Brandon Scott here, the host of the daily Locked On Wizards podcast, with your daily Locked On Wizards newsletter. Each day we bring you the biggest stories about the Wizards and the NBA, including the hottest links to other stories you need to read. Plus, Josh Lloyd delivers daily fantasy notes to crush your league.
Should the Wizards be the 4th or 5th team and facilitator in a potential Jimmy Butler trade?
Should the Wizards be the 4th or 5th team and facilitator in a potential Jimmy Butler trade? Absolutely, without a doubt. The Wizards General Manager Will Dawkins has made it known that he wants to add more draft capital at the Trade Deadline and Kyle Kuzma’s dip in production could hinder that. Let’s talk about taking on a bad contract, a tactic that the Thunder employs and also happens to be Will Dawkins’s previous employer. One player I’m looking at is Khris Middleton of the Milwaukee Bucks.
Khris Middleton has been a mainstay in Milwaukee but is clearly on the decline. The Bucks are looking to add another high-level player to help with the playoff push so it would make sense to move him. Enter the Wizards. The Bucks, Bulls, Heat, and Suns are in the mix for the Jimmy Butler trade. Beal to the Bulls makes sense due to his connection to his former coach, Billy Donovan. Lavine could be a good compliment to Dame and Giannis. Middleton would be a great move for the Wizards and could be the best way to get a 1st round pick. Now the best pick that the Bucks could provide is their 2031 1st round pick which may be of slight use to the Wizards. Sometimes the late picks are the best picks for making the big push trades like Donovan Mitchell for the Cavs for example.
His contract would be perfect for the Wizards because while he makes $31.6 Million this year, he has a player option for next year for $34 million. Next year would be the third year of Washington’s rebuild and a year before many people expect them to be a playoff/play-in candidate. Middleton’s contract won’t tie them down long-term and he could be a great veteran presence in the locker room. Will the Wizards target Middleton? They should. Other bad contracts such as John Collins makes sense but one thing is for sure, Will Dawkins is about to cook.
Jan 23, 2025; Denver, Colorado, USA; Denver Nuggets center Nikola Jokic (15) reacts following the win over Sacramento Kings at Ball Arena. | Ron Chenoy/Ron Chenoy-Imagn Images
If you watch NBA basketball then you know 3-pointers are up. You know because you’re seeing it, night after night, no matter the team you follow. Matter of fact, if you look at this season’s 3-point attempts there is going to be a deep-court shooter on your team. It doesn’t mean they are making those shots, but boy, are they chucking them.
You likely also know because we can’t stop talking about it. The royal “we” in this case of NBA media, and then onto fans, then back to media in a never-ending cycle. You may be sick of hearing about threes at this, the halfway point of the 2024-2025 season but I’m sorry say — tough luck.
At least half tough luck. Threes aren’t going away — we can pretty plainly see this to be true night after night — but the good news is their volume and habituality will make it so sooner or later our approach to them is less wide-eyed and speculative than accepting. They’ll become the new normal.
No other athlete embodies this normalization better than the greatest NBA player in the world at present: Nikola Jokic.
Katie Heindl is a credentialed NBA and WNBA writer, her bylines have appeared with The New York Times Magazine, SLAM, The Athletic, Yahoo Sports, Dime, Rolling Stone, among others. She writes the bestselling Substack, Basketball Feelings and is working on a book of the same name.
Analysis Victor Wembanyama is reshaping the NBA as we know it. (The Ringer)
Must Read The chosen one: Scottie Barnes as hope and saviour for the Raptors franchise. (Toronto Life)
Fantasy Cheat Sheet
Crucial Streaming Decisions in a Topsy-Turvy Week
Jan 15, 2025; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA; Philadelphia 76ers forward Guerschon Yabusele (28) in action against the New York Knicks during the fourth quarter at Wells Fargo Center. Mandatory Credit: Bill Streicher-Imagn Images | Bill Streicher/Bill Streicher-Imagn Images
As we approach Friday’s NBA action, we’re faced with an unusual schedule that demands careful consideration for fantasy managers. With only three games on the slate, it’s a critical day for streaming, especially given the peculiar schedule ahead.
The coming week presents a unique challenge: over the next six days of NBA action, several teams have zero quality game days. This means that adding a streamer without careful planning could result in zero games played, effectively wasting a roster spot. Teams like the Nets, Celtics, Bulls, Mavericks, Nuggets, and Pistons all have three games over the next six days, but none on streamable days.
Portland stands out as the best team for streaming, with three quality games over the next six days. Philadelphia is the only other team with more than one, boasting two quality games. This schedule advantage makes players from these teams particularly valuable for the short term.
Friday’s games feature the Blazers vs. Hornets, Cavaliers vs. 76ers, and Pelicans vs. Grizzlies. All teams playing on Friday are part of a back-to-back, with Portland coming off a Thursday game and the others playing again on Saturday.
