Washington Wizards Mailbag Monday: Should The Wizards Trade Their First Round Pick?

There are different variations of “flexibility.”

Some people can wrap themselves in pretzel form and others can barely touch their toes. Right now, the Wizards are stuck in downward dog and praying the yoga instructor doesn’t increase the intensity.

Washington is capped out, and as you mentioned, they’re going to pay Otto Porter the max.

They’re kind of stuck with what they currently have. Maintaining flexibility, as you put it, can only be done if they acquire movable assets, which they’ve done fairly well.

Wall, Beal, Porter, Morris and Gortat are all interesting pieces. Let’s assume the first three are locked up long-term.

Morris and Gortat are on cost-friendly contracts and both are effective. Teams could use both of their services. If they want to gain flexibility, they could potentially trade them for players who impact the cap less.

Their ability to improve will depend on internal development, which isn’t necessarily ideal. Luckily for the Wizards, the pieces they have in-place are improving at a high rate.

Wall is a 20 and 10 point guard, Beal is an almost-elite scorer and Porter is leading the league in 3-point percentage. It’s not like they’re relying on iffy pieces for development. All three players are proven and have led the Washington Wizards to a winning record.

So: 1) Keep acquiring movable, intriguing pieces, 2) Rely on internal development and Scott Brooks.