That proverbial shot in the arm the Dallas Mavericks needed came on Feb. 8 when they executed two trades to acquire
forward P.J. Washington and center Daniel Gafford.
Some 10 games into the trade, it appears to be a slam dunk.
“Both of them are playing at a very high level,” Mavs coach Jason Kidd said. “They’ve done everything we’ve asked on both offense and defense.”
Washington is averaging 12.4 points and 5.4 rebounds and is shooting 44.8 percent from the field in 32.4 minutes, while Gafford averages nine points, 7.1 rebounds and 1.4 blocks in 17.2 minutes and is shooting 67.9 percent from the floor.
Gafford added 12 more points and seven more rebounds during Thursday’s 114-108 win over the Miami Heat at American Airlines Center, while Washington collected 10 points and eight boards.
“When you look at what P.J. has done as a starter being able to guard, he started primary on a big, and then we asked him to guard small, and we’ve asked him to guard the centers,” Kidd said. “When you look at what he’ doing for us, he’s playing at a high level and we need that from him.
“And then Gafford, when you look at what he’s done for us on the offensive end giving us second opportunities – things that we needed – and defensively being able to rebound the ball and being able to change shots, he’s doing that at a high level, too.”
Kidd is hopeful that Washington could develop into becoming the Mavs’ No. 3 scorer behind Luka Dončić and Kyrie Irving. Then again, Kidd said:
“We’re looking at No. 3, No. 4 and No. 5. I need everyone to score. Everyone’s looking to be consistent. When you look at Kai and Luka, they’re consistent. When you look at P.J., he’s starting to trend into that consistent third scorer.
“He’s getting great looks at the three, being able to put it on the floor (and) being able to finish in the paint. He’s doing that for us. So, we got to continue to lean into that. But we also need Josh (Green) and other guys to be able to take shots and be able to knock down shots.”
BRIEFLY: The NBA announced Thursday that the 2027 All-Star game will be played in Phoenix. The Suns also hosted the All-Star game in 1975, 1995 and 2009. The 2025 All-Star game will be in San Francisco, which is home to the Golden State Warriors. And the Los Angeles Clippers will host the 2026 All-Star game in their brand new arena – the Intuit Dome — which opens next season in Inglewood, Calif., . . . In improving his team’s defense, Mavs coach Jason Kidd said: “Just being able to understand that we’re going to be scored upon. We’re not going to shut anybody out. We’ve got to be able to execute the game plan, we’ve got to take the corner three away. This is something that’s been — here of late — giving up the corner three. We’ve got to make a conscious effort of that. But we all have to be tied together. It can’t be just three guys out there playing defense. It has to be all five.” . . . Miami Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said he’s excited about this week’s acquisition of guard Patty Mills. “At this time of year to be able to add someone with that much experience, playoff experience, winning experience (is good), and he’s a great teammate and he knows how to fit in,” Spoelstra said. “He’s another really good fit for a lot of different reasons — stylistically, the way he plays, the way he competes. Offensively, he can create space and his catch-and-shoot game and his dribble handoff game is something we already have in our system. And then his professionalism and his leadership — all of those things add value to what we have going on. And also, we’re just tired of being on the other side of him being a Heat killer. I have deep respect for him.” Mills started this season with the Atlanta Hawks, who waived him on Feb. 29. The Heat signed Mills on Wednesday. A 15-year veteran, Mills won an NBA title with the San Antonio Spurs in 2014. . .The Mavs will play at Detroit on Saturday and at Chicago on Monday before returning home to host the Warriors on Wednesday.
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