Wizards get involved in busy day of NBA trade action

Roughly three hours before Thursday’s NBA trade deadline, Washington Wizards star Bradley Beal ominously tweeted: “Here we go!!!” The tweet was shared hundreds of times within minutes with those eager for deals anxiously waiting to see if Beal’s tweet meant that he could be on the move.

Turns out,  Beal’s tweet likely was referencing a deal that broke minutes later: The Washington Wizards sent guard Troy Brown Jr. and center Moe Wagner to the Chicago Bulls in exchange for forward Chandler Hutchinson and center Daniel Gafford. (Wagner was later sent to the Boston Celtics in exchange for Daniel Theis) 

In a chaotic day of deals, Beal remained a Wizard — hardly a surprise given the Wizards have told teams the three-time All-Star is off the market. But elsewhere, teams — including Washington — used the deadline to complete a flurry of trades that saw a number of notable players get moved.

The Orlando Magic dominated the day — blowing up their roster by trading their top players. They sent two-time All-Star center Nikola Vucevic and veteran Al-Farouq Aminu to the Bulls for center Wendell Carter, forward Otto Porter and two first-round picks. 

Orlando also dealt guard Evan Fournier to the Celtics in exchange for two second-round picks and forward Aaron Gordon to the Denver Nuggets for guard Gary Harris, guard R.J. Hampton and a first-round pick. 

The deals provide the Magic a chance to rebuild after failing to get out of the first round of the playoffs in the last two seasons. Orlando is just 15-29 this year, the second-worst team in the Eastern Conference. For the Nuggets, Celtics and Bulls, the trades give their respective teams a better chance to make a push in the postseason. The Celtics (21-23) and Bulls (19-24) have each had disappointing seasons and currently on pace to make the NBA’s play-in tournament. The Nuggets, meanwhile, are coming off a Western Conference Finals appearance, but are fifth in the West at 26-18. 

Thursday’s deadline turned out to be much more active than league insiders expected when predicting movement a few weeks ago. Some analysts thought that with the league’s expanded play-in tournament, teams could be less likely to sell off pieces.

But there was plenty of activity. Guard Victor Oladpio, who started the year in Indiana, was traded for the second time this season when the Houston Rockets sent him to the Miami Heat for guard Avery Bradley, forward Kelly Olynyk and a second-round draft pick. The Heat also acquired forward Nemanja Bjelica for Moe Harkless and Chris Silva. 

Contenders like the Philadelphia 76ers and the Los Angeles Clippers were also busy, addressing their needs for a point guard. The 76ers acquired veteran George Hill in a three-team swap with the New York Knicks and Oklahoma City Thunder, while the Clippers received Rajon Rondo from the Atlanta Hawks for Lou Williams and a pair of second-rounders.

In somewhat of a surprise, Toronto’s Kyle Lowry — the best point guard rumored to be available — ended up staying put.

Toronto, though, made other moves. The team shipped out guard Norman Powell to Portland for Gary Trent and Rodney Hood and traded Matt Thomas to the Utah Jazz for a second-round pick.

In the Western Conference, the Dallas Mavericks acquired shooter J.J. Redick and forward Nicolo Melli from the New Orleans Pelicans, sending back James Johnson, Wes Iwundu, a second-rounder and cash.

As for the Wizards, Washington addressed a key position of need in acquiring Gafford. The team was in need for a physical center after Thomas Bryant went down with a torn ACL earlier in the season. In Chicago, Gafford was the Bulls’ backup big — averaging 1.2 blocks in just 12.4 minutes per game. 

At its core, the trade with Chicago is a swap of players who had fallen out of favor with their teams. Despite the Wizards picking up Brown’s fourth-year option before the season, the 2018 15th overall selection fell out of coach Scott Brooks’ rotation. Hutchinson, the 22nd overall pick from that same draft, barely saw the floor in Chicago in part because of a leg injury and also because of coach Billy Donovan’s decision — logging just seven games this year. 

The Wizards are 15-27 this season, four games back of the Bulls for the last play-in spot in the Eastern Conference. They’ve lost seven of eight since the All-Star break.