Dallas Mavericks Grant Williams trade was about moving a player who 'rubbed a lot of people the wrong way'

Credit: Jerome Miron-USA TODAY Sports

A new report claims that getting rid of Grant Williams as soon as possible was as much a motivator for the Dallas Mavericks as a belief that PJ Washington would be a good addition to the roster before the NBA trade deadline.

On Thursday, while there were a slew of trades it wasn’t a trade deadline day that featured many blockbuster deals. Among the various moves made this week, the Dallas Mavericks landed on the NBA transactions list when they traded Grant Williams — a player they gave a four-year, $53 million deal to this summer — to the Charlotte Hornets.

The trade brought back PJ Washington, a player who seems like a better version of Williams. And the deal was a public admittance of the failure of the signing this offseason. Furthermore, it seems the desire to trade the one-time Boston Celtics talent also had to do with the former first-round pick not being a well-liked player in the organization.

Dallas Mavericks ‘wanted to be out of the Grant Williams business’

On Friday, during an appearance on the “Hoop Collective” podcast, ESPN NBA insider Tim McMahon revealed some interesting details behind why the Dallas Mavericks gave up on Williams after just a few months.

“The fact they gave up a 2030 swap for Grant Williams and then dumped him as soon as they possibly could, which they were determined to dump him,” McMahon said. “[It was] not just about getting P.J. Washington, they wanted to be out of the Grant Williams’ business. He rubbed a lot of people the wrong way.”

Grant Williams was averaging a career-high 26.4 minutes but his numbers were similar are lower than they were in previous seasons. His three-point shooting — a key part of his 3-and-D reputation — was down to 38% from 40% in 2022-23.