Washington Wizards: 5 takeaways at the 2018 NBA All-Star break

2. Marcin Gortat remains put at the deadline

The Washington Wizards seemed to be actively shopping big man Marcin Gortat at last week’s NBA Trade Deadline, but at the end of it all, he’s staying put on the Wizards for now.

Gortat seems to have gotten lost in the shuffle this season as the NBA evolves to a more 3-point happy league. At 33 years of age, there’s no point attempting to change who he is now. While Wall’s “spoon-fed baskets” comments were unwarranted, Gortat does have the luxury of getting easy baskets — at least when his teammates gives him the ball.

He’s still averaging 8.8 points, 8.0 rebounds and 1.9 assists per game on 53.3 percent shooting this season. Regardless of age, he still boasts an offensive rating of 106.9 and defensive rating of 103.8 with a net rating of +3.2 in 2017-18. He may not be putting up eye-popping numbers, but his presence on the floor isn’t one to ignore either.

The Wizards front office was smart not to pull the trigger so soon on trading Gortat. He wouldn’t have been easy to let go without also giving up a first round draft pick. Washington has given up their first round draft pick for rental options that have gone on to sign elsewhere at season’s end. At least with Gortat, they can keep his production through the 2018-19 season, which is the final year of his contract with Washington.