An inside look at how the Wizards came out on top of trade that sent Russell Westbrook to Lakers

Pulling off a five-team trade in the NBA is difficult.

Like a tense game of Jenga, one wrong piece comes out and the whole structure collapses.

When the Washington Wizards acquired Kyle Kuzma, Montrezl Harrell, Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, Spencer Dinwiddie and Aaron Holiday in the offseason, Wizards general manager Tommy Sheppard just didn’t pull off a magic trick in a five-team deal that involved sending Russell Westbrook from Washington to the Los Angeles Lakers.

The deal was months, even years, in the making because relationships matter even in a cutthroat business with everyone trying to win a title.

A good GM is canvassing his counterparts throughout the season, learning what they want out of a deal so that when the times comes, they can put together a trade that works for all parties.