Wizards Front Office Put to the Test With Porzingis Deadline

After having an afternoon trade fall through, the Wizards managed to pull off another deal just before midnight deadline

Pencils down.

While the Wizards were able to sneak up on the NBA world with their surprise trade of Bradley Beal to the Phoenix Suns earlier in the week, the pressure seemed to mount as an imposed deadline stood in the way of the next domino to fall in the front office’s plans for the future. Wizards center, Kristaps Porzingis had until midnight ET to notify Team President Michael Winger, who is less than two weeks on the job, whether or not he would be opting in to his $36 million player option for the 2023-2024 season which would be required to facilitate any potential trade the team would want to make concerning their former All-Star asset. Before the night was over, the Wizards newly minted brass would be put to the test of how much they were actually committed to their desired path.

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At 4:33pm ET the Wizards believed they had a bargain struck that would send Kristaps Porzingis to the Boston Celtics and they would be receiving Marcus Morris, Amir Coffey, and a first round pick in the 2023 draft (30th overall) from the Los Angeles Clippers, while the Clippers would be receiving the reigning 6th man of the year, Malcolm Brogdon. That compensation seemed like a fair package to clear more cap space for the Wizards and give them a few more expiring contracts to use for future use. Washington finally appeared to be heading in the direction of a full blown rebuild, tearing down the foundation of what was a disappointing 35-win team last season.

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Nearly six hours later that trade had completely fallen apart because the Los Angeles Clippers were apprehensive about finalizing the trade because of concerns regarding an injury Malcolm Brogdon suffered in the Eastern Conference playoffs. With the Clippers out of the negotiations and Porzingis still not having officially opted into his contract, the Wizards found themselves faced with a dilemma: Either they could try to go back to the negotiating table with the Celtics and get another deal done or risk having Porzingis leverage his option to walk in free agency and receive absolutely no compensation for him, foiling their plan of rolling Porzingis’ dead money into more assets to be used down the road.

This predicament for the Wizards certainly had the feel of meeting an academic deadline and while this one singular transaction would not determine whether or not the Wizards new regime would be passing or failing a collegiate course, the pressure to avoid a setback appeared to be something the Wizards were not prepared to encounter.

Make no mistake, Kristaps Porzingis and his agent-brother, Janis Porzingis had a position over the Wizards in this scenario and the Wizards knew they would need Porzingis to play ball with them in order to get their desired outcome. If this were a college exam, then the name of the course would be Game Theory Economics. Game Theory by definition: is that people behave rationally, and make decisions based on the best possible outcome for them, given the likely behavior of others. They may, therefore, end up with a less optimal outcome, simply because they know how others are likely to behave.

In this scenario the Wizards had to make decisions for their future, knowing very well that there was a tangible decision that could have been made by Kristaps Porzingis that would have directly led to a less optimal outcome for their franchise. Porzingis' potential to decline his option and hit free agency, simply put, would have been a disaster for the Wizards to lose an asset for nothing. So with limited time to work, the Wizards went back to the negotiating table with the Celtics to see if a deal could be struck.

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With just ten minutes to spare before the midnight deadline, the Wizards and Celtics agreed to a new deal that would land Porzingis in Boston, but with a new third team partner to clear the way for this deal to cross the finish line. Boston was able to help the Wizards by bringing the Memphis Grizzlies into the fold at the cost of one of the pillars of their team in recent memory, former defensive player of the year, Marcus Smart. 

Smart would now be on his way to the Grizzlies while Tyus Jones and the 35th pick in the 2023 NBA draft would be heading to the Wizards. The ability for Washington and Boston to achieve the framework of such a complicated trade at the last minute is nothing short of a miracle and really goes to show the lengths that both franchises were willing to take in order to move their respective teams forward. 

Yes, Porzingis used his right to decline his option as a potential bluff to the Wizards organization, but that was a solid play in Game Theory on his part. He knew that the Wizards would be forced to rush into another trade out of pure fear of being diverted from their path. Granted, the Wizards laid their intentions on the table and Porzingis correctly assumed that they could not go backwards once the plans were set in motion. 

From Porzingis’ perspective the Boston Celtics as a destination was a more than suitable landing spot to continue his career and receiving $36 million with the potential to sign an extension and maintain his bird rights was unequivocally more than a consolation prize. There is much to be said about the Wizards doubly acquiescing to the power of the player empowerment movement with little returns on trades of Beal and Porzingis, but this front office didn’t put the franchise in their current position and are unfortunately tasked with digging themselves out of a salary cap mess. 

Last year the Wizards had the ninth highest payroll in the entire league while only not even making the play-in tournament in last year's Eastern Conference. 

Now the Wizards are left with a roster that much more closely resembles an accounting ledger with listed names and salaries as opposed to an actual basketball team, but at least they have a plan. 

The Wizards saved themselves another $12 million by sending out Porzingis’ $36 million salary and acquiring Tyus Jones’ $14 million expiring salary, Danilo Galinari’s $6.4 million, and Mike Muscala’s $3.5 million. In terms of draft compensation the Wizards were still able to net the 35th overall pick in the second round of the 2023 draft, which still has a lot of value considering the overall depth of this year’s draft class. By sticking to their plan of clearing their books and asset accumulation, the Wizards have now positioned themselves to be major sellers in what will be a very robust trade market on draft night.

If I had to grade the Wizards performance today, I would give it a “B” because they were able to get their goals accomplished in spite of the universe conspiring against them by having their first plan fall through at the last minute. Getting out of nearly $80 million in salary combined between Beal and Porzingis was no small feat and for that, they should be commended.

The next test for the Wizards will be how they are able to navigate the trade market of the NBA draft with all of their new toys. Chris Paul who was acquired in the Bradley Beal trade is set to make $30 million this season after having his salary for the ‘23-24 season fully guaranteed in the deal. Along with Paul’s expiring contract the Wizards still have Jones’ $14 million, Monte Morris and his $9 million salary, and Delon Wright and his $7.8 million salary all available to aggregate into other deals to either move up in the draft or target a veteran presence to help balance this roster. That’s just the list of point guards who will be available from this Wizards roster. 

Washington sneakily has a few more players that other teams around the league may be looking to poach and can probably be had in exchange for the right assets. Now that the Wizards have moved on from their two largest contracts, they should feel less pressure to feel rushed into any deals and definitely have the flexibility to carefully navigate future trade negotiations.

Time will tell if the Wizards will be able to make sense of this roster and just how many assets they can acquire, but the Wizards fanbase can at least be comforted by the fact that this front office demonstrated that they do have a plan and the fortitude to actually see that plan through. There will be a lot more transactions before anyone will be able to tell if the Wizards are indeed passing or failing in terms of franchise building, but maybe, just maybe, they’re finally heading toward good academic standing in the “Association.

(Photo credit: All-Pro Reels)