The busiest time of the offseason may be over, but the teams around the NBA are not done reshaping their rosters. This includes the Washington Wizards.
After starting the offseason with a flurry of trades that included Bradley Beal, Kristaps Porzingis, and Monte Morris, the news out of Washington has slowed down. However, there are still plenty of trade rumors going around that involve the Washington Wizards.
The most likely trade candidates on the Wizards are the older players that don’t fit the rebuilding timeline. These players include Delon Wright, Danilo Gallinari, Mike Muscala, as well as Tyus Jones and Landry Shamet, depending on the direction the Wizards choose to go.
These players fit on a playoff team better than they do on a young, rebuilding team.
Gallinari and Muscala presumably don’t want to spend their last few years in the NBA on a team with no hopes of contending. Wright and Tyus Jones are on expiring contracts and the Wizards may prefer to get assets in return for them before they become free agents. Shamet may have interested playoff teams that need his sharpshooting.
These players aren’t going to swing a championship, but they are more than capable of filling holes on good teams. If they are combined with one another or other assets, they could net the Wizards valuable draft picks or young players.
Tyus Jones and Delon Wright hold the most trade value out of all these players. Jones could presumably bring a first-round pick or equal value in a deal, while Wright can bring in a few second-rounders.
The latest trade idea involving Washington came from the Bleacher Report, and it acknowledges the trade value of Tyus Jones. It helps solve the guard logjam in Washington while adding intriguing young players into the mix. Let’s get into the details of the proposed deal.
Wizards receive: Jonathan Isaac, Chuma Okeke, Detroit’s 2026 second-round pick
Magic Receive: Tyus Jones, Mike Muscala
The deal proposed by the Bleacher Report has Tyus Jones and Mike Muscala head to Orlando while Washington receives Jonathan Isaac, Chuma Okeke, and a second-round pick. This is a high-risk, high-reward type of deal for the Wizards.
For Orlando, Jones fills in an immediate need. They have a surplus of young guards like Jalen Suggs, Markelle Fultz, and Anthony Black, but none of them has the experience or the shooting that Tyus Jones possesses. For now, they are all defense-first athletic guards. They need a table-setting floor general if they want to take a step forward next season. Jones not only provides that, but he can also be a mentor to their young guards.
Muscala also fits in Orlando as a floor-spacing center. As an excellent shooter for a big man, Muscala will make things easier for the likes of Franz Wagner, Paolo Banchero, and Anthony Black.
In return, the Wizards get Jonathan Isaac, whose star doesn’t shine as bright as it once did. Dealing with recurring injuries, Isaac has only played in 11 games in the last three seasons. However, he is only 25 years old and displayed intriguing length, athleticism, and defense when he was available. He could be a rehabilitation project for the Wizards.
Chuma Okeke is another defensive-minded combo forward. And just like Isaac, he is likely to get squeezed out of Orlando’s slew of frontcourt talent. He would likely get more playing time in Washington as the Wizards need size and athleticism in their forward positions. The 24-year-old Okeke has shown intriguing defensive playmaking ability in his three years with the Magic.
Additionally, the Wizards receive Detroit’s 2026 second-round pick. Considering where the Pistons are as a franchise, that has the potential to be a valuable pick in the first half of the second round.
Grade: A-
This is certainly not a bad return for the Washington Wizards for a player who is on an expiring contract and can leave next summer. Tyus Jones is a valuable point guard but whether it makes sense for Washington to give him a multi-year contract next year is an open question. So, getting two prospects with the potential to be rotation-level players is a worthy return for the Wizards.
The main downside of this trade is the possibility of injuries. Isaac is one of the most injury-prone players in the league, while Okeke has constantly been dealing with knee injuries since he came into the league in 2019, including a torn ACL. Okeke has only played in 142 games in three seasons for the Magic. Despite this number being much higher than Isaac, it’s still far less than ideal.
Because of the injuries to both Isaac and Okeke, it’s hard to project their upside. The sample sizes on both players are too limited to make a reasonable prediction of the caliber of players they will be in a few years.
This can be seen as both a positive and a negative. If the injuries didn’t take too much away from their athleticism, they may still have untapped potential as defenders and playmakers. There is a reason both players were recent first-round picks. However, the negative aspect of this is the possibility that they will never reach their potential due to nagging injuries.
This is a low-floor, high-ceiling return for the Wizards. There is a chance that Washington ends up with nothing to show for in a year after this trade. Yet, there is also a chance that they end up with two high-level rotation players.
If you are willing to roll the dice on those chances, this is a great deal. If you are more risk-averse and prefer a lower-ceiling but higher-floor prospect, then you can probably do better than this package for Tyus Jones.