MONDAY, 9:22am: The deal is official, the team announced.
FRIDAY, 7:44pm: The signing has occurred, as the RealGM transactions log indicates.
WEDNESDAY, 10:27am: The Wizards have struck a deal to bring shooting guard Vander Blue to training camp, reports Shams Charania of RealGM (Twitter link). Washington is limited to giving out only the minimum salary, but it’s unclear if there’s any guaranteed money involved for the Makhtar N’Diaye client.
Blue, 22, reportedly worked out earlier this week along with Jamaal Franklin at the Verizon Center, the home court of the Wizards, in what appeared to be an audition for the team. It seems that Blue showed enough to join an NBA club for camp for the second consecutive fall after he went undrafted out of Marquette last year. He failed to make it to opening night with the Sixers this past season, but he joined the Celtics in January on a 10-day contract and saw brief action in three games. It was an otherwise whirlwind season for the 6’4″ Blue, who played in Israel and with three different D-League teams. He was also part of the Spurs summer league team this year.
It’s been an active last couple of weeks for the Wizards, who’ve come to terms with Xavier Silas, Damion James, Rasual Butler and Daniel Orton, adding to a roster that already included 14 fully guaranteed deals and a partially guaranteed contract for Glen Rice Jr. Silas and James appear to be on the inside track to earn a spot for the regular season, though there’s some doubt that the team will carry a full 15-man roster come opening night. In any case, the addition of Blue means there’s still room for one more camp invitee beneath the preseason roster limit of 20 players, whether it’s Franklin or David Stockton, who’s also reportedly worked out for the team, or someone else.