Washington Wizards forward Kyle Kuzma. Brad Mills-USA TODAY Sports

Wizards bungle trade deadline in every possible way

By Ryan McCafferty | Last updated 2/8/24

At 9-41, the Washington Wizards haven't had much going for them during the 2023-24 season. That said, the team does feature several veterans — most notably Kyle Kuzma — who were believed to be garnering some trade value.

So naturally, the Wizards' trade-deadline actions consisted of sending Daniel Gafford to the Mavericks for a late first-round pick.

The Washington Wizards are nearing a deal to send Daniel Gafford to the Dallas Mavericks for Richaun Holmes and draft compensation, sources tell ESPN.
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) February 8, 2024

The pick in the Daniel Gafford trade that's incoming to Washington will be the more favorable of the Clippers' and Thunder's 1st-round picks. The Clippers have the league's fifth-best record and the Thunder are tied for the second-best record. So, for now, the 26th overall pick.
— Josh Robbins (@JoshuaBRobbins) February 8, 2024

Why? Just...why? Of all the players on the Wizards who were considered trade candidates, Gafford is the only one who could be seen as a building block in Washington.

He's averaging career-highs this season in scoring (10.9 PPG), rebounding (8.0 RPG) and shot-blocking (2.2 BPG), and at only 25, he still has room to grow.

Gafford's role on the Wizards as an elite rim protector and lob threat is not going to be easy to replace. His passionate energy was consistently a bright spot on an otherwise lethargic team that far too often seemed to just go through the motions on the court.

"The Landlord" was always a fan favorite in Washington, and he will be sorely missed.

Furthermore, getting only what's likely to be a very late first-round pick for Gafford, as well as veteran big Richaun Holmes, is laughable.

If there was an offer for him that Washington couldn't refuse, then that would be a bit more understandable. This, though, amounts to next to nothing — Holmes adds minimal value both for the present and future, and draft picks outside of the lottery range generally turn into role players at best.

Meanwhile, Kuzma is still here. So is Tyus Jones. So are Landry Shamet and Delon Wright. All of them are probably not going to be part of the Wizards' rebuild, so what's the point of keeping them around during a lost season?

The Sacramento Kings were supposedly in talks to acquire Kuzma, but nothing ever came of that.

In short, all of the players whom the Wizards should have been aggressively shopping were not traded. The one player who should have been dealt only as a last resort was, and it was for pennies on the dollar.

This is how bad teams stay bad.

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