DALLAS — The business of sports generated one of those funny images Monday night, or at least an image funny to the select group that has developed some interest in the Washington Wizards’ starting center of the past three years. There was Daniel Gafford, wearing a navy blue Mavericks jersey, lined up for the opening tip across from Marvin Bagley III, whom the Wizards acquired in January so Gafford would have a proper backup before they turned around and traded Gafford to Dallas on Thursday.
As for the guy Gafford is presumably supposed to back up in the longer term for the Mavericks? That would be the currently injured rookie Dereck Lively II, who was in plainclothes on the bench at one point in the second quarter conducting the crowd at American Airlines Center as they serenaded him for his 20th birthday.
Oh, and Monday’s 112-104 Dallas win was the first game this season that the new Mavericks owner, Patrick Dumont, attended.
The immediate aftermath of the trade deadline can bring such murkiness, especially when the players trying to get acclimated to their new team have to face their old one two games later and organizations are still trying to work out how best to use their new acquisitions.
It was weird to see Gafford chest-bumping his new teammates Tim Hardaway Jr. and Josh Green before walking out for tip-off, just as it’s still kind of weird to see Bagley in the Wizards’ starting lineup when Washington brought him on to anchor their second unit.
For Gafford, sorting through the murkiness meant working out a few jitters early on before working his way up to 16 points, five blocks and two assists. He started 1 for 4 from the field, flubbing a few easy dunks or layups but making up for it with active rebounding early and, ultimately, giving the Mavericks another dimension when their jumpers weren’t falling.
He matched his season high in rebounds — 17 — in just his second game in Dallas.
“Gaff’s got the easiest job in sports now,” the Wizards’ Kyle Kuzma joked afterward. “Everybody’s just going to double, he’s going to catch the ball in the middle of the key, and he’s just got to make the right play, either pass it or dunk it. 16 [points] and 17 [rebounds] in 24 minutes, that’s tough. That’s tough. Happy for him, very happy for him.”
Gafford said he had a positive reaction to the trade as well. Being moved midseason means he has just the essentials with him for the moment — “boxers, socks, the outfits I wear after games” — and plans on house hunting during the upcoming all-star break.
He is most proud of the way he took advantage of his opportunity to start fresh in Washington, where he arrived at the 2021 trade deadline, after misfiring at the start of his career in Chicago.
“I was working hard, coming out and being locked in — those are the main things that I reflected on [when Thursday’s trade happened]. So coming here, just another page in the book,” Gafford said in an interview. “I’ve been in this position before. Just getting ready for the next step in my career.”
The Wizards, with just Wednesday’s game at the New Orleans Pelicans left before the all-star break, are gearing up for the next step, too, by trying out some new things.
They continued their pattern of dialing up the intensity on defense under interim coach Brian Keefe and charged for three quarters before the Mavericks (31-23) finally started hitting three-pointers and pulled away with a 22-7 run in the fourth quarter, handing the Wizards (9-44) their seventh straight loss.
Kyrie Irving had 26 points and seven rebounds for Dallas. Luka Doncic had a triple-double with 26 points, 15 assists and 11 rebounds, including nine points in the fourth quarter. Jaden Hardy helped out late by sinking two key three-pointers.
Deni Avdija led the Wizards with a season-high 25 points and seven rebounds, and Kuzma added 23 points.
Tyus Jones had 14 points and a career-high 16 assists.
“I thought we got some good looks, to be honest, just didn’t make them, and they made some plays down the stretch,” Keefe said. “I thought we played toe-to-toe with them pretty much the whole game, loved our defensive intensity."
The intensity is non-negotiable for Keefe, but what is more of a topic of discussion is the starting lineup. Since the trade, Bagley has started both games in which he has been healthy. Rookie Bilal Coulibaly started the other in a small-ball lineup when Bagley was out with a lower back contusion Friday in Boston. Crucially, he got to play in the closing group Monday in a tight game alongside Kuzma, Jones, Avdija, and Corey Kispert.
Keefe said he played that group, leaving starters Bagley and Jordan Poole on the bench, simply to give the Mavericks a different look (Poole had three points on 1-for-12 shooting, while Kispert had five points on 2-for-11 shooting). But the Wizards are also happy to get Coulibaly that experience. He spent nearly the entire game splitting defensive duties on Doncic with Avdija.
“We’re being put in positions that we’ve never been in before," Avdija said. “Bilal, you know, he [hasn’t] played a lot of close games in the NBA. I didn’t have the chance to impact the game that much also in the fourth quarter. I feel like we’re trying new stuff. We’re learning.”
Bagley isn’t stressing about the notion of earning a permanent starting job. Keefe has been calling his number lately, which is all that matters to the big man.
Amid post-trade deadline wrinkles under a new coach, that’s the clear mind-set every Wizard is trying to adopt.
“Yeah, it’s different now that Gaff’s not here, that center spot is definitely open. But I don’t put too much into it. I just stick to my routine,” Bagley said. “My mentality is basketball always takes care of itself.”
