It has been two NBA seasons since the Washington Wizards were last in the playoffs, and while that may not seem like too long ago, this organization has drastically changed over the years. Back in 2017, the Wizards had a core of John Wall, Bradley Beal, Otto Porter Jr. and Kelly Oubre Jr. This team looked like they were going to be a force in the Eastern Conference for the foreseeable future, but now, the core is Russell Westbrook, Bradley Beal and a bunch of young, unproven talents on rookie contracts.
The Washington Wizards were one of the most aggressive teams this past offseason, as they pulled off the biggest trade of the year, acquiring former NBA MVP Russell Westbrook from the Houston Rockets in exchange for John Wall and a lottery-protected 2023 first-round pick.
Pairing Russell Westbrook with Bradley Beal made many believe that Washington could be a legit playoff team in the East, but things have not panned out quite as they had hoped. The Wizards are currently 5-13 and one of the worst overall teams in the entire league.
As a result of their lack of success, there have been plenty of trade rumors linked to Bradley Beal’s future with the organization. He wants to win now and is in the prime of his career. He currently leads the league in scoring and is one of the most dynamic offensive players in the league and unless they get him some more help, he could request a trade.
While they thought getting Westbrook would solve a lot of their problems, Washington looks worse than they did a season ago and as a result, they could try and see if anyone would be willing to trade for Russell Westbrook. With them also struggling this season, the Mavericks could be a team that could potentially be interested in Westbrook to get Luka Doncic some help.
Dallas is currently outside of the playoff picture in the Western Conference and while there is still plenty of basketball yet to be played, they have really struggled to find production outside of Luka Doncic this year. Could the Mavericks shock the NBA world and pull off a trade to acquire the former league MVP from the Wizards?
