Shocking AD blockbuster brings recently banished Spurs guard back to Texas

It looks like the Wizards have decided on what route to take their franchise, and it's one that will fill their fans with a burdensome hope. Washington lands Anthony Davis, pairing him with Trae Young to lead the young, up-and-coming core of their team. I think it's a terrible idea, and I'll get into that, but what I find fascinating is how quickly Malaki Branham has found his way out of the basement.

Branham is running out of time to find an NBA home

The former Spurs guard played 28 games in Chocolate City, but he didn't really make an impact that would encourage the front office to keep Malaki around. This puts him on his third team in four years, making the odds of him sticking around for a long-term NBA career very low unless he has a drastic turnaround.

The kid from Akron, Ohio, averaged more than 20 minutes per game in his first two seasons. He was a late first-round pick, and those guys are extremely hit or miss. Branham hasn't logged more than 10 minutes a night in his last season and a half. He's shooting 38% from three this season, but that isn't enough to make up for his lack of offensive feel beyond scoring and his poor defense.

I find it hilarious that his last game in a Wizards uniform was a solid night for him, scoring 17 points on 6/9 from the field and 4/6 from three. It makes me wonder if that was used in the negotiations for this deal. "Hey, you just saw what Branham is capable of," kind of thing. We don't know for certain if that happened, but the thought makes me laugh. But that brings me to the Mavericks' side of things.

This is an odd trade for both sides

I kind of get it from the Mavericks' side. They get to move off of Anthony Davis, who is perennially injured, and build around Cooper Flagg, but I wouldn't want any of the players they got in return, and the first-round picks are not good ones. One is a 2026 selection from OKC, and the other is in 2030 from the Warriors, so Steph may be gone by then, but it's top-20 protected.

The injury-prone Khris Middleton is shooting 33% from deep and hasn't been good in years. Marvin Bagley III is one of the most disappointing prospects in the last 10 years. He's going on his fifth team in eight years, and he was the second overall pick in his draft. AJ Johnson? Who?? Come on, man.

On the Wizards' side, you just gave up assets for a man who got injured in the very first game after being traded from the Lakers. Dante Exum is a fine role player, but Jaden Hardy is an undersized shooting guard who can't shoot, and D'Angelo Russell is D'Angelo Russell.

Here's another fine example of an organization not really knowing what they're doing, but hey, at least Branham found his way out of the Wizards' franchise. That's about as close to NBA purgatory as you're going to get.