Cooper Flagg pick all but confirms Mavericks' long-time starter will lose his job

P.J. Washington's role with the Mavericks may be changing more than anyone realizes after Cooper Flagg was drafted with the No. 1 overall pick.

Will Miller

Dallas Mavericks, P.J. Washington / Sam Hodde/GettyImages

After anticipation has been brewing for Cooper Flagg since the Dallas Mavericks received the No. 1 pick in the 2025 NBA Draft, the Mavericks finally had Flagg's name called by NBA Commissioner Adam Silver on Wednesday night, as Mavericks cans can rejoice that a potential new franchise cornerstone is coming to the city after fans were stripped of getting to see Luka Doncic finish his career in Dallas.

Flagg's official selection caps off a wild last couple of days for the Mavericks after Kyrie Irving agreed to a new deal and Daniel Gafford signed a contract extension, but Dallas' offseason isn't slowing down anytime soon. The Mavericks still need to find a stop-gap point guard in the draft or free agency, but they'll also have to figure out which lineups are most optimal next season following Flagg's addition, and it seems right now like their most likely starting lineup could involve P.J. Washington coming off the bench.

After signing Gafford to an extension, it's highly likely Dallas starts one of him or Dereck Lively II at the center position, even if many fans and analysts would reckon Anthony Davis starting at center would be most optimal for the Mavericks. Considering Flagg's skillset and him being the No. 1 pick, he probably starts at the three alongside Davis at the four for the Mavericks, which would only leave the ability for Washington or Flagg to start at the two if Washington were to still start.

Cooper Flagg coming in will likely force P.J. Washington to the bench

Again, this is all speculative with head coach Jason Kidd not having rolled out any lineups for next season yet, but it just seems really unlikely Washington will keep his starting spot once Flagg comes in unless the Mavericks want to make some extreme sacrifices on the offensive end when it comes to their spacing or shooting ability. The Mavericks would probably need to start Klay Thompson at shooting guard alongside another playmaker/shot creator if they want to start a huge lineup that could still make it work offensively, as having Washington start would certainly derail this.

Even with Washington having one of his best volume 3-point shooting seasons after shooting 38.1 percent on 4.2 attempts per game from downtown last season, he's not a consistent enough ball handler in space to start at shooting guard alongside Flagg unless he takes some major strides in his game this offseason. Washington is still one of most versatile 3-and-D wings in this league and will likely get more than $20 million annually on his next deal, but he's likely going to be best suited coming off the bench as a sixth man granted he comes back to Dallas next season.

Washington could easily be in sixth-man-of-the-year discussions next season if he reaches an extension with Dallas this summer and fully buys into that role, but there are a lot of variables at play to even get to that point as well as Washington not getting traded this summer, and it will be interesting to see how Washington responds to Flagg coming in and what sort of decisions Dallas' coaching staff makes with that.

If Washington were to come off the bench in favor of Flagg, it wouldn't be a knock against Washington and would assuredly be more so because of how great Flagg is on both sides, but Dallas' coaching staff would need to convey to Washington how important he still is on the team, as him not starting wouldn't negate his importance considering how versatile of a player he is

Will Miller

Will Miller is a senior contributor and is in his second year with The Smoking Cuban. Will has been following the Dallas Mavericks for over a decade and is currently working on getting a Bachelors in Science in Sports Journalism from the University of North Texas, as he is also covering sports for the North Texas TV station. While Will is opening up his coverage to cover other sports for UNT, basketball and the Dallas Mavericks are his true passion and he hopes to continue writing and producing Mavericks related content as his career continues. Will has very solid in-game analysis and knowledge about the intricacies of the game, and has a very broad understanding about the NBA as a whole. Going forward Will is looking to be more expansive in his coverage of the Mavericks beyond writing as well. Outside of writing about the Mavericks, Will enjoys hanging with friends, going to the gym, and watching other sports and live events.