Dallas Mavericks and San Antonio Spurs trade idea. Image via: Mavericks and Spurs
Washington just started a four-year, $88.7 million deal, and Dallas now has Cooper Flagg on the roster and a fresh extension for Naji Marshall on the books. Dallas Mavericks forward PJ Washington has landed in trade rumors as San Antonio looks for a deadline addition to complement its NBA Finals roster. The Spurs are largely running things back after last season’s run, but a fix at power forward is already looking necessary if Tobias Harris keeps struggling to find his footing in the rotation. That combination has created a frontcourt crowd the Mavericks may want to thin out. There is now talk that Washington and Harris could be the centerpiece of a swap that solves a problem on each side.
That fit mattered most in 2024, when the Mavericks acquired him at the trade deadline after a Grant Williams signing fell short, then rode his three-and-D game all the way to the NBA Finals. Washington gives the Spurs a forward who can guard multiple positions and space the floor around Wembanyama, which is closer to what San Antonio wanted from the power forward spot when it signed Harris in the first place.
Category Details Player PJ Washington Current team Dallas Mavericks Rumored team San Antonio Spurs Contract status Year one of a four-year, $88.7 million deal Salary cap hit Roughly $22.2 million average annual value (based on total contract terms in brief) Trade likelihood Speculative, sourced to a single insider report, not confirmed by either team Latest insider update Tyler Watts named Washington as San Antonio’s “ideal target” in a piece on Tobias Harris’s fit issues Potential return Tobias Harris plus draft compensation, since a straight one-for-one swap does not work financially Washington has settled into a role as one of Dallas’s most versatile defenders, someone who can guard multiple positions and knock down open looks when the offense finds him. San Antonio brought in Tobias Harris on a two-year deal specifically to fill its power forward spot, but according to insider Tyler Watts, the fit has not settled the way the Spurs hoped. Watts wrote that Harris “wouldn’t be the first veteran that couldn’t find a fit on a new roster,” and flagged him as a name San Antonio could move if the situation does not improve.
Washington’s defensive range and outside shooting are exactly what a title-hopeful Spurs team wants next to a still-developing Victor Wembanyama, especially with the Knicks and Thunder both shedding money this offseason instead of adding pieces. San Antonio has the draft capital to make a deal work even though Harris’s expiring money alone would not match Washington’s contract. With the Knicks and Thunder both standing pat to manage their own cap situations, San Antonio has a real chance to be the team that makes a move before Wembanyama’s next contract number changes the math.
