P.J. Washington Gives Dallas More Than One Way to Build Its Starting Five

The first five names announced before a basketball game carry a little theater with them. They establish order, suggest hierarchy and offer a tidy answer to a question that often becomes complicated by the second substitution. For the Dallas Mavericks, P.J. Washington may be most valuable precisely where that ceremony stops being useful.

At Dallas’ fifth training-camp practice Thursday, coach Dusty May identified Washington as a starting candidate because he can cover several positions. May has not announced a lineup, and the different groups used in camp have been influenced by injuries and back-to-back scheduling.

The important development was therefore less a lineup revelation than a piece of role logic: Dallas is considering Washington as a player who can change jobs without forcing the entire lineup to change with him.

The history makes clear that this is not a debate about whether Washington belongs in the Mavericks’ plans. Since Dallas acquired him in February 2024, he has started 137 of his 142 regular-season appearances, roughly 96.5 percent. That is a remarkable level of continuity. Thursday’s discussion was about expanding the usefulness of an established player, not rescuing one from the edge of the rotation.

May’s possibilities are practical rather than decorative. Washington could play center in a smaller group, move to small forward when Dallas uses more size, or function as a point forward when a matchup calls for another decision-maker. May also praised Washington’s passing and quick thinking.

Washington worked on pull-up shots and repeatable mechanics Thursday, details that fit a frontcourt player expected to keep possessions moving after the first action is disrupted.

A point forward does not need to dominate the ball to matter. The job is to recognize the next opening, make the correct pass before the defense settles and prevent a possession from stalling simply because the primary action has been covered. Washington’s value in that role would be measured in connective decisions as much as scoring totals.

That is particularly useful for a team still sorting out how its pieces should share responsibility.

Cooper Flagg’s presence makes the question more interesting. May has described the reigning Rookie of the Year as an unusually strong off-ball defender and suggested that, in some situations, Flagg may help Dallas more away from the point of attack. That is a defensive deployment issue, not a statement about his offensive capacity.

It does mean Washington’s ability to handle decisions from another spot could become more important when Flagg is being used to influence the game elsewhere.

The obvious test is shooting. Washington appeared in 56 games last season and produced 14.2 points a night, alongside averages of 1.8 assists and 7.0 rebounds, while his perimeter accuracy fell to 32.5 percent from 38.1 percent the previous season. That 5.6-point slide matters when Dallas considers smaller lineups.

If defenders are comfortable leaving Washington, the extra passing and positional flexibility could produce less space than the lineup diagram promises.

There is a fair historical counterpoint. Washington’s 38.1 percent mark in 2024-25 shows that the recent decline is not the only established version of his shot. It does not make a bounce-back inevitable, and Thursday’s pull-up work is preparation rather than proof.

Still, it gives Dallas a reason to keep building shooting opportunities into his responsibilities instead of treating him as a player whose perimeter threat has vanished.

Communication will be part of that experiment. May wants more from Washington as a communicator, a sensible demand for someone who could shift between frontcourt assignments and playmaking duties. Versatility works only when teammates understand the change as it happens. The pass and the positioning draw attention; the instructions that connect them often determine whether a flexible lineup looks purposeful or simply crowded.

That is why the absence of a starting-five announcement was almost beside the point Thursday. Washington has already supplied Dallas with plenty of evidence that he can begin games. The more consequential possibility is that he can help finish possessions in several different ways, depending on what the opponent removes. The introductions will still matter. Washington’s broader value will emerge once they are over.

Sources

Dallas Sports Journal: Thursday Mavericks practice

Dallas Sports Journal: Thursday Mavericks practice