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Why The Wizards Moved On From Daniel Gafford

Originally posted on FanNation Inside The Wizards
By Tyrone Montgomery | Last updated 2/10/24

The NBA Trade Deadline this year has been one that we all have been waiting for. Back in the day in previous years, deals were made all day throughout the entire week. We used to see NBA All Stars traded, key and important role players traded, and every once in a while you would even see a Head Coach traded as well. These deals were made to better the team for the present and the future. The future of those team deals from back in the day had a long term effect. Nowadays, teams are more so worried and concerned about the short term future.

The short term future for the Wizards was trading away Daniel Gafford. With the frenzy of NBA Trades this season, we have seen a lot of guys traded away and then immediately cut and inserted into the waiver wire. Some guys are still buyout candidates and may get cut and waived later. That remains to be seen after the Wizards traded Daniel Gafford to the Dallas Mavericks for Richaun Holmes.

The season for the Washington Wizards may have gotten away from them unfortunately. The East is may be better than the West these days so the Wizards will certainly have a hard time climbing up the standings at this point. With that being said, Daniel Gafford has been the best defender on this team. He is a hard worker on both ends of the floor. With the circumstances of the Wizards, they did him a courtesy and a favor sending him to a contender who he can truly help playing next to Luka Doncic and Kyrie Irving.

As great of a defender he was, he wasn’t helping the Wizards win many games. Also, the Wizards want to get worse at this point of the season. The more games they win, the harder their odds will get at acquiring that number one draft pick in this year’s NBA Draft Lottery. The Wizards are focused on their immediate and short term future.

With that being said, the Wizards acquiring Richaun Holmes may have a huge impact on them this summer. Holmes was not having much success in Dallas and was barely seeing playing time this season. He may look for a larger opportunity and role elsewhere this summer as he has a player option. That will clear the books for the Wizards moving forward. Daniel Gafford had two more years on the books within his contract so the Wizards have saved some money in this deal. Indeed, this will be a very interesting and busy summer for the Washington Wizards as they have flexibility along with endless possibilities.

This article first appeared on FanNation Inside The Wizards and was syndicated with permission.

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