Subscribe
Follow Us
The Washington Wizards have not been the most active of teams this summer, but the moves that they have made are slightly puzzling to front offices around the league.
According to Candace Buckner of The Washington Post, while rival executives praised the Wizards for re-signing budding center Thomas Bryant and offloading Dwight Howard, many were stunned at the team's decision to part ways with restricted free agent guard Tomas Satoransky in favor of Ish Smith and Isaiah Thomas.
Washington’s recent moves were praised by several opponents. One Eastern Conference executive referred to re-signing center Thomas Bryant as “huge,” while another described the trade of Dwight Howard as “massive.” Yet the team has signaled it wants to go younger by acquiring seven players with one or fewer years of NBA service this summer, and the departure of restricted free agent Tomas Satoransky, a 27-year-old point guard, was met with puzzlement. A front-office member from the Eastern Conference, seeking clarity about the team’s vision, simply asked, “What are they trying to do?
Indeed, Bryant emerged as a potential core piece for a Wizards team in desperate need of young assets. After playing sparingly for the Los Angeles Lakers in his rookie year, Bryant seized an opportunity as the starter when Howard went down with an injury.
Bryant averaged 10.5 points and 6.3 rebounds in just over 20 minutes per game, starting in 53 of the 72 games that he appeared in last season.
Meanwhile, the praise attributed to the Dwight Howard trade is interesting. The Wizards acquired C.J. Miles in the deal, who is actually making more money than Howard and is really one-dimensional as a mediocre perimeter shooter and below-average defender.
The moves that Washington made seem to be status quo for a team that is in a state of flux given the injury to John Wall and the uncertainty of Bradley Beal's future.
