The Washington Wizards had a whatever trade deadline. They dealt a first-round pick to the Brooklyn Nets in exchange for dumping Andrew Nicholson’s salary and acquiring Bojan Bogdanovic, a dude who can hit threes, doesn’t play great defense and will leave as a restricted free agent this summer.
Blah, right? Even when you spin it in terms of the Wizards saving scratch for Otto Porter’s inevitable max deal, it’s blah.
Thankfully, though, Brandon Jennings is here to make Washington’s midseason moves interesting. He’s set to join what is right now the Eastern Conference’s third-best team, according to ESPN.com’s Chris Haynes:
Newly released free-agent point guard Brandon Jennings has reached a verbal agreement to join the Washington Wizards for the remainder of the season, league sources told ESPN.
The 6-1 guard notified the Wizards of his decision Tuesday afternoon, sources relayed to ESPN.
Jennings cannot officially sign with the Wizards, as Haynes notes, until he officially clears waivers on Wednesday evening. Washington also needs to make a roster spot for him, per The Vertical’s Adrian Wojnarowski:
Washington must release a player to clear roster spot for Jennings, which is likely to happen after Wizards-Raptors game on Wednesday night.
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@WojVerticalNBA) February 28, 2017
This is a good pickup. Jennings adds offensive depth to a Wizards bench that continues to hover around the bottom 10 in both offensive and defensive efficiency, per NBA.com. They need available bodies to alleviate the burden placed upon the starters, even if those bodies don’t profile as standout defenders.
Here’s hoping, though, head coach Scott Brooks eventually has the gall to play John Wall and Jennings at the same time, even if only for a little bit.
