Mavericks sitting on perfect P.J. Washington trade that should already be brewing

The Dallas Mavericks have fully bought into big-ball with the way they've constructed their roster, but fans and analysts are still skeptical that this will be the best course of action for the Mavericks. Dallas is notably thin at the guard spot until Kyrie Irving returns from his torn left ACL, and many fans thought Dallas should've traded one of P.J. Washington or Daniel Gafford this summer to address this issue instead of only signing D'Angelo Russell.

While Gafford is still tradable following his three-year $54 million contract extension earlier this summer, Washington is eligible to sign a four-year $89 million extension starting August 29, but perhaps his standing on Dallas' roster could become shaky if an extension is not reached. Mavericks general manager Nico Harrison has proven to make volatile and unexpected trades before, but it'd be very surprising if either of Washington or Gafford were traded before the season starts, especially since Harrison backed Washington's fit alongside Cooper Flagg.

However, if the Mavericks find quickly they need more shooting or ball handling next season, perhaps Washington could be a candidate for them to trade for more backcourt help, as NBA analysts' Sam Vecinie and Bryce Simon recently proposed a Washington for Jaden Ivey trade on an episode of their "Game Theory Podcast".

Mavericks would move the needle with a Washington-for-Ivey swap

The hosts also proposed that Dallas would get some draft capital back in this theoretical trade, but they didn't specify what level of compensation that draft capital would be. With Washington and Ivey both being on expiring deals, this deal could give both the Detroit Pistons and the Mavericks a more tailor-made fit if either of those teams were looking to re-sign Washington and Ivey after the season is over.

The Pistons could use another bigger-bodied wing, and Washington gives them another Tobias Harris prototype on the wing, except Washington is probably a far better defender at this stage in both of their respective careers. There's an incentive for Detroit to do this deal, considering Ivey missed 52 regular-season games last year, and they have developing young guards like Marcus Sasser, Ron Holland II, and also brought in veteran guard Caris LeVert.

Before Ivey suffered a season-ending broken fibula injury on January 1, he was averaging 17.6 points, 4.1 rebounds, and 4.0 assists per game on shooting splits of 46.0/40.9/73.3. He's a dynamic three-level scorer who is progressing steadily from a playmaking position, and he'd have the most size out of any of Dallas' primary initiators if he came to the Mavericks.

If the Mavericks got some decent draft capital in this deal, they would need to highly consider making this move, even though Washington has cemented himself as a fan-favorite through one-and-a-half seasons in Dallas. Ivey is the exact type of younger guard Dallas could move comfortably with into the Flagg era, granted he doesn't get held back from this injury, as he's only 23 years old.

Don't expect the Mavericks to jump the gun on a Washington trade from the get-go, as it will be hard to tell their true intentions until after he's eligible to sign the aforementioned contract extension, but him not signing that extension or not being compatible in Dallas' starting unit could certainly expedite the process of Dallas trying to ship him out for a younger guard like Ivey.