Wizards trade Brown and Wagner for Gafford and Hutchinson

[payitforward]

Of course he had low to's; that's because he didn't do anything on offense. Guess what; if I played, I'd have low to's, because I'd never do anything either. Big deal that he averaged 7 rebounds per 36 - I don't know if he played PF as well as SF, and I don't know if he helped his team rebound. You have a tendency to put way too much weight on flat rebound #'s. Rebounding was the only # that stood out well. And if you ignore scoring, you're ignoring half the game and my point about playing 4 against 5. If I was playing, not only would you be giving me grats for low to's, you'd be saying what a smart player I am for not shooting. He flat out sucked as a rookie - which btw happens to a lot of rookies who later turn out to be good players. You'd be a great agent for Clutz... and me.

You are so wrong, Ruz -- so very very wrong.

Bobby Hutcherson is a terrific player -- just ask Zards!

Oh, you mean Bobby Wilkerson from those great Indiana teams - with Kent Benson, um.. Quinn Bucker, and of course... Calbert Cheaney - yeah, that's it.

Apparently, you need some instruction from Zards and me, Ruz.

Watch on YouTube

Playing with the very under-appreciated Harold Land on tenor.

[Kanyewest]

Good for Wagner. He will help Boston a lot.

Eh, don't get this one for Boston.

Wagner is a poor mans Theis.

Celtics had to dump salary to get under the luxury tax after acquiring Evan Fournier with the TPE. No one wanted to take Tristan Thompson who has another year on his contract.

[Chocolate City Jordanaire]

Gafford is under control for 2 more years also. As a backup, he's a great get.

You were probably losing Wagner for nothing this offseason and TB didn't have a future here.

And I think his deal is non-guaranteed. He'll be a decent cheap backup center. He has basically no skills, but he's the first really athletic center we've had in a long time. Hutchison is like a very poor man's TBJ - picked about 7 picks after TBJ in the 2018 draft - seemed to make significant improvement last season before doing nothing this season. Deja vu. A very unexciting trade, but I'm ok with it.

JUST NOW FINDING OUT (7PM Hawaii Standard Time -- 1 AM EST)

THIS IS GREAT!!!!

The Wizards killed it with this deal! I'm also happy for Brown Jr and Wagner.

Seems the Bulls and Wizards front offices have great respect for one another.

[Chocolate City Jordanaire]

DEFENSE

This is the smartest thing the Wizards have done in a good while!

[Chocolate City Jordanaire]

I like the deal for Troy. Not a lot I hate more than a team sabotaging a young players future. If you aren't going to play him, let Brown go to a team that's going to give him a chance. Chicago will run a motion-based offense and give Brown Jr a chance to initiate. At the same time, the big get for us is Gafford. Finally, we have an athletic big.

Brown Jr is going to make a name for himself. Shows the Bulls really love Satoransky; who, I think was a veteran for TBJr (but I could be wrong.) Their games are similar.

Gifford will be a GREAT FIT next to Rui.

[Chocolate City Jordanaire]

The Brown/Gafford trade doesn't really say anything about the direction of the franchise. The move is a lateral one. It's not selling win-now assets for the future, nor is it trading the future to win now.

I'd really like to see us trade Lopez, Bertans and/or Neto for picks/prospects. Certainly Lopez should be shopped hard because we already have Len and Gafford at center.

Not now, not me.

I think this is IT. There's a really good balance of veteran mentors who CAN play and young types. They went and got two stud athletes who are solid defenders. Keep the direction and just pray for the superstar pickup in the draft. Lopez is a very effective low post scorer and he's KILLING second team centers for the most part.

Just like the Wizards hadn't had an athletic C; they haven't had a quality back C like Lopez, either. Alex Len is huge and he's very effective in different ways than Lopez and he's a much better passer. He's got a perimeter game I haven't seen Washington tap into. He's got coaching familiar to him from way back. Len belongs with the Wizards.

I like the roster.

[Chocolate City Jordanaire]

If Hutchison could get his 3 ball to fall (like it did in college) he would be a solid player. He’s already a good defender.

The Wizards are FINALLY figuring what to prioritize.

[Chocolate City Jordanaire]

Gafford advanced defensive metrics (and blocks) are good. +1 DBPM and very good DRtg (109, 107) for 2 years in a row. First time we get an athletic big in years. He's very raw offensively. I worry about his ability to catch Westbrook's missiles

The Wizards added Ben Wallace and Michael Cooper lites/wannabes.

This move is way better than most think IMO.

[HomoSapien]

I think you guys will enjoy Daniel Gafford, but you should keep your expectations in check.

He's an athletic shot-blocking big man who will try and dunk everything in sight. He's sort of like a young Tyson Chandler minus the rebounding. Although he's a solid offensive rebounder (a big tip dunk threat), he's somehow only grabbed double-digt ebounds once in his career. A bunch of us thought he'd be able to easily replace most of Wendel Carter's production as a starter when Carter was injured, but Gafford completely fell apart during that stretch. Later on, he admitted he blew the opportunity. He's young though, and I think he'll stick around in the league for awhile. As someone else mentioned, his only offensive skill is dunking, catching lobs, tip dunks, etc. Here's my favorite Daniel Gafford moment:

Read on Twitter

As for Hutchison, his future in the league is much more dubious. He caught Covid early in the season, sat out and essentially never came back. At first we thought he may have been dealing with some lingering effects, but we've all gotten the sense that he may be dealing with clinical depression or some sort of similar personal issues. No one knows what exactly is going on, as the Bulls have been tight-lipped outside of a few vague quotes from Billy Donovan. He did recently say that Hutchison was getting closer to playing.

A little backstory about Hutchison: The Bulls were incredibly high on him coming into the draft. They gave him a promise at 22. He's a smooth and fluid athlete. There are moments of brilliance where he looks like Pippen on the floor. Although most people were pessimistic about his development, he actually did improve a solid amount between his first and second year. One big concern is his health. Although he's never had a major injury, it seems like every bump he experiences puts him on the injured list. You should have no expectations of Hutch and if you get anything consider it a win.

[gambitx777]

I like this trade if hitch can get it together he's extra athletic. And Gafford is one of those bigs that just needs time he's athletic and has good foot work, that you can't teach .

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[TheOGJabroni]

Hey guys, Celtics fan here. Just wondering if anyone could shed some light on Mo Wagner. I've read through the thread and it seems like most agree he's a downgrade to Theis (unfortunately necessary for us to avoid the tax), but is he someone that can play the 4? If so, it seems like he could carve out some minutes in Boston as an energy big who can stretch the floor a little bit, but I could be way off.

[closg00]

Hey guys, Celtics fan here. Just wondering if anyone could shed some light on Mo Wagner. I've read through the thread and it seems like most agree he's a downgrade to Theis (unfortunately necessary for us to avoid the tax), but is he someone that can play the 4? If so, it seems like he could carve out some minutes in Boston as an energy big who can stretch the floor a little bit, but I could be way off.

That's the right role for Mo depending on the match-ups, a better coach like Stevens will know how to use him.

[NatP4]

Hey guys, Celtics fan here. Just wondering if anyone could shed some light on Mo Wagner. I've read through the thread and it seems like most agree he's a downgrade to Theis (unfortunately necessary for us to avoid the tax), but is he someone that can play the 4? If so, it seems like he could carve out some minutes in Boston as an energy big who can stretch the floor a little bit, but I could be way off.

Playing Mo at the 4 has always been an absolute disaster. He doesn’t have the lateral quickness. He’s a 5 that can stretch the floor and bring energy. Led the wizards in on/off differential. Had a real positive impact on games. He’s no shot blocker or impact rebounder, but he plays solid defense and competes on every possession. He has some ability to put the ball on the floor and make some plays also. Takes a lot of charges. If he has any big negatives as a player they would be getting overpowered by the big Cs and fouling too much.

Overall, he’s a net positive player that is easy to root for. The wiz were looking to trade him because they foolishly declined his option before the season started and then he proceeded to have a really solid year and take a step forward in his development. Seems like a good fit for Boston.

[TheOGJabroni]

Hey guys, Celtics fan here. Just wondering if anyone could shed some light on Mo Wagner. I've read through the thread and it seems like most agree he's a downgrade to Theis (unfortunately necessary for us to avoid the tax), but is he someone that can play the 4? If so, it seems like he could carve out some minutes in Boston as an energy big who can stretch the floor a little bit, but I could be way off.

Playing Mo at the 4 has always been an absolute disaster. He doesn’t have the lateral quickness. He’s a 5 that can stretch the floor and bring energy. Led the wizards in on/off differential. Had a real positive impact on games. He’s no shot blocker or impact rebounder, but he plays solid defense and competes on every possession. He has some ability to put the ball on the floor and make some plays also. Takes a lot of charges. If he has any big negatives as a player they would be getting overpowered by the big Cs and fouling too much.

Overall, he’s a net positive player that is easy to root for. The wiz were looking to trade him because they foolishly declined his option before the season started and then he proceeded to have a really solid year and take a step forward in his development. Seems like a good fit for Boston.

Thanks for the detail. Expectations are pretty low on the Celtics board but I feel like he's a decent player.

[doclinkin]

Hey guys, Celtics fan here. Just wondering if anyone could shed some light on Mo Wagner. I've read through the thread and it seems like most agree he's a downgrade to Theis (unfortunately necessary for us to avoid the tax), but is he someone that can play the 4? If so, it seems like he could carve out some minutes in Boston as an energy big who can stretch the floor a little bit, but I could be way off.

You'll like Mo Wagner. He's not strong enough for the position but gives intelligent hustle when he is on the floor. He can make an outside shot, and he defends with his feet not his hands. The one skill he has that he does better than most players in the league is to take a charge. This and the fact that he is busy and vocal and pesty will often get under opponents skin. Sometimes refs also get tired of this activity when he turns into Mo Flopner so he stops getting that whistle for a few games. He is not a rim protector, not a top rebounder, but he never makes stupid mistakes. When his 3FG is on he can open up the floor for the team as a highpost 5. He could maybe play 4 in a pinch but only if you have solid rebounders at the other positions. Brad Stevens will figure out how to use him. He won't embarrass himself or you. Our win streak came with him starting at the 5, opening up the interior for our dribble-drive attack to start the games. But our coach is a self-check, or perhaps he is the general of a Tank battalion. In any case our front office whiffed on renewing his contract so he was a FA after the season thus not a long term asset for us. We are okay with picking up prospects for a guy we were going to lose anyway, plus a guy who our coach was stunting with inactivity.

[Ruzious]

Hey guys, Celtics fan here. Just wondering if anyone could shed some light on Mo Wagner. I've read through the thread and it seems like most agree he's a downgrade to Theis (unfortunately necessary for us to avoid the tax), but is he someone that can play the 4? If so, it seems like he could carve out some minutes in Boston as an energy big who can stretch the floor a little bit, but I could be way off.

Playing Mo at the 4 has always been an absolute disaster. He doesn’t have the lateral quickness. He’s a 5 that can stretch the floor and bring energy. Led the wizards in on/off differential. Had a real positive impact on games. He’s no shot blocker or impact rebounder, but he plays solid defense and competes on every possession. He has some ability to put the ball on the floor and make some plays also. Takes a lot of charges. If he has any big negatives as a player they would be getting overpowered by the big Cs and fouling too much.

Overall, he’s a net positive player that is easy to root for. The wiz were looking to trade him because they foolishly declined his option before the season started and then he proceeded to have a really solid year and take a step forward in his development. Seems like a good fit for Boston.

Thanks for the detail. Expectations are pretty low on the Celtics board but I feel like he's a decent player.

He's a very capable offensive player who can stretch the floor, cuts well to the basket, is agile and has good hands. Defense is on and off - off too much. He's known deservedly for drawing charges. However, he's a very inconsistent defender and is not reliable on that end.

[nate33]

Hey guys, Celtics fan here. Just wondering if anyone could shed some light on Mo Wagner. I've read through the thread and it seems like most agree he's a downgrade to Theis (unfortunately necessary for us to avoid the tax), but is he someone that can play the 4? If so, it seems like he could carve out some minutes in Boston as an energy big who can stretch the floor a little bit, but I could be way off.

Playing Mo at the 4 has always been an absolute disaster. He doesn’t have the lateral quickness. He’s a 5 that can stretch the floor and bring energy. Led the wizards in on/off differential. Had a real positive impact on games. He’s no shot blocker or impact rebounder, but he plays solid defense and competes on every possession. He has some ability to put the ball on the floor and make some plays also. Takes a lot of charges. If he has any big negatives as a player they would be getting overpowered by the big Cs and fouling too much.

Overall, he’s a net positive player that is easy to root for. The wiz were looking to trade him because they foolishly declined his option before the season started and then he proceeded to have a really solid year and take a step forward in his development. Seems like a good fit for Boston.

Mo is undersized at center but doesn't shoot well enough to play the 4. He can hit the 3-ball, but only if he has a ton of time to wind up, and even then he's only going to hit 33%. He's not really a pick and pop guy, but he shoots well enough that teams can't just ignore him and leave him open.

Against certain matchups, usually smaller guys, Mo Wagner will look awesome. He is very smart and knows where to be on offense and defense. He is a good passer, has really good hands, and is terrific at rolling and finishing, even though he's not really a lob threat. He'll make ball fakes and handoff fakes to fool defenders and then burst to the rim. He is a very willing screener.

Defensively, he is exceptional at taking charges, but refs tend to get sick of it after a while and won't consistently give him the call. His fundamental flaw is that he is not that big, not that tall, and not that strong. Bigger, and more athletic centers tend to dominate him. He just can't hold up at all against guys like Embiid or Valanciunas. They play him right off the floor. He fights hard, but he usually doesn't win a scrum for a rebound in traffic.

Basically, he's a really good player, but only in certain situations. At other times, he's a liability. Stevens will need to pick and choose when to play him.

Most of us were confused why they didn't opt in on the fourth year of his rookie deal. He's a solid backup center, worth the $3.9M it would have cost.

[doclinkin]

Pretty good summary. I'll add that Gafford is a terrible rebounder. He's a good rim runner/finisher and protector though, which seems to be a good fit for the Wiz.

I liked TBJ a lot coming out. The Bulls need ball handlers so he might benefit from the change of scenery.

YOU'll be pleased and surprised by TBJ like you were with Satoransky. He's a high BBIQ player who has a quiet presence but will find ways to do the little things. HE makes smart heads-up passes and rebounds bigger than his position due to good anticipation. On defense he is not long nor overly strong, not quick footed, but in a team scheme he makes you better since he knows where to be. He's young but has upside. He would do best in an offense that needs smart passing and makes cuts and reads. He is a competent ball-handler but not a dribble drive threat. He can hit an open 3 but it's not a strength, and he won't overpower opponents. He plays well with spacing and timing and smarts more than athleticism length and speed. A smart coach will use him as a secondary coach on the floor. He has potential as a leader and will pick up concepts quickly, as such he is more of a tall Point and floor leader than a scoring guard or small forward. Billy Donovan will appreciate what he does well.

[Ruzious]

One thing on TBJ I'd add is he's very good leading the break in transition - makes the right decisions and finishes well.

[Dat2U]

Gafford advanced defensive metrics (and blocks) are good. +1 DBPM and very good DRtg (109, 107) for 2 years in a row. First time we get an athletic big in years. He's very raw offensively. I worry about his ability to catch Westbrook's missiles

The Wizards added Ben Wallace and Michael Cooper lites/wannabes.

This move is way better than most think IMO.

I do not share the same enthusiasm at all. Gafford is the rim runner we needed to run the floor & guard quicker bigs but he's also completely unskilled offensively meaning unlike Wagner or even Len/Lopez, he's no threat to shoot and not worth guarding beyond 5 ft from the rim. Guess who this impacts? Russ & Beal because spacing will be trash.

This is guy who fell out of Chicago's rotation and tanked his opportunity by being invisible when Chicago had to actually start him.

He should help the P&R defense though.

As for Hutchison... I don't know how we can assume any contribution from him when he wasn't even suiting up for Chicago in recent weeks and it's sounds like he was dealing with personal issues.