The Washington Wizards are busy. The latest deal for the Wizards involves acquiring PF Kristaps Porzingis from the Dallas Mavericks for a package including G Spencer Dinwiddie, per ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski. The Wizards will also send Davis Bertans to the Mavericks in the deal while Dallas sends back a second-rounder.
Washington had just reportedly traded Montrezl Harrell to the Hornets and Aaron Holiday to the Suns prior to this report. It’s a full-blown firesale.
So let’s go over the salaries a bit since that’s going to be important. Porzingis is owed $31 million this season and is signed through at least next season. He has a player option for 2023-24 at $36 million. Dinwiddie’s salary is at $17 million this season and $18 million in the next two seasons before he can become a free agent in 2024. Bertans is signed through 2024-25 at an average annual salary of around $16 million per season. So the salaries match up pretty well in this deal.
The Mavericks are also expected to bring in Goran Dragic after he reaches a contract buyout with the San Antonio Spurs. So Dallas will have added Dinwiddie, Bertans and Dragic while shipping out Porzingis. That’s a pretty decent deal.
Dallas can replace Porzingis with Bertans, who is cheaper and a better 3-point shooter. Dinwiddie adds another guard/wing who can play off the ball with Luka Doncic or serve as the backup PG. This allows Jalen Brunson to also play off the ball at times. We also could see all three on the court at the same time with Bertans and Maxi Kleber/Dorian Finney-Smith to form a super versatile lineup.