The Washington Wizards currently finish 9th in the East with a 20-20 record, two wins away from the top 8 in the East. Halfway through the season, the Washington Wizards remain potential playoff contenders. The Wizards have been good this season, especially in the early days of the season, when they were in the top 3 in the East. The Wizards can play such a good performance, in addition to the player's play, the manager behind it is also very important. Wizards general manager Tommy Sheppard is key to this.
Today's Tommy has gone from being the wizard general manager of the past to the president. He single-handedly dominated the Westbrook trade last offseason in exchange for Kuzma, Pop, Harrell and first-round draft picks. After the Wizards got these young players, the effect was immediate, and they were once in the forefront of the East at the beginning of the game, and this season has reached this stage, and the performance of the Wizards players has basically met expectations. We also have to take into account that bryant and Yamura have been absent for a long time due to injuries and personal factors, and Yamura has only recently returned. If it weren't for these factors, the Wizards' grades would probably have been better.
Last season, the Wizards made the playoffs under Westbrook and Beal, but were cleanly eliminated by the 76ers in the first round. Perhaps by then, Tommy had realized the wizards' future changes. He clearly understands that Westbrook is not suitable as the team's No. 2 star and that staying here is nothing more than a negative asset. Westbrook's performance last season was polarized, with comprehensive statistics close to 22+12+12 in the regular season, and as a result, by the playoffs, Westbrook's average score per game was not only less than 20 points, but also plummeted to 33%. Even handing over the data of the average triple-double once again is useless.
Last offseason, Tommy pushed for a trade in time, and the Lakers were already a team with interested stars. The two sides reached a deal, Westbrook traveled to Los Angeles, and the Wizards got Kuzma, Harrell and Pope, all three of whom were at the peak of their careers. Kuzma is also a young player with great potential. All three players have performed very well this season, with varying degrees of improvement compared to last season.
Kuzma, in particular, has averaged close to 15+9+3 per game this season. Some time ago, he also won a 27+22 double double-double, how has Westbrook performed this season? We don't talk about the data, and any fan who has watched the Lakers game knows what level Ofshao's performance is.
Tommy's trade can be described as killing two birds with one stone, on the one hand, cleaning up the negative assets of Westbrook, and the strength of the team has not fluctuated significantly. On the other hand, the team can play more people and the offensive points are more dispersed. Now the Wizards have ushered in the return of the Eight Villages Fortress. In the future, Bryant will also return as soon as possible, maintaining the Wizards of the full main lineup, the depth of the lineup is outstanding, and perhaps they can become a force to be reckoned with in the East.
As for Westbrook and the Lakers, we can only witness it slowly with time. The Lakers should not be able to trade Westbrook like the Wizards last season, after all, his annual salary has exceeded $40 million. It's absolutely impossible to trade without paying the price of a first-round draft pick, and that's how cruel it is. Dear readers, how do you rate the Wizards' trades last season offseason? Feel free to leave a message in the comments section of the article.