LeBron James thinks Wizards are ‘kicking themselves’ over Deni Avdija trade. Is he right?

The Washington Wizards stripped down their roster after team president Michael Winger and general manager Will Dawkins took over in 2023, a process that involved trading veteran forward Deni Avdija to the Portland Trail Blazers in July 2024. The 25-year-old is now having a breakout season, as he’s 12th in the NBA with 25.8 points per game on 47 percent shooting (36 percent 3-point), is 36th with 7.2 rebounds, and is 11th with 6.8 assists over 34.8 minutes.

Los Angeles Lakers star LeBron James discussed Avdija via his “Mind the Game” podcast with Hall of Famer Steve Nash on Jan. 6.

“I feel he’s in a little better shape [this year]. He just feels a little sharper, he’s getting to the cracks,” Nash said. “Like you said, he’s shooting so that makes him faster, too. Good playmaker. Makes plays for others. He’s a guy I think Washington probably…”

“Is kicking themselves?” James asked.

“Yeah, ruined their decision there. Because I mean, this is a quality, quality player in our league,” Nash replied.

“He’s a quality player,” James said. “He’s a big-time player. He’s good. He’s really good.”

Timeline of Deni Avdija saga

Avdija was drafted No. 9 overall by the Wizards under former general manager Tommy Sheppard in November 2020, and he averaged less than 10 points on less than 44 percent shooting in each of his first three seasons. The 6-foot-8, 228-pounder then signed a four-year, $55 million rookie contract extension in October 2023, months after Winger and Dawkins took over. His turnaround began after that, as he averaged 14.7 points on 50.6 percent shooting (37.4 percent 3-point) with 7.2 rebounds and 3.8 assists over 30.1 minutes in the 2023-24 campaign.

However, Dawkins and Winger didn’t see Avdija as part of their long-term plans, as they wanted to reset the roster around a young core that they drafted. That process started with trading for guard Bilal Coulibaly out of France on draft day in 2023, and they wanted to turn Avdija into another prospect. The contract extension simply gave them more time to trade him, as he only had a team option for 2023-24 left on his rookie deal before he signed it.

Washington dealt Avdija for the 2024 No. 14 overall pick, a 2029 first-round pick (second-most favorable from Portland), a 2028 second-rounder, a 2030 second-rounder, and veteran guard Malcolm Brogdon hours ahead of the draft. The Trail Blazers then picked guard Bub Carrington out of Pittsburgh University, who was immediately traded to the Wizards to complete the deal.

Carrington joined big man Alex Sarr (No. 2 overall pick) and wing Kyshawn George (No. 24) to form Washington’s 2024 draft class. Carrington, Sarr, and Coulibaly all made the Rising Stars Challenge last season, and Sarr got selected again this season alongside George and rookie guard Tre Johnson. Coulibaly also made it as a rookie in the 2023-24 campaign.

Furthermore, Carrington earned Second-Team All-Rookie honors after averaging 9.8 points on 40.1 percent shooting (33.9 percent 3-point) with 4.2 rebounds and 4.4 assists over 30 minutes. On the other hand, Avdija averaged 16.9 points on 47.6 percent shooting (36.5 percent 3-point) with 7.3 rebounds and 3.9 assists over 3o minutes.

Avdija was the better player, but that was the idea for Washington. The downgrade from Avdija to Carrington helped it finish 18-64, which was the NBA’s second-worst record. It then got stuck with the No. 6 overall pick in the draft lottery – the worst it could’ve gotten with its position in the standings. However, it still landed Johnson, who’s shooting 39.8 percent from deep this season and is averaging 14.5 points with 3.3 assists in January.

Meanwhile, Portland finished 36-46, tied with the Phoenix Suns for three games out of the Western Conference Play-In Tournament zone. That was a 15-game improvement on the previous campaign, when it finished as the worst team in the West. The team later acquired big man Yang Hansen out of China in a draft-night deal with the Memphis Grizzlies, who’s averaging just 8.5 minutes.

Wizards beat Deni Avdija, Trail Blazers on Tuesday

This season, the Trail Blazers are ninth at 23-25 after losing 115-111 on the road to the Wizards on Tuesday night. Sarr became the seventh player in NBA history aged 20 or younger to record 25-plus points, 10-plus rebounds, and five-plus blocks in a single game, joining Victor Wembanyama, Myles Turner, Karl-Anthony Towns, Anthony Davis, Chris Webber, and Shaquille O’Neal. George added 19 points (5-16 FG, 4-10 3-point) with nine rebounds, five assists, three steals, and two blocks over 37 minutes, while Johnson had 18 points (7-13 FG, 3-5 3-point) with four rebounds, two assists, and one block across 32 minutes.

Additionally, Coulibaly and second-round rookie Jamir Watkins helped keep Avdija in check, as he finished with 17 points (6-14 FG, 3-5 3-point) as well as 12 rebounds, six turnovers, and three assists over 31 minutes. The native Israeli had a minus-nine plus/minus, while George (plus-19), Coulibaly (plus-19) and Sarr (plus-16) all excelled in that area.

To top it off, Carrington scored five points in the final 3:31, including a 13-foot floater to give Washington a 110-106 lead with 1:21 left. The Wizards now have the NBA’s second-worst record at 11-34 as they aim to keep their top-eight protected pick, which they can guarantee by finishing in the bottom four slots of the league standings. But beating a Portland team that could make the playoffs in a down-to-the-wire game is also invaluable experience for a young Washington squad that hadn’t won since acquiring star guard Trae Young on Jan. 7. Plus, the front office can rest easy knowing that the team beat an Avdija-led Trail Blazers squad in a developmental season while Portland is trying to establish itself as playoff-caliber.

Who won Deni Avdija trade?

Carrington’s numbers this season are similar to his rookie campaign, save for his three-point clip. The 20-year-old is shooting 40.3 percent from downtown, a 6.4 percent increase from last year thus far.

Avdija shot 31.7 percent from deep in his second season and shot 43.2 percent from the field, while Carrington is at 39.9. The latter player also has a 1.9 assist/turnover ratio, while Avdija was at 1.8.

This doesn’t mean that Carrington will ever become as good as Avdija is now, but it shows what’s possible once players hit their prime.  Carrington is smaller than Avdija at 6-foot-4, 190 pounds and doesn’t make up for that with quickness/explosiveness, so he’s unlikely to reach Avdija’s level as a slasher. For example, Avdija averages 9.7 free throws attempted per game, while Carrington is at 1.3. On the other hand, Avdija averaged 1.7 over 24.2 minutes in his second campaign, so Carrington still isn’t far off Avdija’s year-by-year pace.

Carrington’s calling card right now is his three-point shot, and he’ll make up for his lack of slashing if he keeps shooting 40-plus percent from deep. There will always be a role for a reliable long-range shooter in today’s NBA, so the Baltimore native could be a scorer off the bench next season and beyond at the very least.

Avdija, who is under contract through 2028, is a floor-raiser for a Trail Blazers team that hasn’t made the playoffs since 2021. It will also get 35-year-old star guard Damian Lillard (Achilles) back next season, but its only other young player with star-level upside is 22-year-old guard Shaedon Sharpe, who is under contract through 2029 and is averaging 21.8 points on 45.5 percent shooting (34.2 percent 3-point) with 4.6 rebounds over 30.3 minutes. The organization drafted him No. 7 overall in 2022, with its subsequent lottery picks being guard Scoot Henderson (No. 3 overall in 2023) and center Donovan Clingan (No. 7 in 2024). Henderson (hamstring) hasn’t panned out thus far, and the 7-foot-2, 280-pound Clingan profiles more as a foundational piece (third in the NBA with 11.3 average rebounds) than a star big man, as he’s not dynamic offensively.

Portland might be a playoff team for the remainder of Avdija’s contract, but winning a championship during that time is unlikely. The NBA is a star-driven league, and the Trail Blazers don’t have enough top-end talent to get near the Larry O’Brien Trophy anytime soon, although the former Israeli League MVP could earn his first All-Star nod this season.

Is that worth potentially missing out on top-10 draft picks over the next few years, especially in a stacked class like 2026? It wasn’t for the Wizards, which is why they traded Avdija and committed to rising as high as they can in the lottery, with this season being their last bottoming-out chapter.

Winger explained as much during his press conference on Thursday when The Athletic’s Josh Robbins asked him if the trade was a mistake.

“No, it was not a mistake. We’re all very happy for Deni,” he said. “We saw Deni as a very high-level ascending player…But no, we did it for the reasons we said then, which was to take us back a couple of years so we could reset the roster and so that everybody was on the same age curve and Deni’s ahead of that.”

Michael Winger’s full response when asked if trading Deni Avdija was a mistake:

“No, it was not a mistake. We’re all very happy for Deni. We saw Deni as a very high-level ascending player…but no, we did it for the reasons we said then which was to take us back a couple of… pic.twitter.com/IsCWJARE6w

— Wizards Film Room (@KevinFolliNBA) January 23, 2026

Dawkins echoed those sentiments before the game on Tuesday, via “The Sports Junkies” on 106.7 The Fan.

“When you see Deni in his prime at 25 kind of ready to ascend, that timeline just wasn’t going to be the same as the players that we were trying to go after,” he said. “It would’ve been a little early and thrown things off, but he’s a really good player and we’re happy to see his success.”

Getting the 27-year-old Young this season was a head start for next season, as he has a $49 million player option for the final year on his contract. Washington expects to start being competitive in 2025-26 the way Portland is this year, except the majority of the core will be young and ascending talent.

Young is the veteran star, but the Wizards will have a roster that also includes Sarr, George, Johnson, Coulibaly, Carrington, 2025 first-round pick Will Riley, and whoever it drafts this summer, assuming they don’t trade any of those players before next season. If Washington finishes with the NBA’s worst record this year, it will be guaranteed to have the chance of drafting one of BYU’s AJ Dybantsa, Kansas’ Darryn Peterson, Duke’s Cameron Boozer, North Carolina’s Caleb Wilson, and Houston’s Kingston Flemings. The first three are in the “star” tier, but Wilson and Flemings could each be foundational pieces as well.

That’s more than enough talent to be an Eastern Conference Play-In team, and Washington could keep rising after that. Carrington panning out long-term would make the Avdija trade look better, but as long as the organization stays on that trajectory, it doesn’t matter.

In short, James may have thought the Wizards were “kicking themselves” over short-term results, but Dawkins and Winger have been playing the long game since they were hired in the 2023 offseason.

The post LeBron James thinks Wizards are ‘kicking themselves’ over Deni Avdija trade. Is he right? appeared first on ClutchPoints.