Mavericks trade Devin Harris in three-team deal for Doug McDermott

So long Devin Harris.

The Dallas Mavericks acquired forward Doug McDermott from the New York Knicks as part of a three-team trade that involved Harris. New York will receive point guard Emmanuel Mudiay from the Denver Nuggets. Denver, meanwhile, will receive Harris and a future second-round pick from Dallas.

Mudiay played high school basketball at Arlington Grace Prep.

McDermott, the 11th overall pick in the 2014 draft, is averaging 7.2 points a game this season. He’s shooting 46 percent overall and 38.7 percent from 3-point range, and will provide depth at the wing behind Harrison Barnes.

McDermott is in the last year of his contract and has a cap hit of $3.3 million and will become a restricted free agent in July. If the Mavericks decide to tender him an offer, the qualifying offer would be $4.5 million.

But the big news is the departure of Harris, who will join a playoff contender in Denver. The Nuggets would be the sixth-seed in the Western Conference if the playoffs started today.

At a team practice in California earlier this morning, the Harris reacted to the reports that indicated he was likely to be traded, and also discussed his feelings about the Mavericks’ organization:

The Mavericks play at Golden State tonight.

Harris played in 44 games for the Mavericks, including one start, this season. He averaged 8.5 points with 1.9 assists.

The Washington Wizards drafted Harris with the fifth overall pick in the 2004 NBA Draft and then shipped him, along with Jerry Stackhouse and Christian Laettner, to the Mavericks for Antawn Jamison.

The Mavericks weren’t expected to swing any franchise-altering deals going into Thursday’s trade deadline. But for an organization that is looking to build a foundation for the future, this trade was a sensible move.

This story was originally published February 8, 2018 at 2:08 PM with the headline "Mavericks trade Devin Harris in three-team deal for Doug McDermott."