Wizards Continue Adding Young Talent

What's more, Whitmore wanted to be a Wizard. The minutes looked like they'd be growing even thinner after the Rockets acquired Kevin Durant, Dorian Finney-Smith and Clint Capela within the last two weeks, and the 20-year-old Whitmore was already on the outside looking-in on the rotation.

Now, he was available for a reason, as it was known that the Rockets were shopping their young potential star while he was still an asset. He's known for being a somewhat unwilling passer and just about always looking to get his, a major reason why his clear talent hasn't yet translated into stardom or even consistent minutes.

But the Wizards choice to take a flier on the 20-year-old only deepens their talent pool without taking much away.

Getting Whitmore instead of Jonathan Kuminga, another potential star scorer who's on the trade block struggling to fit into his own team in Golden State, brings in a less-proven talent who'll still have to earn his stripes, while Kuminga would have had to start in a trade that would've seen Washington lose a lot more than two deep-cut draft picks.

The Wizards also get to hold onto their coveted expiring contracts that fans were once begging to be used for a low-risk high-reward trade like this, with the Marcus Smarts and Khris Middletons sticking around for another potential transaction. Two second-rounders on their own aren't much, especially considering how many Washington still has to use as trade bait.

The team took their time to pick the phones back up following their most recent draft haul, but now look to be shaping up a Summer League squad for the ages in bagging yet another former top prospect looking to break through in the quietly crowded Wizards rotation.