The only Jordan Poole trade the Wizards can make this offseason

When the Washington Wizards traded for Jordan Poole last summer, it was a way to move on from Chris Paul while simultaneously taking a chance on a young player who needed a new situation.

Unfortunately, Poole didn’t end up playing as well as the Wizards might have hoped. In fact, he was one of the worst players in the league by most metrics.

The 24-year-old guard is under contract for three more years and is set to make $29.6 million, $31.8 million, and $34.0 million, respectively. It’s objectively a bad contract.

Washington could simply choose to eat his contract and let him go afterward, but his play could actively get in the way of the development of some of their players. Perhaps dumping him could be a better option.

But therein lies the problem. There are no teams that want Poole.

Poole might be on the worst contract in the NBA. Since there are three years left on his deal, any team taking it on would have to be willing to sit on it for that long. One sweep around the league reveals that there aren’t any teams who will be tanking for that long. Except for the Wizards.

That said, there is one deal that could save Washington.

According to KC Johnson of NBC Sports Chicago, the Chicago Bulls’ asking price in a potential Zach LaVine trade has significantly lowered. At this point, it’s looking like they could have to simply dump his salary.

That may be Washington’s only path out of having Poole on the roster long-term, and even then, they would probably have to concede some value.

Swapping out Poole, Landry Shamet, and a second-round pick for LaVine would be a frustratingly high price considering the Bulls star’s injury history, but perhaps Chicago would be interested.

For the Bulls, this deal would still see them have a large deal on the books for the next three years, but they would be spending significantly less money per year. But is that worth taking on Poole’s deal? Even if they would be getting a good second and some three-point shooting in Shamet?

However, is this even worth it for the Wizards? LaVine is a fine player, but he would probably make them better. He’s more comfortable playing off the ball, but with the Wizards, would he just want to take all the touches?

This trade is ugly, may not be worth it, and wouldn’t solve the Wizards’ problem of having a huge contract on the books. But it would get rid of Poole.

A Bradley Beal trade doesn't make sense for the Phoenix Suns because they would likely rather keep him. A Ben Simmons trade doesn't make sense for the Brooklyn Nets because he's entering the final year of his contract. No other teams should want him.