The Washington Wizards appear rejuvenated and, with that in mind, could be active on the trade market in an effort to improve their chances as a contender season. In the absence of All-Star point guard John Wall, the Wizards have stunningly reeled off five consecutive victories and that places Washington in a tie with the struggling Cleveland Cavaliers for the No. 3 perch in the Eastern Conference.
Though the Wizards aren’t seen by many as legitimate title contenders, the East appears to be more wide open than in previous seasons (hello, Cleveland) and Brian Windhorst of ESPN is now reporting that Washington has visions of a trade involving veteran center Marcin Gortat. The report indicates that Washington is “looking to improve their team now while not taking on additional long-term money,” as Gortat is owed $13.5 million for the 2018-2019 season.
The part about them not wanting to take on long-term money is understandable considering the Wizards are among the many NBA teams facing a salary cap crunch over the coming seasons as they have locked up most of their young core for the foreseeable future. Wall, Bradley Beal and Otto Porter Jr. are all on max deals or soon-to-kick-in extensions and Kelly Oubre Jr. will be due a new deal in 2019. Ian Mahinmi’s contract from the summer of ill-advised long-term deals in 2016 also poses a problem for Washington moving forward. In total, Washington already has $116 million on the books for next year, with the cap set at $101 million.
The report also cites some interest from Washington in Clippers center DeAndre Jordan, with the caveat that “several teams have shown interest” in Gortat at this juncture. On one hand, it makes sense that the Wizards would look to upgrade from Gortat and, considering his current performance, there might also be some incentive to get off the $13.5 million for next season. Still, it would be a stretch to consider Gortat as the weak link for this particular Washington team and, aside from Jordan, there are not many obvious upgrades on the open trade market.
Washington is a team to keep an eye on around the deadline, if only because the Wizards have all of their future first round picks as potential trade ammunition. For the Wizards to reach their ceiling, they will need Wall back healthy and effective, but the recent stretch has seemingly injected some life into the proceedings and a Gortat deal could be in the works to potentially shoot for the stars.
