Blow it Up

Blow it up

With the surfacing news about “all players on the Wizards roster being available”, it is time to break down, go through all of the trade destinations for Bradley Beal, John Wall and the other guests on this sinking ship.

The Wizards are 5-11 and sit 11th in the Eastern Conference. They have played and looked straight up bad. They look like a bunch of guys who skipped summer training and don’t have any chemistry…oh. Beal and Wall have been the only real bright spots in this team, with Wall shooting decently from behind the arc considering his longstanding lack of a three-point shot and averaging 20-3-8. Bradley Beal has been fine as well, averaging 22-5-4, shooting 45% from the field and 34% from three. The Wizards have been an ‘in the mix’ team in the past few years, making the playoffs four times in the last five years. The success has not really been a success.

Washington Wizards Since 2013-14 NBA Season

2013-14

• Finished 2nd in Division
• Record of 44-38
• Eliminated in Eastern Conference Semis by Indiana in 6 Games
• Best Player (Regular Season) John Wall (19-4-9)
• Best Player (Playoffs) Bradley Beal (19-5-5)

Notable Transactions

• July 8th, 2013: Signed Otto Porter
• July 31, 2013: Signed John Wall to a 5 year, $84.8 million max extension
• October 25, 2013: Traded Emeka Okafor and a 2014 1st round-pick to Phoenix for Marcin Gortat, Shannon Brown, Malcolm Lee and Kendall Marshall, who would all be waived except Gortat
• February 20, 2014: Involved in a 3-team trade with the Sixers and Nuggets where they received Andre Miller, and a 2nd round pick, and gave up Jan Vesely, Eric Maynor, and a 2nd round pick.
• June 26, 2014: Drafted Jordan Clarkson with the 46th overall pick
• June 27, 2014: Traded Jordan Clarkson to the Lakers for cash

2014-15

• Finished 2nd in Division
• Record of 46-38
• Eliminated in Eastern Conference Semis by Atlanta in 6 Games
• Best Player (Regular Season) John Wall (18-5-10)
• Best Player (Playoffs) Bradley Beal (23-6-5)

Notable Transactions

• July 10, 2014: Signed Marcin Gortat to a 5 year, $60 million extension
• July 15, 2014: Involved in a 3-team trade with the Rockets and Pelicans where the Wizards received a trade exception and Melvin Ely and gave up Trevor Ariza to Houston.
• February 19, 2015: Traded Andre Miller to Sacramento for Ramon Sessions
• June 25, 2015: Involved in another 3-team trade that sent the Wizards 2015 1st round-pick, Jerian Grant to the Atlanta Hawks, then to the New York Knicks. The Wizards received Kelly Oubre from the Hawks.

  

2015-16

• Finished 4th in Division
• Record of 41-41
• Did not make playoffs
• Best Player (Regular Season) John Wall (20-5-10)

Notable Transactions

• July 9, 2015: Signed Kelly Oubre to a 2 year, $3.93 million contract
• February 18, 2016: Traded DeJuan Blair, Kris Humphries, and a 2016 1st-round draft pick to Phoenix for Markieff Morris
• April 26, 2016: Hired Scott Brooks

  

 

2016-17

• Finished 1st in Division
• Record of 49-33
• Eliminated in Eastern Conference Semis by Boston in 7 Games
• Best Player (Regular Season) Bradley Beal (23-3-4)
• Best Player (Playoffs) John Wall (27-4-10)

Notable Transactions

• July 7, 2016: Signed multiple players to multi-year contracts, most notably Ian Mahinmi and Jason Smith, the former of which signed a 4 year, $64 million contract, worth $16 million/yr, and the latter, signing a 3 year, $15.68 million contract, worth $5.225 million/yr
• July 26, 2016: Signed Bradley Beal to a 5 year, $127.2 million contract, worth $25.43/yr
• February 22,2017: Traded Andrew Nicholson, Marcus Thornton, and a 2017 1st-round pick to Brooklyn for Bojan Bogdanovic and Chris McCollough

 

2017-18

• Finished 8th in Eastern Conference
• Record of 43-39
• Eliminated in the First Round by Toronto in 6 Games
• Best Player (Regular Season) Bradley Beal (23-4-5)
• Best Player (Playoffs) John Wall (26-6-12)

  

Notable Transactions

• July 13, 2017: Signed Otto Porter to a 4 year $106 million extension, worth $26.63 million/yr
• July 26, 2017: Signed John Wall to 4 year $170 million extension, worth $42 million/yr
• June 26, 2018: Traded Marcin Gortat to the Clippers for Austin Rivers
• July 11, 2018: Signed Dwight Howard to a 2 year $10.9 million contract, worth $5.47 million/yr
• July 11, 2018: Signed Jeff Green to a one-year minimum contract

 

What does all this mean?

The Wizards suck, they do, and all of that prelude was to show a quick rundown of the Wizards organizations past half-half-decade. The trades and contracts, good or bad, the seasons, the eliminations, the players, it’s all there. I wanted people to see that the franchise has been heading towards this for years.

The problems arise right away with the Wizards. Bradley Beal and John Wall have never seen eye to eye, and yet have been in the same franchise for years, with nothing to show for it. Questionable contracts and questionable trades have also been an issue for the Wizards. The Otto Porter contract looked fine when they signed it, and they ‘had no choice’ as they had to match the offer from Brooklyn. Ian Mahinmi is a criminal, and the fact that he will continue to make $16 million for this season, and the next is horrible for the Wizards, but fantastic for Mahinmi.

The Wizards are also not a very forward moving team. They do not have fantastic three-point shooting, except Bradley Beal when his really feeling it, and Otto Porter when his game is at its best, which, unfortunately, we have not seen yet.

The signings were questionable this offseason. Adding Dwight Howard, a loveable, but a headstrong guy, who has been kicked out of every locker room he’s been in due to a myriad of reasons, and Austin Rivers, who is actually a good move considering they moved Gortat, and they got a decent three-point shooter. Yet there are many doubts about Austin Rivers. Can he fit in well with the very headstrong superstars on the team, and, can he provide the offence needed off the bench? So far, he has been fine. Not great, but not terrible either. He is on lower minutes than he was in LA and as expected, is producing less than he did in LA, currently averaging 7-2-2, on 23 minutes a night.

Bradley Beal spoke out today in team practice and said that “I’ve been doing this for seven seasons” and is obviously tired of the lack of chemistry, headstrong players, volatile attitudes, and lack of success. John also had an outburst today in team practice, reportedly telling coach Scott Brooks “F- – -k you.” Can’t we all just get along?

Potential Trades

Bradley Beal: To me, it seems as though Bradley Beal is the most likely of the big two to be traded. A lot of teams could use a three-point shooting, decently sized player, who knows how to have big games at clutch times. To name the most popular

• LA Lakers
• Toronto Raptors

Why the Lakers?

The Lakers, with their new father LeBron James, sit 9-7 and are 7th in the Western Conference. LeBron looking frustrated has not been an uncommon site this year, with the majority of his teammates being very young. The expectations are high, and to be honest, they shouldn’t be. Why should they be? They play in a really tough conference, with a very young team, and there is no way in hell they are taking down the Warriors, Nuggets, or Trail Blazers in a 7-game series. When paid NBA analysts were putting the Lakers at the second seed in the west this year, I almost spat out the milk from my cereal. Golden State, Toronto, Boston, Milwaukee, Denver, Portland, Oklahoma, and Philadelphia are all better teams than this year’s Lakers. That being said, it could possibly be a good idea to move for a second star, preferably one who can shoot, as the Lakers have struggled mightily with that this season. They have the assets to make a move, and it could make sense. This is where Bradley Beal comes in. He is only 25, and could potentially improve his three-point shot to push it over the edge and be one of the best in the league. If the Lakers were making a push this year, it would make sense. Long term, it does not make sense, as they are trying to sign someone huge in free-agency, and it looks like it will be Klay Thompson, Kevin Durant, or Anthony Davis. The likely hood of this happening is low, very low.

Toronto

I will not even entertain this. The suggested trade would be Serge Ibaka, OG Anunoby, and the 2019 1st-round pick. EXCUSE ME WHAT? The Raptors would have to be drunk to make this trade, and that is why it will not happen. Giving two super important defenders, and losing one of the best mid-range shotmakers on the team in Ibaka would be ludicrous. OG is finally coming into his own and seems to be getting his hops back after his ACL injury, and honestly, giving up two super important defenders, for one offensive star, which they don’t even need, is ridiculous. This trade will not happen.

John Wall

One of two places I see John Wall going is Phoenix, where the package would be TJ Warren, Elie Okobo and Ryan Anderson. I wouldn’t make this trade if I was Phoenix. The ball needs to be in Bookers, Ayton’s, and Josh Jackson’s hands, not John Walls. The contract of John Wall would interfere with signing Jackson, Ayton, and others as well, if I was Phoenix, I do not make this trade.

The other place is the Miami Heat, where the package would be Goran Dragic and James Johnson. It would alleviate the cap in Washington, but would also not help with a rebuild, as both players are older, and have contracts that expire soon. The Heat could use John Wall, as he, Richardson, Whiteside, and Johnson could team up to be a nasty and very athletic core. But all in all, I see Bradley Beals movement more likely than John Walls.

The Wizards are in a tough spot and will continue to be until they can figure out a direction in which they want to go in. They need to dump one of their bad contracts, whether it be Porter or Mahinmi, and need to secure high draft picks. Until that happens, I see a lot of bad seasons and a lot of upset fans.