Three trades the Washington Wizards should consider if they decide to tank
By Cem Yolbulan
The Washington Wizards could look to reunite with their former point guard to help kickstart the rebuild.
Yes, another Russell Westbrook trade with the Los Angeles Lakers. If it were to happen, the Washington Wizards would end up the winner of this one as well.
The Lakers have long been rumored to be interested in Bradley Beal to create a Big Three along with Lebron James and Anthony Davis. They are running out of time to pull the trigger on a move to get them back to championship contention. Lebron seems to be losing patience with the Lakers, so they are desperate to make a move at this deadline.
The two first-rounders into the future are all the Lakers can trade away. However, if the protections on these picks were non-existent or minimal, they could have a very high upside. Betting on the failure of a team that is as poorly managed as the Lakers is always a good idea. Just ask the New Orleans Pelicans, who drafted Dyson Daniels in 2022 with the 8th pick they received from the Lakers, and two more likely lottery picks coming in 2023 and 2024.
The Westbrook aspect of this trade is just salary fodder. The Wizards could buy him out and let him go to a contender, or just re-sign him to a reasonable contract when his contract expires this summer. At this stage of his career, Westbrook is not going to help you win too many games and compromise the tanking efforts.
Beal would need to sign off on this trade to happen, but it would be hard to imagine he would say no to the opportunity to play for the Los Angeles Lakers next to Lebron James and Anthony Davis.