90 million in 4 years! Is PJ Washington worth it?

The latest report from famous reporter Marc Stein, Mavericks forward PJ Washington will be eligible to sign an early renewal with a total value of just under 90 million in four years starting this Friday (August 29).

Marc Stein said that league insiders revealed that PJ Washington is likely to renew his contract with the Mavericks. Although PJ Washington will no longer be the team's starter after the Mavericks selected Flag with the No. 1 pick, he just turned 27 a few days ago and is still a popular player among the league's management.

Let's talk about the situation of PJ Washington first. He was the No. 12 pick in the 2019 first round. His career began with the Hornets. His rookie contract ended in 2023 and reached a three-year, 46.5 million contract renewal with the Hornets. This contract is a decreasing contract. He will enter the last year next season, with a salary of 14.15 million.

According to the early renewal rules, the maximum starting salary that PJ Washington can get for early renewal is 19.81 million (40%), and it should be noted that if the contract signed exceeds three seasons, or the early renewal start salary exceeds 16.98 million (20%), then PJ Washington will not be eligible for the transaction in the six months of reaching the renewal.

, this is true.

In the Hornets, PJ Washington is just a good role player, with offense, but not all proficient, and the three-pointers are still declining year by year, with a shooting percentage of only 34.8% in the previous year of the trade. Moreover, because the Hornets' environment is poor, his defense is also questionable.

Before the 2024 transaction deadline, the Mavericks reached a deal with the Hornets:

- The Mavericks sent Seth Curry, Gway, the first two protection first round picks in 2027 - The Hornets sent PJ Washington, and the two second round picks

When this deal was reached, ESPN rated the Mavericks with a deal of D. The reason for not being optimistic at the time was that ESPN believed that the Mavericks sent Gway away was a hasty move (Gway was having conflicts at the time), and the PJ Washington obtained had never played in the playoffs, and the three-point level was still at a career low.

We all know what happened later. After PJ Washington joined the Mavericks, both individuals and teams reached a new level.

Personally, PJ Washington's defense shines. After the Mavericks arranged it as a defensive finisher, his blocking rate and steal rate both increased, and he can prove himself in a critical game. The most outstanding one is the 2024 series against the Thunder. In that round of game, PJ Washington averaged 17.7 points, 8.3 rebounds and 2.0 assists per game, shooting percentage of 47.6%, and three-point shooting percentage reached 46.9%. From G2 to G4, PJ Washington scored 29 points, 11 rebounds, 27 points and 6 rebounds, and 21 points and 12 rebounds respectively.

G6 promotion match, PJ Washington only scored 9 points, but 8 points were obtained in the last 4 minutes. He even used a free throw to kill the Thunder at the last moment, and then made his own arms-climbing move.

} On the Mavericks' Finals Journey, PJ Washington can be said to have caused great trouble to his opponents:

—191 against Towns, 18 of 52, and only scored 45 points, 102 against Brown, Brown made 7 of 21, and only scored 22 points,

—9 against Chetts In 2 rounds, Chet made 9 of 17 and scored only 18 points

- 91 rounds against Jewe, Jawe made 12 of 27 and scored only 28 points

- 51 rounds against Edwards, Edwards made 7 of 19, and only 17 points

You can see that PJ Washington has very strong defensive elasticity, and can defend from a top-level shooting defender to a center, and the defense effect is very good. The original D-level trade took only a few months to become a god-level trade.

Looking at last season, although he experienced the Doncic trade, PJ Washington's personal performance was still outstanding: he averaged 14.7 points, 7.8 rebounds, 2.3 assists, 1.1 steals and 1.1 blocks per game, with a shooting percentage of 45.3%, 3-point shooting percentage of 38.1%, and his rebounding career was the highest, and his score, steals, blocks, and three-point shooting percentage were the second highest in his career.

PJ Washington can be said to be the most popular type of forward line in the league today. It has body shape and can swing on the defensive end. The offensive end can not only cut and shoot three-pointers, but also occasionally attack with the ball. The disadvantage is that it is not very efficient. The real shooting percentage last season was only 55.6%, but there is a possibility of explosion in high-end games, and his game is full of energy.

, and he is only 27 years old now. Personally, he thinks that a four-year contract renewal of about 90 million is really not expensive, and it is even a bit worthwhile - in another three years, the maximum salary may be close to 70 million. By then, PJ Washington is only 30 years old and is still at its peak, and his annual salary may be less than 25 million, which is absolutely high-quality contract.

The more regrettable thing is that PJ Washington and Flag are indeed heavy, and the Mavericks' forward line is overflowing. There are Than Brows, Gafford, Lefley and others in the inside, among which Than Brows are the core, Lefley is the future, Gafford has just renewed its contract, so PJ Washington is likely to be able to play as a substitute, and the chances next season may be less than last season..

But this does not prevent him from being a good player and having a high cost performance. It may be a puzzle for any strong team to compete for the championship - it is a possibility to make a profit, but it does not rule out that PJ wants to enter the free market in 2026. Do you think, in terms of strength, how much annual salary is PJ Washington worth?