P.J. Washington is suddenly one of the most interesting pieces in Dallas, and not because his game has changed. The Mavericks have.
When Dallas brought Washington in during 2024, the message was clear: win now. Luka Doncic and Kyrie Irving were driving the operation, and the deadline moves for Washington and Daniel Gafford helped push the team all the way to the NBA Finals for the first time since 2011.
Washington fit that version of the Mavericks perfectly. He gave Doncic and Irving a reliable frontcourt partner, and because he was only six months older than Doncic, he also looked like the kind of player who could grow with the core instead of just passing through it.
That idea feels a lot less certain now.
Since that Finals run, the Mavericks have traded Doncic, parted ways with Jason Kidd, fired Nico Harrison, hired Masai Ujiri, drafted Cooper Flagg, and hired Dusty May. The franchise has moved from contender to rebuilding team in a deep Western Conference, and Washington is now sitting in the middle of that transition as he enters his eighth season next month.
At 28, Washington is right in the heart of his prime. He rebounds, brings physicality, and can defend multiple spots, which is exactly the sort of profile contenders love.
Dallas showed how much it valued him by giving him a four-year extension last offseason, a deal that runs through the end of the 2029-2030 season. By the time that contract expires, Washington will be 32.
Still, his future in Dallas is far from simple as the 2026-27 season approaches. Ujiri has long appreciated players with Washington’s kind of skill set, but Washington’s age and the Mavericks’ forward-looking direction make his place on the roster worth questioning. He was mentioned in trade rumors for the first time in his Mavericks tenure earlier this offseason, and that only sharpened the debate.
There’s also a straightforward basketball case for why Washington would draw interest around the league. He just posted 14.2 points, 7.0 rebounds, 1.0 steals, and 1.1 blocks per game in year seven, and he brings playoff reps as a starter in the NBA Finals. That combination makes him the type of player contenders want when they’re trying to make a serious run.
Dallas already saw that value up close. Washington helped the Mavericks in exactly that way during his first season with the team, and if he were moved, there’s every reason to think he’d provide the same kind of boost somewhere else.
The question is whether Dallas should keep leaning on what Washington gives them now or use him to help shape what comes next. Flagg is only 19, and that timeline changes everything. If the Mavericks want to line up their roster with his future, Washington could bring back future first-round draft capital or a player who better fits the new direction.
That’s what makes this such a tricky call. Washington is young enough to matter now, old enough that his prime won’t match up neatly with Dallas’ next contending window, and productive enough that moving him would be painful.
He remains important to the team, and the fanbase loves him. But as the Mavericks open a new era, one of their most familiar faces may also be one of their biggest decisions.
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For the Mavericks, the priority is bigger than getting Lively back on the floor right away. They want him healthy for the long haul, and that patience comes with the usual waiting game for everyone involved because there is no timetable yet for when he will return to normal basketball activities. In a camp built around preparation and progress, his status remains one of the clearest reminders that the most important update is still to come. [Read more 🡒]