Grade the Trade: Washington Wizards trade Jordan McRae for Shabazz Napier

The Washington Wizards didn’t make many waves at the trade deadline, but they were active. Was moving Jordan McRae the right move?

The Washington Wizards didn’t make the moves that NBA fans will be talking about after the deadline. They didn’t land Andre Drummond like the Cleveland Cavaliers did, nor did they pry D’Angelo Russell from the Golden State Warriors. But they did make a few moves on the margins that will impact that back half of the season.

They took a while to get started, but the Wizards made the first of two deals yesterday less than an hour before the trade window closed, swapping a straight-up scorer for a facilitator.

The Trade

The Washington Wizards started their trade deadline activity off with a pretty simple switch that sent Jordan McRae to the Denver Nuggets. Candace Buckner of the Washington Post reported the news first.

After being a part of the crazy four-team, twelve-player trade that sent Clint Capela to the Atlanta Hawks and Robert Covington to the Houston Rockets, Shabazz Napier was the centerpiece of another trade less than 24 hours later.

What the Washington Wizards Gained

In Shabazz Napier, the Washington Wizards get a serviceable point guard rental that will have plenty of chances to prove his worth as he approaches free agency this summer.

Napier is only making $1.8 million this season, and considering the WIzards are now his seventh team in seven seasons (not counting the Denver Nuggets for whom he never technically played), it probably won’t cost the Wizards much to keep Napier if they like what he brings to the table over the final 30-some games.

The Wizards know what they have in Napier; a good (not great) veteran point guard that is more than capable of helping the young core progress and contributing to a final playoff push. His numbers won’t blow anyone out of the water, but Napier was in the midst of the best statistical season of his career before being shipped to Washington.

As the starting point guard for the Minnesota Timberwolves, Napier was dishing out a career-high 5.2 assists per game. Those numbers are solid but they aren’t wowing anyone. Although, sometimes it’s not just about what a player does on the court. Their off-court presence can matter just as much.

The Wizards are an extremely young team, and they’re even younger now that Jordan McRae is gone. As a 28-year-old veteran, Napier is one of the oldest and most experienced Wizards players, believe it or not. He’ll be a valuable veteran amidst a locker room full of rookie deals.

What the Washington Wizards Lost

There’s no real way of sugar-coating this one. The Washington Wizards lost a walking bucket in Jordan McRae. The guy can flat out score, and he proved that multiple times this season while enjoying the greenest of lights at all times.

Despite being a bench player, McRae topped 20 points in five of his 29 games for the Wizards this season. He only started in one of those five contests. And although McRae was never going to be known as a lockdown perimeter defender, his length did crowd some passing lanes and bother smaller guards. This season, he had four games with at least two steals for the Wizards. Not bad for a defensively defunct team.

Throughout the season, the Wizards’ surprising offensive outbursts have been largely a product of their productive bench. McRae has been the catalyst at the heart of it all. Unfortunately, the Wizards are less dangerous without McRae.

Final Grade: C+

If I had to sum up this trade in one word: meh.

It’s a trade that doesn’t make a ton of sense by itself. The Wizards essentially traded a few months of Jordan McRae for a few months of Shabazz Napier.

After putting on some scoring clinics this season, McRae probably played himself out of Washington’s price range this summer as he’ll be a perfect piece for a contender in need of microwave scoring to overpay for. And Napier, although a very solid point guard, probably won’t be worth keeping around as a journeyman who will be 29 years old by next season as your third point guard.

However, the trade makes a lot more sense after the Isaiah Thomas trade. Shortly after sending McRae to Denver, Thomas was traded to the LA Clippers for 22-year-old shooting guard Jerome Robinson. If GM Tommy Sheppard knew he could get Robinson, a guy the Wizards liked in the 2018 draft, for Thomas, then Jordan McRae because dispensible. However, the point guard position was then thing without IT. But not with Shabazz Napier. Savvy move by Sheppard.

I give it a C+ not because it’s a bad trade, but because it’s a boring trade. And because I’m going to miss watching McRae get buckets.