1 Giant reason why Jimmy Butler trade rumors will help Wizards

The Washington Wizards are in a prime position to be flexible this summer. There are a number of different directions they could go in, but they don’t necessarily have to go down any one path in particular.

Washington could keep their roster and tank again in the same way for another year in hopes of landing Cooper Flagg at the top of next year’s draft. Or, they could ship out all of their semi-veterans and go full-on youth movement.

Realistically, either option would be fine for the Wizards, and it’s that flexibility that could make them a very useful team to work with for other squads around the league.

One rumor that is heating up (pun absolutely intended) is the idea that Jimmy Butler could be traded from the Miami Heat this summer after a very successful stint.

Jimmy Butler trade rumors could allow Wizards to facilitate deal with Heat using Kyle Kuzma

According to Howard Beck of The Ringer, Butler will get moved from Miami this offseason.

This is great news for the Wizards.

Most of the teams that could want to trade for Butler have a less-than-thrilling pool of assets to offer the Heat in a potential deal. That’s where the Wizards come in.

Let’s use the New York Knicks as a potential example. If they wanted to trade for Butler, Julius Randle would absolutely have to be in the deal. But is Randle a great fit with the Heat? Probably not.

Kyle Kuzma would be a much better fit, and the Wizards could step in, take on Randle’s contract, and perhaps add a pick in the process. And even if they don’t, Randle would be off the books a year sooner than Kuzma.

Next, how about the Los Angeles Lakers? Would the Heat want to take on some culmination of D’Angelo Russell, Rui Hachimura, Austin Reaves, and Jared Vanderbilt? They’d probably want Reaves, but who knows about the other guys?

Again, Kuzma could be used as a piece to flip in the then-three-team trade, helping Washington get back extra assets in return.

The same concept can be used with plenty of teams who want to trade for Butler, as they may not have pieces that interest Miami, who will likely still be looking to compete. Kuzma would help them do that.