The Mavericks and the forward general completed an early contract renewal. How should they arrange his playing time?

According to Shams Charania, a well-known ESPN reporter, PJ Washington has reached an agreement with the Dallas Mavericks. What Washington received from the Mavericks was a four-year contract renewal of $90 million. LIFT Sports Management, where Washington's agent Kevin Bradbury is located, revealed the news to ESPN. With the completion of this early contract renewal, Washington will play for the Mavericks until the 2029-30 season.

Then, Keith Smith, founder of Spotrac in the US sports salary media, updated details of the new PJ-Washington contract on social media. Smith said Washington and the Mavericks signed through veteran contract renewal, with the salary increase on Washington's new contract being 140% of its current salary, followed by an 8% increase per season. In the 2026-27 season, Washington's salary was $19.8 million; in the 2027-28 season, Washington's salary was $21.4 million; in the 2028-29 season, Washington's salary was $22.9 million; in the 2029-30 season, Washington's salary was $24.6 million. The total salary for four years is $88.8 million. In addition, he will have a six-month trading restriction period from the date of signing in Washington. This means that he will not be able to be traded by the team during the new season, as this restriction will continue until after February 5 next year, exceeding the new season's NBA trading deadline.

In the NBA regular season last season, Washington played 57 games in 82 games, averaging 32.2 minutes per game, averaging 14.7 points, 7.8 rebounds, 2.3 assists, 1.1 steals and 1.1 blocks, and 2.1 turnovers and 2.3 fouls, shooting percentage of 45.3%, three-point shooting percentage of 38.1%, and free throw shooting percentage of 72.2%. In the first round of the playoffs, the team beat the Sacramento Kings, Washington made 5 of 15 shots, 1 of 6 from the three-point line, and 6 of 6 free throws, scoring 17 points, 9 rebounds, 4 assists and 2 steals, and 2 turnovers and 2 fouls, with a plus-negative value of +28. In the second round of the playoffs, the team lost to the Memphis Grizzlies, Washington made 0 of 5 shots and 0 of 3 from outside the three-point line during the second round of the playoffs, failed to score 1 point in the game, contributed only 6 rebounds, 3 assists and 2 steals, and had 4 turnovers and 5 fouls, with a plus-negative value of -12.

On the one hand, Washington's personal ability is of course quite good, and he is definitely worthy of such an early contract renewal. It can even be said that the salary of this contract is very friendly to the Mavericks; on the other hand, Washington's position is somewhat inconsistent with the current Mavericks. The Mavericks chose Cooper Flagg with the No. 1 pick this summer, and he will undoubtedly become the team's starting small forward in the new season. Anthony Davis will serve as the team's starting power forward, and the Mavericks have two reliable No. 5 players. In this case, Washington can only serve as the substitute for Davis and Flagg. So in the new season, how much playing time and performance opportunities can Washington get from the Mavericks?