P.J. Washington isn’t sounding like a player worried about his place in Dallas.
With trade chatter following him all summer - including a reported framework that would have sent him to the Los Angeles Clippers in a deal for Kawhi Leonard - the Mavericks forward says he expects to stay put. When DLLS Mavs’ Kevin Gray asked him how confident he was about opening the season in Dallas, Washington didn’t leave much room for doubt.
“Super confident,” Washington said. “I've had long talks with Masai, our GM, and the whole team.
I'm super confident I'll be a Maverick. This is where I want to be.
I'm super excited to be here and can't wait to get things going.”
He was referring to Masai Ujiri, who took over as the franchise's president of basketball operations earlier this year.
Washington said he tries not to get caught up in the rumors, even while acknowledging that productive players naturally attract outside interest. His focus, he said, is on the organization, his teammates and his current spot in Dallas.
There’s also plenty on his résumé to support that confidence. Washington played a key role in Dallas’ run to the 2024 NBA Finals, and he remains one of the more seasoned frontcourt pieces on a roster now centered around 2026 Rookie of the Year Cooper Flagg.
The contract situation only adds more layers to the conversation. Dallas and the Clippers had discussed a package that would have sent Washington, Klay Thompson and draft picks to Los Angeles for Leonard, but those talks never turned into a deal. Washington has also been tied in media speculation to a possible reunion with former teammate Luka Doncic in Los Angeles.
His four-year, $88.8 million extension makes any potential move more complicated for a trade partner, and Dallas has already done plenty to keep its core intact this offseason by re-signing Kyrie Irving and Daniel Gafford to new deals along with Washington’s extension.
For now, Washington remains in the middle of a crowded Dallas frontcourt, and the way May chooses to use that depth may end up telling the bigger story about his future than any rumor that surfaced this summer.
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