The deal
Wizards get: Forward Bojan Bogdanovic, forward Chris McCullough
Nets get: Washington's lottery-protected 2017 first-round pick, guard Marcus Thornton, forward Andrew Nicholson
Washington Wizards: C
The Wizards making a deal to improve to their beleaguered bench was one of the closest things to a certainty of deadline week. According to NBA.com/Stats, Washington's starting five has played a league-high 965 minutes together, outscoring opponents by 13.0 points per 100 possessions. That means in the other 1,700 minutes the Wizards have played with even one reserve on the court, they've been outscored by 4.1 points per 100 possessions.
Only two Washington reserves -- wing Kelly Oubre and guard Tomas Satoransky -- have positive net ratings, and the team has been outscored by 7.9 points per 100 possessions with backup point guard Trey Burke on the court and an incredible 12.7 points per 100 possessions with Thornton in action.
So almost any trade the Wizards made was likely to improve the second unit, but I think they might have focused on the wrong problem. Their target was apparently scoring punch, which Bogdanovic provides. He's averaging a career-high 19.0 points per 36 minutes this season, far better than any member of Washington's second unit -- led by Burke's 14.2 points per 36 minutes.
As David Aldridge of NBA.com noted on Twitter, adding a superior scorer means Scott Brooks will no longer feel compelled to have at least one starter and often more on the court at any given time, which has translated into all five starters averaging more than 32 minutes per game.
At the same time, despite being a pretty efficient scorer as well (his .572 true shooting percentage is solidly better than league average), Bogdanovic still rates worse than replacement level by both ESPN's real plus-minus and Basketball-Reference.com's box plus-minus metrics because of his lack of measurable defensive contributions. Bogdanovic averages just 0.6 steals per 36 minutes and has blocked three shots all season.
As a result, I put Bogdanovic seventh in my rankings of wings available at the deadline. Worse yet, wing wasn't really Washington's area of need. Their biggest problem is backup point guard, which hasn't yet been addressed.
This move doesn't preclude the Wizards from adding an expiring-contract point guard like Darren Collison and Brandon Jennings -- and Tim Bontemps of the Washington Post noted on Twitter they're still looking to deal -- but it does give them one fewer attractive draft pick to use in such a trade.
The assessment isn't all negative. Getting off Nicholson's contract, which has three years remaining at $6 million to $7 million per season, gives Washington a bit more flexibility with regard to the luxury tax starting next season. In concert with what seems certain to be a max contract for restricted free agent Otto Porter, re-signing Bogdanovic (also restricted) would surely push the Wizards into the tax, but if he goes elsewhere they might be able to avoid it.
Washington also gets a look at McCullough, the No. 29 pick of the 2015 draft. After showing some promise as a 20-year-old rookie, McCullough has gotten lost under a new regime this season, playing just 72 minutes total. He hasn't been particularly good in the D-League either, so it's possible McCullough is a lost cause. If so, the Wizards could stretch his $1.5 million salary for next season without too much pain.
Brooklyn Nets: B+
Moving Bogdanovic at the deadline was smart. Bogdanovic, who came to the NBA at 25, will turn 28 in April, so a new contract for him as a restricted free agent would have taken him through the decline phase of his career. That made little sense for a team deep in the throes of rebuilding.
With its own pick headed to the Boston Celtics (albeit in a swap instead of directly this year), Brooklyn needs all the first-rounders it can get. To add another one, the Nets do have to take on Nicholson's contract, which shouldn't be all that painful.
Nicholson is making less than the new non-taxpayer mid-level exception, so there's a chance he could actually provide equivalent value for his salary. Surely Brooklyn coach Kenny Atkinson will encourage Nicholson to let it fly from 3-point range. He made 41 triples at a 36.0 percent clip last season with the Orlando Magic, and though he's probably not quite that effective (he's a 32.7 percent career 3-point shooter), it's hard to read anything into the 3-of-16 Nicholson shot on 3s in Washington. That slump to start the season was a big factor in Nicholson losing his spot in the rotation.
At worst, the Nets probably weren't going to do much with the extra cap space. They'll still surely have enough room to make a max offer to a player with 7-9 years of experience. And since McCullough wasn't part of the team's plans, Brooklyn probably viewed including him in the trade as a benefit and not a cost.