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The Washington Wizards, after a spell of playoff contention in the mid-2010s, have endured one mediocre year after another, as the franchise simply have not been able to recover from John Wall's major injury in 2018. And now, after years of trying to hold onto a bygone era, to meager returns, the Wizards, under new management, have finally decided to start from scratch, starting with the Bradley Beal trade that nets them little more than cap relief and a few second-round picks for their franchise star.
Losing days certainly await the Wizards. Should they have decided to blow it up way before this offseason? Perhaps. For starters, they might have landed a bigger return for Beal had they traded him away before he had a full no-trade clause. And then perhaps the Wizards could have made their way into the Victor Wembanyama sweepstakes of the 2023 NBA Draft instead of decidedly hoping to make it to the playoffs via the play-in tournament.
Still, as the old adage goes, it's better late than never. The Wizards have made their bed, and they must lie in it — and doing so entails having to let go of Kristaps Porzingis.
Here we will expound as to why the Wizards must move on from the Unicorn following the franchise-altering Bradley Beal trade.
Better to lose Kristaps Porzingis for something than for nothing
Kristaps Porzingis may very well decide to leave the Wizards with nothing via free agency. Porzingis has a $36 million player option for next season, which many expect he'd decline in search of a big, long-term payday. This may be the smart decision for Porzingis anyway, as he's had his fair share of injury troubles in the past, and he's coming off arguably the best season of his professional career, posting career-highs across the board in terms of scoring volume and efficiency.
However, teams with cap space won't necessarily be able to present a winning situation to Porzingis. Thus, coming to an agreement with the Wizards that the team would trade him if he opts in may be in the best interest of both parties.
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For Porzingis, the rationale behind such a wink-wink agreement is easy to understand. He'll get a chance to perhaps land in a team whose contending timeline is more suited to his. And then after the 2023-24 season, he'd have the opportunity to re-sign for as much money as he could for any team that would be trading for him will be getting his Bird rights.
For the Wizards, getting anything at all in return for Kristaps Porzingis is a huge win in and of itself. The 27-year old big man's trade value may not be too high with one year remaining left in his contract. However, getting a few picks as well as a few players that they could perhaps trade for even more assets for someone who could leave the franchise with nothing at all via free agency is nothing short of a coup.
Wizards need to go all-in on rebuilding
Perhaps under the previous Wizards front office regime, they'll be content with another season of mediocrity, good enough to challenge for a spot in the play-in tournament, but not bad enough to draft a generational talent. In fact, even in the aftermath of the Bradley Beal trade, they can remain semi-competitive by bringing back Kyle Kuzma and Kristaps Porzingis, as well as by keeping whomever they get for Chris Paul (if they get anything at all).
A lineup of Kuzma, Porzingis, Daniel Gafford, Deni Avdija, and Monte Morris might be good enough for 30+ wins. But was fielding a play-in team really Michael Winger and company's goal when they accepted a less-than-substantial return for Beal? Wizards fans will certainly be hoping that that isn't the case, as it's been five straight seasons of mediocrity for the team in the nation's capital.
In the NBA, teams are better off diving headfirst into the bottom of the standings rather than swim in two currents. With the lottery system designed to reward terrible teams, it might be for the franchise's best if they field as dreadful of a team as they could for the 2023-24 season to put them in a much better position to draft a blue-chip, legitimately transformative prospect.
It won't be an easy sell to ownership and fans. In fact, their attendance numbers may very well dip. But again, as the old proverb once said, “patience is bitter, but its fruit is sweet”. Giving up on Kristaps Porzingis and Kyle Kuzma, in addition to the Bradley Beal trade, may bring upon an era of unprecedented losing in D.C., but in the end, doing so will be worth the wait.
