The NBA Draft is less than a month away and the Washington Wizards currently stand firm with the No. 6 overall pick in the upcoming draft.
Washington entered the month of May with high hopes that they'd be able to win the Cooper Flagg sweepstakes. However, after their dreams quickly shaped out to be a nightmare falling out of the top five as a whole in the NBA Draft Lottery, the Wizards options for potential players to add became very limited.
Looking ahead, the Wizards can either stand pat at No. 6 and select the best player available when it's their time to pick, OR they could make a bold move to trade up a few spots and go after a player of their choosing.
Washington has the assets to get a deal done, but it has to be worth the risk for general manager Will Dawkins to be aggressive in the pursuit of a particular player.
You may be wondering: what would it take for the Wizards to trade into the top five?
Fortunately, Joshua Valdez of ClutchPoints put together a couple of potential packages for the Wizards to slot into the top five.
Let's take a look at the potential deals and judge whether the benefits are worth the risks.
Wizards blockbuster trade ideas
Ahead of the Wizards are the Utah Jazz at No. 5 overall, the Charlotte Hornets at No. 4 and the Philadelphia 76ers at No. 3.
Obviously, the Dallas Mavericks and San Antonio Spurs hold the top two picks, but the price for a team to trade up to this area is likely far more than a team like the Wizards could afford.
To leap the Jazz and potentially select a top player of the Wizards choice, Washington will likely need to get somewhere in the 3-4 range. For that to happen, they'd have to find a way to sweeten the pot for a team like the 76ers or Hornets to bite on a potential deal.
That said, here's a look at how a potential deal with the Sixers could look according to Valdez:
Wizards get:
- No. 3 overall pick
76ers get:
- No. 6 overall pick
- No. 40 pick (via PHX)
- 2026 first-round pick (worst of LAC, HOU or OKC)
- 2026 second-round pick
This deal would essentially allow for the Wizards to move into the top three to be guarenteed a player like Ace Bailey or VJ Edgecombe, if they consider them the top available players (assuming Cooper Flagg and Dylan Harper are off the board).
In addition to landed a Bailey/Edgecombe, Washington would still manage to keep the No. 18 overall pick to make another selection in the back half of the first round this season.
So is losing a future first and second round pick worth landing a player of this caliber?
Verdict: Yes
However, if the 76ers aren't willing to play ball, the Wizards could turn their attention to the Hornets and the No. 4 overall pick.
Here's how a potential deal could look:
Wizards get:
- No. 4 overall pick
- Grant Williams
Hornets get:
- No. 6 overall pick
- No. 40 overall pick
- 2029 first-round pick
- Saddiq Bey
- Colby Jones
This deal would essentially cost the Wizards their second round pick, a future first and two players for them to leapfrog the Utah Jazz and take the remaining player of Bailey/Edgecombe, assuming that's who they'd be moving up for.
It's interesting to wonder if the Hornets would take Bailey at No. 4 if he's available with Brandon Miller already on the roster, but with how today's NBA is centered around elite wings, it wouldn't be a shock to see that happen.
Same with the Jazz who is ran by both Danny Ainge and Austin Ainge, who Boston Celtics' fans thank for granting them the star duo of Jaylen Brown and Jayson Tatum.
However, would it be worth moving off of Saddiq Bey who the team signed in free agency following his ACL injury?
Verdict: Yes, depending on who's available at No. 4 when it's time to select.