Tommy Sheppard has been running the Wizards front office for months now, and so far, so good. I already discussed my approval of how he handled the draft, and now, the Wizards have made another move worth being excited about.
By joining the AD trade as a third party, the Wizards will send off $1.1m to the Pelicans and receive Mortiz Wagner, Isaac Bonga, Jemerrio Jones, and a 2022 second-round pick from the Lakers. Ultimately, this deal was whipped up because it allows the Lakers to free up a total of $32m for a max player. In regards to this trade, the Lakers may be the national headline, but I absolutely love what the Wizards are getting here.
Since the Wizards have no cap space, they need young, cheap talent to fill out the roster. They got that in this deal. Also, the Wizards do not have a single second-round pick to their name until 2023, so acquiring one for 2022 is more important than it seems at first glance.
Let’s take a look at the specific pieces the team is getting here:
Moritz Wagner
It’s no secret that I’m a huge fan of Moritz Wagner because I’ve been a University of Michigan fanatic my entire life. According to NBC Sports, the Wizards loved the 6’11” Center during the pre-draft process last year but could not pull the trigger on taking him with the 15th pick. The Lakers drafted him 10 spots later. Wagner had an injury-riddled rookie season with the Lakers but showed that he could stretch the floor when he was out there. When coming out of college, Wagner needed to put on weight, but he has since added mass and can hold his own down low now. Wagner can shoot, is mobile, and loves to play. As he is only 22, he will be a great addition to a frontcourt that also has Thomas Bryant and Rui Hachimura.
Jemerrio Jones
Jemerrio Jones, a 6’5″ SF out of New Mexico State, is an interesting player. In college, he averaged 11 points and 13.2 rebounds a game. During his final season at New Mexico State, he had a stretch where he recorded 20+ rebounds in 3 consecutive games. Last season, his rookie year, he spent most of his time in the G League but got a few opportunities with the Lakers towards the end of last season. In his best statistical game, he scored 11 points and grabbed 15 rebounds on the road against the Portland Trailblazers. As I’m sure you’ve noticed by now, Jones is an oddly impressive rebounder for his size, but unfortunately, he has no outside shot to speak of right now. Hopefully, his shot can develop, but I’m not very optimistic since he is already 24-years-old and still attempted less than 20 threes last season. It should be fun to watch him rip down some rebounds amongst the trees when he gets in next year though.
Isaac Bonga
Isaac Bonga, a PG from Germany, has good size at 6’8″ and was the youngest player in the NBA last year. In 22 games with the Lakers, he played just 5.5 mpg. However, in the G League, he averaged 11.2 points, 6.2 rebounds, 1.2 steals, and 1.1 blocks. The main thing with Bonga is that he is extremely young and cheap, so the Wizards can hopefully mold him into the player they want at a low cost.
2022 Second-Round Pick
The pick is substantial because the Wizards have traded away all of their second-round picks leading up to the year of 2023 (thanks Grunfeld). It is good to see Tommy Sheppard already valuing picks more than the previous GM. Also, Adam Silver is looking to allow high school players to enter the draft by 2022, so the draft pool will hopefully be a little deeper starting around the time of this pick.
Overall, this is a very good move by the Washington front office, and I am starting to hope that Tommy Sheppard is offered the GM job soon. Lastly, free agency starts Sunday night, so get ready for a busy couple of weeks around the league! Have a good 4th of July everyone!
Boo On The Bullets 