3 best trades Wizards must make before 2025 NBA trade deadline
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Plenty of NBA playoff contenders could use veteran depth ahead of the Feb. 6 trade deadline, and the Washington Wizards have three notable names. Kyle Kuzma, Jonas Valanciunas, and Malcolm Brogdon have established track records while still producing well enough to be valuable on a winning team.
Meanwhile, the Wizards (6-36) are focused on player development and acquiring draft capital to accelerate their rebuild. Veterans such as Brogdon were brought in to be “culture builders” as they mentor youngsters such as No. 2 overall pick Alex Sarr and second-year guard Bilal Coulibaly. However, Washington must balance the value of keeping them with dealing them for assets before their contracts expire.
There’s a greater chance of the Wizards keeping the aforementioned veterans than shipping out all three at the deadline, but let’s explore viable trade scenarios for each of them anyway.
Kyle Kuzma to the Sacramento Kings
Washington fans have been begging the team to trade Kuzma for over a year, but the former NBA champion is unlikely to fetch a first-round pick in return. Still, the Wizards could get a decent return if they play their cards right.
The Kings (22-20) are one of the main teams linked to Kuzma on the rumor mill despite firing head coach Mike Brown on Dec. 30. Although their season has been chaotic, they still sit in seventh place in the Western Conference and could use a boost to their second unit as they aim for the playoffs.
Kuzma is having a down year, but he would still fill that need for Sacramento. The 29-year-old is averaging 14.3 points on 42.4% shooting with 5.4 rebounds and 2.6 assists across 27.4 minutes per game, which would easily make him the Kings’ best bench player.
A trade that would work for both parties is the Wizards dealing Kuzma for Kevin Huerter, Colby Jones, and a 2026 second-round pick, via Fanspo’s NBA Trade Machine. While it’s ideal for Washington to get more picks, it wouldn’t have much leverage to ask for more with Huerter and Jones in the deal. Sacramento must offload players to acquire Kuzma to stay under the first apron, so there’s no straight-up “Kuzma for picks” scenario between these teams.
However, Huerter and Jones still provide value as younger bench players with multiple years left on their contracts. Huerter is 26 years old and locked up through 2026, while Jones is 22 and also locked up through ’26 with a club option for the following season.
Most importantly, the pick would add to Washington’s war chest of selections it can either use for future trades or to draft players with.
Jonas Valanciunas to the Los Angeles Lakers
Valanciunas has been linked to the Lakers for months, as he’d make for a perfect Anthony Davis backup. The 32-year-old is averaging 11.6 points on 56.1% shooting with 8.2 rebounds and 2.2 assists per game across 19.7 minutes off the bench this season. He’d be a clear upgrade to Jaxson Hayes and would undoubtedly help the injury-prone Davis stay fresh down the stretch.
A good return for Washington would be the Lakers’ two 2025 second-rounders as well as Gabe Vincent. This would give the Wizards a whopping five second-round picks in the upcoming draft, arming them with plenty of ammunition to either into the first round or acquire another player.
Meanwhile, Vincent would be a salary dump for Los Angeles. To make this deal work, the Lakers need to send at least the $9.9 million that Valanciunas is making this season back to Washington, as they must stay under the second apron. Vincent, who’s averaging just 4.6 points per game on 39.7% shooting across 19.7 minutes, counts for $11.01 million against the cap.
Malcolm Brogdon to the Dallas Mavericks
Brogdon (foot) isn’t as prevalent in the rumor mill due to injury, but he’s been effective when healthy this year. The 32-year-old is averaging 13.8 points per game on 44.3% with 4.1 rebounds and 3.9 assists across 24.8 minutes in 18 contests, and would be good insurance for Luka Doncic (calf). The Slovenian superstar wants to return before the All-Star break, via ESPN’s Shams Charania, but Brogdon’s presence could take the pressure off of him.
Ditto for Kyrie Irving, who recently missed two weeks with a bulging disc in his back. The future Hall-of-Famer is now off the injury report, but who knows if and when he has another flare-up?
Assuming that Brodgdon will return soon, the Wizards could send him and a 2027 second-rounder for Naji Marshall, Maxi Kleber, and a 2025 second-rounder. The pick swap allows them to get more short-term capital, and they already have three other ’27 second-rounders anyway. Furthermore, Marshall is an effective backup forward, as he’s averaging 11 points on 50.3% with 3.6 boards across 24.7 minutes per game. The 26-year-old also has two more years left on his deal.
Lastly, Kleber would be a salary dump for Dallas that keeps it under the first apron.
The bottom line is that Washington is unlikely to fetch any blockbuster returns for these players. However, something is better than nothing, especially in Brogdon’s case. The former Sixth Man of the Year’s contract expires at the end of this season, while Kuzma and Valanciunas each have two more years left. The Wizards could feasibly wait to deal the latter two if they don’t like their current offers, or even keep all three depending on Brogdon’s injury progress.
Regardless, Washington has options, and it’s unlikely to settle for an uninspiring trade return for the sake of making a deal. The organization will only make moves that it thinks will truly help its rebuilding process.
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