The Washington Wizards have pulled off one of the best pieces of business in recent memory. Last week, the Wizards greenlit a trade that sent Russell Westbrook to the Los Angeles Lakers. In exchange, they got Kyle Kuzma, Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, and Montrezl Harrell. The trade works out well for both teams. The Lakers got their third superstar, whereas the Wizards got several players who can become key figures next season. But the Wizards have done more work to expand this deal, and make sure that they get even more compensation for losing Russell Westbrook in the offseason.
Here is what the 5 teamer looks like
To WASH
Kuzma
KCP
Harrell
Dinwiddie
A. Holiday
Rights to I. Todd (#31)
To LAL
Westbook
To BKN
2024 2nd
2025 2nd (right to swap with GSW or WAS)
$11.5M Trade Exception
To IND
Rights to I. Jackson (#22)
To SAS
C. Hutchison
2022 2nd (WAS)
— Bobby Marks (@BobbyMarks42) August 4, 2021
The Wizards involved three more teams to make this a five-team trade. The deal now involves the Wizards, the Lakers, the Nets, the Pacers, and the Spurs. Each side has been able to leverage some assets to use to build their team. The Wizards have also acquired Spencer Dinwiddie from the Nets, Aaron Holiday from the Indiana Pacers, and Isaiah Todd, the 31st overall pick from the 2021 NBA Draft initially selected by Milwaukee Bucks before being traded to the Pacers.
The Lakers still keep Russell Westbrook and didn’t get any additional assets. The Brooklyn Nets got two second-round picks from 2024 and 2025, along with their $11.6 trade exception which they can use in the free-agent market. The Pacers got Isaiah Jackson, the 22nd overall pick from this year’s draft, which the Wizards got from the Lakers. And as for the San Antonio Spurs, they got Chandler Hutchinson from the Wizards and a second-round pick from the 2022 NBA Draft.
The Wizards have clearly gotten the best out of this deal. They were able to secure six solid players in exchange for an aging Russell Westbrook. Whereas the rest of the teams got assets that they can use in the open market for a trade or build their team in the future. It will be interesting to see how the Wizards use their haul in the future before the beginning of the new season.
