After critics believed the Washington Wizards got fleeced in the Bradley Beal trade to the Phoenix Suns, it’s difficult to imagine how the same critics will view the Kristaps Porzingis trade any differently.
Initially, the Wizards closed in on a three-team trade with the Boston Celtics and Los Angeles Clippers. Porzingis, who faced a $36 million player option, was being shipped to Boston.
Meanwhile, the Wizards would have received Marcus Morris and the 30th overall pick in Thursday’s NBA Draft. However, the Clippers had concerns about the injury status of Malcolm Brogdon, the player they would have received from the Celtics.
That forced the Celtics to move ahead without the Clippers. Racing against a midnight deadline for Porzingis’ player option, the Wizards and Celtics found a third team, the Memphis Grizzlies, to hammer out a trade. However, the new details of the deal are staggering.
The Celtics are sending 2022 NBA Defensive Player of the Year Marcus Smart to the Grizzlies, according to Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN. Porzingis heads to the Celtics, but Boston will also get two first-round draft picks from the Grizzlies — the 25th overall pick in this year’s draft and the Golden State Warriors first-round pick in 2024.
As for the Wizards, the team engaged in a rebuild? Washington will get guard Tyus Jones from the Grizzlies, Danilo Gallinari, Mike Muscala, and the 35th overall pick this year from the Celtics — a second-round draft pick.
Jones and the 35th pick are presumably better than Morris and the 30th pick. However, it’s mindboggling that the Celtics, a team that finished with the best record in the NBA this past season, got the best player in the deal and two first-round draft picks.
The Wizards are rebuilding, right? The point of a rebuild is getting trade assets and draft capital. Jones is a better trade asset than Morris. But, not netting a single first-round draft pick after trading the two best players on the team. That’s disconcerting.
Pozingis is coming off a career year last season with 23.2 points per game. Beal shot a career-high 50.6% from the field while averaging 23.2 points. Both are headed to contenders to be a vital piece to a championship run. And yet, Washington has no first-round pick to show.
By the way, third-leading scorer Kyle Kuzma opted out of his $13 million player option Tuesday. The 6-foot-11 forward is coming off his career-high 21.2 points per game last season. Now he is reportedly seeking $30 million per year. Thus, the Wizards likely could lose another valuable piece for nothing.
When the super-team front office of Michael Winger, Will Dawkins, and Travis Schlenk came aboard in Washington, there was a high level of optimism. Two trades in have some onlookers skeptical about the Wizards. Maybe the team is the new Trust the Process?
