Washington Wizards Mailbag Monday: Why Brandon Jennings Is a Better Option Than Trey Burke

https://twitter.com/imdancarillo/status/836225472585310208

So, the Washington Wizards wanted to get a scorer before the NBA Trade Deadline (who became Bojan Bogdaovic), but they also wanted to dump a bad contract (who became Andrew Nicholson).

For a team to want Nicholson’s contract – he has a four-year, $26 million deal – the Wizards had to attach a first-round pick.

The Los Angeles Lakers ended up trading Lou Williams to the Houston Rockets for a first-round pick and Corey Brewer, who had one year left on his contract, worth just over $7 million.

Williams, on paper and probably in practice, would’ve been a better fit for the Wizards than Bogdanovic, who’s a solid fit in his own right.

He’s more of a creator and doesn’t need others to get shots. Williams is one of the best isolation scorers in the league and does a fantastic job of getting to the free throw line, even if that skill evaporates during the NBA Playoffs, when the officials let the players get physical.

But the Lakers weren’t interested in taking Nicholson’s contract back, probably. Brewer’s contract is expiring after this season and Nicholson has three years left.

All signs point to Nicholson being a non-contributor and teams like the Lakers aren’t interested in taking those long-term deals back, just for the sake of adding another pick.

The Nets, though, are starved of picks and were willing to take Nicholson back for the pick.

It’s just another case of Ernie Grunfeld attempting to clean up a mess he created. And again, he did an okay job of doing so. The problem is, the Wizards have traded two first round picks in a row. Those players are on cheap contracts and could become a part of the team’s core. Now the Wizards don’t have any to work with.