The Dallas Mavericks obviously did the Los Angeles Lakers a huge favor back in February when they traded Luka Doncic to Southern California. But now, it's possible they could send another useful player to the City of Angels due to their roster needs — P.J. Washington.
Think about it. If we consider the Mavericks' current roster, it's extremely crowded in the frontcourt. You've got Anthony Davis, who prefers to play at power forward. He'll be your starting four, and the supremely talented rookie, Cooper Flagg, is likely to slide in as the starting small forward.
From there, Dallas has both Daniel Gafford and Dereck Lively II as options for their starting center. So, where does that leave P.J. Washington? Potentially on the outside looking in. Washington is unquestionably a starting-caliber player, and it's hard to think he'd be super comfortable coming off the bench.
Obviously, Washington has made no public comments on the matter. There's no reason to think a trade is imminent, but at the same time, we can connect the dots ourselves here. If the Mavericks are likely to part with anyone this summer, P.J. would seem to be the most likely candidate.
P.J. Washington may be available
There's just not a lot of other scenarios where it feels reasonable that Washington would retain his starting job, given the results of the NBA Draft Lottery. Cooper Flagg has superstar potential in this league, and it doesn't feel likely he'd be willing to accept a bench role. If there's a scenario where P.J. isn't the odd man out, I don't see it.
So where does that leave the Lakers? As the possible beneficiary of another trade with Dallas. And frankly, it's not hard to see Washington becoming an impact player in Los Angeles from day one. He possesses the exact type of skill set that this roster currently needs.
In this day and age in the NBA, depth is the name of the game. Just look at the Oklahoma City Thunder. They have a starting unit and a full bench lineup of versatile, capable NBA players that don't get played off the floor. If you want to build a championship-caliber roster, this is the formula.
LA needs to be making these kind of additions during the off season. They'd be very wise to keep an eye on the Dallas Mavericks and to be aware of their asking price for P.J. Washington. If he's officially made available, this could be one of the pieces that gets the Lakers one step closer to a championship.