The Washington Wizards may be on the verge of something. They have been one of, if not the, hottest teams in the entire NBA entering the All-Star break, tearing apart the Eastern Conference en route to a 34-21 record, good for third in the conference. While the Wiz have a real shot of making the Eastern Conference Finals with their play as of late, they’re still going to need more if they want to contend against LeBron James and the Cleveland Cavaliers.
One glaring weakness for the Wizards is the lack of consistent bench play. While the likes of Trey Burke and Kelly Oubre deliver solid performances occasionally, the depth isn’t there and it’ll show come playoff time. With other Eastern Conference foes bolstering their roster such as the Toronto Raptors, and others active in the trade market such as the Indiana Pacers, the Wizards have also been linked to numerous bench options such as Bojan Bogdanovic and Lou Williams. While Williams was recently removed from the market after being dealt to the Houston Rockets, there is still an abundance of good role players potentially available. One of those is Minnesota Timberwolves wing, Shabazz Muhammad. According to ESPN’s Marc Stein, the Wizards have shown interest on their quest for a boost off the bench:
Washington has shown interest in Minnesota's Shabazz Muhammad, according to league sources, as the Wiz continue to search for bench upgrades
— Marc Stein (@ESPNSteinLine) February 22, 2017
After being a lottery pick for the Wolves in 2013, Muhammad hasn’t lived up to the expectations that were set for him. Instead, we’ve seen the Wolves gain even more young guard talent such as Andrew Wiggins, Zach LaVine, Ricky Rubio, and Tyus Jones, making the UCLA product expendable.
As for the Wizards, with their starting five holding it down most games, their lack of a bench hasn’t been an issue as of late. John Wall and Bradley Beal have a legit case for being the best backcourt in the NBA but without stable reserve options behind them, the Wizards are only going to go as far as the dynamic guard combo takes them. Look for Washington to potentially pull the trigger on a move designed to bolster their depleted bench.
