Why the Wizards should and should not trade for Kyrie Irving

Following the news from Friday afternoon that Kyrie Irving wants to be traded by the trade deadline on February ninth, there has been no shortage of speculation about where he will end up. One of the most interesting teams that nobody is talking about through all of this is the Washington Wizards.

Irving is having a career year this season, averaging 27.1 points, 5.3 assists, and 5.1 rebounds while helping lead the Brooklyn Nets to one of the best records in the league. Even following the injury to Kevin Durant, the Nets kept winning due to the stellar play of their point guard.

There will likely be numerous teams interested in the former champion as the league is in a year where the one seed and the 13 seed in the Western Conference are only separated by a huge hot streak. However, two of the top teams interested are the Mavericks and the Lakers who don’t have a lot of tradable assets that would interest the Nets.

This is where the Washington Wizards become interesting.

This is a team that has tradable assets like Will Barton, Kyle Kuzma, and even Bradley Beal to the right location. They could probably even be convinced to move Kristaps Porzingis or Deni Avdija for the right price.

They also have a motive to trade for Kyrie Irving. The Wizards have a lack of starting caliber point guards on the roster, seeing Monte Morris, post-injury Kendrick Nunn, and Jordan Goodwin as the only players who can play the one spot on the roster. Each one of these players would be a great second option for a fringe All-Star like Jamal Murray but aren’t great choices for a starting player.

Now let’s explore some of the reasons the Washington Wizards should roll the dice on Kyrie Irving and make the trade.