Wizards shop Blatche as trade deadline approaches

The Washington Wizards have aggressively tried to move troubled forward Andre Blatche in advance of the March 15 trade deadline, with no fanfare.

Rooted in the struggle to find a suitor for Blatche are his high salary—he is owed nearly $23 million over the next three seasons—and his reputation as a disgruntled player. Many of his character questions were heightened when Blatche was stripped of his captaincy after a postgame rant about former Wizards coach Flip Saunders.

Blatche previously was offered to the Charlotte Bobcats for Tyrus Thomas but the trade was rejected, according to The Washington Post. Questions about Blatche's conditioning have played a part in other failed opportunities, the Post reported.

The best opportunity for the Wizards to move Blatche came and went last offseason, after he averaged 16.8 points and 8.3 rebounds in 2010-11.

This season will be the first time Blatche won’t improve on his scoring and rebounding numbers, mainly because he has missed several games because of injury and played hurt. He has missed 16 games this season and was replaced in the starting lineup by rookie Jan Vesely.

Blatche is averaging 10.3 points and shooting a career-low 38 percent this season.