Official Trade Thread - Part XLIV

[pcbothwel]

Read on Twitter

What is so sad is that Kuz + KP would easily net us 2-3 1st, 1-2 low level prospects (I.E. Quickley), and short term filler vets. Adding in a terrible contract or 2 (I.E. Fournier) would probably result in 1-2 other assets.

That enables us to keep taking swings on draft picks over the next couple years while we let Beal lead the team and hope we strike gold.
Because lets be real. The Beal contract is really a 3+2 deal. Its 3/140M during his "Prime", and then the last 2/110M will be after the new TV Deal and cap spike. So plenty of contenders in 2025/26 will have the flexibility to add his mammoth deal.

Basically, there are ways to add substantial future draft assets without moving Beal, but Ted The Turd has zero vision.

[Frichuela]

Read on Twitter

What is so sad is that Kuz + KP would easily net us 2-3 1st, 1-2 low level prospects (I.E. Quickley), and short term filler vets. Adding in a terrible contract or 2 (I.E. Fournier) would probably result in 1-2 other assets.

That enables us to keep taking swings on draft picks over the next couple years while we let Beal lead the team and hope we strike gold.
Because lets be real. The Beal contract is really a 3+2 deal. Its 3/140M during his "Prime", and then the last 2/110M will be after the new TV Deal and cap spike. So plenty of contenders in 2025/26 will have the flexibility to add his mammoth deal.

Basically, there are ways to add substantial future draft assets without moving Beal, but Ted The Turd has zero vision.

1000%. This trade deadline is a great opportunity to reset the clock. But, as you said, Turd is gonna Turd...

[DCZards]

And a deeply conservative one, too. No surprise — it’s a seat of government. Things don’t originate here, other than legislation. Yeah, go-go, straight-edge punk, but look at the clothes women wear. Look at the restaurants. Look at the architecture (or actually, don’t look). Look at the theater scene, dominated by Shakespeare lol.

Hip, dczards? Hip? Educated, I’ll grant you. Well-traveled, sure. But hip? This might be the least hip city in the country — and that goes for white as well as for black.

It's clear that you and I live and play in two different Washington, DCs. I'll leave it at that.

(BTW, do you actually live in DC?)

[CntOutSmrtCrazy]

Read on Twitter

What is so sad is that Kuz + KP would easily net us 2-3 1st, 1-2 low level prospects (I.E. Quickley), and short term filler vets. Adding in a terrible contract or 2 (I.E. Fournier) would probably result in 1-2 other assets.

That enables us to keep taking swings on draft picks over the next couple years while we let Beal lead the team and hope we strike gold.
Because lets be real. The Beal contract is really a 3+2 deal. Its 3/140M during his "Prime", and then the last 2/110M will be after the new TV Deal and cap spike. So plenty of contenders in 2025/26 will have the flexibility to add his mammoth deal.

Basically, there are ways to add substantial future draft assets without moving Beal, but Ted The Turd has zero vision.

1000%. This trade deadline is a great opportunity to reset the clock. But, as you said, Turd is gonna Turd...

Doesn't look like it's going to happen.

We now are the 10th seed and have a good as chance as ever of ending this road trip close in on .500 with games @NO, @SA, and @DET and after that 4 of 5 at home versus some easier teams. If we had a chance to see that happen, the trade deadline blowup, we needed at the very least a devastating close to the trade deadline, and getting these first two wins on this road trip basically kiboshed that. Our schedule for the rest of the way is pretty reason, I just don't see it happening at this point.

[FAH1223]

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Read on Twitter

[payitforward]

And a deeply conservative one, too. No surprise — it’s a seat of government. Things don’t originate here, other than legislation. Yeah, go-go, straight-edge punk, but look at the clothes women wear. Look at the restaurants. Look at the architecture (or actually, don’t look). Look at the theater scene, dominated by Shakespeare lol.

Hip, dczards? Hip? Educated, I’ll grant you. Well-traveled, sure. But hip? This might be the least hip city in the country — and that goes for white as well as for black.

It's clear that you and I live and play in two different Washington, DCs. I'll leave it at that.

(BTW, do you actually live in DC?)

The guy in the mirror always looks hip, Zards....

...& while I've got you -- I've been thinking a lot about Sonny Rollins lately (just starting to read what seems like an absolutely great new biography of him). Got me listening to this... no, wait -- I'll put it in the music thread....

[payitforward]

Isn't Nunn a free agent after the season?
And don't a lot of us think that Tommy traded Rui to make room to re-sign Kuz?

If all that's true, then it doesn't matter how well Nunn does, does it? Because he's a rental.

Whether we re-sign Kuz or not, we will need a 15-player roster next year.

As it is, assuming we pick up Carey's option for next year & sign Goodwin for $2m, we're at @$136m for 12 players. Our R1 pick will cost @$5m, & our R2 pick (which we will be certain to make, because it's a cheap young prospect) will cost @ $1m.

That puts us at 14 players for $142m -- @$20m under the tax. Just enough room to pay Kuz $20m, sneak under the tax barrier, & win 35-37 games again.

Sweet, huh?

[payitforward]

If the above calculation makes sense, Endless Loop is likely correct that we won't have a way to keep Nunn. OTOH, obviously, about a zillion variables aren't covered by that quick financial recap.

1. The trade deadline. Given Tommy's history as a wheeler-dealer, lots of things may yet change. Something none of us expects may happen in the next several days.

2. What happens if KP doesn't pick up his '23-24 option?

[badinage]

And a deeply conservative one, too. No surprise — it’s a seat of government. Things don’t originate here, other than legislation. Yeah, go-go, straight-edge punk, but look at the clothes women wear. Look at the restaurants. Look at the architecture (or actually, don’t look). Look at the theater scene, dominated by Shakespeare lol.

Hip, dczards? Hip? Educated, I’ll grant you. Well-traveled, sure. But hip? This might be the least hip city in the country — and that goes for white as well as for black.

It's clear that you and I live and play in two different Washington, DCs. I'll leave it at that.

(BTW, do you actually live in DC?)

If you think I don’t know what you’re saying, without saying, you’re mistaken. And I’ll just leave it at that.

I do live in DC.

And yes, I know the difference between “DC” and “Washington.” I live in the former, and identify with the former.

I’m glad you like it here and find meaning here. I’m not inspired. It’s a brittle, self-aware, self-conscious place.

[DCZards]

And a deeply conservative one, too. No surprise — it’s a seat of government. Things don’t originate here, other than legislation. Yeah, go-go, straight-edge punk, but look at the clothes women wear. Look at the restaurants. Look at the architecture (or actually, don’t look). Look at the theater scene, dominated by Shakespeare lol.

Hip, dczards? Hip? Educated, I’ll grant you. Well-traveled, sure. But hip? This might be the least hip city in the country — and that goes for white as well as for black.

It's clear that you and I live and play in two different Washington, DCs. I'll leave it at that.

(BTW, do you actually live in DC?)

The guy in the mirror always looks hip, Zards....

...& while I've got you -- I've been thinking a lot about Sonny Rollins lately (just starting to read what seems like an absolutely great new biography of him). Got me listening to this... no, wait -- I'll put it in the music thread....

PIF, will check out the music thread. Saw the 19 year old pianist Joey Alexander at Blues Alley last weekend. A hip show attended by hip folks like myself.

[DCZards]

And a deeply conservative one, too. No surprise — it’s a seat of government. Things don’t originate here, other than legislation. Yeah, go-go, straight-edge punk, but look at the clothes women wear. Look at the restaurants. Look at the architecture (or actually, don’t look). Look at the theater scene, dominated by Shakespeare lol.

Hip, dczards? Hip? Educated, I’ll grant you. Well-traveled, sure. But hip? This might be the least hip city in the country — and that goes for white as well as for black.

It's clear that you and I live and play in two different Washington, DCs. I'll leave it at that.

(BTW, do you actually live in DC?)

If you think I don’t know what you’re saying, without saying, you’re mistaken. And I’ll just leave it at that.

I do live in DC.

And yes, I know the difference between “DC” and “Washington.” I live in the former, and identify with the former.

I’m glad you like it here and find meaning here. I’m not inspired. It’s a brittle, self-aware, self-conscious place.

It’s all good bandinage. Like that great poet Sly Stone wrote: “Different strokes for different folks.”

[payitforward]

Badinage -- i'd say you're going too far. As often happens when 2 people argue a point in a situation where there's no need to resolve & no penalty for hardening one's position.

As most of you know, I'm a poet. Been one all my life. Have been widely published. Written lots of books. Anthologized. Translated. Anthologized in other languages. Given hundreds of readings in this country & several others. That's not to brag -- nothing to brag about anyway since I do it the way an oak tree drops acorns. Just the way I'm made. It's to provide context for the next thing I'm going to say here:

I moved East from San Francisco, b/c I fell in love w/ a woman in DC whom I met at a reading I gave in Adams Morgan. Now, SF & the Bay Area in general is the most active, interesting literary community in this country. NY is right behind it. Or maybe right ahead of it. & those were the two literary environments I knew well.

I was worried, moving to DC, that it'd be a boring place from that pov. Numbers of poets & writers, how edgy, etc. the context would be. Of course, I did know *some* people here. I didn't think it'd be altogether dead, or deadly dull. But... as I say I was worried.

Turned out it was a busy, happening literary scene, & I had no trouble meeting interesting people, making good friends, etc. Is it SF? No, nothing is. Ditto not NY. But it's plenty "hip" all the same.

In short, there are many many different "Washington DC"s. If yours is dull & brittle in the way you describe, well then... find a different DC.

Here's a suggestion: take up golf, & go play at Langton -- my favorite course in the area. Pretty much all black when I started playing there (a long story how I happened to...), by now it's pretty well mixed (like more & more of Northeast).

Oh... & if you don't think of golf as "hip" enough, keep in mind that Samuel Beckett was the captain of the golf team at Trinity College in Dublin when he was a student there.

[gambitx777]

https://open.substack.com/pub/marcstein/p/the-latest-nba-trade-winds?r=1lykpo&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=email

When my reporting is imprecise and needs to be polished, I am determined to fix it. So here goes: League sources confirm that the Wizards and Suns began discussing Rui Hachimura trade concepts in December, as I reported at the time, but one source with knowledge of the talks says I erred by printing the sourced notion that Phoenix turned down a package headlined by Hachimura. The consistent impediment to those talks, according to the source, was Washington's desire to move Jae Crowder on to Milwaukee in a three-way trade without taking back long-term salary. The Wizards were prepared for Crowder's inclusion only if they could move him on at a minimal cost. The Bucks' interest in trading for Crowder has likewise never wavered and remains strong, sources say, but Milwaukee and Phoenix could not assemble a three-way deal to Washington's liking. As the aforementioned Mr. Fischer reported earlier this week, those three teams were still talking as of last weekend when the Lakers, offering three future second-round picks packaged with Kendrick Nunn's expiring contract, swooped in with the trade package that the Wizards were looking for in exchange for Hachimura. As I also reported Monday, Hachimura ultimately requested a trade out of Washington before the deal with the Lakers materialized.

What an interesting report. I mean a three way with the bucks? I feel

Sent from my SM-G991U1 using RealGM mobile app

[SUPERBALLMAN]

Isn't Nunn a free agent after the season?
And don't a lot of us think that Tommy traded Rui to make room to re-sign Kuz?

If all that's true, then it doesn't matter how well Nunn does, does it? Because he's a rental.

Whether we re-sign Kuz or not, we will need a 15-player roster next year.

As it is, assuming we pick up Carey's option for next year & sign Goodwin for $2m, we're at @$136m for 12 players. Our R1 pick will cost @$5m, & our R2 pick (which we will be certain to make, because it's a cheap young prospect) will cost @ $1m.

That puts us at 14 players for $142m -- @$20m under the tax. Just enough room to pay Kuz $20m, sneak under the tax barrier, & win 35-37 games again.

Sweet, huh?

Grant just turned down 4 yrs at $112 Mil. Is Grant better than Kuzma?

[payitforward]

Grant is a bit better than Kuz -- but neither of them is good to tell the truth.

Yet both will get overpaid b/c they take a lot of shots. As far as I can figure out, for forwards "takes a lot of shots" is just about the only variable closely linked to how much $$ a guy commands.

[NatP4]

Such a dumb franchise. They could EASILY tank into the 5 spot with a 10% chance at Wembanyama or atleast a top 5 pick that gets you one of Thompson bros/Miller. Kuzma/KP/Beal trades can atleast land you 3-4 1st round picks. They have a handful of Go Go players that can be quality NBA pieces just like Goodwin.

Even if you just trade Kuzma for a 1st, shutdown KP+Beal, and bring up Bernard/Jackson and play Goodwin, you would be making a ton of good progress.

[payitforward]

What would be the ideal outcome at the trade deadline?
I doubt most will agree with what I wish I'd see (but doubt I will).

1. Kuzma traded -- for picks, 1 good young player, & expirings to make the salaries work in the deal.

2. Delon Wright traded -- again for picks & youth. Wright is a tremendous player & has been his entire career. He's one of the most underrated, underpaid players in the league. But, he turns 31 in April, so he's not really on our timeline... Given what he's been doing this season, maybe some contender will grasp the fact that he'll be a plus in the playoffs.

3. KP traded -- & once again for picks & expiring salaries. I imagine this will be the most universally disagreed with of my goals. Rather than argue the point, I'll just say that even were Porzingis to become the "all that" many think he already is, looking at our current record & our obvious need to rebuild radically (or face a long string of 34-37 win seasons), we are better off medium to long term if we get some young talent for him while his value is high (not injured, etc....).

Even if you disagree with all of this, consider my overall thinking:

A. Our record is 22-26. To me, therefore, each of these 3 of these players has more value to another team than he has to us. Because of that fact, it's a good time to trade each of them.

B. If our return is heavy in picks & young talent with upside, this may well help with our unintended "tank" -- i.e. increase our chance of landing Wembenyana or Scoot Henderson.

C. Given Tommy's penchant for pixxing in the soup on draft day, it should be a BIG benefit to have a pick where more or less everyone is at least maybe agreed who should be nabbed -- i.e. the higher the better.

Of course, none of this is going to happen. IMO, the most likely move we make will be to give away a young player & a pick for Mike Conley. Oh... crap i wish i hadn't written that: it has "so wizards" all over it!

[Frichuela]

What would be the ideal outcome at the trade deadline?
I doubt most will agree with what I wish I'd see (but doubt I will).

1. Kuzma traded -- for picks, 1 good young player, & expirings to make the salaries work in the deal.

2. Delon Wright traded -- again for picks & youth. Wright is a tremendous player & has been his entire career. He's one of the most underrated, underpaid players in the league. But, he turns 31 in April, so he's not really on our timeline... Given what he's been doing this season, maybe some contender will grasp the fact that he'll be a plus in the playoffs.

3. KP traded -- & once again for picks & expiring salaries. I imagine this will be the most universally disagreed with of my goals. Rather than argue the point, I'll just say that even were Porzingis to become the "all that" many think he already is, looking at our current record & our obvious need to rebuild radically (or face a long string of 34-37 win seasons), we are better off medium to long term if we get some young talent for him while his value is high (not injured, etc....).

Even if you disagree with all of this, consider my overall thinking:

A. Our record is 22-26. To me, therefore, each of these 3 of these players has more value to another team than he has to us. Because of that fact, it's a good time to trade each of them.

B. If our return is heavy in picks & young talent with upside, this may well help with our unintended "tank" -- i.e. increase our chance of landing Wembenyana or Scoot Henderson.

C. Given Tommy's penchant for pixxing in the soup on draft day, it should be a BIG benefit to have a pick where more or less everyone is at least maybe agreed who should be nabbed -- i.e. the higher the better.

Of course, none of this is going to happen. IMO, the most likely move we make will be to give away a young player & a pick for Mike Conley. Oh... crap i wish i hadn't written that: it has "so wizards" all over it!

Sensible proposals PIF. If I was the GM I’d contemplate doing something similar with the addition of trading Beal too. Alas I’m not Tommy, and most importantly Turd, who is actively marketing the new big 3, like it is the second coming of the Lebron-Wade-Bosh trifecta

[Illuminaire]

Just swinging by to pre-emptively thank Tommy for staying the course and letting Kuz do Kuz things. That the Wizards will inevitably enshrine Kuzma as the young leader of their Big 3 and give him an endless green light is pure brilliance.

After all, the man is single-handledly keeping my fantasy team competitive through a rash of injuries. Punting FG% for counting stats has never worked out better.

Good job Tommy! Fantasy basketball stats >> real basketball effectiveness any day!

[WallToWall]

What would be the ideal outcome at the trade deadline?
<snip>
2. Delon Wright traded -- again for picks & youth. Wright is a tremendous player & has been his entire career. He's one of the most underrated, underpaid players in the league. But, he turns 31 in April, so he's not really on our timeline... Given what he's been doing this season, maybe some contender will grasp the fact that he'll be a plus in the playoffs.
<snip>

It looks to me that TS has two timelines. He has a win now timeline with the current cast of characters who are 27+ yo. Players like Barton, Beal, Gibson, Gill, Kuzma, Morris, Nunn, Porzingis, Wright, are on this timeline. Then there is a 2nd younger group on a different timeline, and these players are 21-24 yo. Players like Avdija, Carey, Davis, Gafford, Goodwin, Kispert, and Todd are in this other timeline.
Anyone is tradable, but in general, TS will not be trading young for old, unless its a big fish. He will readily trade old for young.
I think we can expect a trade of any one of Barton, Gibson, Gill, and Morris, along with draft picks to get a player of need, namely a point guard. Maybe even a young PG in the 21-24 yo range.