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OTG's NBA Trade Deadline Marathon: Day 8.5
- Evan Dyal
- Jan 24, 2018
- 2 min read
*Washington also sends a second-round pick to Sacramento*
The Washington Wizards are 26-21 and coming off yet another dumb loss to the Dallas Mavericks. The Wizards have consistently played down to their competition and are sitting at fifth in the east. While slightly better than last year, the bench is still an issue. In this trade they get two veterans in Zach Randolph and George Hill, who will instantly bolster their bench. Hill will be re-energized by joining a contender and will be a solid backup to John Wall and can play with him. Randolph could be a solid backup to Marcin Gortat and the second unit can run some offense through him.
The trade would bring a lot of salary to the Wizards for two older players, but the Wizards are in win-now mode. They would lose Marcus Morris, but they could move Porter Jr to the four and Kelly Oubre Jr to the three and that lineup is better anyway. For the Kings they get Morris, who is a capable starting power forward, who fits the Kings timeline better than Randolph. They also get Ian Mahinmi who is a decent back up at center and a young prospect in Chris McCullough. Sacramento will also get Washington’s second round pick. The Kings are going nowhere this year and need to prepare for the future.
This trade will get them an extra pick, allow more playing time for their younger guys and shed some cap relief. Yes, they will be worse this season after the trade, but let's be honest they were going to lose a lot anyway. Sacramento needs more playing time to develop De'aAron Fox, Frank Mason, Willie Cauley-Stein and Skal Labissiere. Washington needs to make a move to bolster their bench and re-energize a team that too often just sleepwalks. More importantly for the Wizards they get a backup point guard who provides insurance if Wall injures his knee again. This trade makes sense for both teams.
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