Washington and Portland have decided to join the draft-day trade party.
The Wizards are reportedly sending forward Deni Avdija to the Trail Blazers in exchange for Malcolm Brogdon and the 14th overall pick in the 2024 NBA Draft, according to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski.
Portland will also include the second-most favourable of their 2029 first-round picks and two second-rounders as part of the deal.
Avdija, 23, is coming off his fourth year in the NBA where he took a major step forward. He finished sixth in Most Improved Player voting after averaging career-highs in points (14.7), rebounds (7.2) and assists (3.8) on 59 per cent true shooting.
He’ll now join a Trail Blazers core centred around last year’s third-overall pick Scoot Henderson, DeAndre Ayton (1st overall – 2018) and Canadian Shaedon Sharpe.
Washington, in exchange for the former ninth-overall pick, has loaded up on capital as they head into what appears to be a rebuild. The Wizards now make two lottery selections on Wednesday, already drafting at No. 2. They also have the 26th overall pick in the Draft.
They’ll also get a veteran in the locker room with the 31-year-old Brogdon. The 2016 Rookie of the Year and former Sixth Man of the Year is coming off a season in which he only played 39 games due to injury. Brogdon averaged 15.7 points, 3.8 rebounds and 5.5 assists.
And now that the 14th overall selection is in the hands of Washington and not Portland, that could impact Canadian Zach Edey’s draft day experience. The two-time National Player of the Year was reported to be a potential target for the Trailblazers with one of their two lottery picks (Nos. 7 and 14).
