Official Trade Thread Part XLVII

[9 and 20]

It would take a lot to get me to give up those swaps after this year's lottery travesty. A lot.

Houston has a lot of good players though. They throw us one or two, Phoenix gets picks back, and Houston gets Durant.

We keep the tank going, cross our fingers on lottery luck, but have more actual good players in DC.

[dckingsfan]

It would take a lot to get me to give up those swaps after this year's lottery travesty. A lot.

Houston has a lot of good players though. They throw us one or two, Phoenix gets picks back, and Houston gets Durant.

We keep the tank going, cross our fingers on lottery luck, but have more actual good players in DC.

Yeah, it is going to be interesting. You have Phoenix with Durant and Milwaukee with Giannis that are trying to move those players. Then you have Boston which is probably going to do something similar.

I think to a lesser degree you have Cleveland, Orlando, Denver and Minny looking in the same direction.

THIS would have been the year to be waaaay under the cap (see Brooklyn) to get in on these deals. We still have some flexibility with the Middleton expiring and sitting at ~ $157M (which can be reduced further) but we have to sign our FRPs as well.

I think this is going to be a wild draft with all of the possible trades that could happen. Add to that teams that want to trade up or down...

There are so many variables that it makes my head spin a bit.

[payitforward]

I wonder whether Boston might want Middleton...?

Or the Knicks for that matter. Teams that were frustrated by the way their seasons ended....

[The Consiglieri]

This seems good for us:

Read on Twitter

If Phoenix is talking about trading Durant, and they're pushing to get back control of their picks, it likely means two things: they won't also be getting back a lot of good players, and they may be thinking about tanking in the upcoming seasons.

That should make our pick swaps more valuable.

What I've been expecting since the trade. Durant has value, sure, but for how much longer? I always figured they'd fall apart, and the pick haul they could get back for KD would look paltry considering his age, medical history, the size of his contract. A team that needs a last piece for a championship run will give him a look, but otherwise he's not a building block. Everybody but PHX should know that. One way or the other I figured they'd implode, and whether they wanted to or not they'd tank. The fact that they are trying to trade for their picks back underscores it, but even if they try to trade him for value it won't be enough to matter in the West.

Pretty much, you guys basically got me to realize by fall/winter '23-'24 how much of a boon those swaps could actually be, I understood what the team had done initially but didn't really grok just how easily their build could teeter over and collapse from a borderline 50 win team to trash post Beal trade, and sure enough, that's what happened.

FTR, its getting ahead of ourselves, especially after getting totally hosed last month, if we ever managed to get lucky in the draft of a truly great class, and build this hyper competitive team, what the Suns and Milwaukee and Clippers and another team or two possibly have done is ABSOLUTELY positively what I would NEVER want us to do, even as a contender. It is the height of idiocy to just flip away half a decade or more of draft assets unless your the lakers and the league is basically rigged to your interests. What the Suns did, and Clippers and another team or two did was beyond asinine.

Just crazy town.

Needless to say, we should give them NOTHING when it comes to pick swaps. I would not trade any of our picks or swaps period, full stop.

[dckingsfan]

I wonder whether Boston might want Middleton...?

Or the Knicks for that matter. Teams that were frustrated by the way their seasons ended....

They might. I think trades on their end will be much more around a salary dump (given that next season looks like a bust for them).

It is going to be a difficult trade though given that the apron they are in... And we would have to take on a bad long-term contract, so lots of assets would need to come our way.

Gonna be interesting.

[AFM]

Can't imagine why Knicks would want Middleton of all people. They are looking for a final piece, Middleton is not it. They have their MLE--I've heard Dinwiddie, Oubre, and Tyus Jones mentioned as possibilities. Basically they desperately need more Wizards on their team #winning

[dckingsfan]

Can't imagine why Knicks would want Middleton of all people. They are looking for a final piece, Middleton is not it. They have their MLE--I've heard Dinwiddie, Oubre, and Tyus Jones mentioned as possibilities. Basically they desperately need more Wizards on their team #winning

Yeah, doesn't make sense for them for sure. They are going to run back 11 (if they keep Tucker and Hukporti) players for $199M. They have a second round pick and then need to fill out the roster - between 4 & 6 players depending on what they do. Middleton wouldn't help all that.

A stretch trade would be with Orlando. Middleton for KCP & Anthony + picks. It doesn't really help them this year but it gets them out of the mess to sign Paolo the following year. Of course, they can waive several players this year (Mo Wagner, Gary Harris, Cory Joseph and Caleb Houston) - I think the deadline is around the end of June, so we will know pretty soon. They have 4 picks this year - 2 FRPs and 2 SRPs. I think there biggest need is a legit C. Goga got run off the floor in the playoffs and Carter to me isn't all that. Interesting decisions ahead.

[gambitx777]

Can't imagine why Knicks would want Middleton of all people. They are looking for a final piece, Middleton is not it. They have their MLE--I've heard Dinwiddie, Oubre, and Tyus Jones mentioned as possibilities. Basically they desperately need more Wizards on their team #winning

I think a lot of people would love Middleton 20-25 million cheaper lol of he gets bought out or other wise works his way out of the contract .

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[Chocolate City Jordanaire]

Can't imagine why Knicks would want Middleton of all people. They are looking for a final piece, Middleton is not it. They have their MLE--I've heard Dinwiddie, Oubre, and Tyus Jones mentioned as possibilities. Basically they desperately need more Wizards on their team #winning

Kelly Oubre should be a Laker.

They had "Pretty Ricky" Fox years ago.
Nick Young spent years with the Lakers.
Rui Hachimura has exotic "Blasian" looks.

KO has that Lakers look.

They're not winning anything, but those guys and Luka should win modeling deals and do photo shoots.

[Chocolate City Jordanaire]

Can't imagine why Knicks would want Middleton of all people. They are looking for a final piece, Middleton is not it. They have their MLE--I've heard Dinwiddie, Oubre, and Tyus Jones mentioned as possibilities. Basically they desperately need more Wizards on their team #winning

I think a lot of people would love Middleton 20-25 million cheaper lol of he gets bought out or other wise works his way out of the contract .

Sent from my SM-S926U1 using RealGM mobile app

The player the Wizards should trade is Corey Kispert. Middleton is a keeper.

I don't have any trade ideas, just a general thought. Move Corey to a win-now team that needs shooting. Get back an expiring deal and move up via swapping second round picks.

[WallToWall]

Can't imagine why Knicks would want Middleton of all people. They are looking for a final piece, Middleton is not it. They have their MLE--I've heard Dinwiddie, Oubre, and Tyus Jones mentioned as possibilities. Basically they desperately need more Wizards on their team #winning

I think a lot of people would love Middleton 20-25 million cheaper lol of he gets bought out or other wise works his way out of the contract .

The Wizard to trade is Corey Kispert. Middleton is a keeper.
I don't have any trade ideas, just a general thought. Move Corey to a win-now team that needs shooting. Get back an expiring deal and move up via swapping second round picks.

The value for every one of our vets are declining by the minute. Players like Sharp, Middleton, and Holmes have maybe 2 years tops before their natural decline will get the better of them. For that reason, we should trade every one of them before their value reaches less than a 2nd rnd pick. I'd prefer to trade them all before the season starts, and definitely by the trade deadline.
Kispert, and Poole are at the height of their value now. This is a good reason to try and trade them. From now, up to the trade deadline of 2026-27 season, we should look for and jump at the first great offer we get for each of them.

[9 and 20]

Is Kispert worth a high second round pick? Philly could give us #35, Oubre, and Drummond for Kispert. We could then package up 35 and 40 for something like #25.

Would probably need to dump either Oubre or Bey. Maybe one of them is worth a second rounder on their own. Drummond replaces Gill and teaches Sarr not to be afraid of contact or dunking the ball. Or we play the two of them together to see what Sarr is like as a 4.

[gambitx777]

Can't imagine why Knicks would want Middleton of all people. They are looking for a final piece, Middleton is not it. They have their MLE--I've heard Dinwiddie, Oubre, and Tyus Jones mentioned as possibilities. Basically they desperately need more Wizards on their team #winning

I think a lot of people would love Middleton 20-25 million cheaper lol of he gets bought out or other wise works his way out of the contract .

Sent from my SM-S926U1 using RealGM mobile app

The Wizard to trade is Corey Kispert. Middleton is a keeper.

I don't have any trade ideas, just a general thought. Move Corey to a win-now team that needs shooting. Get back an expiring deal and move up via swapping second round picks.

I don't have an opinion on trading Middleton. If it's a good deal do it . I was just saying I. Certain that 20 teams at least would love him if they could get him cheaper.

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[nate33]

I wonder whether Boston might want Middleton...?

Or the Knicks for that matter. Teams that were frustrated by the way their seasons ended....

Middleton trades are tough because of his salary coupled with his injury history. I don't think anyone has faith that he'll play enough minutes in the regular season to help much, and he is likely to be hurt by the playoffs. For those reasons, I don't think anyone will value Middleton at the moment unless they are dumping a really bad long-term contract in the exchange (Middleton and filler for Beal, for example).

I think the best move with Middleton is to keep him and try to keep him healthy in January and February. If Middleton is healthy at the Trade Deadline, he may actually have positive value as a guy who could legitimately help a playoff team.

[nate33]

Can't imagine why Knicks would want Middleton of all people. They are looking for a final piece, Middleton is not it. They have their MLE--I've heard Dinwiddie, Oubre, and Tyus Jones mentioned as possibilities. Basically they desperately need more Wizards on their team #winning

I think a lot of people would love Middleton 20-25 million cheaper lol of he gets bought out or other wise works his way out of the contract .

Sent from my SM-S926U1 using RealGM mobile app

The Wizard to trade is Corey Kispert. Middleton is a keeper.

I don't have any trade ideas, just a general thought. Move Corey to a win-now team that needs shooting. Get back an expiring deal and move up via swapping second round picks.

Yeah, moving Kispert makes sense. If nothing else, we already have a bunch of pretty good forward prospects (Bilal, George, Champagnie) and might be adding more in the draft. I still like Kispert and believe he is a fair value at his contract, but I just don't think Washington is the right fit for him anymore. If we could move him for expirings and a SRP, that would probably be best for our long term development.

[nate33]

The value for every one of our vets are declining by the minute. Players like Sharp, Middleton, and Holmes have maybe 2 years tops before their natural decline will get the better of them. For that reason, we should trade every one of them before their value reaches less than a 2nd rnd pick. I'd prefer to trade them all before the season starts, and definitely by the trade deadline.
Kispert, and Poole are at the height of their value now. This is a good reason to try and trade them. From now, up to the trade deadline of 2026-27 season, we should look for and jump at the first great offer we get for each of them.

Smart, Middleton and Holmes are already without value. We received picks to take on Smart so he clearly has negative value. And Milwaukee included AJ just to dump Middleton so he also clearly has negative value. Holmes will be bought out unless we need his salary as trade ballast. Basically, these guys only have value if we trade them for a bigger, worse contract. We would be trading their negative value for an even more negative value plus a positive asset (pick).

There's no need to rush any trade. The likelihood of trade really has very little to do with the performance of Middleton/Smart/Holmes. It is solely about the desperation of other teams to save long term money. Either a trade is available where we turn those guys into worse contracts plus picks, or there isn't a trade available and we should wait and hope that one materializes by the Trade Deadline.

[payitforward]

nate nails it (except we don't need to "buy out" Holmes -- just let our option on him lapse).

That said, I wouldn't be surprised if we keep Holmes, come to think of it. He can still play, as he showed late last season, so maybe he'll actually have some marginal trade value at the deadline.

[nate33]

nate nails it (except we don't need to "buy out" Holmes -- just let our option on him lapse).

That said, I wouldn't be surprised if we keep Holmes, come to think of it. He can still play, as he showed late last season, so maybe he'll actually have some marginal trade value.

We would have to pay him the $250K in guaranteed salary. That's the buy-out I was referring to.

And yes, he may be brought back next year at a lower salary if we have roster room and a need for center depth. But we sure as hell won't be paying him $13.2M next year. We would buy out his final $250K salary and then negotiate a new one-year deal for something like $3M or so.

[SUPERBALLMAN]

AJ Johnson + 2026 1st round pick (late 1st from Philly) to Rockets for Cam Whitmore.

Why for Houston: Whitmore doesn’t fit in rotation , reset asset with newer upside player + draft pick.

Why for Washington: in rebuild have ability to provide Whitmore pt still only 20 turning 21 fits timeline, better roster fit especially if draft a G tre Johnson or Fears.

Whitmore is from DC, AJ has strong connection to Jalen Green.



(Added context). I’m envisioning an overall roster:

Draft Fears 6, Asa Newell/Queen/Sorber 18

Youth foundation:

PG- Fears. SG- Bilal. SF- Whitmore. PF/C- Asa/Queen/Sorber. C/PF- Sarr

Bub- 3rd G. Champagne- ultimate glue guy. Kyshawn- Swiss Army knife 6th man

Colby Jones - G/wing depth. Tristan- C depth


Add in the Vets-

Smart, Poole, Kispert, Middleton, Bey

[Chocolate City Jordanaire]

The value for every one of our vets are declining by the minute. Players like Sharp, Middleton, and Holmes have maybe 2 years tops before their natural decline will get the better of them. For that reason, we should trade every one of them before their value reaches less than a 2nd rnd pick. I'd prefer to trade them all before the season starts, and definitely by the trade deadline.
Kispert, and Poole are at the height of their value now. This is a good reason to try and trade them. From now, up to the trade deadline of 2026-27 season, we should look for and jump at the first great offer we get for each of them.

Smart, Middleton and Holmes are already without value. We received picks to take on Smart so he clearly has negative value. And Milwaukee included AJ just to dump Middleton so he also clearly has negative value. Holmes will be bought out unless we need his salary as trade ballast. Basically, these guys only have value if we trade them for a bigger, worse contract. We would be trading their negative value for an even more negative value plus a positive asset (pick).

There's no need to rush any trade. The likelihood of trade really has very little to do with the performance of Middleton/Smart/Holmes. It is solely about the desperation of other teams to save long term money. Either a trade is available where we turn those guys into worse contracts plus picks, or there isn't a trade available and we should wait and hope that one materializes by the Trade Deadline.

There's no need to rush in trading those guys, I agree.

The Wizards need to have a spirited, competitive training camp where those veterans legitimately compete for minutes. Play the best players. Do not tank. Make mid-season trades involving both players.

Middleton is worth the starting SG position.
Smart should find minutes if he's healthy.

Both players didn't get worse. They've been injured two seasons each.

Next season, all the young guys should have to earn their minutes. I think this year's picks are going to be better than Bub or Kyshawn if the Wizards choose wisely.

Play the old guys and Poole at the risk of blowing the tank. There's about 4 monsters in the next draft. No matter who this Wizards lineup is, this will still be a lottery team.

This is the best way to get maximum value in a Poole, Middleton, or Smart trade.