NBA Trade Deadline 2015: Would Anthony Bennett be a good fit in Washington?

The countdown is on. We have one day until the trade deadline arrives which means every analyst is going to write about potential trades for each team. Some writers will want to gut their teams like a fish while others will claim their team should remain as is.

Today’s potential Washington Wizards trade of the day involves the 2013 number-one overall draft pick, Anthony Bennett. There are rumors out there that Minnesota Timberwolves have been making Bennett available to teams across the league.

Anthony Bennett, 21 years-old, has been a major disappointment since being selected out of UNLV with the first pick of the NBA Draft. Playing for the Cleveland Cavaliers during the 2013-14 season, he had one of the worst rookie seasons for a top pick in NBA history.

The combo-forward was traded to the Wolves during the 2014 offseason (for Kevin Love) and he has seen marginal improvement through this current campaign. More from NBA News Washington Wizards: Dwyane Wade is right about Bradley Beal.

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He is currently averaging 5.2 points and 3.8 boards in 16.0 minutes per-game. His shooting percentage stands at 42.1-percent, including 29.4-percent from long-range. His 52 games match the amount of games he played in Cleveland.

He has improved in every other statistical category which helps explain how horrible his rookie season was. Bennett has four double-doubles to his credit at this point in his NBA career. He shows up about as often as Leap Year.

It’s not a surprise that Minnesota would want to unload his contract onto somebody. Considering how young (and bad) the Wolves are, Bennett should have been able to find a consistent role on the team. The Timberwolves will be obligated to pay him $5.8 million next season if they are unable to find a willing trade partner.

Additionally, the Wolves just acquired forward Adrien Payne from the Atlanta Hawks on February 10th, in exchange for a future protected first-round pick. This move seems to be an indicator that Bennett is the odd-man out in the rotation.

What does this have to do with the Washington Wizards?

According to J. Michael of CSN Washington, the Wolves have recently attempted to trade for Kevin Seraphin. At this point, there is no concrete evidence that Minnesota has tried to pawn Bennett off on Washington for Seraphin but it makes logical sense to assume that they have tried.

Seraphin has an expiring $3.9 million contract after signing a one-year franchise tender during the summer of 2014. He will become an unrestricted free-agent this offseason and he has the right to veto any trade he is involved in, thanks to the qualifying offer he signed.

Compared to Anthony Bennett, the Washington Wizards big man is a superior scoring option in the post. He is averaging 7.0 points and 3.8 rebounds in 15.8 solid minutes per-game. He is also shooting 52.6-percent from the field, which is far more efficient. The only attribute that may make Bennett more appealing would be the fact that Bennett is four years younger and he is signed to a contract for 2015-16.

If the Wizards were to trade Seraphin for Bennett, they would be trading their best back to the basket player off the bench for another face-up forward. They already have Kris Humphries and Drew Gooden playing that role.

On top of that, Bennett is below average at what he does. The only part of the floor where he shoots a high percentage is on the left elbow, 15-feet out. He is incompetent everywhere else on the floor.

It is highly unlikely that Seraphin would agree to go stay in Minnesota during the middle of February, considering he has a no-trade clause and the weather is brutal. He will probably play out the current season and then evaluate his options in the offseason.

More than likely, the Wolves will be stuck with Anthony Bennett for the foreseeable future. Maybe they will luck out and he will prove himself to be a late-bloomer but that’s wishful thinking. I would be shocked if the Wizards agreed to make this move. However, it is fun to look at every trade possibility.

I love the trade deadline.