The Monte Morris trade
Grade: C-
The most disappointing move of the summer for the Washington Wizards was the trade sending Monte Morris to the Detroit Pistons in exchange for a 2027 second-round pick.
The Wizards clearly prioritized clearing the books, gathering as many draft picks as possible, and opening up playing time for their young players. Especially after the addition of Tyus Jones, there was not enough playing time to go around to accommodate Monte Morris. It made sense to move on from him, but a single second-rounder is an underwhelming return for a very competent point guard.
Morris is an elite backup who many teams could have traded for during the season. The Wizards presumably would have done better at the trade deadline than this package. It’s certainly hard to do worse, especially considering the Wizards owe two second-round picks to the Detroit Pistons in the 2024 and 2025 drafts. Not getting at least one of those back is disappointing.
Not getting any salary back in this deal is certainly positive. However, if Washington wasn’t getting the draft picks they desired, at least getting one young low-level prospect that they could have tried to develop would have been preferable.
Maybe the Wizards wanted to do Monte Morris a solid by letting him play for his hometown team if he wasn’t going to be part of the rotation in Washington. Still, it’s hard to imagine the Wizards couldn’t have gotten a better return here.
Washington Wizards: Four potential in-season trades to continue rebuilding
Washington Wizards are likely not done reshaping their roster. They will be active in-season to trade their veteran players. Here are four potential deals.