The series of moves that transmogrified John Wall into Russell Westbrook into Spencer Dinwiddie, Aaron Holiday, Kyle Kuzma, Montrezl Harrell and Kentavious Caldwell-Pope is why Tommy Sheppard ultimately got the job as the Wizards’ top basketball executive.
It’s fair to question some of his roster moves and talent evaluations, but engineering a five-team trade is a master class in patience, negotiation and relationship development. Ask anyone who knows Sheppard, and they’ll tell you those are his strengths. He knows everyone. He listens to everyone. Everyone likes and respects him. And when other executives deal with him, they may not get exactly what they want, but they can live with what they get.