The Dallas Mavericks’ 2024 trade deadline was highlighted by the team acquiring Daniel Gafford from Washington and P.J. Washington from Charlotte, two well-rounded big men from the 2019 NBA draft.
Of the two, Washington made his presence felt greatly in the Mavericks’ 2024 NBA Finals run, especially in the Western Conference Finals against the Oklahoma City Thunder, and after a roller coaster 2024-25 season, Washington will be looking for a bounce back in the 2025-26 season, and the Mavericks taking Cooper Flagg in the draft could very much help Washington with that comeback.
Washington’s three-point abilities as a power forward should see him receive more outside looks rather than focus on crashing the boards down low, which was needed from the former first-rounder after the load of injuries that haunted the Mavericks last season.
And with Kyrie Irving still rehabbing his torn ACL, the Mavericks could use Washington’s outside shooting alongside Flagg and Klay Thompson to create some kind of Big 3 of outside shooters, and by the time Kyrie returns to the team, the points per game will have skyrocketed for Dallas.
And hopefully so will their chances of bringing home championship number two back to Texas.
