We now have the framework of a Bradley Beal trade, and it looks like Chris Paul, one of the two players coming back, is unlikely to actually play a game in a Wizards uniform, expected to either be flipped to a third team or bought out.
With that situation now mostly settled, the big questions for the Wizards are now whether Kyle Kuzma and/or Kristaps Porzingis opt into the final years of their deals – and if you ask David Aldridge, like the Junkies did, that may happen, but at least one isn’t long for DC even if so.
“There’s no way to keep them both, and bring both back on new deals, because that just completely defeats the purpose of trading Beal,” Aldridge said. “My guess, not based on any intel, is that the group that's running the Wizards now, based on the types of players they want and the type of mindset they want…I’m not sure Kuzma is that kind of guy that would agree with what they're trying to build.”
Kuzma, at 27 and with a $13 million option, could potentially get that money on the open market, and even if he does opt in, he has good trade value, even if it’s just for one year – or a longer-term deal where a sign-and-trade brings back some expiring assets for the Wizards.
“I'm not saying that this has been talked about, but there are teams like Detroit or Orlando that have spent the last several years tanking and building through the draft, and they have to start winning basketball games,” Aldridge said. “There's immense pressure in Detroit from their owner to start winning, so they may be in the market for a young veteran. Kyle still has a lot of years left in his career, and they have cap room, so there are places you could do a sign-and-trade for Kyle Kuzma.”
Porzingis is a different animal (a unicorn, if you will), in large part because of his $36 million option – but he may still have trade value on a one-year tryout type of basis.
“It depends on what you think of the contract and what other teams around the league think of the contract, but he will absolutely have trade value,” Aldridge said. “He was a borderline All-Star last year, he was really good and played pretty much a full season until they shut everybody down at the end.”
Of course, the Wizards do need to fill roster spots with competent players if one or both of those players depart – ‘you can’t just bring the Go-Go up here and play in the NBA,’ Aldridge joked – but Porzingis could actually be a good fit to stick around in Washington for a bit.
“Porzingis is a low-maintenance guy, and I think he likes it here; he seemed to take to DC very well, and nobody's going to give him a four or five-year deal,” Aldridge said. “You may be able to convince him to take a three-year deal, which would be more manageable, and if you wanted to trade it, you could trade it pretty easily.”
Time will tell, but for right now, it seems Thursday’s draft is the priority, as even Aldridge says he doesn’t know what the Wizards will look like by Friday – but with seven teams having multiple first-round picks (Indiana and Utah having three each), a lot of trading could happen that could involve a ton of teams.
“Teams have been hoarding these picks for years, and you're not going to use all of those picks. Nobody's going to sign three first-round picks for guaranteed money,” Aldridge said. “So, there's going to be a bunch of teams that will be interested in moving some of those picks, a lot of activity, and I do think the Wizards are going to try very hard to get another first round pick and not just pick at No. 8.”
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