After Hornets traded him to Mavs, PJ Washington is giddy about playing in NBA Finals

Tears are still flowing from PJ Washington’s eyes, just like they did when he spotted Buzz Peterson at Charlotte Douglas International Airport in February.

Except these days, any droplets emanating from Washington’s face represent a different feeling. It’s not sadness, which was the case three months ago following the last minute trade to Dallas.

Now, as he prepares to be a part of the NBA Finals, Washington is all smiles. Even when he’s mean-mugging for the camera and reciprocating his viral pose dubbed “standing on business” from the Mavericks’ Western Conference first-round series win over the Los Angeles Clippers.

“I think for me, it’s just showing people we’re not going anywhere,” Washington told reporters on Wednesday, the eve of the Mavs matchup with Boston at TD Garden. “We been a tight-knit family since I got here, since before that. Everybody has each other’s back.

“We just use that mentality each and every day. We’re just trying to come in here and handle business, just try to get four wins.”

Washington already has 12 postseason victories under his belt as his time with the Charlotte Hornets fades away in the rearview mirror. During his four-plus seasons with Charlotte, Washington never sniffed the playoffs, watching the Hornets get eliminated from the in-season tournament in successive seasons in 2020 and 2021.

Washington is essentially doing precisely what he showcased with the Hornets, the team that selected him No. 12 overall in 2019 following his two-year stint at Kentucky. There’s just much more of a spotlight on him. In his four-plus season stint with the Hornets, he racked up the fifth-most made 3-pointers in franchise history and also was pretty good on the defensive end, swatting 295 shots, placing him eighth all time in Hornets’ lore.

And he might still be in purple and teal if things didn’t fall in his favor in February.

Washington has the Washington Wizards’ Kyle Kuzma to thank for his current situation. Dallas wanted Kuzma, but the feeling wasn’t mutual, per a source with knowledge of the situation, and that’s when the Mavs turned their attention to Washington.

So, if Kuzma didn’t reject overtures from Dallas prior to the deadline, paving the way for Wizards teammate Daniel Gafford to be shipped to Texas, Washington could still be a member of the Hornets. But instead, he’s joined forces with Gafford to form a talented tandem, making the job of Mavs star Luka Doncic a tad easier and proving they could play key roles on a good team.

Gafford is a rim protector and rebounder and splits time with rookie Derek Lively from Duke.

Washington — who grew up in Frisco, north of Dallas — brings energy, defense and the ability to shoot 3s under pressure.

“Yeah, it speaks a lot,” Doncic said of Washington and Gafford. “You see more examples, too. But I think they fit perfectly with us. The trade made us a so much better team, especially on the defensive end. So, they’re in the perfect roles that we need.”

While with the Hornets, Washington’s biggest flaw was inconsistency. There were more than a few occasions he would post a significant number of points, only to register single digits or a much smaller output the next game. He knew it was something he had to get better at, admitting as much before this past season.

But his role also shifted multiple times and it’s part of the reason it took a while to come to a agreement on Washington’s three-year deal. He didn’t sign until late in the offseason because the sides initially had trouble settling on a dollar figure along with the number of seasons. During the negotiations, per a league source, the Hornets didn’t view Washington as a starter and had visions of him coming off the bench, which is what happened with the return of Miles Bridges following his one-year absence stemming from pleading no contest to felony domestic violence

Dallas viewed Washington as a frontline starter from the get-go, though, and he’s been extremely effective since arriving in Texas in exchange for Grant Williams, Seth Curry and a protected 2027 first-round pick.

All Washington has to worry about is playing off Doncic and Kyrie Irving.

“Yeah, Ky, he’s done a great job of keeping us cool, calm and collected,” Washington said. “He’s been here before, obviously a number of times. Just telling us to feel every emotion, come out and be ourselves.” That aptly describes how Washington is doing nowadays. He’s in a much different space than three months ago when he vehemently defended Charlotte, after Terry Rozier made his claim about losing being in the Hornets’ DNA.

He’s on the other side like Rozier now, euphoric about an environment that’s conducive to winning rather than one simply hoping to end the NBA’s longest playoff drought and punch a postseason ticket for the first time in just under a decade. It’s why he was so enthralled after the Mavs beat Minnesota to take the Western Conference crown, going on Instagram live to fully display his excitement and chuckle at how he went from last to first in a blink.

Some Hornets fans took it as a slight, but that didn’t appear to be Washington’s end game. He was just downright giddy and engulfed in a moment in time he never thought would arrive, allowing him to live out a dream.

“For me, I just thought it was a great fit for me to come here and showcase what I can do,” Washington said. “I feel like I can come in and obviously bring something to the defensive end and help us obviously get here.

“For me, I’m not surprised by any of it. I just try to come in each and every day and do my job since we got here. Credit to my teammates and we’ve done a great job on the defensive end. We’re just happy to be here.”