The Wizards need to find a rebuilding team willing to give up at least one NBA-caliber wing, if not two, for Gortat and a first-round pick. There aren’t many potential trade partners who fit the bill. The most interesting one by far is Utah. The Jazz hit the jackpot with rookie guard Donovan Mitchell, and his emergence has changed their timetable as a franchise. They can afford to carry Gortat on their books next season if it allows them to add more young players next to Mitchell. The Jazz have shown the ability to find talent late in the draft, selecting Rudy Gobert and Rodney Hood in the same range where the Wizards’ pick will be.
Alec Burks is the type of player Washington should target. The former lottery pick can barely crack the rotation in Utah, but he’s a high-level talent who never clicked with Quin Snyder and needs a fresh start. At 6-foot-6 and 215 pounds with a 6-foot-11 wingspan, he can defend multiple positions, create his own shot off the dribble, and threaten the defense as a shooter when he’s off the ball. Burks has been productive this season, with per-36 minute averages of 18.5 points, 6.4 rebounds, 2.1 assists, and 1.5 steals on 41.5 percent shooting, and he’s still only 26 years old. He will make $10.6 million this season and $11.3 million next season, so swapping him and Gortat would not change the long-term financial picture for either team.
If the two teams exchange bad contracts and the Wizards give up a pick, they might be able to convince the Jazz to throw a young player like Royce O’Neale in the deal. O’Neale is the type of player that Washington has never found in the Wall-and-Beal era. He’s a 24-year-old rookie wing who has emerged over the past month as a reliable 3-and-D player. O’Neale can defend multiple positions, space the floor, and move the ball, and he’s locked into a three-year contract at the league minimum. Insert Burks and O’Neale into the rotation instead of Gortat, and the Wizards would instantly become a more versatile team.
