{"id":147658,"date":"2025-06-29T21:14:53","date_gmt":"2025-06-30T01:14:53","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/?p=147658"},"modified":"2025-06-29T21:14:53","modified_gmt":"2025-06-30T01:14:53","slug":"nba-trade-grades-analyzing-how-thunder-and-wizards-trade-affect-each-teams-offseason","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/2025\/06\/29\/nba-trade-grades-analyzing-how-thunder-and-wizards-trade-affect-each-teams-offseason\/","title":{"rendered":"NBA Trade Grades: Analyzing How Thunder and Wizards Trade Affect Each Team’s Offseason"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Washington Wizards<\/a> and Oklahoma City Thunder<\/a> are swapping young guards, according to Shams Charania of ESPN<\/a>. Charnia said that the Thunder are sending 2024 first-round pick Dillon Jones<\/a> and a second-round pick to the Wizards in exchange for Colby Jones<\/a>.<\/p>\n

“The Oklahoma City Thunder<\/a> are trading guard Dillon Jones<\/a> and a second-round pick to the Washington Wizards,<\/a> sources tell ESPN.”<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

While the trade may be minor and make little sense, it benefits both squads. Oklahoma City was projected to have 16 players on standard contracts after drafting Thomas Sorber<\/a> in the first round of the 2025 draft. So, the Thunder were facing a roster crunch.<\/p>\n

NBA Trade Grades: Wizards Get Another Young Guard While Thunder Achieves Flexibility<\/h2>\n

Meanwhile, Washington is still in the process of a painful rebuild. The Wizards are attempting to accumulate as much young talent and future assets following the restructuring of their front office last season. The Wiz have missed the playoffs for four straight years and totaled 33 wins over the past two seasons, including 18 this past campaign.<\/p>\n

Jones was chosen with the No. 26 overall pick in the 2o24 draft by Washington. However, the Wizards sent him to New York, along with Melvin Ajinca<\/a>, the No. 51 overall pick in the 2024 draft, in a Draft Day trade for Kyshawn George.<\/a> \u00a0The Knicks then flipped Jones to the Thunder for a host of future second-round picks.<\/p>\n

It took Dillon Jones some time, but he ultimately proved to be a valuable contributor off the bench for the Thunder. Jones averaged 2.5 points, 2.2 rebounds, and 1.1 assists with shooting splits of 38.3\/25.4\/60.7 in 10 minutes over 54 appearances. While the 23-year-old started three games late in the season, he was relegated to mop-up duty during the Thunder’s playoff run.<\/p>\n

Colby Jones has seen sparse action since being the 34th pick in the 2023 draft by the Charlotte Hornets. Jones ended up being traded a couple of times and ultimately joined the Kings before ever suiting up for a game. He averaged six minutes in 54 contests for the Kings before being dealt to the Wizards at the February trade deadline.<\/p>\n

Jones did fine and had some success with Washington off the bench. The 23-year-old averaged 8.7 points, 4.3 rebounds, 2.5 assists, and 1.3 steals in 26 minutes over 25 games for the Wizards. He topped the 20-point mark three times, reaching double-figures five times, and produced one double-double while shooting 46.6\/30.8\/65.7.<\/p>\n

What The Trade Means For The Wizards<\/h3>\n

Washington had a solid draft. When Ace Bailey<\/a> didn’t fall to them at No. 6 as hoped, the Wizards selected LSU guard Tre Johnson<\/a>. The 19-year-old averaged nearly 20 points and shot 40% from the 3-point line in his lone season in Baton Rouge.<\/p>\n

The Johnson pick was solid, but the Wizards then moved down three spots, from No. 18 to No. 21, with a trade with Utah. The Wizards, who took Will Riley at No. 21, received the No. 43 pick in 2025 (Jamir Watkins), a 2031 second-round pick, and the Jazz’s 2032 second-round choice.<\/p>\n

The point is that Washington is committed to building the team the right way and wants to start the clock soon. The Wizards project to have between $80 million and $100 million in cap space next offseason. So, Jones is on the same timeline as the rest of the youngsters.<\/p>\n

Jones brings versatility and defensive promise due to his ability to guard multiple positions. Jones is a good scorer, reaching double-figures three times this past season, and a quality rebounder. He averaged 10.7 points, 7.7 rebounds, and 3.3 assists in the three games he started.<\/p>\n

Jones figures to take Anthony Gill’<\/a>s spot on the roster, as the Wizards have 16 players on standard contracts, including their two first-round picks. Gill averaged less than eight minutes in 51 appearances last season. He was released by the Wizards today as his contract would have been guaranteed.<\/p>\n

” The Washington Wizards have requested waivers on forward Anthony Gill”– via Wizards PR Twitter account.<\/a><\/p>\n

More Moves In Wizards’ Future?<\/h4>\n

Washington could make more moves this offseason. CJ McCollum,<\/a> Khris Middleton<\/a>, Marcus Smart<\/a>, and Richaun Holmes<\/a> are on expiring contracts. Holmes’ deal doesn’t fully guarantee him until January 10, so he may remain on the roster until the Wizards decide whether they will make other moves. They are $20 million below the luxury tax.<\/p>\n

Washington also has two of their three two-way deals filled with Jaylen Martin<\/a> and Kadary Richmond<\/a>.\u00a0 Although Martin may be released at some point during the summer, Tristan Vukcevic<\/a>, the Wizards’ 2023 second-round draft pick, is a restricted free agent.\u00a0Vukcevic could get a standard contract if they release Holmes.<\/p>\n

The second round pick, a 2029 selection via Houston<\/a>, gives the Wizards 32 draft picks from 2026-2032. Since Dillon Jones’ salary is more than Colby Jones’s salary, the Wizards had to use a traded player’s trade exception to complete the deal with the Thunder.<\/p>\n

Projecting The Wizards 2025-26 Rotation (as it stands on June 29)<\/h5>\n

Starting Unit: CJ McCollum<\/a>, Tre Johnson<\/a>, Bilal Coulibaly<\/a>, Khris Middleton, <\/a>and Alex Sarr<\/a><\/p>\n

Bench: Corey Kispert<\/a> (6th man), Bud Carrington<\/a>, Marcus Smart<\/a>, Kelly Olynk<\/a>, and Kyshawn George<\/a><\/p>\n

Deep Bench: Justin Champaignie<\/a>, Dillon Jones, AJ Johnson<\/a>, Richaun Holmes, and Will Riley<\/a><\/p>\n

Two-way Deals: Tristan Vukcevic, Kadary Richmond, Jaylen Martin<\/p>\n

Even if Middleton, Olynyk, and Smart remain on the team, it is conceivable that Jones and Champaignie move up on the depth chart. Johnson is also a candidate to move up to the second unit. Meanwhile, Riley is likely to spend of the campaign with the G-League Capital City Go-Go.<\/p>\n

Grade For Trade: B<\/p>\n

What The Trade Means For Oklahoma City<\/h3>\n

Colby Jones isn’t in\u00a0 Oklahoma City’s 2025-26 plans and will be released<\/a>. The Thunder made the deal mainly to clear a roster spot for Sorber.<\/p>\n

Sorber figures to have a role with the Thunder as their second or third-string center. However, trading Dillon Jones is not just about clearing a spot for Sorber. If it were, they could have just released Ajay Mitchell<\/a>, whose team option had been declined<\/a> before he signed a three-year, $9 million deal.<\/p>\n

Mitchell was a significant part of the Thunder’s rotation before undergoing surgery for turf toe in January. He saw limited action in the playoffs, appearing in 12 games. The Thunder acquired Mitchell, a second-round pick by New York, from the Knicks for Oso Ighodaro<\/a> and cash in a 2024 draft-day deal.<\/p>\n

Re-signing Mitchell was not the only move OKC made today. The Thunder also declined Jaylin Williams’s<\/a> team option and re-signed him to a three-year, $24 million deal. Williams fits more of the big man mode than Dillon Jones, and he was highly productive after missing the first two months of the season.<\/p>\n

Additionally, Oklahoma City likely wants to determine if Ousmane Dieng<\/a> is worth retaining for the foreseeable future. Dieng, who is extension-eligible on July 1, has appeared in 102 games for the Thunder in three seasons and could be a restricted free agent next summer. While the 22-year-old Frenchman has seen inconsistent playing time, he has shown flashes of brilliance.<\/p>\n

Dieng is not the only Thunder player eligible for an extension this offseason. Jalen Williams<\/a>, Chet Holmgren,<\/a> Shai Gilgeous-Alexander<\/a> (super-max), Lugentz Dort<\/a>, and Kenrich Williams<\/a> are as well. The Thunder also acquired a $502,ooo trade exception from the Wizards.<\/p>\n

Trade Grade: B<\/p>\n

Photo Credit: \u00a9 Alonzo Adams<\/a>, Imagn Images<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The Washington Wizards and Oklahoma City Thunder are swapping young guards, according to Shams Charania of ESPN. Charnia said that the Thunder are sending 2024 first-round pick Dillon Jones and a second-round pick to the Wizards in exchange for Colby Jones. “The Oklahoma City Thunder are trading guard Dillon Jones and a second-round pick to […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3146,"featured_media":147866,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"no","_lmt_disable":"","sfio_featured_image":false,"sfio_embed_code":"","_ef_editorial_meta_date_first-draft-date":"","_ef_editorial_meta_paragraph_assignment":"","_ef_editorial_meta_checkbox_needs-photo":"","_ef_editorial_meta_number_word-count":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[62,1608,2,556,22,18],"tags":[50080,49306,1382],"class_list":["post-147658","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-nba","category-basketball","category-featured","category-nba-draft","category-thunder","category-wizards","tag-colby-jones","tag-dillon-jones","tag-nba-trade"],"modified_by":"Daniel Benjamin","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/147658","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3146"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=147658"}],"version-history":[{"count":6,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/147658\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":147867,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/147658\/revisions\/147867"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/147866"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=147658"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=147658"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=147658"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}