Key Dallas Mavericks Starter Planning to Make Huge Change This Offseason

The Dallas Mavericks could use a big boost from this recent acquisition

May 28, 2024; Dallas, Texas, USA; Dallas Mavericks forward P.J. Washington (25) shoots against the Minnesota Timberwolves during the third quarter of game four of the western conference finals for the 2024 NBA playoffs at American Airlines Center. Mandatory Credit: Kevin Jairaj-USA TODAY Sports / Kevin Jairaj-USA TODAY Sports

The Dallas Mavericks lost in the NBA Finals in five games and general manager Nico Harrison wants each player to get 10-15% better this offseason. For P.J. Washington, who was acquired at the trade deadline for the Charlotte Hornets, his improvements will come with his floor-spacing.

Washington shot just 31.4% from 3 in 29 regular season games in Dallas, then shot 34.8% in the playoffs. If you take out his hot streak against Oklahoma City in the second round, where half of his made threes came, that plummets to 27.9%.

He wants to be better than that, and according to Brian Dameris, the former director of player development for the Mavs and host of the "Take Dat Wit You" podcast, Washington's planning to change his shot this summer to make that jump.

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"Now [he] will have a training camp to be established in the offensive game a little bit more," Dameris said, "and his shot is being completely re-tooled so that his 3-point average can go up because I don't think the organization thought they liked what his shot was coming in [to Dallas]... He's going to get open looks and I think more seasoning within this structure and some time to really learn and not having to learn on the fly will really help."

Because of Washington's long wing span, listed at over 7'2", the shot form can look awkward and it's likely hard for him to shoot the same way every time. It's a natural thing for many players with his body style and he came from a situation in Charlotte that wasn't the best for player development. Now he has a chance with assistant coaches like Sean Sweeney, who has been instrumental in helping Dereck Lively II become a better free throw shooter, to aid his development.

The Mavericks acquired Washington at the trade deadline for Grant Williams, Seth Curry, and some draft capital, and he was a massive part of the transition Dallas made to becoming an elite defensive team. While Derrick Jones Jr. could guard most of the teams' top options, Washington would take the second options and did a great job on them, for the most part. His length and athleticism offer a lot of versatility and the next step is for him to become a better 3-point shooter and allow more space for Luka Doncic and Kyrie Irving to operate.

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