Russell Westbrook gives his shoes to a fan after Game 4 in a first-round NBA playoff series against the Philadelphia 76ers in May.

Nick Wass / AP Photo

It’s been a busy week for D.C. sports teams, as the Wizards, Nationals, and Capitals all made major trades over the past few days.

First, the Washington Wizards agreed to a deal with the Los Angeles Lakers, trading Russell Westbrook for three players — Kyle Kuzma, Montrezl Harrell, Kentavious Caldwell-Pope — and the 22nd pick in Thursday night’s NBA draft, ESPN reported.

The trade won’t be announced officially until Aug. 6, but sources close to the team told ESPN that the move will free up $25 million in salary-cap space for next season and will allow the team to build around star guard Bradley Beal.

Westbrook, who grew up in the L.A. area and played college ball at UCLA, thanked D.C. fans in a post on Thursday:

“Thank you DC! You welcomed my family and I with open arms from day one,” he wrote. “Everyone from the front office, to the training staff, the coaches, my teammates, and the fans. I’m grateful y’all took a chance on me and supported me every step of the way. I’m blessed to have been a part of such a stand up organization. It didn’t take long to make a home in DC, and I will forever be grateful and appreciative of my experience with the organization.”

The Wizards picked up Westbrook last December in a blockbuster deal that sent John Wall to the Rockets. This season, Westbrook averaged a triple-double and broke records along the way. Locals wrote in Wizards fan pages that they will miss the nine-time All Star point guard, but thanked him for his one season with the team, a memorable one that included an unexpected playoff run.

“This dude is 100% heart,” wrote one Reddit user. “He gives more to the game than almost anybody. I remember when he was playing, coaching up guys like Mo and Rui during timeouts, hyping up guys from the sidelines, leading cheers in the crowd, and then giving his shoes away after the game. He demanded excellence and effort from his teammates and accepted no excuses.”

The rest of the evening remained busy for the Wizards; the team ended up trading that 22nd pick for Indiana Pacers guard Aaron Holiday.

Also on Thursday, with the trade deadline quickly approaching, the Washington Nationals moved players around, looking to rebuild the team from the ground up.

The Nats traded pitcher Max Scherzer and shortstop Trea Turner to the Los Angeles Dodgers in return for four prospects. (Wow, L.A., just take all of our players why don’t you?) The team also traded pitcher Brad Hand to Toronto, outfielder Kyle Schwarber to Boston, and reliever Daniel Hudson to San Diego. The trades are expected to bring on a total of eight prospects to build up the Nationals’ farm system and bounce back from what’s been an underwhelming season so far — including five straight losses to the Miami Marlins, Baltimore Orioles, and Phillies.

As The Washington Post noted, the team will look completely different from the World Series-winning team of two years ago. Fans seem a bit disoriented by the trades so far — especially the departure of the young star Turner — but Scherzer, at least, has an upbeat outlook on the moves.

“I’d rather look at this as a positive thing,” Scherzer told the Post after Thursday’s game against the Phillies. “I mean, look, I signed a seven-year deal, and we won a World Series. The first thing I said when I signed was that I’m here to win, and we won. We won a World Series. That’s a lifelong dream come true and something that I’ll always be so proud of with these guys here.”

Earlier this week, the Capitals traded defenseman Brenden Dillon for a pair of second-round draft picks over the next two seasons. The trade cleared cap space to bring back Alex Ovechkin. Ovi, the Stanley Cup-winning captain, couldn’t have been more excited for his return to D.C.

Filed Under: bradley beal, dc sports, russell westbrook, trea turner,