Why The Trade Would Benefit The Washington Wizards

The Washington Wizards have tried time-and-time again to build a winning team around Bradley Beal but simply lack the capability to do it. They already made a big move by sending John Wall away and another one could be on the horizon.

Bradley Beal has looked disgruntled at times this season even though he’s stated he remains committed to the organization. The Wizards need to just blow it up and start over before that’s no longer the case. This also includes sending Russell Westbrook away in this deal.

Jimmy Butler is a team leader that would give the Wizards a wing to keep them competitive. Washington would open up a lot of cap space in the offseason by moving on from Russell Westbrook’s contract and could begin to recruit talent to pair with Butler for the 2021-22 season.

In the meantime, the Wizards would be receiving some helpful veterans in Goran Dragic and Andre Iguodala to help field a competitive team around Jimmy Butler. No team is worse defensively than Washington this season and this move could be the start of an identity shift.

The Wizards could get creative with their roster construction around Jimmy Butler in the offseason with all the cap space they’d open up. Or Washington could let Butler shoulder a very high-usage role for the rest of the season to show off his scoring ability, then capitalize on a win-now team wanting an elite small forward by trading him in the offseason.