The Dallas Mavericks traded center/power forward Kristaps Porzingis and a second-round pick to the Washington Wizards for guard Spencer Dinwiddie and forward Davis Bertans, the teams announced Thursday.
The Wizards also sent center Montrezl Harrell to the Charlotte Hornets for Vernon Carey Jr. and Ish Smith.
And Washington traded guard Aaron Holiday to the Phoenix Suns for cash considerations.
The Porzingis trade represents a major shift for the Mavericks. They had acquired Porzingis from the New York Knicks in a blockbuster deal in 2019 with the hopes that he would be a long-term co-star alongside Luka Doncic.
Porzingis, who has dealt with a series of injuries, including surgeries on both knees, averaged 20.0 points, 8.8 rebounds and 1.7 blocks in 134 games for the Mavericks over three seasons. Porzingis, who has missed the past five games thanks to a bone bruise in his right knee, has two seasons remaining on his five-year, $158 million contract.
“Kristaps is an All-Star player whose unique talents will fit well within our system and allow him to impact the game for us in multiple ways,” Wizards general manager Tommy Sheppard said. “He will get a fresh start with our team and provide us with the opportunity to play multiple lineups that feature size, versatility and shooting ability.”
In another deal for Dallas on Thursday, the Mavericks and Dorian Finney-Smith agreed to a four-year, $55 million contract extension, sources told ESPN.
Dinwiddie, 28, provides the Mavericks a scoring and playmaking boost. He signed a three-year, $54 million contract with the Wizards last offseason and has career averages of 12.9 points and 5.1 assists.
Having Dinwiddie also gives the Mavericks insurance in case guard Jalen Brunson leaves Dallas as an unrestricted free agent this summer, although sources told ESPN that the team remains optimistic that it will re-sign the 25-year-old.
Finney-Smith, 28, is averaging a career-high 10.1 points per game along with 4.8 rebounds and 2.0 assists.
The 6-foot-10 Bertans is a 40% career 3-point shooter who fell out of favor in Washington after signing a five-year, $80 million deal in the 2020 offseason. He has averaged 5.7 points in 34 games this season.
Harrell is in the final year of his contract, and the Hornets will inherit his early Bird rights this offseason. Hornets general manager Mitch Kupchak has been looking to add a center who can score and defend for quite some time. Harrell is 6-foot-7 but has a 7-foot-4 wingspan and is expected to play both power forward and center.
A former Sixth Man of the Year, Harrell was part of a logjam of Wizards big men with Thomas Bryant and Daniel Gafford all competing for minutes when healthy.
Smith has been Charlotte’s third-string point guard since joining the team during the offseason, playing behind LaMelo Ball and Terry Rozier. He has played in 37 games and averaged 4.5 points and 2.7 assists. He returns to the Wizards, where he spent the previous two seasons, averaging 9.2 points and 4.5 assists.
Carey, a former second-round pick, has played in 23 games during his career and is averaging 2.3 points per game.
Holiday averaged 6.1 points for the Wizards and gives Phoenix more depth in the backcourt. The Wizards got a trade exception in that deal.
For the Wizards, the trades come on the same day that star guard Bradley Beal underwent season-ending surgery on his left wrist.
Sources told Wojnarowski this week that Beal’s agent, Mark Bartelstein of Priority Sports, met with owner Ted Leonsis and general manager Tommy Sheppard to discuss the three-time All-Star’s future and the franchise’s plans for constructing a roster.
ESPN’s Ohm Youngmisuk and The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Source: www.espn.com