No. 6 seed in the Western Conference.            

It would reportedly take an out-of-this-world offer for a team to prise guard Jalen Brunson from the Dallas Mavericks before the Feb. 10 NBA trade deadline.

According to ESPN's Tim MacMahon on The Lowe Post podcast (h/t HoopsHype), a source said it would take a "what-the-bleep-are-they-thinking type of offer" to land Brunson via trade.

The 25-year-old is in the midst of a career year and has taken on a bigger role than ever before, starting 32 of the 50 games he has appeared in, primarily alongside superstar guard Luka Doncic.

Brunson is averaging career highs with 15.7 points, 5.6 assists and 3.8 rebounds per game. He is also making 1.0 three-pointers per contest and shooting 50.2 percent from the field and 34.7 percent from beyond the arc.

The 2018 second-round pick out of Villanova started just 66 games over his first three NBA seasons, but he is well on his way to setting a new career high in that department, as he is just six starts shy of the 38 he made as a rookie.

Brunson took a big leap forward last year after failing to average double figures in scoring during his first two seasons. He put up 12.6 points per game last term and also set personal bests by shooting 52.3 percent from the floor and 40.5 percent from long range.

His numbers have gotten even better with more playing time this season, and his 31.4 minutes per game are a career high as well.

While Brunson was primarily a backup to Doncic in his first three seasons, they have seen the floor together more often this season under head coach Jason Kidd than they did under previous coach Rick Carlisle.

Doncic has managed to maintain his high level of production in the process, averaging 25.6 points, 8.9 assists and 8.9 rebounds per game, once again establishing himself as an MVP candidate.

Brunson's increased usage has seemingly been a good thing for the Mavs as a whole also since they are comfortably in the Western Conference playoff picture as the No. 6 seed with a 29-22 record.

Perhaps the one factor that could make the Mavericks consider trading Brunson is the fact that he is set to become an unrestricted free agent at the end of the season.

Losing a player with his skill set for nothing in free agency would be a major blow, but trading Brunson in the midst of a push for the playoffs and a potential championship would be a tough sell to the fanbase.

Given how well the backcourt of Doncic and Brunson has meshed this season, it seems likely that Dallas will move forward with Brunson and worry about what it will take to retain him during the offseason.

Dallas Mavericks big man Kristaps Porzingis will not return to Saturday's game against the Indiana Pacers with right knee soreness, the team announced.

Porzingis had five points and one rebound in 11 minutes before exiting. 

The 26-year-old has averaged 19.7 points, 7.9 rebounds and 1.8 blocks in his sixth NBA season (third with the Mavs). His 22.4 player efficiency rating is a career-high, per Basketball-Reference.

After a slow 16-18 start, Dallas has rebounded to go 12-3 in their last 15 games, good enough for a 28-21 record and fifth-place mark in the Western Conference.

Unfortunately, the Mavs will have to go forth without Porzingis once again. He has missed multiple games during four different stretches this season, either because of injury or illness.

KP sat five games from Oct. 28-Nov. 3 with lower back tightness. He was sidelined for two more on Dec. 3 and 4 with a left knee contusion and another pair on Dec. 21 and 23 with right foot soreness.

Porzingis then entered the NBA's health-and-safety protocols after the turn of the new year and missed seven games from Jan. 2-14.

Now Porzingis will be out again. Expect Maxi Kleber, who has entered the starting lineup for Porzingis in the past, to play alongside center Dwight Powell in the frontcourt. He's averaging 7.4 points and 5.6 rebounds per game.

Look for Marquese Chriss to see more time off the bench as well.

Joel Embiid's recent hot streak in real life has paid off for his overall rating in NBA 2K22. 

Per the latest update for the video game, the Philadelphia 76ers star has been given a one-point boost to 96 overall:

This season, the Sixers' superstar is averaging 29 points per game, 10.8 rebounds per game, 4.3 assists per game, and 1.4 blocks per game. Those numbers are already impressive, but when you consider what he's doing without Ben Simmons and Tobias Harris, who's been injured on and off this year, his numbers are even more jaw-dropping. Over his last 10 games, Embiid is scorching the opposition by averaging 35.2 points per game, while adding 11 rebounds per game. The former Kansas Jayhawk is seeing red right now and has more than earned this bump to his overall rating.

Other notable players who saw an increase in their overall rating include Dallas Mavericks guard Luka Doncic (94 OVR, +1), Brooklyn Nets guard James Harden (91 OVR, +1) and Oklahoma City Thunder guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (87 OVR, +1). 

The Sixers are currently sitting in fifth place in the Eastern Conference with a 29-19 record overall. They have won 13 of their past 16 games since a 98-96 loss to the Atlanta Hawks on Dec. 23. 

During this 16-game stretch, Embiid is averaging 34.1 points, 10.6 rebounds and 4.4 assists per contest. He has put himself squarely in the MVP discussion thanks to this recent hot streak. 

Embiid's 96 overall rating ties him with four other players, including LeBron James and Kevin Durant, for the second-best mark in the game. Giannis Antetokounmpo leads all players with a 97 OVR mark. 

Doncic is still trying to find his shooting form, but his ability to impact the game in other ways has made him a driving force behind the Mavs' recent surge. The 22-year-old is averaging 26.3 points, 10.6 rebounds and 8.0 assists per game in his past nine starts, despite shooting 42.5 percent from the field. 

Dallas has climbed up to fifth in the Western Conference with a 28-21 overall record. The team is 10-3 in the last 13 games Doncic has played. 

Harden, who missed Wednesday's game with a hamstring injury, has had an interesting season.

The nine-time All-Star is not playing at his MVP level, but he's looked better since Kevin Durant went down with a sprained MCL on Jan. 13. He nearly averaged a triple-double with 25.0 points, 11.5 assists and 8.3 rebounds per game in six starts from Jan. 15-25. 

It's not easy to get attention playing for the Oklahoma City Thunder right now, but Gilgeous-Alexander continues to solidify his status as a franchise player. The four-year veteran has put up 26.2 points, 6.8 assists and 5.0 rebounds in six games since the last update on Jan. 14. 

Like Doncic, Gilgeous-Alexander is still struggling to find consistency with his shot. He's only connecting on 42.4 percent of his field-goal attempts this season. The 23-year-old has to get better in that area, but there should be no other complaints with his game right now. 

This marks the sixth update to NBA 2K22 since the start of the regular season. The next update should be available in two weeks on Feb. 11. 

The NBA fined Dallas Mavericks forward Kristaps Porzingis $15,000 for kicking the ball into the stands during Tuesday's game against the Golden State Warriors.

Porzingis was ejected in the fourth quarter with 8:21 remaining when he kicked the ball in frustration after fumbling a pass out of bounds.

PORZINGIS EJECTED for kicking ball into stands. 🤣😂 https://t.co/HtKihZx96p

— House of Highlights (@HoHighlights) January 26, 2022

The Mavericks were in the midst of a 130-92 loss to the Warriors, with Porzingis making only four of 15 shots before the ejection. Porzingis has been in a scoring slump, failing to score 20 points in any of the six games since his return from health and safety protocols.

"Just the whole game not going our way at all, especially not my way at all," Porzingis told reporters after the game. "Frustration accumulated, and [I] reacted wrong. I want to apologize to all those fans that were sitting right there. It wasn't my intention to kick the ball towards them at all."

Porzingis was previously fined $50,000 last May for breaking NBA rules prohibiting players from going into bars and clubs because of the COVID-19 pandemic. 

The Detroit Pistons are expected to be among the teams interested in Dallas Mavericks guard Jalen Brunson if he's traded before the Feb. 10 deadline.

Michael Scotto of Hoopshype reported Brunson "has some admirers" in Detroit. The Mavs are expected to explore trading Brunson and Dorian Finney-Smith before the deadline because both players will be unrestricted free agents this summer.

Brunson is set for a substantial raise this offseason after making only $6.1 million over his first four seasons. He'll almost certainly make more than that on an annual basis moving forward, which puts the Mavs in a precarious position.

The team could use its Bird Rights to sign Brunson to a long-term contract, but it would likely result in Dallas going into the luxury tax. The Mavs have $140.2 million in taxable salaries for next season, which gives them about $4.8 million in room under the projected $145 million tax.

They could get out from under the non-guaranteed contracts of Maxi Kleber ($9.2 million), Frank Ntilikina ($2 million) and Moses Brown ($1.9 million) to give themselves some more room, but Kleber, in particular, is a rotation fixture. 

Dallas will have some leverage with few teams expected to have significant cap space this summer, but Brunson's played his way to an eight-figure annual salary. There's almost no way the Mavs can stay under the tax and retain Brunson without making significant roster moves this summer. 

The Dallas Mavericks suffered a major blow to their rotation in Tuesday's game against the Golden State Warriors.

The team announced that swingman Tim Hardaway Jr. suffered a fracture of the fifth metatarsal on his left foot. NBA insider Marc Stein noted that the injury usually takes at least 10 weeks to heal. Stein added that In Street Clothes' Jeff Stotts said it's the same injury that has kept New Orleans Pelicans star Zion Williamson off the floor for the entire season so far.

Hardaway's injury occurred in the second quarter of Tuesday's game when he was fouled while going for a layup. He landed on his left foot and immediately expressed pain, but he was able to shoot and make the free throws. He then indicated to the Dallas bench that he needed to be taken out, and he was helped back to the locker room without putting any weight on his left leg.

Hardaway had 10 points in 10 minutes of playing time before exiting the game. The Mavericks ended up losing to the Warriors 130-92.

A nine-year veteran out of Michigan, Hardaway has been employed mostly as Dallas' sixth man this season. In 41 games with 20 starts prior to Tuesday, he averaged 14.3 points, 3.8 rebounds and 2.2 assists. It's his first time averaging under 15 points since his fourth year in the league with the Atlanta Hawks.

Hardaway was traded to the Mavericks from the New York Knicks midway through the 2018-19 season as part of the Kristaps Porzingis deal. Hardaway re-signed with Dallas this past offseason on a four-year contract worth $75 million.

The impending absence of Hardaway likely means more playing time for wing players Reggie Bullock and Josh Green. It will be interesting to see if the Mavericks try to add another piece before the upcoming trade deadline.

Dallas will have a quick turnaround and travel to face the Portland Trail Blazers on Wednesday.