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The Washington Wizards have become the Los Angeles Lakers scrapyard

By Jason Reed

NEW YORK, NEW YORK - OCTOBER 15: Kyle Kuzma #33 of the Washington Wizards dunks the ball against the New York Knicks during a preseason game at Madison Square Garden on October 15, 2021 in New York City. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, user is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Steven Ryan/Getty Images)
NEW YORK, NEW YORK - OCTOBER 15: Kyle Kuzma #33 of the Washington Wizards dunks the ball against the New York Knicks during a preseason game at Madison Square Garden on October 15, 2021 in New York City. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, user is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Steven Ryan/Getty Images) /
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The Los Angeles Lakers are the most illustrious teams in the NBA and are one of a handful of true contenders to win the NBA Championship this season. The Washington Wizards are not one of those select few teams and do not come close to having the same history as the Lakers.

The Lakers have 17 championships across several different eras with a myriad of Hall of Famers joining the purple and gold and winning a championship. The Washington Wizards have won just one championship and do not have many Hall of Famers in their history (although the greatest of all time was a Wizard).

The Lakers and Wizards could not be any more different just based on their standing and history in the league. However, there is still something that gives the two teams a connection that is deeper than most other teams.

The Washington Wizards have become the Los Angeles Lakers scrapyard.

The Wizards are littered with former players that the Lakers either traded away or allowed to walk away because there was not enough room on the roster. Another player has been added to that list in Joel Ayayi, who was claimed by the Wizards after the Lakers waived him from his two-way contract.

The Wizards now have five players that were previously members of the Los Angeles Lakers. Washington acquired the trio of Kyle Kuzma, Montrezl Harrell and Kentavious Caldwell-Pope in the trade package for Russell Westbrook.

While the Wizards could eventually re-allocate some of those assets via trade, all three players are currently projected to have an important role in the Wizards’ rotation in the 2020-21 season.

The fourth former Laker is Thomas Bryant, who was a G League standout for the Lakers that was allowed to walk in free agency. Bryant has turned into a legitimate rotation big for Washington to the point where the Wizards probably overpaid him to keep him in D.C. Bryant is in the final year of a three-year, $25 million contract and is currently nursing a knee injury.

Ayayi is the fifth former Lakers attached to the Wizards but there are plenty more recent examples of former Lakers heading to the Nation’s Capital.

Last season the Wizards deployed two more former Lakers in former first-round pick Moritz Wagner and the versatile Isaac Bonga. The Wizards acquired Wagner and Bonga as part of the Anthony Davis trade that opened up roster spots for the Lakers to use. In that trade the Wizards also acquired Jemerrio Jones, who never made it out of the G League with Washington.

Isaiah Thomas had a short stint with the Washington Wizards after his short stint with the Los Angeles Lakers, Gary Payton Jr. went directly from LA to Washington in 2018. Heck, even players like Ramon Sessions and Jodie Meeks spent a season with the Wizards after being with the Lakers.

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For whatever reason, former Lakers tend to gravitate to the Washington Wizards. It makes you wonder which current players on the Los Angeles Lakers will end up in D.C.

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