The Washington Wizards have plenty of roster decisions to make in the coming months, but with the NBA Draft looming, they could be poised to make the bulk of their decisions sooner rather than later; at least they should.
Heading into the draft, teams are beginning to talk as the offseason quickly approaches. General managers are checking in with position needy teams, conversations surrounding draft picks and available players are fully underway.
As conversations happen, reports from NBA Insiders begin to surface.
One report in specific that has caught the eyes of many is that the Wizards could be preparing to potentially trade Jordan Poole.
And if Washington's learned anything over the course of this past season, it may be that they cannot risk making the same mistake with Poole as they did with Kyle Kuzma.
Wizards must avoid making same mistake twice
When the Wizards has the chance to capitalize on Kyle Kuzma's trade value, they simply whiffed the opportunity.
Kuzma had put together an impressive stint of play for Washington heading into the 2024 NBA trade deadline.
Instead of trading Kuzma when they had the chance to land a solid package, the team's front office opted to let the forward decide if he would be traded or not. After the Utah product ultimately opted to stand pat in D.C., many believed the Wiz could just find a home for him in the future whether that be in the offseason or ahead of this past trade deadline for the same price or potentially better.
However, that idea completely went out the window when Kuzma's play undoubtedbly fell off a cliff to begin this season. Not only was the forward struggling to stay on the court, but when he was able to suit up, his inefficient play lost whatever leverage Washington had in any trade discussions.
Instead of maximizing his value, the Wizards were forced to let Kuzma go in a package with the Milwaukee Bucks that many deemed a head scratching move.
This time around, the Wizards have to make it a point of emphasis to avoid making that same mistake twice with Poole.
Coming off a career-best season with the Wizards, averaging 20.5 points, 4.5 assists and 3 rebound, while shooting 43.2% from the floor and 37.8% from beyond the arc, Poole's value is at an all-time high.
From being viewed as one of the worst contracts in the league at one time to now being considered a bargain on his current deal, desperate teams could be willing to pay whatever price the Wizards set to Poove the 25-year-old guard.
If the Wizards truly are set on moving Poole, they need to do it while other teams view his value highly.