Wizards reportedly discussing trades for former No. 9 overall draft pick

According to a report by The Athletic's Shams Charania, the Wizards are looking to move on from Hachimura, the power forward who was the No. 9 pick in the 2019 NBA Draft. The reason is a "logjam" at the forward position, where the Wizards also have Kyle Kuzma, Kristaps Porzingis and the No. 9 pick from the 2020 NBA Draft, Deni Avdija. Porzingis can play center, but Kuzma and Hachimura both prefer to play the four.

That's an issue because they're both approaching free agency this summer. Kuzma has a $13 million player option that he'll probably decline, while Hachimura can become a restricted free agent this summer. With the Wizards' payroll nearing the luxury-tax line, and the team sitting in 12th place in the Eastern Conference, ownership is unlikely to want to pay the tax for a team that isn't even in the playoffs.

Kuzma is averaging a career-high 21.6 points this season, and a career-high 3.9 assists, a part of his game that's emerged since the Los Angeles Lakers traded him to the Wizards in 2021. He's still an offense-first player, just like Hachimura is. The two are a similar size and score with similar efficiency, but Kuzma passes more, gets injured less (Hachimura has missed 35 percent of Washington's games in his career) and maintains his efficiency at a higher volume.

Clearly they have two players for one spot. But what truly limits Washington is Bradley Beal's supermax contract, which gives him 35 percent of the salary cap for each of the next five seasons. Combined with Porzingis' $36 million player option next year, that doesn't leave much flexibility for the rest of the roster.

Kuzma can make far more as a free agent than he can signing an extension, so he's sure to decline his player option. This means Hachimura is nearly certain to get traded. If the Wizards don't think Kuzma will come back, or they believe he'll want to much money, the they very well might deal both forwards.