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Newly acquired Dallas Mavericks forward Grant Williams is excited to get settled into his new home. Williams discussed his sign-and-trade to Dallas, during an exclusive interview with The Athletic’s Jared Weiss shortly after the news of the move broke.
The four-year veteran gushed over his new situation, citing the prospect of playing alongside Kyrie Irving and Luka Doncic as extremely exciting.
“The talent on this team is absurd,” Williams told Weiss. “Kyrie and Luka, being able to put two superstars of that nature, two top 10 players or whatever you want to say, Kyrie is one of the best point guards in the league still. As well as those young guys they have to grow and compete like (Olivier-Maxence Prosper), they drafted Dereck Lively. The Seth Currys, the vets in the world, they’re really talented.”
Williams explained to Weiss that he hopes to bring energy and toughness to his talented new team.
“For me, just to be able to bring energy, be able to bring togetherness, to bring a certain team mentality to a group that has a lot of great talent,” Williams said to Weiss. “In terms of coaching, in terms of front office, in terms of Mark Cuban, it’s a franchise you’ve always heard great things about. I remember watching Dirk Nowitzki play for the Mavs and how impactful he was for the city was a beautiful thing.”
Aside from toughness and energy, Williams will also provide some extra shooting for the Mavericks. Over the past few seasons with the Boston Celtics, the 24-year-old has found his footing a reliable shooter from the outside. Last year, he knocked down 39.5% of his attempts from distance, and made 41.1% of them the season prior.
As the “sign” part of the sign-and-trade, Williams inked a four year, $53 million contract. He’ll be locked in long term for the Mavericks, while not costing them too much.
Mavericks Trade Reggie Bullock in 3-Team Trade for Grant Williams
In order to bring Williams to town, the Mavs had to let go a staple of their roster from the past two seasons. As part of the trade, 31-year-old Reggie Bullock is headed to the San Antonio Spurs, according to multiple reports.
Bullock appeared in a total of 146 games for the Mavericks from 2021-2023, starting in 92 of them. He averaged 7.8 points, 3.6 rebounds, and 1.3 assists per game, while shooting 40.5% from the field and 37.0% from beyond the arc.
Though the 10-year veteran played a solid role on last season’s team, Dallas should be just fine moving forward without him. The addition of Williams — as well as Seth Curry — will help to replace Bullock’s ability to drill shots from long distance.
Trail Blazers Match Mavs’ Offer for Matisse Thybulle
Hours before the news of Williams being traded to Dallas broke, it was reported that the Mavericks would offer Portland Trail Blazers free-agent guard Matisse Thybulle a three-year $33 million offer sheet.
Because Thybulle is a restricted free agent, the Blazers were able to match Dallas’ offer and retain Thybulle.
ESPN’s Adrian Wojnorowski was first to break the news on Thursday.
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