Washington Wizards: 3 Possible Trades That Can Improve the Wizards Bench

The NBA trade deadline is less than a week away on Feb. 23. If any team needs to make a move, it’s the Washington Wizards. Here are three possible trades the Wizards can make before the deadline.

The Washington Wizards are 34-21 this season, third in the Eastern Conference. They have won 15 of their last 17 games, but as they enter their last stretch of games, they need to focus on team weaknesses. One of those glaring weaknesses has been their bench production.

The Wizards bench ranks 29th in the league in points per game (23.4),  last in rebounds per game (11.1), last in assists per game (4.8) and 28th in steals per game (2.1). This doesn’t bode well for a team looking to win an NBA championship.

With 27 games left before the playoffs, Washington needs to put some energy and focus into acquiring a solid bench player before the NBA trade deadline.

With a number of players on the trade block such as Los Angeles Lakers’ guard Lou Williams and New York Knicks‘ forward Carmelo Anthony, there’s room to improve. But the Washington Wizards can be cautious in their approach.

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They have some assets on their bench teams could use in their rotations, despite their low-ranking numbers. Guys like center Jason Smith and guard Trey Burke are still serviceable options in the right team’s rotation. There’s also a decision to make with center Ian Mahinmi.

He’s finally returned from platelet-rich plasma (PRP) treatment on both of his knees after appearing in just five games.

He’s under a minutes restriction at the moment, but if he can become a serviceable bench option, the team could have another asset on its hands for the offseason.

Here are some players the Wizards can trade for now to improve their path to the playoffs.