Despite the recent news of the Washington Wizards' willingness to trade All-Stars John Wall and Bradley Beal after a poor start to the NBA season, the team is in no rush to make an unfavorable trade, given their severe lack of leverage, according to Fred Katz of The Athletic.
The Wizards previously tried to dangle swingmen Otto Porter Jr. and Kelly Oubre Jr. in trade discussions, hoping to find a third All-Star to join the dynamic backcourt. Yet those efforts proved fruitless, as Porter's massive four-year, $106.5 million contract has proved a detriment to his value as a player — constantly seen as overpaid for his services.
Oubre is still struggling to find consistency. Despite his rising status in the league, it has yet to generate the momentum to make him a trade headliner in any return for a player of star-caliber.
Wall, Beal and Porter, the three most expensive players on the roster, all have at least three years remaining under contract, including this season — making a 5-11 start to the season an impossible result to explain to ownership, who willfully committed so much capital to these three players.
The Wizards aren't only hoping to snap out of a poor start to the season, but also to rid itself of the financial burden that would take lugging the weight of these contracts into next season and failing to provide the fan base with a winning product.
Washington barely made the playoffs last season and was swiftly eliminated from playoff contention by the top-seeded Toronto Raptors. As it stands, the Wizards would be lucky to sniff the eighth seed this time around, with less talented teams already making a push for the last three seeds in the Eastern Conference.
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