The Washington Wizards offseason has involved several roster moves that has completely reshaped the depth chart heading into the 2025-26 season.
However, throughout the variety of moves general manager Will Dawkins has made this offseason, perhaps the biggest win of them all is the move he didn't make.
Entering the offseason, Malcolm Brogdon was set to be an unrestricted free agent and after a disastrous season in Washington, the Wizards had the chance to bring the guard back and try one last time for the playmaker to be the veteran presence they traded for him to be just one offseason prior.
Instead, Washington opted to try their hand at another veteran addition filling that role trading for CJ McCollum in one of the first blockbuster trades of the offseason.
Allowing for Brogdon to test his value on the open market, it became evident after months of waiting that the biggest loser of the Wizards and Trail Blazers deal from last offseason was neither Washington or Portland, but instead Brogdon himself.
Following the Wizards' failure to trade the guard ahead of the NBA trade deadline in February, it became clear that not only did Brogdon's inability to stay on the court offer little value to Washington, but nearly every team in the league.
As a former Sixth Man of the Year winner, Brogdon was once viewed as a playmaker that could be a huge boost off the bench or even a more than reliable starter.
Despite that, his inability to be relied on to stay healthy only added to team's ffears to acquire him in February.
Fast forward to this offseason, after months of waiting for an opportunity to present itself, Brogdon was forced to sign a one-year contract with the New York Knicks as training camp looms.
The problem? That contract didn't even guarantee him a spot on the hopeful contender's roster.
Instead, Brogdon signed a training camp deal that puts him. in position to have to earn his way on the roster.
From being viewed as one of the best bench playrs in the league and a positive impact player, to now being viewed as a risk to be on a roster, the biggest loser of the entire Wizards and Trail Blazers exchange has to be the veteran the deal was focused around.
Considering Portland landed a rising star in Deni Avdija, the Wizards acquired the pick to select Bub Carrington and now gets the financial freedom with Brogdon's contract off the books, it leaves the Virginia product with the worst end of this deal.