The Washington Wizards are bad. Not only are the Wizards bad, but they're literally comically bad, with a new Jordan Poole moment to spur laughter seemingly each and every night. Tuesday brought yet another doozy.
While trailing by 10 in the 4th Quarter, Jordan Poole ran about 12 seconds off the game-clock on his own team 😬
(via @ImABallJunkie)pic.twitter.com/zk0ils8aFG
— ClutchPoints (@ClutchPoints) November 21, 2023
It isn't just the viral moments that point to Washington not being a very good team. The Wizards are 2-11, tied with the Detroit Pistons for the fewest wins in the NBA. Their -9.2 point differential ranks third-worst behind only the Portland Trail Blazers and San Antonio Spurs. They rank 28th in the NBA in net rating as well, behind only…the Blazers and Spurs.
Washington is very much a work in progress and a team that isn't concerned with winning a bunch of games at the moment. That's fine, but also could lead to some trades before the February 8th trade deadline. The Wizards were already one of the most active teams in the offseason, evidenced by their trades of Bradley Beal, Kristaps Porzingis and Chris Paul.
As a result, those trades, among others, left their team with a roster of mish-mash parts of trades past more so than an actual, coherent basketball team. If the tough start to their season continues, it's only going to put more of a spotlight on the Wizards as a potential seller at the trade deadline. There definitely are players on the Washington's worth pursuing for a contender. One player, above all, seems more attainable and valuable to such teams than the rest.
Tyus Jones
Even on this Wizards team, Tyus Jones is still showing he is one of the best floor generals in the NBA. Last season while a member of the Memphis Grizzlies, Jones averaged 5.2 assists to just 0.9 turnovers per game. His assist-to-turnover ratio is even better this season. At 4.7 assists per game to 0.8 turnovers, Jones boasts a +6.1 ratio on the season despite playing on a considerably worse team than last season's Grizzlies.
Jones is also making the most of his opportunities as a scorer. He is shooting roughly the same number of shots per game this season (9.1) as he was last season (8.9), but he's shooting the best he has in his career. Jones is sporting a career-high 49.2% from the field, 55.8% on two-point shots and 55.5% effective field goal percentage.
Jones isn't a very high-ceiling player. For the most part, he is what he is. He can score if he needs or if that's what he's given by the defense, but Jones tends to keep the offense humming and get others involved. He's a solid defender, too, but his size at 6-1, 196-pounds could be a problem in some matchups. But he's a winning player on an affordable contract who is playing for a team that is not competitive at the momentum. All the ingredients for a trade are right there.
Jones is on the last year of a two-year, $29 million deal, key to remember if the Wizards make him available via trade. His salary number isn't very big, meaning that teams should not have a big problem attaching the requisite number of salary in order to make a trade feasible financially. He also is on an expiring deal, which could help a team looking to shed money.
A trade for Tyus Jones should net Washington multiple second-round picks at minimum. If a team is willing to send a first along with a bloated contract it no longer want to pay for Jones, the Wizards should have no qualms with that. Jones likely won't be in the nation's capital past this season. Washington need to take advantage and extract as much future value for him as possible before the trade deadline.
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