When the Washington Wizards made the Dinwiddie/Bertans trade with the Dallas Mavericks back in February, I was all for it. Spencer Dinwiddie and Davis Bertans weren’t playing very well. Washington was struggling to find any form of consistency. It was time for a change. Back in February I thought the Washington Wizards won this trade. But this past Sunday night, I watched Spencer Dinwiddie drop 30 points on the Phoenix Suns. Dinwiddie’s performance helped the Dallas Mavericks advance to the western conference finals for the first time since 2011. Revisiting this trade three months later, I asked myself “did the Wizards really win this trade?”.
Three months later, I admit that I was wrong. The Wizards did not win this trade. Sure, Washington was able to acquire Kristaps Porzingis. But the Mavericks are in the western conference finals. The Wizards are watching the playoffs at home. It doesn’t matter that the Wizards received the better player. The Mavericks are in a position where they can go for a championship. At the end of the day, that is what you play for in the NBA.
Players or organization?
Wizards fans (including myself) gave Dinwiddie and Bertans a hard time when they were in DC. But once they went to a different organization, they started contributing at a higher level. We know what Dinwiddie has done in Dallas so far. Bertans in the playoffs, is shooting 43.2 percent from three prior to the game 1 loss to Golden State. Which begs the question, is it the players or the organization?
We know that your work environment can have an impact on your performance. Doesn’t matter if you work in computer engineering or if you are an NBA player. Since Dinwiddie and Bertans struggled in DC but are playing well in Dallas, maybe it’s time to look at the organization. If you can’t get the best of out the players you have, that is on you as a franchise.
