Wizards suggested top free agency & trade target doesn’t make any sense

The Washington Wizards are getting set to enter free agency with no real roster needs to address. The team should be solely focused on improving their young talent rather than improving overall.

Obviously, they could use some center depth, three-point shooting, and forward play, but considering they are set to tank next year, they don’t necessarily need to add anything this summer.

However, Washington will obviously scour the market to see if there are any players they can sign that would make sense for their team moving forward.

Bleacher Report recently put out a list of free-agent targets for every team in the NBA, and for the Wizards, they chose Dallas Mavericks guard Jaden Hardy.

But that doesn’t make any sense.

Jaden Hardy doesn't make sense as a Wizards trade target

Hardy is only 21 years old and has put up some solid seasons with the Mavericks, leaving hope in the air that he could become a potential star-level guy at the NBA level.

The youngster is a quality scorer and has shown a ton of promise as a ball-handler, but he just doesn’t make sense as a Wizards target for a multitude of reasons.

First and foremost, there is no realistic way for the Wizards to acquire him. The Mavericks almost certainly want to keep him around, and unless the Wizards want to dangle Kyle Kuzma in front of their face in hopes of prying him away, they probably can’t get Dallas to bite.

But on top of that, the Wizards are pretty set at the guard position. Jordan Poole had a rough year, and he’s probably not a part of the Wizards’ long-term plans, but he’s still going to eat up minutes. They should be looking to re-sign Tyus Jones, too.

Most importantly, however, the Wizards selected Pittsburgh guard Bub Carrington with the 14th pick in the 2024 NBA Draft, and they should give him a ton of minutes to help him develop.

Adding Hardy to the mix could only end up taking away from Carrington’s minutes, and while they could probably coexist on the court, Washington may be better off just investing all of their time into Carrington.