Why the Washington Wizards NEED to Trade For Pascal Siakam

The Washington Wizards currently sit atop the Eastern Conference with a 9-3 record, marking the franchise’s best record since the 1974-75 season, when the team started 7-0. It’s been rare these past few seasons to see the Wizards play so well, but I couldn’t be happier for them. Lots of the credit has to go to the new additions this offseason, but even more credit has to go to the people that got them there. Tommy Sheppard, the GM of the Wizards, Brett Greenberg and Rod Thorn, his right-hand men, and Ted Leonsis, the owner, did a phenomenal job of signing and trading talent in free agency, ultimately turning John Wall‘s untimely contract signed in 2017 into five amazing players in Spencer Dinwiddie, Montrezl Harrell, Kyle Kuzma, Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, and Aaron Holiday. What the Wizards’ front office has done is amazing, and the reason I think they had the best offseason of any NBA team.

The sad thing about the Wizards is that they often don’t get the coverage that other teams do. Yes, DC is a big market, but the Wizards are one of the least talked about teams among the media; in fact, I’ve seen more Wizards coverage in these first few weeks of the season then I have in the past three years. No one expected the Wizards to be nearly this good, nor their city edition Jersey selling so well for the year.

Despite how good the Wizards are and the praise they are receiving, people still don’t believe that this team will be top five in the Eastern Conference, and I can see why. Aside from Bradley Beal, the team has no other All-Stars (although Spencer Dinwiddie was very close in the 2019-20 season, before COVID). It’s great that Beal gets to take a step back this year and doesn’t need to carry the load so heavily, (please send your thoughts and prayers to his family as they grieve the loss of his grandmother) so that when he is absent, they still have a chance at winning. According to Basketball-Reference.com’s MVP Award tracker, Harrell is ranked as the fifth best MVP choice, behind Stephen Curry, Nikola Jokic, Kevin Durant, and Jimmy Butler (while being ahead of Giannis Antetokounmpo)! This should get any fan excited, and so should the Wizards’ depth. However, lots of these players are young, and I believe that if the Wizards want to become title contenders, they need to trade for a third star. That star is the Toronto Raptors’ Pascal Siakam.

The Wizards have too much depth at both forward positions, one could say. Aside from Kuzma and Caldwell-Pope, the team has Rui Hachimura, Deni Avdija, Davis Bertans, Anthony Gill, Montrezl Harrell (sometimes as a power forward), Corey Kispert (sometimes as a small forward), and Isaiah Todd. That’s six forwards alone, and unfortunately, the 240 minutes played every NBA game can’t be fairly split up among these players. It’s great to have depth, but in this scenario, I simply believe it’s more important to have that third star to step up in necessary moments, and bring in a veteran leader who is still in his physical prime (Siakam is 27 years old).

In order for this trade to work, the Wizards would have to give up Bertans (who is overpaid), Caldwell-Pope, and possibly a protected first round-pick for Siakam. This seems like a fair deal for both teams, as it hits the reset button for the Raptors (let’s be honest, they aren’t going to get far in the playoffs or play-in, and this gives Siakam a chance to win) and gives the Wizards that third All-Star caliber player they need in order to be successful. I see this as a win-win, and on the off chance the owner, Leonsis sees this, I highly suggest that he and the front office think about this trade. It helps both teams, and while it’s difficult to let go of any player from this love-able squad, it makes sense given the direction of the team.

 

What do you think about this potential trade? Let me know your thoughts in the comments below, don’t forget to follow the NBA Blog, and as always, have an awesome day!