Daily Digits is a new daily feature we’re doing at Bullets Forever this year where we take a look at stats about the Wizards. We’ll dive into the numbers, add some context, and discuss how they affect the product on the court.
Today’s stat is how much money Washington saved in luxury tax payments through the Jason Smith trade this week, which was...
$4.7 million
If you’ll recall, the Wizards shaved off $6.2 million from their luxury tax bill back in October when they traded Jodie Meeks to the Bucks. Once you factor in the costs of signing a 14th player, even at the minimum every other two weeks, it’s fair to say the Wizards got similar benefits out of both second round picks they trades.
That’s good news for Washington’s payroll, but it also says something about how little Sam Dekker means to this trade. Yes, he’s young and he could get a chance to show his stuff if the team decides to retool at the trade deadline.
On the other hand, Dekker was just on a team that’s starting to retool and they decided they’d rather have a second round pick instead than wait and see how he looks after he recovers from his ankle injury. And this is just months after the Clippers traded him to Cleveland for the draft rights to ... Vladimir Veremeenko, the player the Wizards took with the 48th overall pick in the 2006 NBA Draft who has never played an NBA game, and at age 34, likely never will.
Perhaps Dekker will show something in Washington and start to remind people why he was the 18th overall pick in the 2015 draft, just three spots behind Kelly Oubre Jr., but if he does that’s just an additional perk in a deal where Washington has already gotten the value it needed out of the deal before Dekker even steps foot on the floor.