Mavericks may be heading toward a heartbreaking trade dilemma tied to Cooper Flagg

With the NBA's trade deadline just a few days away, the Dallas Mavericks may be on the horizon of making a few moves to clear up cap space and focus on next summer's draft process. While there are plenty of names that fans have in mind of who he needs to be traded and who deserves to stay, P.J. Washington has emerged as a controversial figure within the Mavericks roster due to not being trade-eligible until the summer and his fit alongside Cooper Flagg.

While it's still early in the Flagg experiment, it's already become clear that he and Washington may not be the best fit alongside one another.

Throughout Washington's career, he has never been the strongest shooter from behind the 3-point line, which is why his slashing has been one of the most impressive facets of his game. With Flagg needing shooters around him, Washington's fit is already in question.

Washington's fit alongside Flagg may be numbering his days as a Mav

It's no secret that Flagg is already the superstar Dallas will want to build their roster around for the foreseeable future, and while to many it may seem early, the Mavs need to already be focusing on who meshes well with Flagg. Entering the regular season, fans were unsure if Washington would even start with the introduction of Flagg onto the roster, but after passing the halfway point, it has become clear that Washington may be unplayable alongside Flagg heading into the future for a multitude of reasons.

For starters, Washington has been a shell of himself this season, whether due to there not being a strong offensive presence or his eye-popping number of ankle injuries over the past few seasons, Washington has not played well. Another reason is that in his time on the floor alongside Flagg, the two haven't looked like the generational wing combo Mavericks fans were hoping for.

Flagg has already made a name for himself as a force in transition, and just going downhill and attacking the defense when they least expect it. For Washington to even complement that style of play, he would need to be shooting the lights out or, at the very least, be a reliable floor spacer, which he has not been this season.

One of Washington's biggest knocks as a pro has been his lack of shooting from the perimeter, which may be the only thing holding him back from truly unlocking the skillset to be a star, and another reason why his fit in Dallas is in question.

Over the summer, Washington signed a multi-year extension that would make it so he can't be traded until after the Mavericks' season ends. With Washington's fit being a huge question mark, it would be safe to assume Dallas would want to explore his value on the trade market, but unfortunately, they cannot until the offseason.

Whether as a free agent in the next few seasons or just on the trade market, Washington's name should theoretically garner a lot of attention and may be one of Dallas' underlying stories of the summer. If the Mavericks can dodge a future headache and get a solid amount of value in return for Washington this summer, it may eliminate a huge problem Jason Kidd and Dallas' coaching staff will counter with him and Flagg on the floor together.