Golden State’s $2.6 million deal for the productive guard forces Dallas to rely on offseason additions Marcus Sasser and Sergio de Larrea to fill a significant backcourt void.
We told you 12 days ago that potentially losing Brandon Williams shouldn't change the Dallas Mavericks' plan.
And now it's time to find out.
Williams has agreed to a one-year, $2.6 million contract with the Golden State Warriors, according to ESPN's Shams Charania.
That officially ends Williams' three-season run in Dallas and turns a question the Mavs have spent much of the summer preparing for into reality.
Williams is coming off the best season of his NBA career, averaging 13.0 points, 3.9 assists and 2.9 rebounds in 22.2 minutes across 66 appearances for the Mavs.
That's real production walking out the door.
And now Dallas gets to find out whether the alternatives it added this summer can make losing it hurt a little less.
The Mavs traded for the draft rights to Sergio de Larrea after the Los Angeles Lakers selected the Spanish guard with the No. 25 overall pick in June. Dallas signed de Larrea to his rookie contract in July, and he has already offered an early glimpse of his playmaking ability, including a 16-point, 12-assist performance during Summer League.
Dallas also acquired Marcus Sasser, adding another guard with NBA experience to a backcourt that will look different without Williams.
Neither needs to become Brandon Williams.
And neither should be expected to replace 13 points and nearly four assists per game on his own.
Which is exactly why Dallas' offseason work mattered.
When Golden State's interest in Williams first surfaced, the argument wasn't that Williams had suddenly become expendable. He hadn't. It was that Dallas had given itself enough alternatives that losing him no longer had to leave an obvious hole behind.
Now there isn't any "if" left.
Williams is headed to Golden State.
Meanwhile ... the Mavs move forward with de Larrea and Sasser among the guards tasked with filling out a backcourt that also includes Kyrie Irving.
Maybe Dallas' summer additions make Williams' departure relatively painless.
Maybe losing a 26-year-old guard coming off the best season of his career proves harder to replace than it looked on paper.
But the Mavs spent the summer giving themselves options for exactly this situation.
Twelve days later, it's no longer a hypothetical.
Time to see if the plan works.
