With an interesting end to the trade deadline for the Washington Wizards, some question marks still loom.
Wow! What an ending! The trade deadline finished with a flurry for the Washington Wizards.
After staying cool all week, in the 11th hour, the Wizards turned up the heat!
Acquiring Jerome Robinson and Shabazz Napier and sending out Jordan McRae and Isaiah Thomas kind of came out of nowhere but that’s what the Wizards do. They have always been good at keeping player movement rumors under wraps and these were just the latest examples.
Although these moves were made and the phones have since been dead, the Wizards still have some unfinished business that they will need to take care of. Business that arose both before and after the deadline.
The main questions moving forward are going to revolve around the Wizards plans, specifically what they plan on doing with their current roster. They have a few players that will not only be hot commodities in the coming months but will also have a serious impact on what the Wizards will be doing over the course of the next couple of years.
Davis Bertans became an attractive option in the trade market which should not come as a surprise. A lethal shooter on a team at the bottom of the standings will always draw a lot of interest. However, it appears Bertans will not be traded and will finish the season in DC.
As the trade deadline came and went a few questions surrounding the Wizards were answered, however, there were also a few that were left open-ended.
Let’s dive right in.
1. Are the Washington Wizards going to retool or rebuild?
The first question on our list is one that arose because of the deadline as opposed to a question that was left unanswered.
With the moves that the Wizards made at the deadline, it did not necessarily answer if they are buyers or sellers. The trade for Jerome Robinson was a great move by Tommy Sheppard to bring in a young prospect for virtually nothing (mirroring the Moe Wagner deal).
However, it did not really make them “buyers” as Robinson does not do a whole lot for you to win right now. On the other side of things, it did not really make them sellers because if they were, they would have moved Davis Bertans.
Both of these components lead to the bigger question of what the Wizards plans are for the next few years. Do they want to retool or rebuild? Franchise star Bradley Beal has made it clear that he wants to win and he wants to win now.
With John Wall due to be back soon, this will at least aid Beal’s wishes a little bit. But beyond those two, the rest of the roster’s ability to compete at a high level is still unknown.
The assumption is that the Wizards will bring back Davis Bertans whose shooting and ability to stretch the floor will only be maximized with the return of Wall. Outside of this though, there are not a whole lot of guys on the team who are currently built with the “win now” formula.
Tommy Sheppard has done a nice job of adding a lot of solid young pieces to this roster including Rui Hachimura, Thomas Bryant, Moe Wagner, Isaac Bonga, Troy Brown Jr. and now Jerome Robinson. The issue though, is that these guys are more built for the type of franchise that would be going through a rebuild.
With the Wizards current roster including two veteran stars in Beal and Wall, Davis Bertans and then a bunch of young prospects, it is hard to call what the Wizards direct plan is.
Obviously, some of this may be answered in free agency this summer, but right this second with the roster built how it is, the Wizards may hit a crossroads and a decision will have to be made.
2. How much will Davis Bertans cost?
This question is one that will soon be answered once free agency hits. However, it is one that should be monitored until then. The Wizards made the executive decision to not trade Davis Bertans at the deadline.
As it has been highlighted here at WoA, there were numerous teams who were interested in Davis. Had the Wizards been willing, they could have definitely traded him for some serious capital. But they did not. So now what?
As it has been said numerous times by GM Tommy Sheppard, the Wizards have every intention of retaining Bertans on a multi-year deal. So how much will he cost?
Davis has been one of, if not, the best shooters in the NBA this season as he is shooting an unreal 43 percent from three and is averaging career highs in almost every category according to Basketball-Reference. Shooting gets you paid in the NBA, so Davis is bound to be a rich man this summer.
The good thing for the Wizards is that when they traded for him last summer they acquired his bird rights, meaning they can go over the cap to re-sign him. So theoretically they can offer him more money than anyone else could. Another positive is it sounds like Davis enjoys being here and wants to stay.
With that being said, reports have varied on how much Bertans will cost, but it sounds like he will command something in the ballpark of $15-18 million this offseason. This is clearly a large number for any team to give to a player, but it will happen.
The Wizards cap sheet as of right now is not the greatest but is beginning to improve. Obviously John Wall’s supermax does not help things, but hindsight won’t help us at the moment.
The Wizards’ current cap sheet, with the addition of Jerome Robinson, puts them at around $100 million committed next season with the cap projected to be about $117 million.
The addition of Bertans will most likely put you right around or a little over the cap if you bring him back on the projected figures from above.
The figure may be large but with the chance to trade him at the deadline, it is clear that Washington wants to have him back, and frankly, they don’t have much of a choice.
3. What’s the plan with Bradley Beal?
Over the summer, as expected, Bradley Beal was the biggest trade subject in the NBA. With a multi-time All-star entering his prime and playing for a bad team, the trade inquiries will always pile up. Instead, though, Tommy Sheppard did a nice job of convincing Brad to stay and he signed a two-year extension.
A quality vision was put into place by Sheppard. They brought back their star in Beal, and now they are slowly trying to build a young core that will eventually turn into a contender. The problem with visions like this is that on paper they sound great. However, the constant losing is not always something that is easy to stomach. Which is exactly what has happened with Bradley Beal.
With John Wall out for the season, this year was looked at by most as a development type of season in Washington. It has led to a lot of losing and it has made Brad unhappy, which is understandable. Young guys come in, make mistakes, try to learn from them, and make the strides they need to make year by year. But just knowing that it’s going to be a tough season doesn’t necessarily make it easier. Beal continues to see double and triple teams and he’s getting sick and tired of it.
Brad wants to win, and he wants to win badly. Anybody can respect that. After many thought that Brad would be in on this “rebuild on the fly idea,” he has grown impatient.
This brings up a couple of different questions in regards to Mr. Beal. Do they trade him this summer? Do they give in to his demands and make short-term fixes? Does John Wall’s return do enough to keep him happy?
After being interviewed by Stephen A. Smith on ESPN recently, Beal doubled down both on the ideas that he wants to win right now and that John Wall is an integral part of the Wizards’ success moving forward.
Trade scenarios will continue to swirl and will obviously be a hot topic this summer once Brad is eligible to be traded again. A lot of interesting packages will be out there so if the Wizards decide to start over and move Brad, they will get a good haul.
On the other side, Wall will still be a good player and facilitator alongside Beal as they try to climb back into the playoff picture. Brad will get the chance to be the top guy and they will still have a formidable duo that will be able to win games in the East.
Things have the potential to swing either way.
I think in a perfect world, John comes back, the Wizards jump back into the playoff race, the young guys develop a little more, and Brad stays happy.
However, if anything changes, this situation could become a little murkier. It seems that Brad enjoys D.C. and the Wizards obviously love Brad. But sometimes situations change and the Wizards have to be smart.
The NBA is a business after all.
What roles will Jerome Robinson and Shabazz Napier have?
If you have been living under a rock over the past couple of days, you missed a crazy trade deadline.
After all the dust settled and big moves were made, the Washington Wizards walked away with two new players in Jerome Robinson from the LA Clippers and Shabazz Napier who most recently played for the Minnesota Timberwolves.
Shipping out Isaiah Thomas and Jordan McRae might be hard for some Wizards fans, but this resulted in some new interesting pieces.
Robinson is clearly the more important piece that they came away with. The 13th pick in the 2018 draft, he was reportedly very high on the Wizards radar. They picked just two spots later (15th) during that draft.
A sharpshooter out of Boston College, Robinson displayed a complete offensive package at the college level. His ability to score from everywhere on the floor is what made the Clippers fall in love and draft him.
However, since being drafted, Robinson has had a tough time cracking the rotation in LA. He only averaged about ten minutes per game during his time in LA, but that should not come as much of a surprise. Robinson was definitely a guy who needed some time to develop and with the Clippers moving into win-now mode after adding Kawhi Leonard and Paul George, someone was going to be the odd man out.
Now in D.C., Robinson will have a much better opportunity to blossom as a wing off the bench for the Wizards. He will have the chance to come in and compete with players who are in similar spots in their careers and they can all grow together. With the Wizards moving Jordan McRae, a spot will open up in the rotation at the two-guard position. That will most likely be Robinson’s for the taking.
Napier, on the other hand, may have a much different role. Before being traded by Minnesota to Denver, Napier was enjoying his best pro season. Averaging 9.6 points, 5.2 assists and shooting 40 percent from the field, Napier has established himself as a quality backup point guard.
The issue for Napier in D.C., though, is the eventual return of John Wall. For the rest of this season, Napier will get to do what he has always done. He will be a game manager who will be able to come in, score a little bit, shoot well, and command the floor.
The most likely situation is that Ish Smith takes over the starting role and Napier becomes his backup. However, regardless of who starts and who comes off the bench, once Wall comes back, the backcourt will become a bit crowded.
Ish will most likely be the backup upon Wall’s return, so what does this mean for Napier? When bringing him in, it is clear that at the minimum, he will be a stopgap for the rest of the season. But is there any chance he comes back?
Another question mark that arose was the actual deal that brought Napier to D.C. He was traded straight up for Jordan McRae and if he solely becomes a stopgap who leaves this summer, it makes you wonder if the Wizards could have gotten a better package for McRae.
Regardless of what their roles may be, both Robinson and Napier will be auditioning for the rest of the season. Just like they are with the rest of the roster, the Wizards will feel things out with these two.
The questions that were brought up in this article may not be answered today or tomorrow, but seeing those situations unfold will be important for the Wizards both in the short and long-term.
Happy Trade Deadline Season! Until next year…