3 Washington Wizards who are expendable, and 2 they can’t afford to trade

The Washington Wizards are in the very early stages of a rebuild. A long, difficult road is ahead for the franchise before they can start feeling good about the future. That is the product of decades of mediocrity and prioritizing present-day successes over a long-term vision. Fortunately for the fanbase, however, the team finally has a vision and a plan thanks to the new front office. Now, they have to turn this vision into reality. Because in reality, the Washington Wizards are lacking in talent and high-end prospects. It's going to take some time to build this roster into a high-level NBA team.

In order to do that, certain decisions about individual players need to be made. One mistake a lot of teams make is that they overrate their own players, causing them to miss the bigger picture. If a front office drafts or trades for a player, they want that player to succeed, so they will have the utmost patience. But, it's important to know when to cut bait with your players or insist on keeping them around.

During a rebuild, the team's priority is asset maximization. Playing good basketball, being competitive, and having intriguing young players are nice, but the end goal is to find your core group that is going to lead you to being a contender. To find your core group, you need to maximize your assets. This means you have to accumulate as many draft picks and young players as possible. If you have more bites at the apple, you have a better chance of landing your franchise's next superstar.

That is why player evaluation is an extremely important part of a rebuild. If the Wizards are not convinced that a certain player can be a part of the next great Washington Wizards team, then they need to move on from them if they can get decent value in return. Unless a player has proven themselves to have the potential to be an integral part of the future of the franchise, they can be of greater value to the team as a trade asset.

Therefore, it's time to identify who is an indispensable part of the future of the Washington Wizards and who is expendable.