After four seasons with the Washington Wizards, where he played since arriving in the NBA, Israeli professional basketball player Deni Avdija has a new home. According to a report by ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski, the Wizards traded the Israeli player to the Portland Trail Blazers, who finished at the bottom of last season’s Western Conference.
In return, the Wizards, which continues its restructuring process, received veteran point guard Malcolm Brogdon and the 14th pick in the draft held on Wednesday (in addition to the second pick they already held).
This is the first move Washington has made since adding Troy Weaver to its professional staff at the beginning of the week. Weaver, the Detroit Pistons’ former general manager, became a senior advisor to the club ahead of the draft.
The first decision he made along with President Michael Winger and General Manager Will Dawkins (with whom he had previously worked) was to trade Avdija for a point guard the team lacked and utilize another opportunity to bolster the team in the draft.
Avdija entered a four-year contract worth $55 million with the team this summer and is considered an asset due to his relatively low salary for a player of his contribution and the significant improvement in his performance in the second half of the season.
The Blazers, who finished last place in the West’s previous season with a 21-61 record, are undergoing their own rebuilding process after Damian Lillard's departure last year but are at a more advanced stage compared to Washington.
The team’s esteemed coach Chauncey Billups, who won a championship with Detroit as a player, has turned shooter Anfernee Simons into a star player. The team also relies on talented point guard Scoot Henderson, who finished his first season, and center Deandre Ayton, a former number-one draft pick.
For Avdija, the roster isn’t saturated with forward positions, and he can potentially fit into the starting lineup at either forward spot depending on Billups' needs if he makes an impact quickly enough.
The 23-year-old Avdija recorded career highs this season with averages of 14.7 points, 7.2 rebounds, and 3.8 assists per game, including a stunning 43-point performance against New Orleans. According to estimates in the U.S., Washington saw him as a key player for the future – a perception that likely changed with Weaver's arrival, who will continue to promote Bilal Coulibaly alongside Kyle Kuzma and Jordan Poole.
U.S. commentators were surprised by the move, with initial reactions praising it and claiming that Avdija could make another leap forward in Portland, a healthier and more organized team. Washington fans on social media, on the other hand, didn’t understand the step and regarded it as a mistake by the management.