What Wizards must do next after massive Trae Young trade

The Washington Wizards have made a habit of absorbing unwanted contracts in exchange for draft capital and/or rookie contract players since General Manager Will Dawkins and President Michael Winger took over in the 2023 offseason, but they changed course with Wednesday’s Trae Young trade. This time, they sent CJ McCollum’s expiring contract and Corey Kispert’s team-friendly deal to the Atlanta Hawks solely for Young, who is making $46 million this season and has a $49 million player option for next year.

This is because the Wizards see Young as a potential long-term fit, so they took a calculated risk to get their first star in the building since Bradley Beal averaged 23.2 points over 50 games for them in the 2022-23 season. Dawkins and company traded the latter player to the Phoenix Suns in the summer of 2023 to kick off their rebuild, starting a chain of moves that led to them getting Young.

Now, Washington has just over three weeks to pry more draft capital from a team looking to move off negative contracts. The NBA Trade Deadline is on Feb. 5, and the organization is keeping its options open, per ClutchPoints’ Brett Siegel.

“As far as the trade deadline goes, the Wizards are open to helping facilitate trades for draft assets,” Siegel reported on Monday.
“The Wizards would have no problems trading Khris Middleton or Malaki Branham, and Marvin Bagley III could generate some interest as a productive secondary big man on a minimum contract.”

The Wizards already have their 2026 top-eight protected first-round pick, which will be owned by the New York Knicks until the Wizards land a top-eight lottery pick in May. Washington will guarantee that outcome if it finishes with a bottom-four record in the NBA standings, and it’s currently fourth-worst at 10-28 with 44 games left.

The organization also has what will likely be the Oklahoma City Thunder’s first-round pick, a first-round pick swap with the Suns, and four second-rounders this summer, per RealGM. The Phoenix swap likely won’t be used since the Suns are sixth in the Western Conference at 24-15, but it will give the Wizards two chances at a top-three pick if the Suns miss the playoffs. BYU’s AJ Dybantsa, Kansas’ Darryn Peterson, and Duke’s Cameron Boozer could all be franchise cornerstones for Washington, so having higher odds of landing one of them is the ideal scenario.

Even with Young’s $46 million salary now on the books, the Wizards still have the financial leverage to get another team’s 2026 first-rounder, which would guarantee another chance at a top-three selection if that team misses the postseason. If it ended up as a non-lottery pick, it would still give Washington another asset to use in a potential trade down the line.

The Toronto Raptors are the perfect trade partners for this arrangement.

Wizards should absorb Immanuel Quickley’s contract for picks

Toronto has perhaps the NBA’s worst contract on its books: Immanuel Quickley’s five-year, $162.5 million deal. The 26-year-old is on the second year of the agreement and will make $32.5 million each season from now through 2029.

Quickley, a 6-foot-2 guard, is averaging 16.5 points on 42.3 percent shooting (35.3 percent 3-point) with 4.2 rebounds and 6.3 assists over 32.5 minutes this season. The former Kentucky Wildcat could be a valuable backcourt depth piece for any team talent-wise, but his production isn’t worth his contract.

That’s why the Raptors want to move off Quickley in hopes of landing a star alongside Scottie Barnes and Brandon Ingram, per Siegel.

“Before he suffered a hand injury, Anthony Davis was a player the Raptors held internal discussions about pursuing. Domantas Sabonis, Ja Morant, and Trey Murphy III are other options this organization has also considered, sources said,” he reported.
“The Raptors are clearly operating as buyers right now, and it appears as if the organization is more willing than ever before to move starting point guard Immanuel Quickley.”

“Jamal Shead has emerged as a key guard in head coach Darko Rajakovic’s rotations, and Quickley’s cap figure would be the key to this franchise making a key upgrade at the trade deadline,” he continued. “Early indications surrounding the Raptors also suggest they would be open to moving their first-round pick in this year’s draft for an established win-now talent as well.”

That “established win-now talent” won’t come from Washington, but the Memphis Grizzlies could send Morant to Toronto as part of a three-team trade. The two-time All-Star is no longer happy in Memphis and “things are trending” toward him getting shipped out, via Siegel. However, the Grizzlies won’t let him go without getting either draft capital or young talent in return.

Here’s a deal that makes sense for each side:

Wizards get:

• G Immanuel Quickley (via Raptors)
• 2026 first-round pick (via Raptors)
• 2028 first-round pick (via Raptors)

Grizzlies get:

• F Khris Middleton (via Wizards)
• G Gradey Dick (via Raptors)
• G AJ Johnson (via Wizards)

Raptors get:

• G Ja Morant (via Grizzlies)

Sending Middleton’s $32.2 million expiring salary to Memphis helps make the money work in this trade, per FanSpo’s NBA Trade Machine. Meanwhile, the Wizards net two first-round picks from the Raptors as payment for absorbing Quickley’s deal, which allows the latter team to land a superior player in Morant, past suspensions and injuries notwithstanding. Finally, the Grizzlies get Dick and Johnson, two former first-round picks on rookie contracts who have yet to break out, but are still developing.

Toronto, which sits fourth in the East at 24-16 ahead of Monday night’s home date with the Philadelphia 76ers, would likely make the playoffs with a roster centered around Morant, Barnes, and Ingram. However, Washington could still package the picks from this deal along with other assets to move up in this summer’s lottery if need be.

Having Quickley around as part of its guard rotation, albeit on a bad contract, for the foreseeable future would be a bonus. The Wizards could add him as a complementary piece to a core centered around whoever they draft in the top-eight this summer, Young, Alex Sarr, Tre Johnson, Kyshawn George, Bilal Coulibaly, and Bub Carrington moving forward. Regardless, the roster will likely be talented enough to make the Play-In Tournament at the very least next year, which would give the Wizards a chance to make the playoffs for the first time since 2021.

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