Mavericks' death lineup from last year may never even see the floor next season

P.J. Washington had one of the worst 3-point shooting seasons of his career last season (32.5 percent), which can partially be attributed to not having another elite shot creator in the lineup like Kyrie Irving out on the court, but some of Washington's best shooting games from last season came down the stretch of the year when he was playing as a small-ball five.

Washington's defense when playing as a center can also be accentuated against shorter or thinner big men, but unfortunately for the Dallas Mavericks, this death lineup with Washington at the five doesn't project to see the court much next season, and possibly not even at all.

Mavs' crowded frontcourt could kill Washington's small-ball role

This is a shame because Washington tends to get easier looks from outside when playing against slower-footed big men who have a harder time covering him on the perimeter, and he has the physicality and wingspan to bang with most centers defensively. However, most of Washington's minutes will likely come on the wing or at power forward next season, as this Mavericks team has a surplus of power forwards and centers.

Perhaps Washington could draw some minutes at the five before Dereck Lively II returns from injury, or if new head coach Dusty May really likes a matchup he sees with Washington playing at center, but these opportunities don't project to come around much based on Dallas' current personnel.

In terms of players that will be spending time at center for the Mavericks, Daniel Gafford, new No. 9 overall pick Morez Johnson Jr., Santi Aldama, and Moussa Cisse all have better odds to play minutes at center ahead of Washington.

Aldama also gives Dallas a new wrinkle in the form of being a true floor-spacing big man, and he's probably a better shooter than Washington is from outside, meaning May would probably go with Aldama at center instead of Washington if he really wanted the ability to play five-out offense.

This could end up being an underutilized part of Washington's game

As aforementioned, there's a world in which Washington could play the five defensively early in the season, especially if the only other big on the floor is Aldama, but Gafford projects to swallow up most of Dallas' center minutes as things currently stand.

May is also probably going to want to give Johnson Jr. a fair crack at some center minutes with Lively II potentially still out at the start of the season, especially since they already have the Michigan connection from last year. On top of that, Dallas didn't match the New York Knicks' offer sheet for Moussa Cisse for no reason, as the front office views him as an intriguing young piece that they likely want to see more of going forward.

That's simply a lot of mouths to feed in terms of giving out minutes at the center position, and while Washington may find himself playing center on special occasions or if Dallas has a lot of injuries down low, Mavericks fans shouldn't get their hopes up that he'll be playing a lot of small-ball five.

Could this ultimately be a key part of Washington's repertoire that Dallas ends up underutilizing? Very possibly so, but the Mavericks are crowded in their frontcourt, and with Washington profiling more as a wing compared to a big man based on his skill set and size, playing at the three or four most of the time is simply the reality Mavericks fans will have to accept for him next season.

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