3. Washington Wizards
Much like the Phoenix Suns, the Washington Wizards were another team who was extremely busy this offseason trying to change their losing ways and make it back to the playoffs to end a two-year playoff hiatus. Washington made news this offseason when they traded for former league MVP Russell Westbrook, sending John Wall to the Rockets in the process.
Westbrook has been an All-Star in nine of the last 10 seasons and will be paired up with Bradley Beal in the backcourt. The Wizards have an extremely athletic and explosive scoring duo that should make a lot of noise in the Eastern Conference.
Davis Bertans gives the Wizards one of the best three-point shooters on the wing and rookie Deni Avdija looks to be a key player for this organization moving forward.
One of the Wizards’ strengths as a team last season was three-point shooting and adding Pelicans sharpshooter JJ Redick to the rotation makes them one of the top three-point shooting teams in the league. Bertans is a high-volume, 40% or better three-point shooter and Bradley Beal is a 38% three-point shooter for his career.
Adding Redick, one of the best three-point shooters in NBA history, gives the Wizards another shooting spark off the bench and could be the player that pushes them into the playoffs in the East. Washington is one of the younger teams in the league, with only five guys having five or more years of NBA experience, and adding a veteran scorer like Redick could be very beneficial.
Troy Brown Jr, Jerome Robinson, and Garrison Matthews are all promising young players on the Wizards roster and with a three-point specialist and veteran like Redick, they could learn a lot from him. Not only could Redick help this team win now and potentially make the playoffs in the Eastern Conference, but his presence would go a long way in the development of some young and talented players on this team.
The Wizards have the ability to make this trade happen with Redick’s contract only being $13 million this year and if they want to make the playoffs, they have to be willing to be aggressive on the trade market and bring in one more veteran scorer in the backcourt.
