Washington Wizards: Four potential in-season trades to continue rebuilding

The Washington Wizards have taken major steps this offseason to reshape their roster. They traded away their veteran players Bradley Beal, Kristaps Porzingis, and Monte Morris while flipping the return of Chris Paul again for younger players. The Wizards are clearly trying to acquire younger players and draft assets to rebuild for the future.

This means they are likely not done retooling their roster. They still have a few players that are more valuable on playoff teams than they are on the Wizards. These are namely Delon Wright, Danilo Gallinari, and Landry Shamet.

Washington can potentially add more future draft picks to their asset cabinet by trading away these veterans. Wright and Gallinari are not only valuable contributors, but they are also on expiring contracts that could be helpful for a team trying to cut their tax bill for the future.

The Wizards might have to wait for the season to start to trade these players. With the trades and free agent signings of the summer, many players are ineligible to be traded for a few months. This includes Landry Shamet.

Moreover, there is a benefit to the Wizards waiting and trading them mid-season. This way, Gallinari can demonstrate that he is back in full health after missing all of last season. He is also in his mid-30s, so teams would presumably want to see his playing level before giving up assets for him. The same is true for the 31-year-old Wright who missed plenty of games last season due to injury.

The Washington Wizards are likely not getting any game-changers in these trades. Your franchise’s destiny is not going to be significantly altered by trading away Gallinari, Wright, or Shamet. But, anything helps in the asset-gathering mode that the Wizards are currently in. Even a single draft pick may be more valuable for Washington than a few more months of veteran players.