Washington Wizards: Updated look at lineups and rotations after the trade deadline

How will Chandler Hutchison factor into the Washington Wizards lineup?

How the Washington Wizards will use Chandler Hutchison is a little less obvious than how they’ll use Gafford. GM Tommy Sheppard said the Wizards brought Hutchison in for his defensive versatility and toughness. To his credit, Hutchison has shown he can be a solid wing defender during his limited time in the NBA, but we really haven’t seen much of him. Hutchison is in his third NBA season but has played fewer than 80 games in his career.

The person most likely to be affected by Hutchison’s arrival in Washington is Isaac Bonga. There’s no reason that Hutchison should be taking minutes from either Garrison Mathews or Deni Avdija, two younger players with higher upside. However, neither Mathews nor Avdija have proven to be reliable, impactful defenders. When the Wizards need a defensive boost off the bench, they’ve turned to Isaac Bonga despite the fact that no opposing team considers Bonga a threat on offense. Unfortunately, Hutchison isn’t a massive improvement over Bonga on the offensive end.

It doesn’t make much sense to have two decent defensive players that lack offensive ability on the floor. Neither are DPOY candidates, so their defense isn’t quite good enough to justify playing four-on-five on the other end. Keeping one on the roster in times of defensive need is fine. Keeping two doesn’t make sense, though, and playing both would make even less.

Bonga will be a restricted free agent at the end of the season, while Hutchison is due $4 million next season before hitting free agency in 2022. Time to figure out which, if either, is worth keeping in D.C.