It’s the NBA All-Star break. And it’s a great time for us to catch up on the Wizards, the trade deadline and more.
We’re back for the latest installment of Broom & Rubinstein converse — a running series of written conversations between Bullets Forever writers Kevin Broom and Yanir Rubinstein. If you like nerds discussing hoops — this one’s for you, as well as for all your friends, followers, and family.
For previous installments of B&RC check out: July 2019 — part I, part II, April 2020 and May 2020, July 2020, August 2020, February 2021, November 2021, December 2021, April 2023, June 2023, September 2023.
YANIR RUBINSTEIN: We had to provide some content during All-Star Break.
KEVIN BROOM: It was time.
YR: Well, I guess it is better than watching the All-Star game…
KB: We’ll see…
YR: Please correct me if I’m right, but isn’t Tyus Jones’ contract about to expire, which means he will become a free agent?
KB: Right, you’re wrong. I mean, right.
YR: Thank you sir. So why on Earth is he still on the Wizards?
KB: Apparently, all it took was meh offers and Jones telling the Washington Wizards he wanted to stay. Same for Kyle Kuzma, according to reports.
YR: I just don’t get it. Tyus is 27 years old. His next contract will be right through his prime. Why would he want to spend it here, in a non-playoff team for the foreseeable future?
KB: Different things motivate different people. Jones was a backup for the first several years of his career. With the Wizards, he gets to start, play his game, and make tens of millions of dollars to do it. Plus, he’d remain on the “trade to a good team” list in the future. Also, he’s playing the best ball of his career this season.
YR: Which brings me to the next topic — what is the long-term plan for guys like Kuzma, Deni Avdija, and Jordan Poole (I was going to include Delon Wright, but thankfully he just got bought out)? I mean I can understand the latter isn’t movable given his spectacularly bad play and contract, but I thought Avdija and Kuzma’s contracts were very tradeable. No one really wants 2024 picks because this draft class is expected to be notoriously weak, but I’m sure the Wizards could have gotten picks for other years. Or, correct me if I’m right again…
KB: This year’s draft is supposed to be bad. I’ve heard “historically bad,” which seems amazingly on brand for this franchise to get a top pick. As for long-term plans, my guess is they’ll trade Kuzma this summer or before the next trade deadline, and they’ll try to rehab Poole’s value until they can trade him.
Avdija is more interesting — he was tougher to trade up to the deadline because of the so-called poison pill rules. He’s also improved significantly this season. He’s stronger, shooting better, more aggressive. He could be playing his way into being someone they want to keep around. Especially on what could be a bargain contract.
YR: What are the poison-pill rules?
KB: Basically, his salary counts at one amount going out and a different amount to the team receiving him. It’s complicated.
YR: I see. It’s about players who sign extensions to their rookie-scale contract and get traded before the extension kicks in. It pretty much makes trading Avdija before July 1 impossible, not just difficult! I mean his outgoing salary counts as $6 million and change, while his incoming salary would count as over $12 million.
KB: Your google machine works!
YR: And…pretty much same question as for Tyus Jones: why would Avdija want to stay instead of play competitive ball somewhere else?
KB: It’s a good question, but maybe he just likes it in Washington? He signed a team-friendly deal that (at the time he signed it) at least conveyed a willingness to spend five more years with the team. And give him credit, he’s worked on his game and body, and he’s getting an opportunity to do more with the Wizards than he’d likely get anywhere else.
YR: What’s your overall grading of the Wizards moves and non-moves this trade deadline?
KB: Without knowing what was on the table, it was kinda okay. I thought they did a reasonable trade involving Daniel Gafford. The deal they made for Marvin Bagley and seconds was excellent. It’s tough to judge the trades they didn’t make, though based on reporting, I think it would’ve been smarter to take four seconds for Jones and the first for Kuzma. Or the two firsts for Kuzma, if that was a real offer.
What were your thoughts?
YR: I thought the Gafford trade was excellent. But I found it incredibly disappointing that they didn’t trade Kuzma or Tyus Jones.
Overall, I find it disappointing that among all the young and tanking teams, the Wizards are the only one with no interesting young stars or any kind of reasons for optimism currently on the roster. Among all such teams the horizon for the Wizards looks the bleakest. And the owner is trying to move the team and generally views the team as part of a real-estate portfolio with no connection to the city or the fans. That’s sad.
KB: It’s staggering how badly they’ve been managed the past several years. They handcuffed the franchise by not trading Bradley Beal when he was at maximum value and then giving him that idiotic no-trade clause. They’re going to have to acquire and manufacture reasons for hope at this point.
YR: I know this is not directly related to the deadline, but it kind of is, tangentially. Do you understand why Poole wasn’t benched long ago? The more you play Poole the more his value drops. I mean what was the deal with that 0 point and 6 foul game? I realize that they want to rehab his trade value, but at some point you got to just give up on the guy: he clearly doesn’t enjoy being in DC and wants out. And he’s taking shots and minutes from young guys that should have been brought here in trades, or through other channels, such as the G-league or 10-day contracts.
KB: I’m astonished at how bad Poole’s been, and I was relatively down on him when they got him from the Golden State Warriors in the deal that sent Beal to the Phoenix Suns. You’ve made good points for why they should bench him. On the other hand, he’s been good in the recent past, and it’s not like he’s really blocking anyone.
YR: That 0 point, 6 foul game was recent… But I guess he did have a appearances that resemble a professional basketball player…
KB: I should have said “recent seasons.” Anyway, Coulibaly, Corey Kispert, Avdija, Jones, even Landry Shamet are getting plenty of minutes. I guess they could try Johnny Davis, but Davis has been terrible, even in the G League. This loops back to your point about how little worthwhile young talent they have.
YR: Yeah, exactly. They should have brought 3-4 young prospects in trades for Jones and Kuzma. For that matter, also in a trade for Delon Wright (who they only managed to waive, #SoWizards). Then there would be good reasons to bench Poole. But even in a vacuum I’d bench Poole. Have him come off the bench.
KB: I’d have no problem with that. Just a guess, but they may be trying to manage his emotions by keeping him in the lineup. His repeated failures this season — after all the talk about this being his own team and him leading the league in scoring — have to be crushing. Perhaps they’re trying to show him they still believe in him and think he’s going to be good. That’s okay for now because they don’t really have anyone else. But something has to give at some point. They can’t keep him in the lineup if he’s playing like this. Not if they ever hope to be a winner.