Newly-named Washington Wizards general manager Tommy Sheppard quickly put his chops to work in the offseason, hoping to get a cemented place in the front office at the wake of former president Ernie Grunfeld's firing. Trading Dwight Howard to the Memphis Grizzlies was among his first moves after taking over the brass in an interim basis, one he claims was the quickest he's ever completed.
“The quickest trade I've ever done in my life,” Sheppard told ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski.
Howard had a very brief an injury-riddled stint with the Wizards, hurt from the time he stepped foot in training camp and marred by it through the course of the season.
Sheppard got to work quickly, getting star Bradley Beal on his side and approaching free agency by aiming for character and a winning reputation, selecting Gonzaga's Rui Hachimura in the lottery and Tennessee's Admiral Schofield in the second round.
Owner Ted Leonsis said he's consider Sheppard for the job, but he first wanted to see him prove his worth to the organization.
“I didn't spend a lot of time with Tommy because of the hierarchy, but I told him: Let me see how you work,” said Leonsis. “Let me see how you handle the draft. Let me see a strategy document and a Plan A, Plan B and Plan C. He came back and said he needed assets and young players, and that we needed to connect the draft to free agency. Our big goal was to get more coachable players that fit a system that the coaches wanted to play, that would get us younger, hungrier players that would be helped by our development coaches.
“And Tommy is also a big believer — like us in ownership — that the world is a big place. He's very fluent in the global view of basketball.”
Sheppard patched the hole at center by re-signing Thomas Bryant, who entered last season as Howard's backup — now boasting a spiffy three-year, $25 million deal after proving his worth during the 2018-19 campaign.
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