While the Washington Wizards have received a lot of criticism for their returns in a pair of blockbuster trades over the last week, a top NBA insider claims the team should be seen as winners in the deals for two major reasons.
Despite having players like Bradley Beal, Kristaps Porzingis, and Kyle Kuzma on the roster last season, the Washington Wizards were a major disappointment in 2022-2023. The team couldn’t even make it to the NBA play-in tournament and ended up in this year’s draft lottery. Landing the eighth pick overall in Thursday’s event.
Related: Full 2023 NBA Draft order with team-by-team selections
Making matters worse is the fact that both Kuzma and Porzingis were likely to opt out of the final year of their contracts and hit NBA free agency, where the Washington Wizards would probably lose them for nothing. That fear was a major reason why the team pulled the trigger on a blockbuster trade that sent the three-time All-Star to the Phoenix Suns.
Following the trade, Kuzma opted out. Instead of losing Porzingis for nothing, the Washington Wizards were able to pull off a second massive deal that sent the star forward to the Boston Celtics and landed them Tyus Jones from Memphis, Danilo Gallinari from Boston, and other assets.
Insider says Washington Wizards gained a lot in recent trades
The returns from both trades have been frowned upon by some fans and observers, however, on Thursday ESPN NBA insider Brian Windhorst explained on a new edition of “First Take” why the Washington Wizards did very well in their pair of blockbuster deals.
“The asset that Washington got in that trade is getting off of that [Beal] contract. Because if they waited a year and Bradley got hurt again, they’d have been trying to give picks away to get someone to take him — $200 million over four years, he’s played 90 games in the last four years. Getting off of that contract was the asset.
“Even though Porzingis didn’t have a trade clause, he essentially did because he had until midnight last night [to opt out of his contract]. And Tyus Jones is a good player. … If I am in Washington last night I am cracking open a bottle of champagne. The difference between the 30th and 35th pick — you’re gonna get the 30th pick in the [Malcolm Brogdon] deal [but] they ended up with 35. That’s not the end of the world. Tyus Jones could be their starting point guard for five years.”
– Brian Windhorst
It certainly is an interesting perspective and may explain why the Washington Wizards received role players and second-round picks for Beal. Maybe the market for him was far weaker than some thought. And in the Porzingis trade, they got some solid talent and another draft pick when they could have lost him for nothing in NBA free agency.
Furthermore, the team may end up holding on to Chris Paul and he could be there to help mentor some of the young players they will take in the NBA Draft. And they have some cap space to potentially make an unexpected splash in free agency.