With the inevitable drafting of Cooper Flagg, P.J. Washington may be the odd man out in Dallas
The Dallas Mavericks pulled off the near-impossible on Monday night by winning the NBA Draft Lottery. Less than 24-hours later, they put any speculation to rest by confirming they will not include the pick in any trades and will instead use it to select Duke standout Cooper Flagg.
Once Flagg joins the team, the Mavericks will be even more stacked at positions 3 through 5 than they already are. Flagg will join P.J. Washington, Naji Marshall, O-Max Prosper, Anthony Davis, Dereck Lively and Daniel Gafford. Include Caleb Martin and Dwight Powell (player option) and the glut is even more apparent. Something has to give.
Focusing on the Small Forward and Power Forward positions where Flagg will certainly see the most playing time, and assuming Flagg is a day-one starter, we can narrow down the players most likely to be affected by his presence.
O-Max Prosper
Prosper played 52 games this past season, averaging just over 11 minutes per game. He remains something of an unknown quantity but it’s not unreasonable to think he could demonstrate a nice bump in his development going into his third season. That said, O-Max has yet to meaningfully crack the rotation and Flagg’s presence will not necessarily help his cause. Regardless, he is the least likely to be affected since he is already less of a rotation factor than the other players.
Naji Marshall
Marshall is already featured in a reserve role most frequently, so it isn’t a stretch to see that continue. He also has arguably the most versatility of any of the other players in question, even logging a few starts as Point Guard late in the season, so minutes will realistically be available to him between positions 1 through 4. On this basis, he too is potentially less likely to be impacted by Flagg’s arrival.
Anthony Davis
Notwithstanding the unsubstantiated rumors that Davis (and Giannis Antetokounmpo) reached out to the Miami Heat as a possible new home, it seems highly unlikely AD is going anywhere. Nico Harrison traded Luka Doncic for AD – perhaps forever altering his own legacy in the NBA – on the basis AD was the only player in the league the Mavs wanted in such a high caliber swap. Unless AD demands a trade, it’s inconceivable Harrison flips him after only a handful of games. Factor in AD’s resistance to player the Center position and Flagg arguably being a better fit at Small Forward and there is no realistic scenario as yet that would see Flagg starting at the 4.
P.J. Washington
The shoe-in starting Small Forward since moments after he was acquired by Dallas, Washington is now a major question mark. He is a key piece to the team, having instantly altered what the Mavs were capable of en route to helping propel them to the NBA Finals only a year ago. His athleticism, defense and ability to hit the three-ball with reasonable consistency have made him a fan favorite and important piece to what the Mavs do. So what is his spot going forward? Come off the bench? No, highly unlikely. Play Power Forward? Not with AD on the roster. Slide Klay Thompson to the bench and start at Shooting Guard? Ridiculous.
There are multiple players in the mix, but it really boils down to two. Flagg and Washington. Flagg is going to be the #1 Pick and he’s going to start (if somehow not on day one, very shortly thereafter). On that assumption, it becomes increasingly difficult to see where Washington fits. A lot can (and will) still change with this roster but it’s reasonable to think Washington could be part of that change – not only because of Flagg’s presence, but because of his own inherent value. Washington is a young player with Finals experience, two-way skill and a single year remaining on his contract. He is a desirable player that could net the Mavs valuable assets and/or picks that the team is basically starved for. Candidly, it would be sad to see Washington go, especially after so many good memories during the run to the Finals last year. That said, it’s tough to see how he remains in Big D long term unless Dallas shocks everyone and moves Kyrie Irving and/or AD in an unlikely rebuild of sorts.