Roundtable: Reviewing the Bojan Bogdanovic trade

Question 1: How would you grade Wednesday’s trade?

Quinten Rosborough: B+. Bojan checks off many of the team's needs -- he's a microwave scorer off the bench, and should be able to slot nicely into the types of small-ball lineups the team will need to use in order to defend Cleveland, Boston, and Toronto in late-game situations. Plus, his ability to handle the ball in the pick and roll should allow Trey Burke to spend more time off the ball, where he's more comfortable. He'll likely cost a lot to retain this summer, but at 27, he could be the type of long-term investment the team failed to acquire last summer.

The reason I can't give this trade an A is that yet again the team is tossing away another first round pick in order to dump a bad contract. Sure, no one expected Nicholson to be quite this bad, but one has to wonder where the team would be had that money been spent elsewhere.

I know nothing about Chris McCollough, but he did show up to the team in a Bape hoodie, so at least he has good taste.

Jesse Lyles: B+. Bojan is exactly what this team needs coming off the bench. It would've been great to keep the first round pick, but at least we were able to dump Nicholson's contract. It's crazy that by December we all pretty much knew that that pick would be traded at the deadline.

Arthur Reinaltt: B+. Further masking poor offseason decision making. Great that we unloaded Nicholson. Great that we acquired a shooter and back up for one of our guards. Unfortunate that we could give Wall a solid back up to decrease his playing time/load. However, I think something that isn't given much attention but will make an impact: the development of Ian Mahinmi. Once he gets back to game shape, it will almost be like the bench upgraded in scoring, defense and rebounding with two solid additions.

Albert Lee: C+. Bogdanovic is a good player, but it seems that the Wizards just got any good, but valuable player they could get from a bad team who would take the toxic Nicholson contract. The problem with Bogdanovic is that the Wizards already are two-deep at the small forward position with Otto Porter and Kelly Oubre Jr.

McCullough is a project, but he makes the deal a little more palatable because Washington can use another post whose best years are ahead of him.

Mike Knapp: I'd give the trade a B+. Bogdanovic can flat out score, and I think his three point shooting should improve significantly playing with Wall. He'll be able to slide into the small ball lineup nicely and really space things out. Oubre's much improved, but still pretty bad offensively and hasn't been hitting anything from deep lately.

The criticism of Bojan's defense is fair, but they needed scoring off the bench and they got it.

Question 2: Given what else happened at the trade deadline, should the Wizards have been more aggressive or did they play things correctly here?

Lyndie Wood: I think they played it correctly. They had very limited assets to work with, and it seems like the asking price for the Gallo-type guys was pretty high and Sacramento clearly didn't want to give up any of their many guards. I didn't see many guys get traded that I would like the Wizards to have gone after and had an asking price they could afford.

Mitchell Northam: Most folks would've liked to see the Wizards make another move - whether it was for PJ Tucker, Darren Collison or Shabazz Muhammad - but Trey Burke and a second rounder isn't bringing any of those dudes to D.C. The Wizards just simply didn't have the assets to trade.

Kevin Broom: This is a tough one to answer without knowing more about what went on behind the scenes. The Wizards should have been able to make a competitive offer for Lou Williams, but Williams reportedly wanted to be in Houston. PJ Tucker got traded for Jared Sullinger and two second round picks. The Wizards first round pick would seem to have been more valuable than the pu pu platter the Bulls got for Taj Gibson. Ersan Ilyasova might also have been a better purchase for their first round pick, though Philadelphia may have preferred taking back an expiring contract.

Marcus Atkinson: I think the Wizards played things correctly for the situation they have. They don't have a lot of assets. Any other move would have probably required moving someone significant from their rotation and given how they are playing, I think that would be a bad idea.

Jeff Newman: I think they played it correctly. I can't imagine they weren't willing to part with Burke and the second-round pick for some of the guards who were available, and anything more than that would have been too much. So, if there were no takers, I think they were right to wait to see who gets bought out. But again, this just highlights the lack of assets this team has to work with.

Question 3: Where do you think the Wizards stand in the Eastern Conference hierarchy after the deadline?

Kevin Broom: The Wizards are still one of the top four teams in the East. Toronto helped itself with trades to get Ibaka and Tucker, but I don’t think those moves push the Raptors definitively past the Wizards. Washington has a chance to do something special this season, but they didn’t get much help. They still need to find a guard who can help off the bench. They still lack key depth, especially in the backcourt.

Quinten Rosborough: In the same spot they were before the deadline: firmly behind Cleveland, in the same tier as Boston and Toronto. We'll see how Kevin Love returns from his knee injury, but right now the team's ceiling is the Eastern Conference Finals -- and that's if everything breaks their way the rest of the season.

Alan Jenkins: I still have them in the 3-spot. When it boils down to it, it's really just the Cavs and teams that could potentially beat them. The Wizards are definitely one of those team, along with the Celtics and Raptors. I really like what Toronto did and think that they could potentially leapfrog both the Wizards and the Celtics. However, I still like where the Wizards are at.

Tony East: I'm a pessimist. I think Wiz are the 5th best team in the East. I think they just hit their peak and we will start to see Otto regress to his normal play a bit more soon. We always will have to integrate new players which is a challenge. I would put the obvious top 3 and Atlanta ahead of Washington in terms of roster talent. But I think the Wizards get the 4 seed. Scott Brooks has done great so I would love to be proved wrong.

Question 4: Where do the Wizards go from here? Is there a free agent you'd like to see the team pursue?

Marcus Atkinson: I think the Wizards need to see if Bobo — yes that's what we're going to call him — has any chemistry with either Burke and/or Satoransky. If the second unit shows progress with BoBo then you stay pat. If not, then you're going to have to look at the free agent market, but I wouldn't move too quick. Let's evaluate how they play with this addition first and then go from there. If it gets to the point where they still feel like they need to make a move, it will most assuredly be a backup point guard.

Quinten Rosborough: Now that the Pelicans have waived Terrance Jones, I think his combination of size and skill could really help the Wizards moving forward, even if there isn't a clear role for him at this point in time. He's just 25 with a ton of potential, and given that it will be difficult for the team to add talent once Otto signs his new deal, he's exactly the type of player the team should be looking to add to its young core.

Jeff Newman: They still need a backup point guard, though I think the need is less than before the Bogdanovic trade. He can run some of the offense out of the pick-and-roll when he's in with the reserves, taking some of that pressure off of Burke. Bringing in Chalmers for a workout couldn't hurt, though you'd think he'd already be signed with someone if he was good to go. I'm not sure Jarrett Jack is much of an upgrade at this point in his career. Quinn Cook intrigues me, but do the Wizards really want to go into the postseason with him backing up Wall? Satoransky is still acclimating himself to the NBA, but I think he has a good future ahead. Maybe he'll be comfortable enough to run the second unit after another 25 games?

Nick Bilka: Nobody on the immediate market makes sense for the Wizards right now. Jarrett Jack's last good season was 4 years ago, and age and injury are unlikely to help him in turning back the clock. Chalmers had a nice year last year, but is 30 and coming off one of the worst injuries an aging basketball player can have. Better to wait to see who gets bought out rather than rushing and potentially bringing in the wrong guy.

Alan Jenkins: I would have liked to see the Wizards go after Deron Williams but clearly he had his eyes set on Cleveland. That said, I think they should take a look at Nate Robinson. Only two years ago, the Wizards signed Will Bynum who played a very limited role while Wall was out with his wrist injury but did hit some big shots for the Wizards in the Atlanta series.

Robinson has performed well on the big stage in the past and they wouldn't lose anything by inviting him in for a workout. Outside of Robinson, the only other name that comes to mind is Jarrett Jack. That would have been a great move for this team two years ago, but today, I'll pass.