The Washington Wizards had plenty of motivation to make a deal, but they just needed to find the right partner. Enter the rebuilding Phoenix Suns.
Suns sending Gortat, lee, Brown and Marshall to Wiz for Okakor and 2014 1st round pick, source tells Y!
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@WojYahooNBA) October 25, 2013
By acquiring Marcin Gortat, Kendall Marshall, Shannon Brown and Malcolm Lee from Phoenix in exchange for a top-12-protected 2014 first-round draft pick and Emeka Okafor, the Wizards are now firmly entrenched in the race for the last few playoff spots in the Eastern Conference.
Let's look at why this deal was done now and what it might accomplish.
A hole to fill
When Okafor suffered a neck injury in training camp that sidelined him indefinitely, the Wizards were left with a big hole in the frontcourt.
Although he wasn't spectacular last season, Okafor was a steadying force who started 77 games at center and helped the Wizards post a 100.6 defensive rating, good for eighth in the league last season.
Replacing Okafor with a motley crew ...
Read Full Article at Bleacher Report - NBA
Article written by D.J. Foster
After Marcin Gortat Trade, It’s Playoffs or Bust for Washington Wizards
October 25th, 2013 by D.J. Foster Leave a reply »
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