The Washington Wizards have made countless questionable decisions over the last few years.
Starting with the decision to trade away John Wall to the Houston Rockets in a blockbuster trade that landed Russell Westbrook in Washington. Obviously the decision to trade Wall was a two-way street as the guard seemingly became unhappy with the Wizards.
Fast forward to the Wizards trading away Russell Westbrook to the Los Angeles Lakers in July of 2021 as the NBA Draft loomed. Moving Westbrook wasn't the questionable part of the deal, but the returning players in the deal was the questionable part of the decision,
In addition, trading away Kristaps Porzingis and Bradley Beal may have been an even more head scratcher and like the deals before, it's not about the fact that they decided to trade these star players away, but it's more so about what they got in return.
However, that's besides the fact. This article is about the most recent questionable decision that Washington made and how the regret is already starting to present itself.
Deni Avdija is thriving in Portland
Deni Avdija was selected by the Wizards with the No. 9 overall pick in the 2020 NBA Draft. The versatile forward spent four seasons in Washington, where he showed improvement in each season. The wing seemed like he could be a key piece for the Wizards long-needed rebuild, but the team undoubtedly had other plans.
Last offseason, Washington made the decision to trade Avdija away to the Portland Trail Blazers in a draft night deal that ultimately landed them the draft pick to select Bub Carrington and veteran guard Malcolm Brogdon.
Avdija even opened up about how the trade caught him off guard as he was just as surprised as the Wizards fanbase. Despite that, the overseas product put in the work and he's now being considered one of the best contracts in the NBA as a whole following his breakout year with the Trail Blazers.
Through 72 games and 54 starts with the Trail Blazers this season, the 24-year-old is averaging 16.9 points, 7.3 rebounds and 3.9 assists, while shooting 47.6% from the field goal range and 36.5% from three, including four straight 30 point games for Portalnd over the team's recent stretch.
All things considered, it's safe to say that the Wizards may have given up on the young forward a bit too soon as he continues to look like a rising star in the Western Conference.