Grade the trade proposal: Washington Wizards land all-around Rockets wing
By Cem Yolbulan
In his latest reporting, Mike Scotto of HoopsHype reported that the Washington Wizards are listening to offers on Delon Wright, Danilo Gallinari, and Landry Shamet. Zach Buckley of Bleacher Report identified Delon Wright as a potential trade target for the Houston Rockets. The Washington Wizards have 16 guaranteed contracts on their roster and have to move a player before the season opener. Delon Wright is a 31-year-old veteran on an expiring contract. All of this indicates a high likelihood of a Wright trade before the season starts.
A good leader and a high-character player, every team in the NBA would want to have Delon Wright on their roster. He is a culture-setter who plays with effort and discipline. And he is on a reasonable, expiring contract. The Wizards will almost certainly have some offers if they are willing to move on from him.
The Houston Rockets are a natural destination for Wright. A team that is desperate to change the organizational culture and bring in positive influences for their young players, the Rockets and Wright are an ideal fit. Wright’s ability to play next to Fred VanVleet or Jalen Green makes him a good on-court fit as well.
The Rockets also have plenty to offer the Wizards. As Scotto’s reporting suggests, Wright should be acquirable for two second-round picks. Houston has draft picks to offer Washington but they don’t have dead matching salary. Instead, they can give the Wizards one of their productive players that Washington might be interested in.
What makes sense financially and on-court for both teams is a trade that looks like this:
The Wizards get a 27-year-old combo forward who can help them defensively. Jae’Sean Tate is undersized but he plays bigger than his size, competes hard, and can guard multiple positions. His shot is a weakness but considering that the Wizards aren’t losing much shooting with Wright anyway, it shouldn’t make too big of a difference.
This trade balances out both rosters as well. It helps solve the guard logjam for Washington while adding much-needed frontcourt depth. It also opens up even more playing time in Houston for the likes of Cam Whitmore, Tari Eason, and Amen Thompson.
Another alternative to this trade would be getting Jock Landale from Houston instead of Tate. However, the Rockets would presumably be less willing to part ways with him considering that they just signed him this offseason and foresee him as their primary backup center. The Wizards should still keep that in mind as an option if they want to expand the deal to include more players.
