By now, Portland Trail Blazers fans are well aware that the Deni Avdija trade with the Washington Wizards was a Joe Cronin masterclass. But with Avdija's star breakout, the trade has now become so lopsided in Portland's favor that even Wizards writers are admitting their own team's regret.
John Canady of Wiz of Awes recently published a piece highlighting the Wizards' regrettable decisions, with the Avdija trade now climbing to the top of that list.
"However, through all of their regretful decisions, there may not be one bigger than the team's impatience leading to them trading away a player who looks destined to become a future All-Star," Canady writes.
The Wizards should've seen Deni Avdija's breakout coming
The Blazers took an unconventional approach in their rebuild, giving up future assets for a more established player in Avdija. Portland sent Malcolm Brogdon, Bub Carrington (No. 14 overall pick in 2024), a 2029 first-round pick (second-most favorable between Portland, Boston, and Milwaukee), and two second-round picks to land the Wizards' rising star.
The Wizards were taking a patient rebuilding approach by pushing their timeline further down the road. But as Canady notes, they contradicted that patience by giving up on Avdija way too soon in his career.
"However, Washington's impatience led to the team forfeitting on Avdija's development and making a trade with the Portland Trail Blazers, which netted the Wizards two first-round picks and Malcolm Brogdon."
Many analysts initially deemed the Wizards the winner of this surprising trade. The narrative on that has completely flipped just two seasons later. Avdija is having a career year, averaging 25.5 points, 7.2 rebounds, and 6.3 assists on 47/38/81 shooting splits.
The puzzling thing is, he was already showing flashes of this All-Star potential towards the end of his stint with the Wizards. In his final two seasons in Washington, Avdija increased his scoring from 9.2 to 14.7 points; that was primarily due to an improved three-point shot, as his efficiency jumped from 29.7% to 37.4%.
Some thought the Wizards sold high following this outlier shooting season, as Avdija's improvement was too drastic to be sustainable. However, he's hovered around that same 37% from deep in his two seasons with Portland. With a reliable shot and improvements in playmaking and foul creation, he's become better than even the Blazers could've imagined when they made the aggressive trade.
Portland landed its franchise cornerstone thanks to the Wizards' impatience, and both teams are starting to admit how lopsided this trade has become.