The Wizards have officially signed Will Bynum to a 10-day contract, the team announced via press release, a statement that also formalized the termination of Toure’ Murry‘s second 10-day contract with the club. Jorge Castillo of The Washington Post originally reported both moves late Thursday. Bynum and the Wizards have been linked for quite some time as the point guard had seemingly been the team’s top target since at least the beginning of February. Shams Charania of RealGM first reported in January about Washington’s interest in Bynum, who’d been playing for China’s Guangdong Southern Tigers.
Bynum, 32, signed his Chinese deal, a guaranteed arrangement reportedly worth more than a $1MM, in December after spending about a month as a free agent following his release from the Celtics just before opening night. Boston had acquired the seven-year NBA veteran from the Pistons, his longtime team, via trade earlier that month. He put up 22.3 points, 7.0 assists and 3.2 turnovers in 32.1 minutes per game for Guangdong, which strung together the majority of its 26-game winning streak with Bynum on the roster. There was reportedly mutual interest that developed between the Cavs and Bynum while he was overseas, but Cleveland’s addition of Kendrick Perkins, who filled the team’s last open roster spot, seemingly put the Cavs out of the mix. A hamstring injury had Washington looking at Bobby Brown and eventually led the Wizards to Murry, but the team never lost interest in Bynum.
Washington slides Bynum into its only roster spot not occupied by a player who has a contract that runs through at least the end of the season. It’s somewhat surprising to see the Wizards give the point guard only a 10-day deal, given the team’s longstanding interest, but it allows for maximum flexibility, and it seems likely that the team will retain Bynum once his short-term deal is up, though that’s just my speculation.