What the Wizards got in exchange to Marvin Bagley III, Isaiah Livers, and two future second-round picks
As the NBA trade deadline draws near, the Washington Wizards have planned to bring in young players with promise and get as many prospective draft picks as they can.
There is likely still a lot of preparation to be done before the deadline on February 8, but team leaders got an early start on it on Sunday.
It’s more or less about the draft picks and salary changes for both teams than the players being traded.
The Pistons will be sending concentrate Marvin Bagley III, as well as draft, grabs from Detroit to Washington. Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN broke the deal, but both teams have since confirmed it.
This frees up the $12.5 million that Bagley was owed for next season. Along with Gallinari and Muscalla’s ending contracts, this should give the Pistons more than $60 million to cap space next summer.
They might negotiate smaller deals to add a few good backup players to help Cade Cunningham as well as their young core.
Or, as some league sources told NBC Sports, they could take on a different team’s bad deal in exchange for a very valuable trade pick as well as a young player.
You can choose any of those choices or a mix of them. While the Pistons have options this summer, it will be up to GM Tom Weaver to make the best use of them.
When the Wizards take on pay next year, they get two second-round picks as free money. In the short run, though, they get two reserve players younger than 26 to try out.
25-year-old Bagley was the No. 2 pick in the 2018 NBA Draft. He averages 10.2 points and 4.5 rebounds every game and shoots 59.1%. He will play steady minutes behind starter big Daniel Gafford.
Livers scores five points per contest on average but only shoots 34.5%. He will have a chance to show that he belongs to the forward lineup.
His deal with the Wizards ends at the end of the season, but they still have the right to bring him back if he gets it.
In the middle of one of the worst seasons in the history of collegiate sports, the Pistons’ management has tried to shake proceedings up a bit. It’s already warm in there, so this just makes it worse.
Detroit has dealt Danilo Gallinari as well as Mike Muscala to the Washington Wizards in exchange for Marvin Bagley III, Isaiah Livers, and two possible second-round draft picks. The Pistons are currently in last place with a record of 3-36.
Because of the deal, the Pistons won’t have to pay Bagley the $12.5 million he was due for next season.
The Wizards are going to shell out that amount of money, yet they will additionally receive a pair of second-round picks in return. The other people in the trade all have contracts that are about to end.
ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski says that Detroit has been wanting to add some experienced shots to their team for a long time. Gallinari and Muscala are two players who fit that description.
In Detroit, Bagley’s plan never quite worked out. His time with the team was cut down by Pistons coach Monty Williams to 18.4 minutes each game. He scored 10.2 points, grabbed 4.5 rebounds, and made 59.1% of his shots during that time.
Monty Williams, the coach of the Detroit Pistons, told reporters at practice on Sunday that he couldn’t say anything because the trade wasn’t official yet.
The Detroit News got a video at the time in Bagley and Livers saying goodbye to their friends after they found out about the deal.
The No. 2 pick in the 2018 draft, Bagley, scored 10.2 points and grabbed 4.5 rebounds per game while playing for the Pistons this past season.
Detroit has lost 35 of its continued 36 games and will go to Washington on Monday. Livers scored 5 points and 2 rebounds per game for the Lions.
For the Wizards this season, Gallinari scored an average of 7.0 points and Muscala scored an average of 4.0 points.
Washington has a 7-31 record, tied with San Antonio as the second-worst record within the NBA this season. Only Detroit has a worse record.