NBA Trade Deadline: Grading every team’s 2022 deadline moves

Cleveland Cavaliers: B+

The Cavaliers made their big splash earlier in the week, snagging Caris LeVert from the Indiana Pacers. LeVert slots into the Cavs young core nicely, acting as a viable offensive option outside of Darius Garland. The price wasn’t too steep, giving up the expiring contract of Ricky Rubio, a first-round pick, and two second-round selections.

LeVert’s not the perfect player, who’s only under contract through 2022-23, but give the defensively-stout Cavs more offensive flexibility. It will be interesting to see how much the former Pacer causes the team’s defensive efficiency to increase, if at all.

Dallas Mavericks: D

Mark Cuban and the Dallas Mavericks looked at Kristaps Porzingis as a negative salary and treated him as such. Sure, he’s having a disappointing season from beyond the arc, but swapping him for Spencer Dinwiddie and Davis Bertans, two players having substantially worse campaigns, is puzzling at best. Dinwiddie provides another option on-ball, giving Luka Doncic a break on the offensive end – but how good is the Colorado product?

The combination of Luka, Jalen Brunson, and Dinwiddie all thrive with the ball in their hands, making it a difficult fit. The Mavs traded bad salary away in exchange for more bad salary, with Bertans’ contract running through the 2024-25 season. Perhaps he can rehab his career in Dallas as a long-distance sniper, but the Mavericks likely got worse after this deadline.