Gortat can help make the Wizards a playoff team.
The Phoenix Suns have completed their third trade of the off-season by sending Marcin Gortat, Shannon Brown, Kendall Marshall, and Malcolm Lee to the Washington Wizards in exchange for Emeka Okafor and a 2014 protected first-round pick. The pick is a protected top 12 pick, meaning it will only be sent to the Suns if the Wizards finish outside of the top 12 in overall standings (picks 15-30 reserved for playoff teams). ESPN reports that Brown, Marshall, and Lee are all expected to be released to cut the Wizards’ roster down to the required 15 player maximum.
Phoenix Suns
Gortat is in the final year of a 5-year, nearly $34 million contract, and the Suns were very unlikely to re-sign him due to having drafted 7’0″ Alex Len to play center in this year’s draft. The Suns will take on the expiring contract of injured center Emeka Okafor, who may not return to action before the end of 2013, as well as a potential lottery selection in next year’s vaunted draft. This move immediately clears space for Alex Len to be a viable option for the Suns, who have Channing Frye and Miles Plumlee also at center. Len is recovering (although technically listed as healthy) from ankle surgery, but should be the main option at center until Okafor fully recovers from his injury later in the season. This much playing time should help the 7-footer develop much quicker than playing behind a player like Gortat. The pick also gives the Suns an extra option in next year’s draft (they now have four first-round picks), which they may include in a trade package or use on a talented player, of which there are more than we can count in most mock drafts. Since the Suns are obviously in rebuild mode, there was no reason to keep Gortat around, especially since they were able to land a first-round pick out of the deal.
Trade Grade: A-
Washington Wizards
For the Wizards, this deal gives them an above-average post scorer who will immediately fill out this team and make them a serious contender for a low-seed playoff spot in the Eastern Conference. As previously mentioned, the Wizards don’t plan on keeping Brown, Marshall, or Lee, so Gortat was obviously the focal point of the trade. Using a first-round pick on Gortat, however, may not have been in the best interest of the team’s long term plans. There is definitely a chance the Wizards miss the playoffs, and in that scenario, they very well may keep the pick for next season since the Western Conference is good enough to have at least 2 or 3 teams end with a better record than the teams that miss the playoffs in the Eastern Conference. But if the Wizards do make the playoffs as a low seed or finish with the 13th or 14th pick of next year’s draft, they will be forfeiting a pick with a lot of potential next year. Players like Dario Saric, James Young, and Doug McDermott could be available in the mid-teens according to NBADraft.net’s 2014 NBA Mock Draft, and it would be very possible for Willie Cauley-Stein or Joel Embiid to fall to the teens, providing a potential replacement for Gortat. It’s clear that the Wizards want to contend now, but in order for them to become a legitimate contender in the future, they may need a lottery pick in next year’s draft to round out a solid, young core that now includes John Wall, Bradley Beal, and Otto Porter, Jr.
Trade Grade: C+
Summary
Phoenix has completely reshaped their roster in hopes of acquire enough assets to build a contender in the near future via draft picks and free agency (the Suns should have roughly 23 million in available cap space next summer), and simultaneously, the Suns have opened up a lot of playing time for their young talent to develop with. Overall, this seems like a great move for the future of the organization. However, while the Wizards may experience an immediate rise in wins this year, I believe that sending the draft pick in order to make the playoffs this year may prove to be a bit more risk than reward. The Wizards will have plenty of cap space to make a big free agent signing next summer as well, however combine that with what would have possibly been a lottery pick next year, and the Wizards could have doubled up on future options with the draft and free agency in 2014.
By Jon Elliott
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