Last summer's trade for Deni Avdija was surprising at the time because Portland was a rebuilding team, surrendering two first-round picks for an established player. It was never a question of Avdija's talent -- it had to do with how this fit into their timeline.
Not only were they giving up two picks, but they were also worsening the value of their own. The Blazers were a 21-win team last season and should have been trying to bottom out to land a top pick in the 2025 NBA Draft, but they made a trade that significantly raised their floor.
Those factors made it a polarizing move, but despite those concerns, we remained high on the deal. The trade looks even more like a win now, given Avdija's recent play. He averaged All-Star-level numbers in March with 23.4 points, 9.8 rebounds, and 5.2 assists on 51/46/81 shooting splits.
Avdija’s breakout silences doubts about Blazers’ bold offseason trade
Sam Vecenie and Bryce Simon recently ranked the top five worst 2024 offseason moves on the Game Theory Podcast. The 76ers' Paul George signing and Joel Embiid extension took the cake. But an honorable mention at No. 6 was the Wizards trading Avdija for Malcolm Brogdon and two first-round picks.
"They got a lot of value for him. Bub Carrington is going to be an NBA player. They have another first-round pick coming. There is real value here going their way. At the time, I thought it was a win-win move. [Avdija] has taken that next leap as being a real power wing," said Vecenie.
Avdija's positional size and skill set make him the type of player who can seamlessly blend into any roster. He'd still fit in well with a rebuilding team like the Wizards because he's only 24 years old and has the playmaking ability to get other players involved.
"The hard part with [trading] Deni is that I think he would also be a really valuable player on a rebuilding team. I think the way he plays would be perfectly fine with that," said Simon.
Vecenie also notes that there's a chance this trade still ends up 'okay' for Washington, given their rebuilding situation, but Deni's incredible contract makes the deal that much more in Portland's favor.
Time will tell if the Wizards made the right decision. The sting of losing Avdija will go away if they land someone like Cooper Flagg or Dylan Harper this summer. But the lottery is a crapshoot. The Blazers took the sure-fire thing in Avdija, and it's already paying off better than anyone anticipated.