The Washington Wizards are surely going to be one of the more active teams at the trade deadline. With February 8, 2024 deadline looming, the Wizards have too many veterans that could help good teams on their roster. Considering where the 3-15 Wizards are as a team, it makes no sense for them to hold onto the older players who could beget future assets in a potential trade. That's why they are a likely candidate to engage in multiple deals to fill their asset drawer at the deadline.
The latest reporting from Michael Scotto of HoopsHype supports this claim. In his article highlighting the most likely trade candidates for each team, Scotto identifies four Wizards players: Delon Wright, Landry Shamet, Danilo Gallinari, and Mike Muscala. This is in line with previous reporting regarding the Wizards front office fielding calls on these veterans.
As Scotto points out, moving on from these players shouldn't be too challenging. Wright, Gallinari, and Muscala are on reasonable, expiring contracts. Matching salaries shouldn't be too big of a problem considering their contract situations. Shamet may be a bit more difficult as he is making $11 million this season. However, the next two years of his deal are non-guaranteed, so the team who acquires him could easily get out of his contract if they wanted to.
Unfortunately for Washington, none of these players is likely to bring super valuable assets. Gallinari and Muscala are likely only deep bench pieces on good teams at this stage of their careers due to their defensive limitations. It's hard to see any team giving up more than a second-round pick and matching salary for either of them.
Wright presumably should have more of a trade market. A capable bench combo guard and an excellent defensive player, Wright can help plenty of contenders. There are, however, some injury concerns with him that could prevent teams from giving up too much for him. The Wizards should be thrilled if they can receive multiple second-round picks.
Shamet has been playing well for Washington this season. He is a good shooter off the bench who can help playoff teams. However, he is overpaid for a player of his profile and caliber. Teams will likely think twice before coughing up a solid asset for him. Second-round picks plus a bad salary is presumably the best the Wizards can do.
The Washington Wizards need to get whatever they can from these players in trades. As impactful as some have been in a Wizards uniform, there is no reason for them to play ahead of some of the younger players. Therefore, it behooves the Wizards front office to move on from them as soon as possible.