3 scenarios where the Wizards could be the middleman in a Kyrie Irving trade

The Washington Wizards are clearly in need of an upgrade in their roster. That’s no longer in question as they managed to blow back-to-back 20-point leads despite great play from their core guys.

First, Bradley Beal and Kristaps Porzingis combined for nearly 70 points while Kyle Kuzma had a near triple double. The next game, Deni Avdija and Porzingis both went off for monstrous all-around games, making a huge impact on both ends of the floor. The Wizards managed to lose both of these games.

It seems clear that they need to improve the supporting cast around these four guys along with Daniel Gafford as they are the clear-cut best players on the team. The bigger question up until recently has been how.

This question may have been answered Thursday afternoon as Kyrie Irving requested a trade and has likely played his last game for the Brooklyn Nets. There is plenty of potential for the Washington Wizards to make a move for the All-NBA caliber point guard, but let’s discuss rather, the potential of sneaking in as a third team.

With recent rumors that Irving is willing to sit out the rest of the season in order to get his way, the Nets may have to take what they can get. This gives the Wizards extra opportunity to sneak in and make a sneaky good deal.

Typically for middleman teams like the Wizards would be in this scenario, they give up a decent sized contract and maybe a pick or two for a much larger one, however, due to the cap scenario the Wizards are in and the Kyle Kuzma contract looming this offseason, they would likely have to match salary and give up more picks.

There is no shortage of teams interested in Kyrie Irving as they know the Nets will be desperate to get anything in return for their star guard. With that in mind, let’s take a look at some scenarios where the Wizards may be able to pull off a major steal in a trade.