The NBA trade deadline came and went this past Thursday, and several teams made moves.
Among the teams to have made trades were the Washington Wizards, the team of Israeli basketball player Deni Avdija.
The Wizards made several traded, and in one of them acquired Latvian player Kristaps Porzingis from the Dallas Mavericks.
Porzingis, who is recovering from an injury, on Saturday posted a video message to the Washington fans in Israel, in which he said he is looking forward to playing with Avdija.
“What’s up Israel? This is KP. I’m looking forward to having a strong second half of the season, and I’m looking forward to playing with my guy Deni,” he said in the message that was posted to the Wizards’ Hebrew-language Twitter account.
Avdija was selected 9th overall by the Washington Wizards in the 2020 NBA draft, making him the first Israeli to be drafted in the top ten in NBA history.
His first NBA season ended prematurely when he had to be wheeled off the court following a bad ankle injury last April. This season, however, Avdija has appeared in every game that the Wizards have played.
The Wizards started the season with a 10-3 record, but have struggled as of late and are 25-29, which is eleventh in the Eastern Conference. However, entering play Saturday they were only half a game back of the Atlanta Hawks for the tenth spot, which would put them in the play-in tournament at the end of the regular season.