Following the contract extension given to Daniel Gafford and drafting Cooper Flagg this summer, the Mavericks look stacked in the frontcourt with the likes of Anthony Davis, Dereck Lively II, P.J. Washington, Dwight Powell, Naji Marshall, and Caleb Martin.
According to the NBA correspondent, Marc Stein, the Mavericks and P.J. Washington are close to agreeing on a four-year, $90 million extension.
After the Mavericks drafted Flagg, it was assumed that P.J. Washington had now lost the automatic starter role and could fall further in the ranks behind the likes of Naji Marshall and Caleb Martin.
With Anthony Davis expected to start in the power forward position with one of Gafford or Lively at center, Washington will be competing mainly with Marshall, Flagg, and Martin for the small forward role or as a backup to Anthony Davis.
Despite such a logjam of talent in the roster, the Mavericks may find a way to use Washington wisely. He was a key addition to the team that propelled them to the level of reaching the NBA Finals in 2024.
In 2024-25, he averaged 14.7 points, 7.8 rebounds, and 2.3 assists while missing 25 games during the regular season due to injuries. His numbers don’t show his true impact on the court, as his defensive presence is much more crucial to what the Mavericks may envision his role to be.
After the Lakers announced a rebuild around Luka Doncic, many analysts expected the Lakers would target P.J. Washington or Daniel Gafford to reunite them with Doncic. However, those hopes were quickly shot down as Marc Stein confirmed that the Mavericks are not going to let either of them go.
P.J. Washington is currently in the final year of a three-year contract extension he signed when he was with the Hornets. He is expected to earn $14.1 million this year with the Mavericks before becoming an unrestricted free agent next season.
He now needs to decide whether to cash in on his value at the moment and earn approximately $22.5 million per year for the next four years or wait until next season to sign an extension, just so that he can demand more money and potentially even a max extension.
However, it will be unlikely that any other team offers a higher amount than the Mavericks would due to their Bird Rights. And considering the logjam of talent and his anticipated battle for minutes, he is unlikely to receive a max extension next season and will hence most likely take this offer on the table at the moment.
If he wants to join Luka Doncic in the future, he always has the option to ask for a trade and let the front offices figure it out. I’m reasonably sure that Doncic would love to have him on his team. But for now, Washington seems destined to be on the Mavericks for the next few seasons.
