Early Reviews Promising For Wizards Bobby Portis, Jabari Parker

Newly-acquired Wizards Bobby Portis and Jabari Parker made their presence felt in their debut.

As it turns out, the Washington Wizards are going to continue their pursuit of the Eastern Conference Playoffs despite trading away one of their core pieces. On Friday, they made short work of the Cleveland Cavaliers at Capital One Arena, looking like a much better team post-trade than they did just a few days ago.

Bobby Portis and Jabari Parker — two guys who came back from the Chicago Bulls in exchange for Otto Porter Jr. –played fantastic off the bench in their debut. Portis scored a game-high 30 points on 12-for-18 shooting, while Parker just missed a triple-double with seven points, nine assists, and 11 rebounds.

Former Syracuse star Wesley Johnson, another trade deadline acquisition, added 15 solid minutes off the bench for the Wizards in their 119-106 win.

Combined, the three new additions were +40 in plus/minus.

Judging from one game, the Wizards got better all-around (including financials) and appear to have fleeced the Bulls. Bringing in new guys always gives teams a boost, and we saw that on Friday with a huge lead early on, but let’s hope they saw their long-term potential and continue playing high-energy basketball.

In simple terms, the Wizards traded one young, B-grade player for two young, B-grade players; that’s a good deal. Sure, the new guys might not stick around very long but for the short-term, they’re in a better situation now than with Otto.

Featured Image: Keith Allison