In the last week, the Wizards have turned Bradley Beal and Porziņģis into Chris Paul (who might be traded elsewhere for more value), Landry Shamet, six second-round picks from the Phoenix Suns, pick swaps, Tyus Jones, Danilo Gallinari, Mike Muscala and another second-rounder from Boston.
That might not sound like a massive haul for the team's two best players, but it kind of is when you consider the circumstances.
Any potential Beal trade was doomed last summer, when the Wizards gave him the league's only no-trade clause. At that moment, he assumed the ability to dictate where he'd go if he ever asked out. That Washington was able to secure any sort of value was a win. And if someone now gives them real consideration for CP3, that package will improve.
As for Porziņģis, the loss of Beal would've made it easy for him to justify declining his player option and entering free agency. In that scenario, the Wizards would've lost him for nothing. Instead, they get the game's best backup point guard in Jones (another player they can potentially flip in a trade), a high second-rounder and more salary filler that could be used in other deals. That's far better than the alternative.
Michael Winger, Washington's new president, inherited one of the worst roster and cap situations in the NBA, and he's doing exactly what should've been done years ago.
This team needed to be torn down to the studs. And even if he can't get as much for that teardown as the Wizards may have been able to get a few years ago, Winger is still headed in the right direction.
