5 Wizards players who could end up on a new team by the trade deadline
By Tyler Watts
4. Corey Kispert
The 2021 first-round pick is extension-eligible before the start of the regular season. They have not worked out a deal yet, but most believe it will happen. The 25-year-old has improved each year, and the Wizards would love to keep him long-term.
The extension will depend on Kispert’s asking price. Washington cannot afford to give him a massive deal. The contract should come out somewhere around the mid-level exception. Any more than that, and the Wizards should refuse.
If Kispert’s demands are too high, the franchise has three options. They can trade him now for a return, let him sign an offer sheet in the 2025 offseason, or work out a sign-and-trade next summer. The Wizards must match an offer sheet or lose Kispert with zero return. Letting talent go without compensation can be what makes a decade-long playoff drought.
This is a situation to watch as the regular season gets closer. The Wizards extended Deni Avdija just before the deadline in 2023. This could be a similar case as the two sides iron out the parameters.
The salary cap is expected to rise significantly over the next three seasons, so Kispert may try to hold off in hopes of getting more money. That could create a sticky situation for the franchise. Trading Corey Kispert before the deadline seems unlikely, but crazier things have and will happen in the NBA.