Hoops Rumors is breaking down the 2017 offseason for all 30 NBA teams, revisiting the summer’s free agent signings, trades, draft picks, departures, and more. We’ll evaluate each team’s moves from the last several months and look ahead to what the 2017/18 season holds for all 30 franchises. Today, we’re focusing on the Washington Wizards.
Signings:
- Otto Porter: Four years, $106.525MM (25% maximum salary). Fourth-year player option. Matched Nets’ offer sheet.
- Jodie Meeks: Two years, $6.745MM. Second-year player option.
- Mike Scott: One year, minimum salary.
- Devin Robinson: Two-way contract. Two years. $50K guaranteed for each season.
- Michael Young: Two-way contract. Two years. $50K guaranteed for each season.
Camp invitees:
- Carrick Felix: One year, minimum salary. Exhibit nine.
- Donald Sloan: One year, minimum salary. Exhibit nine. (Waived)
Trades:
- Acquired Tim Frazier from the Pelicans in exchange for the No. 52 overall pick.
Draft picks:
- None
Extensions:
- John Wall: Four years, 35% maximum salary. Designated Veteran Extension. Starts in 2019/20.
Departing players:
Other offseason news:
- Laurene Powell Jobs buying significant minority stake in Monumental Sports & Entertainment, Wizards.
- Markieff Morris acquitted on aggravated assault charges; Morris out until November due to sports hernia surgery.
- Sheldon Mac to miss most or all of season due to torn Achilles.
- Will add G League affiliate for 2018/19 season.
Salary cap situation:
- Operating over the cap and over the tax line by approximately $4MM. Carrying approximately $123.5MM in guaranteed team salary. Portion of taxpayer mid-level exception ($1.902MM) still available.
Check out the Washington Wizards’ full roster and depth chart at RosterResource.com.
Story of the summer:
Restricted free agency was an all-or-nothing proposition for many players this summer, with multiple RFAs – including Nerlens Noel and Alex Len – remaining on the market for months before signing their respective qualifying offers. Others – like Shabazz Muhammad and Joffrey Lauvergne – had those QOs rescinded, forcing them to settle for minimum salary contracts.
On the other end of the spectrum, however, was Otto Porter. The top restricted free agent on the market, Porter reportedly received a maximum-salary proposal from the Kings before instead inking a max offer sheet with the Nets. That four-year offer, worth north of $106MM, also featured a 15% trade kicker and a fourth-year player option, making it as player-friendly as possible — and, in turn, not so team-friendly for the Wizards.
If the Wizards had decided that a price tag exceeding $26MM annually simply wasn’t worth it for Porter, it would have been hard to fault them for that. After all, even though Porter enjoyed his best season as a pro in 2016/17, posting a blistering .516/.434/.832 shooting line, he wouldn’t be more than the third option in Washington, with the team leaning heavily on John Wall and Bradley Beal to carry the ball-handling and scoring loads.
Letting Porter go to the Nets would have left the Wizards with a significant hole at small forward though, and the team wouldn’t have had the financial flexibility to acquire a viable replacement. So, stuck between a rock and a hard place, the Wizards moved swiftly to match Porter’s offer sheet and brought him back into the fold.
The move loomed large over the rest of the Wizards’ offseason, ensuring that the club would surpass the luxury tax threshold and would be unable to make any other major splashes. Even minor upgrades to the bench would be tricky for the cap-strapped Wiz. But after the franchise posted its highest win total (49) in nearly four decades, the front office wasn’t about to let its 24-year-old starting small forward get away for nothing.