Wizards trade grade for Kelly Olynyk deal with Spurs
The Washington Wizards trading for veteran center Kelly Olynyk this summer made sense on paper, but it wasn't a marriage meant to last. They rerouted the 34-year-old to the San Antonio Spurs on Tuesday in a move that builds upon their already-flexible financial situation.
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The full trade details are below:
Wizards get:
G Malaki Branham
G Blake Wesley
2026 second-round pick (least favorable of PHI, DAL, OKC)
Spurs get:
C Kelly Olynyk
This deal gives Washington more salary cap room, via HoopsHype's Michael Scotto.
'By trading Kelly Olynyk to the Spurs, the Washington Wizards increased their tax and apron buffer to take on more salary throughout the summer and season,' he reported. 'Washington also created a $13.5 million TPE [traded player exception]. Olynyk joins a competitive Spurs team while in a contract year ($13.45 million).'
TPEs are created when a team trades a player and receives less incoming salary than what it sent out. That's what happened here, as Olynyk's $13.45 million salary next season is more than Branham's ($4.96 million) and Wesley's ($4.73 million) combined. Now, the Wizards can use that TPE to take back $13.5 million in salary without adding to their cap or luxury tax.
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That will come in handy later, when they inevitably take on more unwanted money in exchange for draft capital and/or young players. For now, they must cut down their active roster, which currently has 17 players:
F Khris Middleton
G CJ McCollum
G Marcus Smart
G Corey Kispert
F/C Richaun Holmes
F/C Alex Sarr
G Tre Johnson
G Bilal Coulibaly
G Bub Carrington
F Cam Whitmore
F Will Riley
G Malaki Branham
G AJ Johnson
G/F Kyshawn George
G Dillon Jones
G Blake Wesley
F Justin Champagnie
Although Washington currently has a dearth of centers, Holmes is another player who could be on his way out soon, via Scotto.
'Sources: Wizards center Richaun Holmes is partially guaranteed $250,000 of his $13.28 million salary for the 2025-26 season, which makes him a prime candidate to be eventually waived or traded, given Washington's roster logjam,' he reported. 'He averaged 7.4 points and 5.7 rebounds last season.'
Eating almost no dead money after cutting the 6-foot-9-inch, 235-pounder's expiring contract would easily open a roster spot the Wizards could use to get a taller center. Other than the 7-foot Alex Sarr, they have nobody over 6-foot-9-inches. However, they could bring back the 7-foot Tristan Vukcevic, who's a restricted free agent.
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Trading/buying out Smart's expiring $21 million salary and trading Kispert could also be in the cards, as both players are expendable. Regardless, Washington has multiple ways to trim the roster before the season begins in October. The bottom line right now is that it turned an unwanted asset into some useful ones, including the TPE.
Wizards add more assets to aid rebuild
Cary Edmondson-USA TODAY Sports
Wesley and Branham fit what Washington is looking for right now: young players who were drafted in the first round. This trade now gives the team 11 first-round picks over the last four NBA Drafts:
Branham (No. 2o overall, 2022)
Wesley (No. 25 overall, 2022)
Coulibaly (No. 7 overall, 2023)
Whitmore (No. 20 overall, 2023)
Sarr (No. 2 overall, 2024)
Carrington (No. 14 overall, 2024)
Johnson (No. 23 overall, 2024)
George (No. 24 overall, 2024)
Jones (No. 26 overall, 2024)
Johnson (No. 6 overall, 2025)
Riley (No. 21 overall, 2025)
Branham is averaging 8.5 points on 43.9 percent shooting (33.6 percent 3 PT) with two rebounds and 1.7 assists over 19 minutes across his career, while Wesley checks in at 4.3 points on 40.9 percent shooting (29.7 percent 3 PT) with 1.5 rebounds and 2.4 assists over 14.3 minutes. It wouldn't be tragic for the Wizards if neither player pans out, as they're both on expiring deals before hitting restricted free agency. They could either try them out as role players in the backcourt, trade them to another team, or waive them and eat the dead money.
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Meanwhile, Washington now has five picks and one pick swap next summer, not including its top-eight protected selection owned by the New York Knicks:
First-round pick (least favorable of OKC, HOU, or LAC)
First-round pick swap (PHX, protected for selections 9-30)
Second-round pick (via PHX)
Second-round pick
Second-round pick (via MIN, NYK, NOP, or POR)
Second-round pick (least favorable of PHI, DAL, or OKC)
Washington is once again in a position to add more high-upside talent in next summer's draft. Assuming that it gets back its pick from the Knicks after finishing near the bottom of the standings, it will have at least two first-rounders and four second-rounders to either draft players with or trade, if it doesn't deal those picks over the next year.
Furthermore, Wizards fans now won't have to watch Olynyk play for their team after he scored 26 points on them with the Boston Celtics in Game 7 of the 2017 Eastern Conference Semifinals, which the Celtics won 115-105. Washington hasn't won a playoff series since then, and the 6-foot-11-inch, 240-pounder's presence in its lineup would be a constant reminder of that, despite its need at center.
The Wizards were projected to clear about $100 million in cap space next summer before this trade, and now they add this year's TPE to that financial bounty. In an era where most contenders are under cap stress, Washington will be in a position to outbid other squads for free agents and add expensive contracts through trades as it continues to draft young talent. The team must add center depth and solve its roster logjam to help its young core develop next season, but that should come with later moves.
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Trade grade: B
Related: Spurs add Victor Wembanyama backup in trade with Wizards
Related: Wizards trade grade for Cam Whitmore deal
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