NBA

3 Players Who Could Be This Season’s PJ Washington

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Lonzo Ball

Over the past three seasons, one of the league’s representatives in the Finals and two of its champions — the Golden State Warriors and Denver Nuggets — have relied on a previously ill-cast “star” to play a vital role during a lucrative playoff run, all of whom were acquired at the NBA trade deadline. For Golden State, that man was Andrew Wiggins. With Denver, it was Aaron Gordon. A year ago, PJ Washington’s arrival helped vitalize the Dallas Mavericks’ once-stagnant season.

Each of those forwards was a building block on a bad team asked to carry an oversized offensive load, which didn’t properly amplify their skillset. Once they joined a contender, everything fell into place and it was clear to see how they could impact winning at the highest level.

As this year’s trade deadline approaches, the Sportscasting crew is taking a look at some names who might broadly fit the mold Wiggins, Gordon and Washington have shaped. None of these guys are perfect matches, but they’re all on teams with little chance, at best, to carve out a playoff run. A move somewhere with bona fide ambitions could allow them to shine in an ideal role and environment.

Let’s get to it.

Lonzo Ball

It is harder to find a better feel-good story in sports than Lonzo Ball. After nearly three years and three knee surgeries, Ball has returned to the court, appearing in 27 of the Chicago Bulls’ 48 games.

But the best part is he hasn’t just been some wounded soldier the Bulls trot out there to remind their fans of better days. Ball has been a productive player for Chicago. On the season, the Bulls are 11.8 points better per 100 possessions when he’s on the court compared to when he’s off it (94th percentile, per Cleaning the Glass). And that’s despite Ball struggling from downtown this season (34.7 percent).

Ball has already undergone the transformation made by other former lottery picks like Aaron Gordon and Andrew Wiggins — reinventing himself from a flawed star to the perfect complementary player, the kind every title contender needs.

At 20-27, the Bulls are hardly a contender. So, for the right price (although, it seems Chicago wouldn’t mind keeping him), Ball can be had by a team hoping to make some noise in the postseason. His salary will be tricky to match (Ball’s cap hit this year is 21.4 million, per Spotrac), but he is on an expiring contract and his blend of passing, shooting, defensive playmaking and secondary rim protection at the guard spot makes him well worth it.

The Los Angeles Lakers, Minnesota Timberwolves, Cleveland Cavaliers, Los Angeles Clippers and Milwaukee Bucks all make sense as potential destinations. However, with his portable skillset, Ball can elevate the level of any winning team. Mat Issa

Collin Sexton

It’s easy to forget the Utah Jazz exist this season. They’re plagued with injuries and relying on long-term prospects as current rotation pieces. Contenders can find value in their better players, though. While Walker Kessler and John Collins could help big-needy teams, Collin Sexton’s creation and scoring could move the needle for a contender more than either of those frontcourt reinforcements.

He’s averaging 18.6 points and 4.1 assists per game on an efficient 60.2 percent true shooting, even if impact metrics don’t favor him as much as last year. It’s tough to parse true impact on this Utah team, especially on the defensive end. But Sexton is still a reliable offensive producer who operates with and without the ball. His finishing at the rim has crashed (58 percent, down from 63 percent last year) but he’s shooting 42 percent beyond the arc on 5.8 attempts per 75 possessions, both of which are career-highs.

Sexton’s impact for the Jazz is evident. They’re 9.1 points better per 100 possessions when he’s on the floor (per Cleaning the Glass), the most drastic mark of anyone on the team. If he can maintain this level of efficiency and offensive output in Utah, he could help invigorate the ceiling of a contender lacking offensive juice.

Offense-needy teams could ideally acquire him at a reasonable price. The Houston Rockets, which rank 25th in half-court offense, would benefit greatly from Sexton’s creation against set defenses. He’d boost the Memphis Grizzlies (14th half-court offense) in a similar manner, and even a team like the Oklahoma City Thunder wouldn’t mind adding another real creator. A savvy contender won’t let Sexton waste another season on this tanking Jazz team. Ben Pfeifer

Chris Boucher

Chris Boucher has been on an absolute heater as of late. He’s knocking down 53 percent of his threes in January, which is the third-best mark of any player this month with at least 45 attempts. He has the second-best plus-minus on the Raptors and they’re 7.2 points better per 100 possessions with him on the floor.

And yet, he’s spent the last 18 months in and out of the rotation for Toronto as it shuffle its way into this rebuild. Boucher isn’t without flaws as a player. He’s still skinny, weighing 200 pounds at 6-foot-9, but his grit and toughness on the floor help him hustle his way to offensive rebounds.

He can get caught out of position defensively, but his length, especially when paired with another big man on the floor, helps him be a versatile defender who can block and deter shots as a weak-side helper. His time in head coach Darko Rajakovic’s system has helped show his cutting ability off the ball, springing into space and finishing around the basket.

All that said, he can be a key contributor to a good team. If a club needs a stretch big finding his stroke at the right time, Boucher is the guy. He’s also on an expiring contract, so he likely won’t cost much for a contender to bolster their frontcourt. Es Baraheni