Brian Windhorst names Washington Wizards team to watch at deadline

On the latest episode of The Lowe Post, ESPN’s Brian Windhorst claimed the Washington Wizards could be surprise buyers at the trade deadline.

The NBA’s trade deadline is always a fun time for NBA fans. But for fans of our local Washington Wizards, all has been relatively quiet. Until now.

ESPN’s Brian Windhorst joined Senior Writer Zach Lowe on his podcast, The Lowe Post, for a trade deadline primer on Monday afternoon. The two insiders were covering multiple teams around the league when, to my surprise, Windhorst brought up the Washington Wizards:

"“The team that I’ve heard some rumblings about as a surprise buyer, are the Wizards of Washington, D.C….They’re only three games out, and I’ve heard that they are quietly trying to buy…One of the guys that I think is out there, that Washington would have some interest in, is Tristan Thompson.”"

Here’s the link to the entire podcast. Windhorst brings up Washington around the fifteen minute mark.

Tristan Thompson is an interesting name to be linked to the Washington Wizards. He’s in the last year of his contract, but if Washington trades for him, they’d acquire his Bird Rights. So if they were looking to re-sign him, they’d be able to offer him the highest offer come the summertime.

Chris Haynes of Yahoo! Sports reported early on Monday that Thompson was indeed available:

Thompson has a championship track record with the Cleveland Cavaliers, as he was the starting center in 2016, when they defeated the Golden State Warriors 4-3 to claim the title.

He’s missed just two games with Cleveland this year, but is enjoying another strong season. Thompson is averaging a career-high 11.9 points, and 10.4 rebounds per game.

Now, while it is hard to believe that the Washington Wizards would want to bring in another big man, it isn’t surprising to hear they might be buyers come Thursday at 3’oclock.

It’s known widely among both NBA executives and coaches that Washington is on the clock with star guard Bradley Beal. Even though he signed an extension back in October, Beal will be available for trade by the summer, just before free agency.

And even if he stays with the Washington Wizards, he can enter free agency as early as 2022, for which he has a player option placed in his contract. As it stands, Washington sits just three and a half games back of the Eastern Conference’s eighth seed.

Could the pressure to compete and keep their star guard at bay influence their actions at the trade deadline? Fans may have to wait as long as Thursday to find out.