Kyrie Irving’s return will ease Mavericks’ fit concerns on the wing

P.J. Washington's clunky fit with Cooper Flagg was concerning last season, but the return of Kyrie Irving is bound to mitigate fit concerns between Washington and Flagg.

A huge reason Washington and Flagg struggled to mesh together at times last season was due to the lack of another shot creator and playmaker in the lineup. Flagg is a solid playmaker, but he hasn't quite gathered all the tools to run an offense on a night-to-night basis. Given Dallas' thin guard depth last season, this led to a lot of tough nights offensively.

Kyrie's return helps mitigate fit issue between Flagg and Washington

Washington wasn't able to get the same wide-open looks he did when Luka Doncic was on the team, and while he may not ever get that volume of open shots again in Dallas, he'll certainly get more open looks with Irving back in the lineup. This should help elevate his 3-point percentage from the 32.5 percent clip he shot last season, as this drop-off was a huge reason why skeptics think he and Flagg can't play together.

There's obviously some positional overlap with Flagg and Washington, particularly defensively, but both players possess versatile enough skill sets to make it work together, especially with the spacing and steadiness Irving will bring to Dallas' offense. There's also a good chance Flagg will take a leap in year two as a shooter, which is another factor that will help override fit concerns between him and Washington.

Irving coming back into the lineup gives Dallas new possibilities in terms of how they can utilize Flagg's playmaking in the short roll as well, so there's definitely the potential for Washington to get more wide-open dunks and 3-pointers, as Flagg and Irving will draw a ton of gravity when they share the floor.

Irving won't fix everything, but he'll make life far easier for his teammates

While Washington and Flagg had a negative net rating when they shared the floor together last season, Irving's reintroduction into the starting lineup is poised to elevate their ability to gel together on the court moving forward.

If this somehow isn't the case, then Dallas would undoubtedly be in a position to shop Washington on the trade block again, but with new management and coaching already having voiced their praise for Washington, it definitely seems like the Mavericks haven't shut the door on a future wing pairing of Washington and Flagg.

Irving's return isn't going to serve as a cure-all for the holes the Mavericks have on their roster, but his selfless and intellectual style of play is going to elevate those around him and make life easier for everyone when he's on the court.

As aforementioned, Washington is going to need to improve his shot from outside to silence doubts over his fit with Flagg long-term, but Irving coming back gives him a better chance at doing so than he otherwise would have.

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