Washington Wizards should take advantage of the prospect surplus in Oklahoma City
By Cem Yolbulan
As part of their rebuild, the Washington Wizards are in an asset-gathering mode. In the first year or two of a rebuild, it’s crucial to collect as many draft picks and young players with potential as possible to increase your team’s chance of landing starter-caliber players. Giving another chance to prospects who can’t find enough playing time on their current team is a great way to find value on the margins. One team that is a good candidate to have plenty of young and acquirable talent is the Oklahoma City Thunder.
The OKC Thunder has one of the best young cores in the league. Having already exceeded expectations last season with a play-in berth, they are ready to take the next step with the addition of Chet Holmgren and the internal development of their players.
The OKC Thunder have the deepest young core in the league
Not only does OKC have one of the best young cores in terms of high-end talent, but they also have the deepest rotation of young players in the NBA. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Josh Giddey, Jalen Williams, and Chet Holmgren are high-level star potentials, while Lu Dort, Ousmane Dieng, Jaylin Williams, and Cason Wallace project to be at least rotation-level players for a long time.
This is already a solid, deep rotation. However, they also have plenty of talented players who don’t project to be part of their rotation in the 2023-24 season. In fact, the Thunder currently have the maximum allowed number of 21 players on their books. They will need to cut this down to 15 guaranteed, and 3 two-way contracts before the season starts.
There are plenty of intriguing young players who won’t crack the OKC rotation
Players that can be traded or waived to meet the roster requirements before the regular season include a number of intriguing players.
Aleksej Pokusevski, Tre Mann, Vasilije Micic, Aaron Wiggins, Kenrich Williams, TyTy Washington, Usman Garuba, and Jeremiah Robinson-Earl could all be acquirable for cheap as these players don’t have a clear path to playing time.
Obviously, a few of the players mentioned above will be a part of the Thunder rotation but the rest are presumably movable as OKC will want to clear up rotation minutes for players they will strongly about.
Wizards could try to develop the prospects that are lower on OKC’s pecking order
TyTy Washington and Usman Garuba especially are fascinating targets for the Wizards. Considering that the Thunder didn’t draft them, they might be more gettable for Washington. Garuba’s switchability on the defensive end could bring a skill set that doesn’t exist on the current Wizards roster.
Pokusevski is another player that deserves a fresh start and a second chance. He showed intriguing development last season before missing the majority of the season with an injury. He is still only 21 years old, and his on-ball skills as a 7-footer could make him a fascinating project for the Wizards. Now that he is lower on the pecking order in Oklahoma City, he may have low enough of a trade value.
The Thunder especially have a surplus of backcourt players. They will likely want to move on from some of their guards who don’t have a path to playing time. Even though the Wizards have a logjam in the backcourt as well, it can’t hurt to bring in young talent on the cheap.
With that in mind, Isaiah Joe with his shooting, and Tre Mann with his creation and shotmaking, could also be solid pieces for Washington if they indeed get squeezed out of the Thunder rotation.
The relationship between the two front offices is a big advantage
One advantage to working with the Thunder is the fact that the Wizards GM Will Dawkins and team president Michael Winger have excellent relationships with the organization. They both worked in Oklahoma City and under their GM Sam Presti for a long time, and they know the young players on the team since they helped draft many of them.
This makes the Oklahoma City Thunder a prime trade partner for the Washington Wizards. Let’s hope the front offices work together to find a solution that works for both teams.
