Wizards Insider Was SHOCKED By Deni Avdija Trade

Wizards Insider Was SHOCKED By Deni Avdija Trade

today’s top story from the perspective of someone who’s there you are looking live this just in not my beat alrighty let’s bring in our pal Josh Robbins from the athletic Wizards beat reporter uh Josh if I had told you it’s 5:00 now I happened to know that the Avia trade went down at 7 o’clock at least became public at 7:00 last night because it was right as my show ended and we officially switched over into our draft show if I told you uh 22 hours ago that Denny Avia was not going to be on the team a you’re surprised like one through 10 would have been what nine really Nine without question or nine yeah uh so some inside journalism here right around that that time maybe around four o’clock I got word that the Wizards were about to trade Kyle kosma oh wow and and so so did colleagues of mine now that turned out to be 100% inaccurate but it was going around the entire league that they were trading kuzma and we checked with the team that they were supposedly going to trade him to and it turned out to be totally bogus so uh yes I expected a trade but not that trade that’s so interesting um because I would that would have made a lot more sense and I think if you had told me yesterday this time that Kyle kosman was traded by the end of the night my surprise level would have been about a three Avia would have been a lot higher uh I don’t know that I would have gotone nine but I maybe an 8.7 I now I think about it yeah it is pretty wild that they traded him so what ultimately was the reasoning uh Josh in your mind and from what Will Dawkins said last night about why uh why they make this move you know I think fans look at a 23y old ascending all the things um I certainly actually agree with the move but you cover this team day in day out you’ve got the sources the info why do you think they did it so they they are not commenting because the trade is not official yet right right right so but here’s why and there are a lot of reasons one is that Denny’s timeline doesn’t match the incoming rookies timeline and the rookies they’re going to draft next year and the year after that by the time the these rookies and the future rookies are close to their Prime are beginning to approach it and are starting to get good if they draft the right guys Denny will be about 28 and about ready for his third NBA contract and hitting unrestricted free agency but beyond that it’s not about winning now and Denny would help them win now and it’s better for them to carve out time for these rookies I let those rookies make mistakes and try to go straight to the bottom and win the draft lottery the next two years and finally Denny I think has a higher trade value right now than anyone else on the roster except for balal and they’re not going to trade Bal so the next year you know not winning peace like how much of that is what we’re talking about here because as your uh Hall of Fame colleague David Aldridge pointed out on Twitter last night the next two drafts unlike this one are loaded the superstars that the Wizards need are in the next two drafts and thus they have every incentive and it is responsible in its own way to be terrible how much of it is is about like clearing minutes for SAR maximizing Denny’s value versus like oh this guy got too good and we need to be bad I think it’s more about clearing minutes for guys like SAR it’s like really for clearing minutes for for maybe taishon George or or uh bub Carrington or and really below and really below part of the part of the issue here with Denny is that Denny had a career year shot 37% from the field made all these gains the team still finished with 15 wins uh was Denny going to move the needle that much probably not but the stakes are so high in the upcoming Lottery that they can’t afford to take a bunch of chances and the haul that they got for him probably was would have been much larger and was much larger than what they could have gotten for kozma does that mean that kozma is here or is kozma still in your opinion is Josh Robbins Wizards beat reporter for the athletic with us here on the Hoffman show is kusma just here for now I think he’s I think he’s going to begin the season in Washington but next year’s trade deadline Anything Could Happen he was nearly moved this past trade deadline so uh I perhaps the Wizards are making the wager that his value will go up closer to next year’s trade deadline when certain contenders need to make a move to keep pace I don’t think Kyle kosma finishes his contract in Washington he’s got three more years left yeah I I would be very surprised as well and and he’s he’s just so useful on a good team that it would seem that that someone would want him uh again we’re talking to Josh Robbins and Josh I want to get back to SAR and the guys they actually took last night who will be here we’ll be talking about probably for the next couple of years in a moment but uh speaking of things that happened around this time yesterday um you have the the OG and anobi contract and that’s followed uh or preceded I guess uh that follows if you will uh the trade for Mel Bridges by the Knicks where they give up four first rounders and a fifth pick swap so essentially five first round picks I’m curious as you talked to folks around the League what the reaction was to the Knicks giving up five first round picks for male Bridges and how that may have impacted you know what Will Dawkins and Company wanted for a Denny Avia and want for a Kyle kzo what did that do to the trade market I don’t think it did much to the trade market because when the Knicks are going to be sending out these first round picks assuming that they are going to be challenging the Celtics for the East title those first round picks are not going to be worth what you and I really think about a first round pick they’ll probably be 24 or later at least for the time being uh but Mel bridg is three and D well he’s not a three and D Wing he’s a two-way Wing uh three andd wings like Denny particularly guys who have got a lot of size who can switch out onto anyone one through four have enormous value and there’s a qu there are questions in the league whether Denny’s 37% three-point shooting last year was a fluke and if he were to have a big decline this upcoming season and the Wizards had kept him his trade value would have would have diminished and as for what people were thinking about the Knicks well they’re clearly all in and now they have yet another perimeter Defender they can throw at the likes of Jason Tatum and Jaylen Brown and a guy who by the way can really score yeah so the Knicks are in business they are definitely trying uh I do I did find it quite funny some of memes Josh going around about uh like tibs and uh male are a match made in heaven uh at least that’s what everyone is hoping uh a guy who hasn’t missed a game since high school and of course tibs who would just like all of his starters to play 48 minutes 82 games a year if he had it his way uh so we’re gonna test we’re gonna test the durability of male Bridges Josh and I hope he doesn’t break right and by the way you’re you’re so right to bring up Brooklyn because Brooklyn is now clearly totally racing to the bottom yes and they are going to be one of the teams neck and neck with the Wizards for the League’s worst record maybe Detroit uh not San Antonio anymore uh so did that in the back of the Wizard’s Minds um help inform the decision yesterday maybe interesting bit there’s a bit in a five player draft next year or where there maybe five cornerstones there is real benefit that to finishing with the worst record rather than the second worst record because you’re assured of drafting no worse than fifth right right for those that don’t know for to to just connect the dots uh the most you can drop based off of lottery results if you if all four teams uh from outside the top four first record F worst records won their respective lotteries for those picks you could fall the way down to fifth obviously it’s highly unlikely uh but that’s why that math maths that way I don’t know if Josh did a good job of explaining that or just made it more confusing for people so we’re just going to keep it moving uh alexar is the pick for the Wizards at number two do you think that was the right selection and and why ultimately do they go in that direction taking the 71 man uh out of France at number two he was the right selection in this draft uh at number one he would have been the right selection in this draft if the Wizards had had the number one pick uh he’s a guy who if everything goes right will be a a borderline all defensive team player who might have the ability in time to hit a three right now he could probably stick with a whole bunch of guys if he’s guarding them one-on-one there are a lot of holes in his game right now but this is a draft where there are almost no sure things and if there are any sure things they sure don’t have the ceiling that alexar has Donovan Clingan probably a sure thing with a very low ceiling that’s that’s what makes SAR the right pick for the Wizards because if the Wizards had tried had entered this draft just wanting to get role players they could have done that but a whole bunch of role players doesn’t get the Wizards anywhere at this stage of the game right yeah totally worth the swing uh which then brings us to the other two guys that they swung on bub Carrington uh are we and by the way I’ve heard keesan George today I’ve also heard kaon George do we 100% know which one that is so we can properly find out on Saturday we’re we’re gonna find out on on Saturday so I heard kaan first and then I was listening to cbs’s uh table and they went kesan and I was like great now I’m just going to sound like a doofus on the radio but we’ll figure it out Saturday it’ll be fine uh let’s start off with Carrington we know how to say bub uh what what can you tell us about bub Carrington and why the Wizards coveted him with that 14th pick they got from Portland and the AA trade 64 played for Carmelo Anthony’s youth team which is why you’re seeing Carmelo Anthony quoted about Bob Carrington from Baltimore uh comes from a basketball family his dad is a basketball coach uh went to the same high school that angel Reese went to in Baltimore um he’s not even yet 19 he’s one of the youngest players in this class and after that oneandone year at Pittsburgh he’s uh he’s a late bloomer who again if everything goes right could be a highlevel combo guard a guy who is very comfortable at the one do we think that he can play the one this year Josh and and watching some of his stuff some of the questions that come up are his decision-making ability and I I’m just curious like he clearly projects as a point guard longterm he’s been a point guard in high school and and you mentioned you know his his kind of upbringing in AA whatever late growth spurt so he was a point guard by default in some ways uh that now is 65 you’re like cool he’s got point guard background point guard pedigree and size which is which is great but can he run an NBA team day one or is this a guy that’s going to need a couple of years to figure that part of the the roll out he may need a few years to figure that part out I think he’s got a a really good feel for the game which is one of the reasons why the Wizards like him that’s one of the things that they value one of the characteristics that they value uh but the more the more Growing Pains these guys have they can they can withstand those grow growing pains because the goal right now is not to win and if they have a bunch of growing pains in the next two years but ultimately get through it and improve then so much the better because the real difference makers for this team have just finished high school or are just about to begin their senior years in high school you know guys like a Cooper flag or Ace Bailey or AJ Deens a c cam Boozer those are really with the exception of probably alexar maybe below possibly Carrington guys in high school or who just finished them those are going to be the real difference makers for the Washington Wizards so where does George fit in he’s a super interesting guy by the way fits the mold for a wizard he he’s French Josh I know he he he’s basically French he went to high school in France for those who don’t know he’s born in Switzerland went to high school in France and then played the year at Miami last year so just I don’t know how your du lingo is going Josh but my French is going terribly uh what can you tell us uh about George out of Miami he’s six he’s 68 had an enormous grow spurt within recent years and he shoots 41% from three has the reputation of being soft as a Fender but at 68 even if he’s not particularly explosive he can he has the ability again if everything goes right to be a three andd type of guy um ironically not quite unlike what people hope Denny will be although Denny’s probably more athletic yeah no so that that TR that’s part of what makes this whole thing uh hurt for a lot of wizards fans seeing Denny being moved out the door yeah I totally I I feel for wizards fans because being told hey this is going to take a while when you’ve been waiting since 1979 for your team to win 50 games which for most Wizards fans is their entire life uh that’s tough that’s tough to hear and I guess let’s end on that note Josh you know we’ll have to have you back and talk about some of the free agency stuff and some of the decisions looming here for Washington from tus Jones to any potential other trades kma or kiss or you know teams are teams are certainly going to call but how much pressure if any do does this front office feel to try to take care of their fans a little bit because I think it’s really easy for those fans that are into it they’re like I’m invested in the rebuild I know it’s going to take a while but there’s definitely other fans that are just like what the hell man like we we’ve been terrible for so long now you’re telling us we’re going to get worse when when’s the good part you just going to keep kicking the can down the road do you think this front office feels that that Ted feels that uh and Monumental as a as an organization feels that at all or they just kind of plug in their ears and knowing that in the end if they win it’ll all be okay or are those two things not even mutually exclusive if they ultimately get to where everyone hopes they’ll go then it will be a distant memory but it’s going to be a very difficult next two years and there’s no getting around it the real danger comes if they don’t have any Lottery luck the next two years and don’t come away with a franchise caliber Cornerstone then the pressure arises they are very much aware that this franchise has gone almost 50 years without 50 wins and uh actually 45 years without that about 50 wins so it’s they they’re well aware of it they’re well aware of the Wizards being the fourth most popular major professional sports team team in Washington and there’s enormous risk involved if they don’t get that franchise Cornerstone player in one of the next two drafts because then people will really be upset uh Michael Wier is very much aware of the fan base’s suffering but this is the way he believes in building a team same with Will Dawkins and one of the things to watch watch will be will Ted leanis be willing to remain patient if they don’t get that franchise Cornerstone player in the next two years that’s a great Point uh Josh I’m gonna make you make a one-word prediction here that nobody’s gonna remember because it’s a very long-term prediction but you brought it up 1979 to 2029 that would be 50 years without 50 wins do they go 50 years without 50 wins or does this rebuild result sometime probably in 2028 or 2029 in a 50 win team yes or no by 20293 yes yay hey but they have to have Lottery luck man yeah if they get lucky uh but that is the nature of the NBA Josh always appreciate the time thanks so much man uh great work around uh everything leading up to and and look forward to uh reading not only your Recaps but everything around free agency great that’s Craig uh that is Robbins everybody Wizards beat reporter for the athletic and uh wosh is a well-reasoned smart informed individual Matt essik you’re in today for Anthony today is a Thursday our next segment will begin at 5:30 do you know what happens Thursdays at 5:30 is Thursdays at 5:30 when we go out or no that’s lenel isn’t it no some sometimes it’s lenel um I haven’t lyell’s still sitting out there maybe we’ll bring ly in at six that was not no no no no no no no no um what’s the opposite of smart informed and reasoned the callers close the YouTube comments never read the comments is next this is the Hoffman show on the t980 and the Odyssey app

Wizards reporter for The Athletic Josh Robbins joins the show to react to the Deni Avdija trade and the Wizards exciting first round of the 2024 NBA Draft. Robbins shares both his shock, but also why he agrees with the Wizards trading Deni. Plus, he talks about the Wizards draft picks and why they went down particular paths in the draft.

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