Hoops Rumors is checking in on the 2024 offseason for all 30 NBA teams, recapping the summer’s free agent signings, trades, draft picks, departures, and more. We’ll take a look at each team’s offseason moves and consider what might still be coming before the regular season begins. Today, we’re focusing on the Washington Wizards.
Free agent signings
Jonas Valanciunas: Three years, $30,295,000. Third year non-guaranteed. Signed using Bird rights and acquired via sign-and-trade from Pelicans.- Saddiq Bey: Three years, $19,000,000. Includes an additional $1MM in unlikely incentives. Signed using non-taxpayer mid-level exception.
- Anthony Gill: Two years, minimum salary ($4,784,366). Second year non-guaranteed. Re-signed using minimum salary exception.
- Leaky Black: One year, minimum salary. Non-guaranteed (Exhibit 10). Signed using minimum salary exception.
- Kira Lewis: One year, minimum salary. Non-guaranteed (Exhibit 10). Signed using minimum salary exception.
- Jaylen Nowell: One year, minimum salary. Non-guaranteed (Exhibit 10). Signed using minimum salary exception.
Trades
- Acquired the draft rights to Kyshawn George (No. 24 pick) from the Knicks in exchange for the draft rights to Dillon Jones (No. 26 pick) and the No. 51 pick in the 2024 draft.
- Acquired Malcolm Brogdon; the draft rights to Carlton Carrington (No. 14 pick); either the Trail Blazers’, Celtics’, or Bucks’ 2029 first-round pick (whichever is second-most favorable); the Warriors’ 2028 second-round pick; and the Trail Blazers’ 2030 second-round pick from the Trail Blazers in exchange for Deni Avdija.
- Acquired Jonas Valanciunas (sign-and-trade) from the Pelicans in exchange for the Bulls’ 2027 second-round pick (top-50 protected).
Draft picks
- 1-2: Alex Sarr
- Signed to rookie scale contract (four years, $51,036,398).
- 1-14: Carlton Carrington
- Signed to rookie scale contract (four years, $21,290,769).
- 1-24: Kyshawn George
- Signed to rookie scale contract (four years, $14,336,172).
Two-way signings
Departed/unsigned free agents
Other moves
Salary cap situation
- Operating over the cap ($140.6MM) and below the luxury tax line ($170.8MM).
- Carrying approximately $161.1MM in salary.
- Hard-capped at $178,132,000.
- Approximately $6.4MM of non-taxpayer mid-level exception available; full bi-annual exception ($4.7MM) available.
- Two traded player exceptions available (largest worth $12,402,000).
The offseason so far
When a new front office takes over an NBA team’s basketball operations department, that new group often has little attachment to the club’s incumbent players and looks to gradually fill the roster with its own guys. That’s especially true when the team is in rebuilding mode.
So while I didn’t necessarily expect the Wizards to move Deni Avdija this offseason, it wasn’t a huge surprise that top decision-makers Michael Winger and Will Dawkins decided to capitalize on Avdija’s career year in 2023/24 by cashing in on a player drafted by the previous regime whose value was at an all-time high.
We knew, based on reporting in the spring, that the Wizards, armed with the second and 26th overall selections in June’s draft, were looking to continue stockpiling picks — and specifically to add a third first-rounder for 2024. The Avdija deal helped them do just that. By sending the ascendant forward to Portland and taking on Malcolm Brogdon‘s $22.5MM expiring contract to help the Blazers get out of tax territory, Washington added two future second-round selections and a pair of first-rounders, including this year’s No. 14 overall pick.
It was a savvy trade by the Wizards, who may be able to flip Brogdon later this season for something of value. The veteran guard wasn’t a fit in a crowded Portland backcourt on a team with financial concerns, but he’s a career 39.1% three-point shooter who is just two years removed from winning a Sixth Man of the Year award. If he’s healthy, Brogdon should appeal to teams looking for backcourt help at this year’s trade deadline.
Using the No. 14 pick from that deal, the Wizards selected Pittsburgh guard Carlton Carrington, who flashed intriguing potential at the Las Vegas Summer League, averaging 15.8 points, 7.4 rebounds, and 5.2 assists in his five outings. Carrington joins No. 2 overall pick Alex Sarr and No. 24 selection Kyshawn George (the Wizards gave up their No. 51 pick to move up two spots from No. 26 for George) to make up Washington’s 2024/25 rookie class.
Sarr was considered by several experts to be the top prospect in this year’s draft, and while he didn’t exactly light it up in Vegas like Carrington did (Sarr made just 9-of-47 shots from the field, or 19.1%), the rangy 19-year-old center has the potential to be a long-term defensive anchor in D.C.
At age 20, George is actually the oldest of the Wizards’ three first-rounders, but like Carrington, he was a one-and-done college player who is still very early in his developmental process. The 6’7″ swingman showed off an effective outside shot (.408 3PT%) during his freshman year at Miami and could become a solid shooter and play-maker on the wing, though he’s unlikely to make a significant impact as a rookie.
Having added three youngsters as potential long-term building blocks, the Wizards spent the rest of their offseason focused on filling out their roster with veteran contributors who could make life a little easier for those prospects.
Most notably, the team worked out a sign-and-trade deal with New Orleans to add veteran center Jonas Valanciunas on a three-year contract worth about $10MM annually. Having a steady vet like Valanciunas at the five will allow Washington to take things slow with Sarr. I wouldn’t expect Valanciunas to be part of the Wizards’ next playoff team, but he’s a perfectly fine stopgap starter, and his contract is team-friendly enough to make him a potential trade chip — LeBron James and the Lakers were said to have interest in him this summer, so that could be something worth revisiting down the road.
The Wizards further fortified their frontcourt by bringing back Richaun Holmes on a two-year, $25.9MM extension. It may look like an odd move on the surface for a player who hasn’t logged significant minutes over the past two seasons, but Holmes’ new deal (which begins in 2024/25) replaces a $12.88MM player option and is almost entirely non-guaranteed in year two.
In other words, the Wizards are essentially paying Holmes the same total salary they would have if he’d simply picked up that option, but now he has a slightly lower year-one cap hit and what amounts to a team option for 2025/26. I wouldn’t expect that ’25/26 salary to become guaranteed, but if he recaptures his 2019-21 form, you never know. At the very least, it gives Washington more flexibility with the big man going forward.
The Wizards’ other unorthodox summer signing was to bring in former Pistons and Hawks forward Saddiq Bey on a three-year contract worth $19MM (plus another $1MM in incentives). Bey will likely miss most or all of the 2024/25 season while recovering from an ACL tear, which is perfectly fine with a Washington team not interested in pushing for a playoff spot right away.
Assuming Bey is back to 100% for the start of the ’25/26 campaign, he could be a bargain on the wing in the final two years of his contract — while he had a down year before the injury last season, the former first-rounder showed off a promising three-and-D skill set early in his career.
Up next
The Wizards are carrying 15 players on fully guaranteed contracts, but have some others on non-guaranteed deals who could make cases for roster spots in training camp and during the preseason. Jared Butler, who spent last season on the roster, is in that mix, as are Exhibit 10 camp invitees Kira Lewis, Jaylen Nowell, and Leaky Black.
While Exhibit 10 signees are often simply ticketed for the G League, Lewis and Nowell have several years of NBA experience under their belts and are no longer eligible for two-way deals, so I could see them getting consideration for a 15-man spot.
Patrick Baldwin, a former first-round pick who has played limited minutes across 69 total appearances in his two NBA seasons, could be the odd man out if one of the 15 players on guaranteed deals doesn’t make the team. Another 2022 first-rounder, Johnny Davis, also has an underwhelming NBA résumé so far, though he at least played well in Vegas in July, whereas Baldwin’s Summer League performance was inconsistent.
The Wizards do have a two-way slot available as well — Black is the only camp invitee who could be directly converted to fill it, but the team could look outside of the organization. Butler would also be eligible, though he’d have to be waived and re-signed.
Corey Kispert isn’t the only Wizard who is extension-eligible this fall, but he’s probably the only legitimate candidate for a new deal. He and the team have until October 21 to attempt to work out a rookie scale extension.
Kispert has steadily improved over the course of his three NBA seasons, having made 40.2% of his three-point attempts over the past two years. He’s the sort of player who would fit nicely on a lot of teams and who could generate real interest if he reaches free agency in 2025, so it would be in the Wizards’ best interest to lock him up now if they can get him at a reasonable price.
It’s worth noting that Kispert is another player who was drafted by the previous front office, which may reduce the odds of the two sides reaching a deal in the coming weeks. But like Avdija, who signed a rookie scale extension last fall, Kispert would be a valuable trade chip down the road if he’s on a favorable long-term contract and the Wizards ultimately decide he’s not in their plans.
SEPTEMBER 28: The Pelicans and guard Jose Alvarado have agreed to a two-year contract extension worth $9MM, agent Ron Shade tells Shams Charania of The Athletic (Twitter link).