The Wizards made a trade on Wednesday to address some immediate needs. Now it looks like they might be interested in making a move to help their future.
Michael Scotto of Basketball Insiders is reporting the Wizards are trying to get a second round pick for Trey Burke, who will be a restricted free agent this summer.
Washington shopping Burke shouldn’t come as a surprise. He’s on an expiring deal, and they already have Tomas Satoransky as a long-term option behind John Wall. But, it’s interesting to see the Wizards trying to flip Burke for a second round pick rather than trying to package him with the second round pick they already have to go after a short-term upgrade. This could speak to a few things:
- Washington may feel confident they can sign a free agent after the deadline — like Mario Chalmers, Jarrett Jack, or Jordan Farmar — who can provide similar value without giving up their pick.
- The Wizards may feel like some of the backup point guards on the trade market (Darren Collison, Brandon Jennings, Deron Williams, etc.) won’t be able to fetch a draft pick. If so, they might be able to sign them after the trade deadline when they’re presumably bought out.
- Now that the team has Bojan Bogdanovic to lighten the load offensively for Tomas Satoransky, maybe they think they’re set enough at the position they don’t need to make a move.
Now, this all could just be posturing on Washington’s to see if they can get one of their trade targets to lower their asking price before the deadline. But if it isn’t, shopping for a second round pick isn’t a terrible idea. With Otto Porter and Bojan Bogdanovic approaching restricted free agency this summer, Washington will need a way to fill some cheap roster spots. Adding a second round pick would certainly help in that endeavor. It may not be easy to get that second round pick with all the other backup point guards that are being shopped at the deadline, but it doesn’t hurt to ask.