Official Trade Thread Part XLVII

[Dat2U]

Someone mentioned Nikola Topic in another thread and it got me thinking.

Is there any way we could try and trade for him? OKC really doesn't need another guy to dominate the ball and take it out of SGA's hands, particularly when they already have JDub and Ajay Mitchell to handle the ball when SGA sits. It might be a trade for the offseason, but maybe we could package some of our future picks, like the Portland 2029 pick and the fake Golden State 2030 pick to trade for him. OKC is presumably interested in pushing their assets into the future since their roster is already so full of good players.

I fear Topic might more of a floor raiser than a ceiling raiser, but heck, this team needs some serious floor raising too.

As OKC is looking at potentially getting two lotto picks, they will have some tough decisions to make, plus Ajay Mitchell's rapid development really cuts off path for Nikola's on ball minutes.

If he can be had for some far out 2nds, it's worth a gamble.

Its also a good move because Topic's recovery timeline will allow the Wizards to continue to give Bub runaway to figure things out this season considering the investment into him. Direct competition for his minutes may not be realistic until next year.

[Chocolate City Jordanaire]

I'll probably get destroyed for semi-suggesting this, but would anyone be interested in trading for Domantas Sabonis? I realize he's in his late 20s, but if the front office wants to try to pivot out of the full-on tank, he provides the toughness, post play, and rebounding from the power forward position to complement Sarr over the next couple of seasons.

Kings sound like they want to do a full-on rebuild, and getting out from under Sabonis's contract would be appealing. Offer them CJ's expiring deal, their choice of a minor Wizards youngster (Riley, Branham, even Carrington) to make salaries work and give them something semi-appealing to hang their hat on, and maybe a couple of second rounders. Do the Kings say no when this would provide them cap space after this season?

It would be a resounding yes from the Kings to get out from under that awful contract. But why would the Wizards want to take on an awful contract?

If you really believe that the combo of Sabonis/Sarr would make a difference... then okay. You would sit Sabonis for the rest of the year to "rehab". I guess it works if you then get lucky in the lottery AND at least one of your current youngsters other than Sarr breaks out.

There is one reason I would do a Sabonis for CJ trade and that is if I can include Kispert. But you have to be fully bought in to start Sarr/Sabonis in the front court.

After passing on drafting Queen, trade for an albatross contract for another non-rim protecting C? Pass.

Kispert is a fine complimentary player. I hope he's here as a member of the competitive Wizards. Wait to trade him until that time.


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[dckingsfan]

Someone mentioned Nikola Topic in another thread and it got me thinking.

Is there any way we could try and trade for him? OKC really doesn't need another guy to dominate the ball and take it out of SGA's hands, particularly when they already have JDub and Ajay Mitchell to handle the ball when SGA sits. It might be a trade for the offseason, but maybe we could package some of our future picks, like the Portland 2029 pick and the fake Golden State 2030 pick to trade for him. OKC is presumably interested in pushing their assets into the future since their roster is already so full of good players.

I fear Topic might more of a floor raiser than a ceiling raiser, but heck, this team needs some serious floor raising too.

As OKC is looking at potentially getting two lotto picks, they will have some tough decisions to make, plus Ajay Mitchell's rapid development really cuts off path for Nikola's on ball minutes.

If he can be had for some far out 2nds, it's worth a gamble.

Its also a good move because Topic's recovery timeline will allow the Wizards to continue to give Bub runaway to figure things out this season considering the investment into him. Direct competition for his minutes may not be realistic until next year.

Let's say they get the 8th and 9th picks (hypothetically). I wonder if there won't be a team sitting at 3, 4 or 5 that would be willing to trade down? I spun the wheel and got:

Atlanta
Sacramento
Charlotte
Indiana
Washington
Brooklyn
Dallas
OKC 
OKC 

Probably none of the top 5 do this on this spin - but it is an interesting though process. BTW, a horrible spin for us, I know, I know...

[nate33]

I'll probably get destroyed for semi-suggesting this, but would anyone be interested in trading for Domantas Sabonis? I realize he's in his late 20s, but if the front office wants to try to pivot out of the full-on tank, he provides the toughness, post play, and rebounding from the power forward position to complement Sarr over the next couple of seasons.

Kings sound like they want to do a full-on rebuild, and getting out from under Sabonis's contract would be appealing. Offer them CJ's expiring deal, their choice of a minor Wizards youngster (Riley, Branham, even Carrington) to make salaries work and give them something semi-appealing to hang their hat on, and maybe a couple of second rounders. Do the Kings say no when this would provide them cap space after this season?

Sarr's superpower, in theory at least, is his ability to switch onto any guard or forward. It's a very rare prototype. Once we get the pieces to fully build around that concept (a rebounding forward and a big PG who can switch) it'll open up the possibility of an elite, switch-everything defense - the type of defense played by OKC right now or Boston 2 years ago. I don't see the front office undermining that dream by acquiring an expensive non-switchable center like Sabonis.

I think the team will be well-served to acquire a part-time jumbo center like Mitchell Robinson or Hartenstein in free agency to back up Sarr and occasionally give them a twin towers lineup, but I don't think they will sacrifice real assets to acquire that player. Sabonis is aiming too high.

[dckingsfan]

I'll probably get destroyed for semi-suggesting this, but would anyone be interested in trading for Domantas Sabonis? I realize he's in his late 20s, but if the front office wants to try to pivot out of the full-on tank, he provides the toughness, post play, and rebounding from the power forward position to complement Sarr over the next couple of seasons.

Kings sound like they want to do a full-on rebuild, and getting out from under Sabonis's contract would be appealing. Offer them CJ's expiring deal, their choice of a minor Wizards youngster (Riley, Branham, even Carrington) to make salaries work and give them something semi-appealing to hang their hat on, and maybe a couple of second rounders. Do the Kings say no when this would provide them cap space after this season?

Sarr's superpower, in theory at least, is his ability to switch onto any guard or forward. It's a very rare prototype. Once we get the pieces to fully build around that concept (a rebounding forward and a big PG who can switch) it'll open up the possibility of an elite, switch-everything defense - the type of defense played by OKC right now or Boston 2 years ago. I don't see the front office undermining that dream by acquiring an expensive non-switchable center like Sabonis.

I think the team will be well-served to acquire a part-time jumbo center like Mitchell Robinson or Hartenstein in free agency to back up Sarr and occasionally give them a twin towers lineup, but I don't think they will sacrifice real assets to acquire that player. Sabonis is aiming to high.

No way that OKC can resign Hartenstein without really shaking the tree of their team. I look for them to try to trade him or let him walk and then take a big in the draft.

But yeah, the type of player you want next to Sarr.

[payitforward]

...I think the team will be well-served to acquire a part-time jumbo center like Mitchell Robinson or Hartenstein in free agency to back up Sarr and occasionally give them a twin towers lineup, but I don't think they will sacrifice real assets to acquire that player. Sabonis is aiming too high.

Makes perfect sense -- how nice it would have been if Kalkvrenner had lasted until our R2 pick...!

[nate33]

...I think the team will be well-served to acquire a part-time jumbo center like Mitchell Robinson or Hartenstein in free agency to back up Sarr and occasionally give them a twin towers lineup, but I don't think they will sacrifice real assets to acquire that player. Sabonis is aiming too high.

Makes perfect sense -- how nice it would have been if Kalkvrenner had lasted until our R2 pick...!

That would have been fine, but I actually kinda want a veteran in that role - somebody who can mentor Sarr and wouldn't feel in competition with Sarr for the starting role. Yeah, it'll cost more to pay a veteran, but we have $100M in cap room and need to spend it on someone.

The best case would be to scoop up Hartenstein when OKC is forced to opt out of his team option this summer. Sign him to basically the same kind of contract that OKC did: 2 years for a lot of money ($28M/yr or so?) and a 3rd year team option in case we need to unload his salary to pay our rookies on their new contracts. I doubt any other team would be in position to outbid us.

If Hartenstein decides to play elsewhere for less, then Plan B for me would be Mitchell Robinson. I like Robinson a lot, but I'm scared away by his constant injuries. So I'd definitely go after Hartenstein first.

Those are the only 2 free agents out there that really fit our needs perfectly. If neither works out, I might try and buy a player off a team looking to trim salary, like maybe Goga Bitadze off of Orlando.

[dckingsfan]

...I think the team will be well-served to acquire a part-time jumbo center like Mitchell Robinson or Hartenstein in free agency to back up Sarr and occasionally give them a twin towers lineup, but I don't think they will sacrifice real assets to acquire that player. Sabonis is aiming too high.

Makes perfect sense -- how nice it would have been if Kalkvrenner had lasted until our R2 pick...!

That would have been fine, but I actually kinda want a veteran in that role - somebody who can mentor Sarr and wouldn't feel in competition with Sarr for the starting role. Yeah, it'll cost more to pay a veteran, but we have $100M in cap room and need to spend it on someone.

The best case would be to scoop up Hartenstein when OKC is forced to opt out of his team option this summer. Sign him to basically the same kind of contract that OKC did: 2 years for a lot of money ($28M/yr or so?) and a 3rd year team option in case we need to unload his salary to pay our rookies on their new contracts. I doubt any other team would be in position to outbid us.

If Hartenstein decides to play elsewhere for less, then Plan B for me would be Mitchell Robinson. I like Robinson a lot, but I'm scared away by his constant injuries. So I'd definitely go after Hartenstein first.

Those are the only 2 free agents out there that really fit our needs perfectly. If neither works out, I might try and buy a player off a team looking to trim salary, like maybe Goga Bitadze off of Orlando.

I am out on Mitchell for exactly that reason. And yes Kalkbrenner/Hartenstein would have been brilliant!

[ledell_gumbo]

I could imagine sending an offer sheet to Walker Kessler. Jazz might match, but the Wizards' extreme cap space will let them do things like that

[nate33]

I could imagine sending an offer sheet to Walker Kessler. Jazz might match, but the Wizards' extreme cap space will let them do things like that

Yes, that's a possibility too. I figure Utah matches unless we offer something pretty close to the max though. And I'd rather pay Hartenstein something like $24M a year than Kessler at $40M/yr.

[Dark Faze]

Would you guys trade Bilal for either #17 or #20 from OKC?

[nate33]

Would you guys trade Bilal for either #17 or #20 from OKC?

It would depend on who we drafted. If we ended up with Peterson or Mikel Brown, I probably wouldn't make the trade. With one of those guys running point and hopefully serving as our primary creator, I'd prefer to break out of "teardown mode" and actually try and compete going forward. And it would be easier to do that with a 22-year-old 3-year vet like Bilal rather than another 20-year-old rookie.

But if we drafted another big like Boozer or Wilson, or a forward like Dybantsa, it would leave us with an absence of a primary shot creator, which would presumably set us up for one more year of tanking. And with that in mind, I might take a mulligan on the Bilal draft and try again with the upside variance of a mid FRP. Also, the acquisition of another forward like Dybantsa, Boozer or Wilson would leave us with a pretty significant log jam at forward, making Bilal more expendable.

Obviously, this all depends on Bilal's development this year. If Bilal starts shooting 35% from 3 from December onward, then he would become quite a bit more valuable and I wouldn't be interested in trading him for just a single mid-first.

Finally, I don't see OKC entertaining this. Their roster is set and they have a ton of depth. They are presumably looking to trade current assets for future assets in an effort to keep their dynasty going for longer. So they wouldn't be looking to trade #17 for an actual player with just 1 year left on his rookie deal. They would be looking to trade #17 for a minimally protected future FRP.

[Dark Faze]

I don't disagree. I think the argument from OKC's side is that Bilal may be a guy they can extend on a long term deal early while still having the upside to outperform the deal down the road, and perhaps being ready for that role quicker than someone drafted this summer. Something like Jaylin Williams + pick for Bilal, with Bilal taking Jaylin's minutes.