The Washington Wizards have finally put the horrible last six months of the regular season in the past as they get the chance to put all of their focus into arguably the most pivotal offseason in franchise history.
Washington has plenty of roster decisions to make over the next couple of months. With multiple veterans that clearly don't have a future in D.C., the Wizards have multiple options at their disposal to use in any deal as the NBA Draft looms.
Considering the position the Wizards are in, they'll be rumored as a potential trade suitor in multiple secarios as the offseason continues.
And while the Wizards have shown the willingness to make moves over the last year, that doesn't mean they'll just make any deal. It has to make sense for Washington in terms of what they're giving up, and what they're getting in return.
That said, this hypothetical trade that Bleacher Report put together just absolutely makes no sense.
Wizards land Joel Embiid in mock trade
Bleacher Report's Andy Bailey took the time to mark up "5 Wild NBA trades that can happen right now" in a recent article.
Within the article, Bailey didn't take the word "wild" lightly as each trade seemed to be out of left field. And while all of the names mentioned are certainly players who could be dealt this offseason, the landing spots in which they were dealt too is the head scratcher.
However, the biggest head scratcher is having the Wizards linked to any of the names, let alone a 7-footer who can't seem to stay healthy for a full season.
Here's a look at Bailey's mock trade below:
In the deal, the Wizards would be able to offload the contracts of both Khris Middleton and Marcus Smart.
In addition, they'd be forced to offload two future first-round picks, which I can absolutely see them doing for the right player (say a Shai Gilgeous-Alexander-type player hit the market). However, for a 31-year-old, injury prone center, it's simply just not realistic.
Embiid entered the last two season with high expectations after an MVP season in 2023, where he averaged 33.1 points, 10.2 rebounds and 4.2 assists.
Since then, the Kansas product has played a total of 58 games in TWO seasons.
At the age where a big man's body truly starts to feel the wear and tear of their careers, it would be an all-time bad move for the Wizards of all teams to trade for Embiid, regardless of how good he is at full-health.