The Wizards are unlikely to make a major move at the trade deadline, though they will continue to look for ways to improve the team around Bradley Beal and Russell Westbrook. The club is monitoring Cavs’ center Andre Drummond in the event that he pens a buyout agreement with Cleveland, Fred Katz and David Aldridge of The Athletic report.
Drummond will have his selection of contenders should he receive a buyout with the Lakers and Nets among the interested teams. Washington will have to make a strong pitch in order to lure Drummond and they have a $4.2 million disabled player exception from Thomas Bryant‘s injury that they could dangle.
Sources tell FortyEightMinutes.com that any move with that exception is likely to come with an accommodating move that sheds some salary. Washington isn’t keen on jumping above the luxury tax line this season (currently about $1M below it) and there’s a chance they don’t utilize it at all.
Trading Robin Lopez, who’s on a one-year, $7.3 million contract, is possible should the club land another big man. Several opposing teams have interest in the big man, though Washington is happy with Lopez’s presence on the team—both on and off the court.
Washington is open to dealing Moritz Wagner, though the market is limited. That’s due mostly to his contract situation, a source tells FortyEightMinutes. The Wizards turned down his fourth-year option, which limits the amount that another team could offer him in a new deal this summer should they acquire him.
The Wizards still have eyes on the playoffs this season and again, Bradley Beal isn’t going anywhere before the deadline. Yet, don’t expect any moves that severely compromise their long-term flexibility. Even a seemingly beneficial deal that does so, like acquiring Kristaps Porzingis, seems unlikely. The buyout market is their most likely path to a real upgrade given the girth of expected options in the coming weeks.
More at FortyEightMinutes
- Cavs continue to eye Andre Drummond trade
- Celtics linked to Hawks’ Collins, Kings’ Barnes, Spurs’ Aldridge
- Blazers, Wolves expressing interest in Magic’s Aaron Gordon
- NBA Trade Rumors: Dieng, Ellington, Hawks, Drummond
