Washington Wizards: 3 players that need to step up with Deni Avdija out

Washington Wizards that need to step up: Chandler Hutchison

In case you forgot, two players came to Washington from Chicago at the trade deadline. Daniel Gafford has been incredible, but Chandler Hutchison also joined the Washington Wizards at the deadline.

When he arrived, he was thrown into the rotation pretty quickly and averaged more than 9 minutes per game in his first five games with the Wizards. After that, though, Hutchison was rarely seen. After those five games, Hutchison recorded eight DNP’s over the next nine games. Apparently, the coaching staff didn’t seem to like what they saw from Hutchison early on.

However, with Advija out, Hutchison will need to step up. In the win over the Thunder, Hutchison made his first appearance in nearly two weeks. But after playing eight minutes in the first half, Hutchison was on the floor for just one minute in the second half.

The wing depth will be crucial for the Wizards as they try to fill the gap left by Avdija. We’ve seen Brooks go with the “hot hand” approach a lot this season, whether it be on the wing or at center. I wouldn’t be surprised if he does the same with the committee of wings to close the season. Eventually, Hutchison needs to be the hot hands, or the only player we’ll remember from the deadline deal will be Daniel Gafford.