Wizards Named Big Offseason Winners

Teams on the periphery of the NBA don't often hear their names called when the rest of the league is naming the most notable winners and losers of the offseason.

The Washington Wizards didn't make any plays for any of the biggest names on the trade block or available free agents, the kind of move they shifted away from in shouldering a franchise-altering rebuild two years ago. They focus on the margins, bringing in young, unproven players who suit their long-term vision, and others have started to notice how they've paired direction with execution .

They've completely ducked out of free agency, making all of their moves through trade. Two big moves, the decision to offload Jordan Poole for expiring contracts and draft capital, as well as the Cam Whitmore trade, got the Wizards named by Bleacher Report as four of the biggest winners of the summer.

Their most recent choice to bring Whitmore back home to his native DMV was the first thing mentioned by Grant Hughes, who acknowledged the calculated choice to take a low-risk high-reward flier on the once-highly touted Houston Rockets prospect. "The Wizards reeled in a big-wing scoring dynamo whose bucket-getting talents hint at star upside," he wrote. "All it cost them was a pair of future second-rounders."

He, along with fellow scorer Tre Johnson, look like intriguing offensive forces to invite to the defense-first core that Washington spent their first two seasons constructing. The franchise can use as many talented players as they can in figuring out which of them will last as bankable, long-term pieces, with the young slew of talent lending itself well to open auditions for minutes.

And losing a franchise star in Jordan Poole may hurt for sentimental purposes, but the Wizards made the kind of choice that set them up better for the short and long term. They got one more draft pick in the trade, which they swiftly spent on another player in Jamir Watkins, as well as some financial flexibility.

"Washington continued the shrewd financial maneuvering it has employed since dumping Bradley Beal on the Phoenix Suns by swapping out Jordan Poole, Saddiq Bey and the No. 40 overall pick for CJ McCollum, Kelly Olynyk and a future second-rounder," Hughes said. "That'll set them up to have as much as $100 million in cap space next summer, putting them in an even more extreme power position than the cash-rich Brooklyn Nets enjoyed this year."

Wizards fans now have a fascinating team to look forward to, stacked with potential-filled prospects with a few expiring veterans lining the background as more ammunition to land future assets. Their sneaky maneuvering got them put into the same conversation as the Atlanta Hawks, Houston Rockets and the Denver Nuggets as some of the best offseason performers entering mid-July.