Washington Wizards ranked surprisingly low in HoopsHype asset rankings
In a recent article by Yossi Gozlan on HoopsHype every NBA team was ranked by strength of their trade assets. Despite having some strong trade assets, the Washington Wizards were ranked extremely low.
Some teams were to be expected with their placements. The Oklahoma City Thunder were ranked first, no surprise here as they have a ridiculous number of draft picks and some of the best young players in the league. The Chicago Bulls were ranked last, again nobody was surprised as the only great trade assets they have are Zach LaVine and Patrick Williams.
The Washington Wizards were only ranked 29th by HoopsHype despite their young talent
While the Washington Wizards may not have the best young talent or the greatest draft stockpile in the league, but they are far from the second worst in the league. They have plenty of vets with quality trade value for teams looking to bolster their depth at the deadline as well as some great young players.
Jordan Poole is easily their greatest trade asset despite being listed as their second-best. He averaged 20.4 points, 4.5 assists, and 2.7 rebounds per game. This is despite only playing 30 minutes per game, the least for any player averaging 20 or more points per game.
Poole is also only 24 years old and even with his shooting woes last season showed clear signs of improvement in many areas. He greatly improved at getting to the rim and finished with extremely good efficiency. He also improved as a playmaker as the season progressed as well. He should be set for a great season with the Wizards.
He is clearly a better trade asset than what he was given credit for, even if he had one bad playoff run after a turmoil filled season.
Even Kyle Kuzma has more trade value due to his contract than some injury prone stars like Kawhi Leonard. He is also still only 27 and is on a 4-year front-loaded contract. One of the best deals in the NBA right now.
They have more young talent and more draft picks than many of the teams listed above them including the LA Clippers and Los Angeles Lakers.
Even the Golden State Warriors who only have a few players with great trade value outside of Stephen Curry are listed significantly higher than the Wizards at 16th. That ranking is egregious, even with the greatest point guard of all time carrying their ranking.
Given the high ceilings of some young players on the roster, namely Bilal Coulibaly (19 years old) and Deni Avdija (22 years old), they should definitely be ranked higher. Both of these players are still on rookie contracts and could get a decent return at least due to their potential alone.
Even with their clear failures in recent drafts, they still deserve some kind of recognition for the young talent they do have on the roster.
While the Washington Wizards may not deserve to be in the top ten of this list, placing them at 29th in the NBA is a little absurd. They definitely have the youth, draft capital, and talent to at least be considered above some of the aging teams in the league.
