The Lakers may be eyeing Jonathan Kuminga with their final roster spot, but P.J. Washington doesn’t look like the fallback plan.
A recent report says Los Angeles is unlikely to chase the Dallas Mavericks forward this summer, even though he’s been linked to the team in trade chatter for a while. The hurdle, according to The California Post’s Khobi Price, is the money.
“The Lakers have long been tied to trade rumors with Mavericks forward PJ Washington, a former teammate of Doncic’s in Dallas, but the fully guaranteed $88.8 million Washington's owed over the next four years isn’t appealing to the Lakers,” The California Post’s Khobi Price wrote Wednesday.
On paper, Washington would make sense in plenty of ways. The 27-year-old brings a more complete offensive game than Kuminga, even with an up-and-down three-point shot, and he’s built a reputation as a versatile defender who can chip in across the board. He’s also a strong rebounder for his size, with Washington standing out even when compared with some 6-foot-10-plus big men such as Myles Turner and Jaren Jackson Jr.
Washington also has familiarity with Luka Doncic from their time together in Dallas, and he put up solid numbers last season: 14.2 points, 7.0 rebounds, 1.1 blocks and 1.0 steals per game while shooting 45.0% from the field and 32.5% from 3-point range.
For now, though, the Lakers don’t appear to have a clean path to pivot to Washington if the Kuminga route doesn’t work out.
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Mark Cubans Wildest Mavericks Title Story Still Feels Too Absurd To Believe
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What makes the story endure is how quickly the moment turned from decadent to absurd. Cuban was trying to mark the night for Dirk Nowitzki, but the transaction did not exactly move with championship swagger, and the whole scene became one of those details that still gets retold whenever the 2011 run comes up. It is the kind of celebration anecdote that says as much about the Mavericks title era as any box score ever could. [Read more 🡒]