Interest in Veteran Wizards Guard Stalling

The Washington Wizards were never under any false pretense about the kind of interest Marcus Smart would attract on the trade block.

They hope to bag a draft pick and maybe even another expiring deal in exchange for the former Defensive Player of the Year-winning guard, but knew they'd have to wait for other teams to come knocking with their real offers. Free agency's peak has passed, meaning that the time for the Wizards' peers to check in on Smart should be starting soon.

But according to Matt Moore of Action Network, those hypothetical trade offers have yet to start seeping into Washington's inbox. "The Wizards would like to move Marcus Smart to a contender, but there’s been little interest so far," he wrote. "He might be one of the guys moved in the latter days of free agency after teams strike out on other targets."

Smart, like the Wizards' other expiring veterans, have a lot of miles on them. Smart, Khris Middleton, Malcolm Brogdon, CJ McCollum and Kelly Olynyk make up Washington's older half of the locker room, with each of the long-time pros each seeing their fair share of big-game NBA action before ending up in DC.

Other teams likely figure that they can swindle the Wizards with lowball offers in exchange for their more weathered pieces, but Washington has spent the first two years of their rebuilding process by repeatedly extracting more value through trade than anyone thought possible.

These are the same guys who came up with a second-round pick out of thin air through the Jordan Poole trade, stole the young AJ Johnson out of Milwaukee by offering Kyle Kuzma and secured the pick they'd go on to spend on rookie Will Riley for a couple of cast-offs in Marvin Bagley III and Johnny Davis.

They most recently scooped up a talented, ill-fitting prospect in Cam Whitmore for a pair of second-round picks, inspiring belief that Washington executive is likely to hold out until they find an offer desperate enough to net them back enough assets.