Looking for an upgrade at the backup point guard slot behind All-Star John Wall as they get set for the stretch run and a playoff push, the Washington Wizards pulled off a three-team trade on Thursday that will send former lottery pick Jan Vesely to the Denver Nuggets in exchange for veteran lead guard Andre Miller, with reserve guard Eric Maynor and a pair of second-round draft picks heading to the Philadelphia 76ers. The Wizards needed a backup point guard because Maynor's been terrible since signing in free agency, and because Garrett Temple is more of a combo guard in whose minutes Washington performs like just about the league's worst offense, averaging seven fewer points per 100 possessions than when he's off the floor.

Y'know, back before the start of the season, thanks to a trade with the Phoenix Suns, the Wizards had a guy who some people thought could be a decent cheap backup point guard if given a second chance in the league. They let him go, though ... and Thursday's news didn't escape his notice.

Here's Yahoo Sports NBA columnist Adrian Wojnarowski at 12:37 p.m. ET:

In 3-team deal, Washington will send Eric Maynor and two 2nd-round picks to the Sixers to complete Andre Miller trade, source tells Yahoo. — Adrian Wojnarowski (@WojYahooNBA) February 20, 2014

Here's Kendall Marshall, whom the Wizards waived and who has since thrived with the Los Angeles Lakers, eight minutes later:

the irony. — Kendall Marshall (@KButter5) February 20, 2014

Granted, the Wizards needed to chop down their roster to get under the 15-player maximum after taking back multiple players in a trade that sent Emeka Okafor and a lottery- protected 2014 first-round draft pick to the Phoenix Suns in exchange for Marcin Gortat, Marshall, Shannon Brown and Malcolm Lee, and it's not as if there were plenty of reasons to think that Marshall would go from washing out with the Phoenix Suns to averaging just under 11 points and 10 assists per game while leading the NBA in 3-point shooting after little more than a second D-League stint. Plus, who knows if Marshall finds the rhythm that's enabled him to get back to his UNC-level facilitating ways if he was playing under Randy Wittman rather than Mike D'Antoni all this time?

Still, it's pretty amazing that the Wizards found themselves so in need of an upgrade in the backcourt that they needed to give up another second-rounder to bring in a 38-year-old who found himself on the outside looking in with the Nuggets, when they could have had an inexpensive 22-year-old pass-first playmaker and knockdown outside shooter to fill the same role if they'd just kept Marshall in the fold back in October. The ironing, as they say, is delicious.

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Dan Devine is an editor for Ball Don't Lie on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at devine@yahoo-inc.com or follow him on Twitter!

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