LeBron James thinks the Wizards are ‘kicking themselves’ over the Danny Avdia trade. Is he right?

The Washington Wizards stripped their roster after team president Michael Winger and general manager Will Dawkins took over in 2023, a process that included trading veteran forward Danny Avdia to the Portland Trail Blazers in July 2024. The 25-year-old is now having a breakout season, as he is 13th in the NBA with 25.8 points per game on 47 percent shooting (36 percent 3-pointers), 34th with 7.2 rebounds and 12th with 6.8 assists in 34.8 minutes.

Los Angeles Lakers star LeBron James discussed Avdia via his “Mind the Game” podcast with the Hall of Famer Steve Nash on January 6th.

“I feel like he’s in a little bit better shape (this year). He just feels a little sharper, he’s getting cracks,” Nash said. “Like you said, he shoots so he’s faster too. Good playmaker. Plays for others. He’s a guy that I think Washington is probably . . .”

“Are they kicking each other?” James asked.

“Yeah, they ruined their decision there. Because I mean, this is a quality, quality player in our league,” Nash replied.

“He’s a quality player,” James said. “He’s a great player. He’s good. He’s really good.”

Timeline of the Danny Avdi saga

Avdija was selected 9th overall by the Wizards under former general manager Tommy Shepard in November 2020, and he averaged less than 10 points on less than 44 percent shooting in each of his first three seasons. The 6-foot-8, 228-pounder then signed a four-year, $55 million rookie contract in October 2023, months after Winger and Dawkins took over. His turnaround began after that, as he averaged 14.7 points on 50.6 percent shooting (37.4 percent from 3-point range) with 7.2 rebounds and 3.8 assists in 30.1 minutes in 2023-24.

Dawkins and Winger didn’t see Avdia as part of their long-term plans, however, as they wanted to reset the roster around the young core they drafted. That process started with swaps for keeper Bilal Coulibaly from France on draft day in 2023, and they aimed to turn Avdia into another prospect. The contract extension simply gave them more time to trade him, as he only had a 2023-24 team option remaining on his rookie deal before he signed it.

Washington dealt Avdia for the 2024 No. 14 overall pick, a 2029 first-round pick (the second-highest from Portland), a 2028 second-rounder, a 2030 second-rounder and veteran running back Malcolm Brogdon hours before the draft. The Trail Blazers then selected University of Pittsburgh guard Bub Carrington, who they immediately traded to the Wizards to complete the deal.

Carrington joins big man Alex Sarr (No. 2 overall pick) and wing Keeshon George (No. 24) to form Washington’s 2024 draft class. Carrington, Sarr and Coulibaly were challenged by rising stars last season, and Sarr was selected again this season along with George and rookie running back Tre Johnson. Coulibaly also made it as a starter in the 2023-24 campaign.

Furthermore, Carrington earned second-team All-Rookie honors after averaging 9.8 points on 40.1 percent shooting (33.9 percent from 3-point range) along with 4.2 rebounds and 4.4 assists per 30 minutes. On the other hand, Avdija averaged 16.9 points on 47.6 percent shooting (36.5 percent 3-pointers) with 7.3 rebounds and 3.9 assists per 30 minutes.

Avdija was a better player, but that was Washington’s idea. The cut from Avdia to Carrington helped him finish 18-64, the NBA’s second-worst record. Then it got stuck with the 6th overall lottery pick – the worst it could get with its position in the standings. However, it still affected Johnson, who is shooting 39.8 percent from deep this season and averaging 14.5 points and 3.3 assists in January.

Meanwhile, Portland finished 36-46, tied with the Phoenix Suns three games out of the Western Conference playoff spot. That was a 15-game improvement over the previous campaign, when they finished as the worst team in the West. The organization later acquired big man Yang Hansen from China in a draft deal with the Memphis Grizzlies, who is now averaging just 8.5 minutes.

The Wizards beat the Danny Avdia Trail Blazers on Tuesday

This season, the Trail Blazers are ninth at 23-25 ​​after losing 115-111 on the way to Wizards on Tuesday evening. Sarr became the seventh player in NBA history age 20 or younger to record 25-plus points, 10-plus rebounds and five-plus blocks in a single game, joining Victor Wembanyama, Myles Turner, Karl-Anthony Towns, Anthony Davis, Chris Weber and Shaquille O’Neal. George added 19 points (5-16 FG, 4-10 3-pointer) with nine rebounds, five assists, three steals and two blocks in 37 minutes, while Johnson had 18 points (7-13 FG, 3-5 3-pointer) with four rebounds, two assists and one block in 32 minutes.

In addition, Coulibaly and second-round pick Jameer Watkins helped keep Awdia in check, as he finished with 17 points (6-14 FG, 3-5 3-point) to go along with 12 rebounds, six turnovers and three assists in 31 minutes. The Israeli native had a minus-9 plus/minus, behind George (plus-19), Coulibaly (plus-19) and Sarah (plus-16).

To top it all off, Carrington scored five points in the final 3:31, including a 13-foot jumper to give Washington a 110-106 lead with 1:21 left. The Wizards now have the NBA’s second-worst record at 11-34 as they aim to keep their top eight protected picks, which they can guarantee by finishing in the bottom four of the league standings. But beating a potential playoff-bound Portland team in a lopsided game is also invaluable experience for a young Washington team that hasn’t won since. acquiring star guard Tree Young January 7. Plus, the front office can rest easy knowing the team beat an Avdi-led Trail Blazers squad in a breakout season as Portland tries to establish itself as playoff caliber.

Who won the Danny Avdija trade?

Carrington’s numbers this season are similar to his rookie campaign, except for his three-point clip. The 20-year-old is shooting 40.3 percent from downtown, up 6.4 percent from last year.

Avdija shot 31.7 percent from deep and 43.2 percent from the field in the second season, while Carrington shot 39.9. The latter player also has 1.9 assists/turnover, while Avdija was at 1.8.

That doesn’t mean Carrington will ever become as good as Avdia is now, but it shows what’s possible when players reach their prime. Carrington is smaller at 6-foot-4, 190 pounds and doesn’t make up for it with speed/explosiveness, so he’s unlikely to reach Avdia’s level as a slasher. For example, Avdia is averaging 9.7 free throw attempts per game, while Carrington is at 1.3. Avdia, on the other hand, averaged 1.7 per 24.2 minutes in his second campaign, so Carrington still isn’t far behind his year-over-year peer.

Carrington’s calling card right now is his three-point shooting, and he’ll make up for his lack of cutting if he continues to shoot 40-plus percent from deep. There will always be a role for a reliable long-range shooter in today’s NBA, so the Baltimore native could be a bench shooter next season and beyond, at the very least.

Avdia, who is under contract through 2028, is the starter for a Trail Blazers team that hasn’t made the playoffs since 2021. They will also get 35-year-old star guard Damian Lillard (Achilles) next season, but their only other young player with a higher star level is a 22-year-old guard than Shah, who is 22 and 9 years old. is averaging 21.8 points on 45.5 percent shooting (34.2 percent 3-pointers) with 4.6 rebounds in 30.3 minutes. The organization drafted him No. 7 overall in 2022, and its next lottery picks were guard Scott Henderson (No. 3 overall in 2023) and center Donovan Klingan (No. 7 in 2024). Henderson (hamstring) has been sidelined so far, and the 7-foot-2, 280-pound Klingan profiles more as a point guard (third in the NBA with 11.3 rebounds) than a star big man because he isn’t dynamic offensively.

Portland could be a playoff team for the rest of Avdia’s contract, but it’s unlikely they’ll win a championship during that time. The NBA is a star-driven league, and the Trail Blazers don’t have enough top talent to approach the Larry O’Brien trophy anytime soon, although the former Israel League MVP could earn his first All-Star nod this season.

Is that worth potentially missing out on a top 10 draft pick in the next few years, especially in a stacked class like 2026? It wasn’t for the Wizards, which is why they traded Avdia and committed to hitting the lottery as hard as they could, with this season being their final chapter in the bottom line.

Winger explained it during his press conference on Thursday when asked by the Athletics’ Josh Robbins if the trade was a mistake.

“No, it wasn’t a mistake. We’re all very happy for Danny,” he said. “We saw Danny as a player on the rise at a very high level… But no, we did it for the reasons we said at the time, which was to set us back a few years so we could reset the roster and get everyone on the same age curve and Danny is ahead of that.”

Michael Winger’s full response to the question of whether trading Danny Avdia was a mistake:

“No, it wasn’t a mistake. We’re all very happy for Danny. We saw Danny as a high-level player… but no, we did it for the reasons we said at the time, which set us back a few… pic.twitter.com/IsCVJARE6v

— Wizards Film Room (@KevinFolliNBA) January 23, 2026

Dawkins echoed those sentiments before Tuesday’s game, via “The Sports Junkies” on 106.7 The Fan.

“When you see Danny in his prime at 25 ready to step up, that time frame just isn’t going to be the same as the players we’ve been trying to go after,” he said. “It would be a bit premature and throw things off, but he’s a really good player and we’re happy to see him succeed.”

Acquiring the 27-year-old Young this season was a start for next season, as he has a $49 million player option for the final year of his contract. Washington expects to start being competitive in 2025-26. the way Portland is this year, except most of the core will be young, up-and-coming talent.

Young is a veteran star, but the Wizards will have a roster that also includes Sarr, George, Johnson, Koulibaly, Carrington, 2025 first-round pick Will Riley, and whoever they draft this summer, assuming they don’t trade any of those players before next season. If Washington finishes with the worst record in the NBA this year, it will be guaranteed to have a chance to draft one of BIU’s AJ Dibants, Kansas’ Darrin Peterson, Duke’s Cameron Boozer, Caleb Wilson of North Carolinaand Houston’s Kingston Flemings. The top three are all-star, but Wilson and Fleming could also be foundational pieces.

That’s more than enough talent to play on an Eastern Conference team, and Washington could continue to grow after that. Carrington’s long-term planning would make the Avdi trade look better, but as long as the organization stays on that trajectory, it doesn’t matter.

In short, James may have thought the Wizards were “breaking out” for short-term results, but Dawkins and Winger have been playing the long game since being hired in the 2023 offseason.