Washington remains active right after the NBA Draft and right before free agency goes really active tomorrow.
The Washington Wizards made a trade with the Oklahoma City Thunder on Saturday night, where they acquired Dillon Jones and a future second round draft pick in exchange for Colby Jones, according to Shams Charania of ESPN.
The Oklahoma City Thunder are trading guard Dillon Jones and a second-round pick to the Washington Wizards, sources tell ESPN.
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) June 29, 2025
Washington is sending guard Colby Jones to the Thunder, who will then release him, sources said.
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) June 29, 2025
Dillon Jones just finished his rookie season for the Thunder, the newly-minted NBA champions after winning the 2025 NBA Finals last week. He played 54 regular season games in 2024-25, averaging 2.5 points and grabbing 2.2 rebounds per game. Jones also made 23 appearances in Oklahoma City’s playoff run, which included scoring 10 points in Game 3 of the Western Conference Finals against the Minnesota Timberwolves.
Colby Jones played 39 games for the Wizards in the 2024-25, averaging 4 points per game.
Given that the Thunder are expected to waive Colby Jones, this deal appears to be one where the Wizards add another younger prospect and a draft pick in exchange for a younger player who isn’t part of their plans anyway.
It seems like the Thunder are effectively doing this to shave salary to lower future luxury tax payments, even if it’s just incrementally. I guess teams can afford to do things when they are NBA champions.
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