Dallas Mavericks fans might prefer to forget the 2025-26 season, but PJ Washington thinks it's just a blip for an otherwise successful franchise.
With just three games left in the 2025-26 NBA season, the Dallas Mavericks and their fans wouldn't be remiss if they looked ahead to the NBA Draft, or even all the way to the start of next season.
While Cooper Flagg has been remarkable in his rookie season, it's hard to shake the feeling that this is a team that shouldn't have needed saving in the first place. It was only through gross mismanagement that the Mavericks fell from contenders to bottom feeders, and the silver lining of landing Flagg in the 2025 draft is bittersweet, at best.
Perhaps it's best not to dwell on the past.
While Dallas will miss the playoffs for the second season in a row, the future is bright. Flagg is electric, and he's surrounded by a solid cast of role players. With a top pick inbound in 2026 and the return of injured players, brighter days should be ahead.
Dallas Mavericks Look Ahead to 2026-27
Even though this season isn't quite finished, it's been over since the trade deadline, when the Mavericks officially waved the white flag on the season, trading away Anthony Davis and shutting down Kyrie Irving.
While the general tone in the American Airlines Center is one of defeat, there are things to look forward to.
"Obviously, we get a good pick," prefaced PJ Washington, who has emerged as one of Flagg's best teammates. "Obviously, we get Kyrie back. We get Dereck back. We can start to build a really great team. So, going to get a lot better this summer. Guys will be healthy, guys will be working together. So, I think it's going to be really good for us to get some time off and then some time to work together and just see how we look next year. I think, as I said, the future is bright. So, for us, it's just coming in and being healthy."
The return of Irving and Lively II, plus the addition of a high lottery pick, should certainly give fans reason to celebrate. That's not even to mention the projected leap Flagg will take in his first full NBA offseason, and one has to imagine that he will be motivated by the many defeats from his rookie year.
The present might be bleak, but fans shouldn't have to wait too much longer.