Washington Wizards
After an NBA offseason full of trade rumors circulating around the Houston Rockets and their MVP players in Russell Westbrook and James Harden, the Rockets finally gave in and decided to ship Westbrook to the Washington Wizards to pair with Bradley Beal.
From the Wizards’ perspective, this is a great trade for them for a couple of reasons. While it may be sad to see John Wall go, as he has spent 10 years as a member of the Wizards organization, he was a major liability both player-wise and financially for Washington.
Wall is owed a little bit over $130M over the course of the next three seasons, assuming he opts into his player option for the 2022-23 season worth $47.4M. For a player that has not stepped on the court since December of 2018, this was a major risk by the Wizards to keep him, and flipping him for a player like Westbrook makes complete sense.
Not only does Russell Westbrook have a strong relationship with Wizards head coach Scott Brooks, as he played for him for 6 seasons with the OKC Thunder, but Westbrook’s contract is almost identical to Wall’s, making the financials match up, and you know what you are getting with him.
Now, all the Wizards need to be a threat in the Eastern Conference is a reliable center. Thomas Bryant has been solid early on in his career and while he can definitely continue to improve into a stretch big man, the Wizards must pursue a veteran and proven big man who can contribute immediately.
Karl-Anthony Towns being paired up with Russell Westbrook and Bradley Beal would pole vault the Wizards into contention in the Eastern Conference and give them an All-Star caliber trio for the next several years. This Wizards franchise has gone from bottom-of-the-pack to being a legit playoff team in the Eastern Conference and all they need is a legit big man in the frontcourt to solidify themselves as a threat in the East.
Towns is the big man the Wizards need and they could potentially make this trade work given that it is a multi-team deal. Since the Minnesota Timberwolves would likely not want to receive four players in return, the Wizards would have to find other potential suitors for guys like Ish Smith and Robin Lopez in order to free up the cap room to bring in Towns and his $30M per year contract.
Acquiring an All-Star center like Karl-Anthony Towns would completely shake up the Eastern Conference and make the Washington Wizards a legit threat. This Wizards organization is all-in on winning immediately and by trading for Towns, they would maximize their chances to win a title with Russ and Beal in the backcourt.
