The Washington Wizards recently traded away their pick in the 2017 NBA Draft for point guard Tim Frazier.
The Washington Wizards originally had the 52nd pick in the 2017 NBA Draft. Shortly before the trade deadline, the Wizards traded away their first round draft pick to the Brooklyn Nets for forward Bojan Bogdanovic.
Bogdanovic filled a much-needed void off the bench as instant offense among other things. With bench depth being more of an issue, Washington made a move before draft night.
On June 21, the Wizards traded away their pick in the second round to the New Orleans Pelicans for point guard Tim Frazier. Frazier is a third-year player out of Penn State University who went undrafted in the 2014 NBA Draft.
He averaged 7.1 points, 5.2 assists and 2.7 rebounds last season for the Pelicans in 65 appearances. Frazier started 35 games for the Pelicans as well, averaging 8.9 assists per game in those situations.
The Wizards also sent their $2.3 million trade exception to New Orleans so they’re able to absorb Frazier’s contract. He has an expiring contract worth roughly $2 million as well.
Wizards Acquire Tim Frazier From Pelicans For No. 52 Pick: https://t.co/cCH5Z5VuYJ pic.twitter.com/u4n1QSW0gS
— RealGM (@RealGM) June 22, 2017
On paper, it looks like the Washington Wizards made a snap decision. However, the reality is they don’t have much cap space to work with this offseason and needed a backup point guard badly.
Point guard Trey Burke was the team’s backup last season and he’s currently a restricted free agent. However, it doesn’t look like the team is going to re-sign him.
https://twitter.com/WashWizards/status/877918618712809472
This year’s NBA Draft class didn’t intrigue the Washington Wizards’ front office too much, but acquiring a proven player like Frazier gives them a solid backup to point guard John Wall, who logged a lot of minutes in the playoffs.
A G-League team is on the way
On the other hand, it helps the Wizards recently became the 27th NBA team to invest in a minor-league squad with the NBA’s G-League for the 2018-19 season. The team is building a new facility in Southeast D.C. set to be complete in 2018. It will house the Wizards’ practice floor, the Mystics’ home court and be the home of the new G-league team, whose name has yet to be announced.
As teams across the league are beginning to invest in player development, so are the Wizards. New rules set to go in effect next season will allow teams to sign up to two “two-way” players, allowing players to be with the franchise for up to 45 days while also spending most of the season with the team’s affiliate.
Although the Wizards were unable to acquire a draft pick by the end of the night, they still have a chance to sign some quality targets in free agency. There’s also Otto Porter Jr., who is a restricted free agent this offseason.
While it would be good to re-sign him, signing him for less than a max deal is more beneficial to the team. Getting Porter to sign for less than the max is another story.
Next: 2017 NBA Draft grades for all 30 teams
It is the second straight year Washington has gone without a pick in the NBA Draft. The Wizards made two selections in the 2015 NBA Draft (Jerian Grant and Aaron White). Both picks are no longer with the team.
Grade: B