The Wizards are off to a 2-7 start, and while their schedule – which includes upcoming games against the Magic, Cavaliers, Mavericks, and Nets – offers them a path back to .500, it’s hard to get too excited about the long-term outlook for the franchise. Washington was the No. 8 seed in the Eastern Conference last season and doesn’t appear to be a legit contender this year.
With lucrative long-term contracts committed to John Wall, Bradley Beal, and Otto Porter, the Wizards could become more and more inclined to break up that “Big Three” if their struggles continue. And in the view of ESPN’s Zach Lowe, trading Wall may be the team’s “only get-out-of-jail card.” Lowe argues that trading Beal would hurt the team, while dealing Porter wouldn’t net a significant enough return to make a difference.
Of course, as Lowe concedes within the same piece, there are plenty of obstacles in the way of a possible Wall deal. His super-max contract will kick in next season and projects to be worth nearly $171MM over four years, running all the way through 2022/23. Wall’s 15% trade kicker would also complicate matters if he were dealt before or after the ’19/20 season.
On top of that, there just don’t seem to be that many potential suitors for the star point guard. Lowe points to the Suns as one plausible trade partner, noting that Phoenix badly needs a point guard and doesn’t have a seasoned GM in place to help keep owner Robert Sarver in check.
Porter has been the Wizards player more frequently cited as a trade candidate, and there are certainly teams that could use a three-and-D wing like him. The Nets, who signed him to an offer sheet in 2017, are one of many, as NetsDaily observes. However, Porter is off to a poor start this season, has a pricey contract (three years and $81.75MM remaining), and may not be more than a very good role player even at his best. It seems unlikely that any club would be willing to give up significant assets for him unless Washington was willing to take on another bad contract or two.
Beal, who also has three years left on his max deal, is easily the most valuable trade chip of the trio. He has missed just five games since the start of the 2016/17 season and has posted 22.9 PPG and 4.0 APG with a .471/.388/.805 shooting line over that same period. The Wizards could theoretically land a star player in a trade if they were willing to make Beal available. However, as Lowe suggests, he’s also the player whose departure would hurt Washington the most, since he’s a star in his own right.
Given how expensive Wall, Beal, and Porter will be for the next three seasons, it’s hard to imagine the Wizards finding a way to add another impact player to that trio to elevate the squad into a viable title contender. At some point then, the team will have to think long and hard about trading one of them — it just won’t be easy to determine which player makes the most sense on the trade block, since there are clear pros and cons to moving each one.
What do you think? Do you view Wall, Beal, or Porter as the Wizards’ most logical trade candidate, given what the team could realistically expect in return for each player? Or do you think it makes more sense for the Wizards to simply hang onto all three and look for another way to fortify their core?
Vote below, then head to the comment section to weigh in!
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