Wizards' D'Angelo Russell Dilemma Meets Best-Case Scenario Ending

And just like that, the Wizards have flipped a dead spot on their depth chart into a familiar face in Middleton, someone with a pronounced scoring/playmaking burst to offer and the willingness to actually deploy it as a contributing member of the 2026-27 squad.

Even if Middleton remains far from his All-Star heyday, Washington escaped DLo's albatross contract guillotine about as cleanly as anyone could have hoped.

What's Next for All Involved Parties?

Middleton, at the very least, is a threat to crack Washington's upcoming rotation, and that alone makes him more of an on-court asset than Russell.

The journeyman point guard never had much of a future in a Trae Young-orchestrated situation, though it sounds as if he's remained firm in disallowing his recent travels around the league from bogging him down. He's already given more comments following his move to Memphis than he did during his months-long Washington tenure, clarifying on Instagram that he's "still dangerous."

Even if he were to ball out as a Grizzly and steal a few more years paddling around the NBA, he still leaves Washington with an inadvertent advantage to play around with outside of Middleton's own veteran potential. The Wizards' ability to dump his money without accepting any contracts directly in return from Memphis creates yet another trade exception to cash in on in the future. Just as they cash in on the Kelly Olynyk exception just before the buzzer, another team-building asset materializes.

If nothing else, the Wizards have proven elite at proving to the rest of the game that they aren't in the business of wasting assets. That includes roster spots- always at a premium, with one of the team's previous starters now replacing a black hole on Washington's payroll- as well as other monetary maneuvers to continue building through the margins.

Even as stacking on-court and development wins continues growing as a central in-house goal, the organization continues impressing on the business side of basketball.