Yeah, even despite those injuries the Dubs and the Cavs made the Finals! What’s your point?! The Cavs and the Dubs are so much better than the Wiz that even if they were without an All-Star they’d still beat the Wiz over a Playoff series. And what are the chances that the Wiz meet both the Cavs and the Dubs with the latter two suffering injuries?! What are the chances that the Wiz will even be able to go through Boston or Toronto with this move?!

There are all-time monster rosters in the league at the moment, and several other rosters who are as good or better than the Wiz. The Wiz’s core isn’t going to be at its best for another couple of years. The Wiz will be capped-out after they’re forced to give Otto the max. They’re way less attractive than several other franchises to ring-chasers. Their only way to give their very good-but-not-great core a chance to compete in these circumstances was to find cheap help through the draft, who would either fill-out the roster or become a lead asset in a later trade to fill-out the roster once Beal and Otto are in their prime.

This move has made the Wizards a tiny bit better at a time when they’re markedly worse than those above them, whilst massively reducing what they can do in future. That’s why it’s bizarre.