On Wednesday, the Dallas Mavericks managed to add an important role player when they agreed to a four-year, $53 million contract with forward Grant Williams.
As part of the agreement, Williams will be heading there from the Boston Celtics in a three-team sign-and-trade deal.
It represents yet another major subtraction for 2022’s Eastern Conference champions, as they will have little to no depth once this trade becomes official after also losing Marcus Smart and Danilo Gallinari in the recent Kristaps Porzingis trade.
But for the Mavs, Williams should be the type of 3-and-D wing they have lacked, as Tim MacMahon pointed out.
MacMahon also mentioned the fact that Williams is friends with Luka Doncic and that the forward has the same agent as the Slovenian native.
Mavs prioritized Grant Williams in their search for a bigger 3-and-D wing. He happens to be buddies with Luka Doncic and repped by the same agent, Bill Duffy. https://t.co/XSlNyplpNE
— Tim MacMahon (@espn_macmahon) July 5, 2023
Williams, a 6-foot-6, 236-pound power forward, will give the undersized Mavs some size on their frontline, as well as some skills on both ends of the floor.
He made 39.5 percent of his 3-point attempts this past season, and he should be a nice outlet for both Doncic and Kyrie Irving.
Williams is also known as a good defender, which should be valuable to Dallas, as they were a weak defensive team during the 2022-23 campaign.
The Irving trade cost the team Dorian Finney-Smith, arguably their best defender, as well as ball-handling guard Spencer Dinwiddie, and acquiring Williams will be the first step toward replenishing that depth, not to mention rebounding from the way last season ended.
Despite being considered dark-horse contenders after landing Irving, they failed to reach the play-in tournament as they lost the majority of their games down the stretch.
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The Mavericks Receive Another Key Player This Offseason