Washington wants to make the playoffs this year. Owner Ted Leonsis demands it. No more slow rebuild.
They are counting on John Wall to lead them (so he better find his jumper), but they need some balance inside and that has been hampered by the neck injury sidelining Emeka Okafor indefinitely.
So they are reaching out to the Suns for a trade, picking up Marcin Gortat and sending them the injured Okafor, something first reported by Marc Stein of ESPN.
That pick is the Wizards valuable 2014 No. 1, but it is protected through No. 12, Stein reports. The Suns now have four picks in next year’s deep first round of the draft.
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For the Wizards, this would be a great get. Gortat is rock solid — not elite, not spectacular, but will give you quality play at both ends of the court. He is a strong pick setter and roll man (he shot 56.6 percent as the roll man last year) and that should pair well with the speedy Wall. Gortat shot a respectable 45.4 percent from the post, he can move well off the ball and has good hands for catching off cuts. On the other end of the floor he is a good shot blocker and rebounder, a big body in the paint. The other thing this does for Washington is let them move Nene back to the four spot, where he is more comfortable.
In the last year of his contract ($7.7 million) and on the rebuilding Suns, Gortat was long on the trade block. This just came a little earlier than expected.
For the Suns… they are all in for the Wiggins lottery and this is just another step that direction. They can play Okafor eventually if they want to, or they can move him, but this is a team looking to rebuild through the draft and they both got another pick and got worse to help their own draft slot in the process.
Tell me again how there is nobody tanking in the NBA, David Stern (and Adam Silver).
