Mavericks' Gafford signing may have just kicked a beloved fan favorite to the curb

As we are roughly 48 hours from the Dallas Mavericks officially selecting Cooper Flagg No.1 overall in the 2025 NBA Draft, news broke on Monday evening that Daniel Gafford has signed a three-year, $54 million extension with the Mavericks. Considering Gafford is entering an expiring contract season, it's not surprising he opted to get guaranteed money now instead of waiting till after next season, though he's still due $14 million next season on his current deal before this extension will kick in.

The Mavericks signed Gafford at just barely a low enough amount for him to still be eligible to be traded immediately, but this extension certainly signifies confidence in Dallas' depth with their frontline as well as in Gafford, and it would be a weird way to operate for the Mavericks to turn around and trade Gafford immediately this summer. While it's not impossible that this happens, it's now far more likely that Dallas trades P.J. Washington if they want to significantly upgrade their guard depth this summer.

Washington is also on an expiring deal, but has until August 29 to ink a max extension with the Mavericks worth up to four years and $89 million, but it's undeniable there's some positional overlap with Flagg coming in and the Mavericks' best path to getting a guard may be to trade Washington's current $14 million salary for next season in aggregate with something else to acquire backcourt aid.

Trading P.J. Washington now seems like Dallas' best path to get a guard

By no means is the door shut on Washington signing an extension with the Mavericks, and it's widely known the Mavericks covet his skillset and what he brings on both ends of the floor, but he's easily their most valuable trade asset from a financial perspective, not including their stars and young talent. Washington's extension probably wouldn't be at a low enough figure to not have some sort of provision regarding him not being able to be traded for a certain amount of time as well, and it's likely he'll be more expensive than Gafford, leaving the Mavericks with questions about if they want to commit to Washington long-term given how it could hinder their flexibility a little bit.

The Mavericks could very well go sign a guard with the Taxpayer's MLE (if they have access to it) and/or trade for a late first or second round pick to help mitigate their guard problem with Kyrie Irving projected to miss as much time as he is next season, but if they want someone who can truly come close to replicating Irving's production alongside Brandon Williams, they probably would have to trade one of Gafford, Washington, or Klay Thompson to accomplish that feat.

It'd be surprising to see the Mavericks trade Thompson so quickly after the season he had as well as the fact that he's in the twilight of his career, and it would be backhanded for the Mavericks to trade Gafford so quickly after this extension despite it being feasible with Nico Harrison at the helm, so it's clear Washington's contract is Dallas' most likely chip to be dealt if they are serious about going the trade route to pursue a high-level starting guard.

If Dallas doesn't see a significant upgrade on the table from a guard perspective or other teams are asking for too much, it wouldn't be surprising to see Washington come back on a huge extension next season, as he's a versatile player that could play a sixth-man type role off the bench or start alongside Flagg in bigger lineups, but he undoubtedly becomes the Mavericks' most likeliest trade chip this summer with Gafford's extension.