Why This Trade Makes Sense For The Washington Wizards

Since this team is in no shape to compete for a championship, it makes a lot of sense for them to try and stockpile as many future first-round picks as they can, especially for players that are not in their long-term plans. This is the case with Moritz Wagner, as he is nothing more than a “plug-and-play” guy for them. 

As a result, getting a future first-round pick for him could be extremely valuable. Not only could the Wizards use this pick to continue drafting high-level, young talents to pair with Beal and Westbrook, but they could also leverage this draft pick to trade for some key role players for future years. 

Westbrook and Beal want to win and while the Wizards have been one of the hottest teams in the league over the last few weeks, they are still not in a position to win now. With Thomas Bryant healthy next year and the potential to add more key role players around them, the Wizards could have a shot to compete next year, but Wagner would not and will not be a part of the equation. 

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Trading him now while he holds value makes a ton of sense for Washington and getting that 2022 first-round pick from the Lakers opens up a lot of possibilities for them on how to build their roster moving forward. 

This Wizards team does not have many options right now in terms of how to build their team, which is why this move makes a lot of sense. Beal and Westbrook need more high-level talents around them to turn Washington into something special, which is why getting more draft compensation is the way to go this year at the trade deadline for the Wizards.