December 15th has come and gone, meaning that trade season is officially underway in the NBA. While no major moves have been so far save for the Clippers trading for James Harden earlier this season, trade talks surely will begin to commence amongst teams deemed to be buyers and sellers. One team that looks to be a seller this season? The Washington Wizards.
The Wizards are not very good this season. They're 5-23 on the year and somehow have only the third-worst record in the NBA thanks to the Detroit Pistons and the San Antonio Spurs. Their -9 net rating is the fourth worst in the league behind those two and the Charlotte Hornets. They are not going anywhere this season. Though that is the case, they still have plenty of veterans that any team with aspirations to win the championship would want thanks in large part to the series of trades they made in the offseason. If a contender will offer them valuable draft picks for them, they surely will part with those veterans. But who are the vets they could look to dish? A few stand out on their roster.
The Wizards trade Tyus Jones
If there's anybody on the Wizards that makes the most sense for them to trade, it would be Tyus Jones for a multitude of reasons. For one, Jones is just a good player. Despite going from a playoff team to a bottom-dweller in the standings, Jones' play and production has been largely the same. His efficiency has actually jumped after going from the Grizzlies to the Wizards. Jones is shooting a career-high 53.7% from the field and 42.6% from three and averaging a career-high 12.3 points per game. He's done this all while stabilizing his usual propensity for taking care of the ball; Jones is once again amongst the top of the league in assist-to-turnover ratio at +6.75.
But the Washington Wizards are deep in the throws of a rebuild, and with Jones on an expiring contract, trading him to for draft picks would be more valuable for the Wizards than keeping Jones, especially when he could walk for nothing in the offseason. Jones should be able to at least fetch multiple second-round picks and could maybe get the Wizards back a future first-round pick for a team that needs help at point guard. Jones also only makes $14 million this season, so his salary should not be too daunting for contenders to match. Jones is a very good player who should not be on a team at the bottom of the league standings. He looks like a prime candidate to be traded.
The Wizards could also trade Delon Wright
Unlike Tyus Jones, Delon Wright's play this season has not been up to par compared to his previous production. Wright is shooting a career-low 36.7% from the field. He's also played in only eight games this season and hasn't played since November 10th due to a knee sprain.
The good news is that Wright is coming back from that knee sprain on December 26th against the Orlando Magic. Wright will look to come back and prove to the league that he is still one of the better defensive guards in the NBA. He likely won't make an All-Defensive team, but Wright is a versatile defender who can defend multiple positions without harming a team's offense thanks to his career 35.3% percentage from three.
Like Jones, Wright is also on the final year of his contract. He also is 31 years old. The Wizards don't have much utility for a veteran like him as they embark on their rebuild. If they can net some second-round picks for him as well, it would be worth their while to trade Wright to a contender that could use his prowess defensively.
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