Washington Wizards: Making sense of a trade for Tristan Thompson

Ahead of Thursday’s trade deadline, the Washington Wizards have been linked to Cleveland Cavaliers’ center Tristan Thompson.

In a surprising twist of events, the Washington Wizards have emerged as buyers ahead of the NBA’s trade deadline on Thursday. Brian Windhorst made the speculation on Monday’s episode of The Lowe Post that they’d be interested in Cleveland big man Tristan Thompson.

And then Candace Buckner of The Washington Post confirmed those rumors Monday night, after the Washington Wizards’ embarrassing loss to the D’Angelo Russell-less Golden State Warriors:

Thompson is averaging career-highs in both points (11.9) and rebounds (10.4) per game this season, and has only missed three of 51 potential appearances for Cleveland.

Could Washington be a buyer at the deadline, period? What’s their idea behind chasing Thompson? And what does a potential deal look like?

A Crying Star

Bradley Beal knew what he was signing up for in October, when he put a pen to paper on a three-year extension worth $111-million. That’s why he and his agent made sure the third year was guaranteed only by player option, in the instance life in Washington didn’t improve.

But it’s only been three and a half months since Beal’s extension, and he’s already (very publicly I might add) displaying frustrations with the Wizards’ current situation. And the league isn’t doing the Washington Wizards any favors by snubbing him from the All-Star roster, which we’ve written about in this article.

It’s no secret around the league that if things don’t improve, then the Washington Wizards’ star guard is liable to ask out–request a trade even–although that doesn’t seem his style. Beal will be available for trade as soon as June, just a month before free agency.

Making any deal, not just for Thompson, is another means of assuring their star that Washington does indeed remain committed to building a championship contender. And they don’t have to wait for the return of John Wall before assessing some of the roster holes.

In terms of what the Wizards would have to give up…

The Trade

The easy part is putting together a deal for Thompson, who’s making $18-million this year.

And in order for Washington to justify bringing aboard another big man, they’d have to send out one of theirs. The easy answer is Ian Mahinmi, who’s also an expiring free agent making $15-million, and has never seemed “untradeable” during his tenure with the Wizards.

In addition, as Windhorst mentioned on his podcast cameo, Washington could send off one of their many second round picks they have stashed away.

Because as Chris Haynes of Yahoo! Sports put it, Cleveland is in “asset accumulation mode,” meaning they won’t do this deal for the sake of scratching the Washington Wizards’ backs.

No it’ll take some compensation, and I highly doubt Washington is eager to give up any of their young guys. Which brings me to my next point.

Adjusting the Present, Looking to the Future

While a lot of people see a move for Thompson as another desperation deal in order to help Washington’s chances at the playoffs (see Kelly Oubre deal of ’16), it’s the opposite.

In fact, trading for the big man now, as opposed to attempting to sign him in free agency comes with its own advantages. Cleveland signed Thompson to his extension back in 2015 using his Bird Rights. Those would be transferred over to Washington in any potential deal.

So when free agency comes around, not only will the Wizards have first dibs on Dāvis Bertāns, but now they’ll have the right to offer Thompson the most of any club.

On the off-chance that the Washington Wizards take off for the postseason following any deadline deal for Cleveland’s big man, and he impresses; they’ll have the best chance at retaining him in the summer; when he’s sure to have suitors in a slim free agent market.