The NBA trade deadline is slowly approaching as team's prepare to gear up towards what could be a busy next few months.
Several teams are expected to be buyers ahead of February's deadline, but for team's like the Washington Wizards, many expect them to be sellers down the stretch.
With several trade candidates on the roster, Washington could be a team to monitor moving forward, especially looking at the heavy mixture of veteran pieces and young talent on the roster,
In a recent article from Bleacher Report's Grant Hughes, CJ McCollum was listed as the Wizards' most likely trade candidate.
"It's not easy to pick out destinations for a defensively challenged combo guard, even one that has scored as reliably as McCollum has throughout his career,"Hughes said. "But if he keeps up his current levels of production, efficiency and health, he might be moveable to a contender that sends back longer-term money with a draft asset attached."
And while that seems like like a promising note for fans hoping Washington can offload the veteran, it's important to pump the brakes on how realistic a deal may be.
Offloading CJ McCollum won't be that easy
As mentioned by Hughes, the Wizards could be lucky enough to find a desperate contender willing to make a move to land McCollum ahead of the deadline
Sending long-term money and draft capital could be an enticing package for Washington, who's made it clear over the last couple years that in addition to financial flexbility, the Wizards are coveting draft capital and young prospects throughout their rebuild.
However, the team has also made it a point that veterans are a focus for thei rebuild and with a player like McCollum, although they may want his contract off the books, they won't give him up for a negative return.
Washington could play the long game with the veteran playmaker and instead of focusing on offloading his contract, they could simply just choose to let him play out his expiring deal in Washington and use his money coming off the books as the financial freedom that allows them to be aggressive in the future.
As a result, the Wizards could be more focused on finding a way to move on from Khris Middleton, who's contract could be easier to offload when compared to McCollum's.
Washington very well could move McCollum, but there's also a chance he stays put in D.C. and it's important for fans to prepare for that possibility.