Wizards Rumors

Southeast Notes: KCP, Coulibaly, Davis, Baldwin, Hornets

October 7th, 2024 at 3:59pm CST by Rory Maher

In an interview with David Aldridge of The Athletic, veteran wing Kentavious Caldwell-Pope explained why he chose to sign with the Magic in free agency.

“The young core,” Caldwell-Pope told Aldridge. “These are most of the guys that they had last year, just adding new pieces. But that core they have, they already believe in each other, trust each other. Just watching them, the way they played, it was not ‘me, I.’ Everybody took sacrifices. For a young team to be able to grow up that fast says a lot about them and their organization. That made my decision easy.

“They were one of the best defensive teams last year, and that’s what I like to do — defend. Natural fit. It was easy for me to just come in and fit right in and not try to step on anyone’s toes. When I talk to most of the young guys, it’s about defense, them helping me and what I see and they don’t see, and I’m telling them. Everybody is eager to learn, I would say.”

Caldwell-Pope, a key role player on two championship-winning teams in the past five years (the Lakers and Nuggets, respectively), was one of the top free agents to switch teams this summer, going from Denver to Orlando. He signed a three-year, $66MM deal with the Magic.

Here’s more from the Southeast:

Second-year wing Bilal Coulibaly and showcased his offseason improvement during the Wizards‘ preseason opener on Sunday, writes Josh Robbins of The Athletic. According to Robbins, Coulibaly appears “stronger, more confident and more skilled.” The 20-year-old grew an inch, added 10 pounds to his thin frame, won a silver medal with the French national team, and has also developed his ball-handling, particularly with his left hand, after his rookie campaign ended due to a fractured right wrist.
Wizards guard Johnny Davis is another player who looks improved as he enters his third season, Robbins adds. Davis struggled over his first two seasons, averaging just 4.0 PPG and 1.8 RPG on .394/.282/.549 shooting in 78 combined games (13.3 MPG). However, he reworked his shooting form over the summer with his personal trainer in Wisconsin. “The past two years,” Davis told The Athletic on Sunday night, “a development coach from each year has been tinkering with my shot, messing with it. So I came back into this year, and I said, ‘Nobody is touching my jump shot. I’m just going to leave it as it is, leave it comfortable.’ And they’ve left me alone about it. So, it feels really good right now. I’ve been working on it the whole summer, so I’m just glad to see it pay off.”
While it’s encouraging that Davis seems to have rediscovered some of what made him a former lottery pick (No. 10 overall in 2022), he’s still deep on the depth chart. Robbins wouldn’t be surprised if the Wizards decline their fourth-year options on Davis and Patrick Baldwin Jr., pointing out that neither player was drafted by the current front office. If that comes to fruition, both players would be unrestricted free agents in 2025.
The Hornets dealt with a plethora of injuries to key players last season. In their preseason opener, they had four players out: Mark Williams (left foot), Grant Williams (right hamstring), Cody Martin (right wrist, thumb) and Nick Smith (left groin strain). Head coach Charles Lee doesn’t seem worried about any of the injuries though, per Roderick Boone of The Charlotte Observer. “No concerns,” Lee said. “Everything seems like it’s minor injuries at the moment — some nicks, some bruises. Unfortunately, Grant is another guy that kind of tweaked his hamstring in the preseason, but he was a full participant in camp. There are no worries from my standpoint because a lot of these guys are following their return to play plans and it seems like they’re in a really good place.” Mark Williams is set to be reevaluated on Thursday, while Smith will be checked out in a week.

Wizards Notes: Kuzma, Brogdon, Poole, George

October 6th, 2024 at 11:58am CST by Arthur Hill

Kyle Kuzma had an opportunity to be traded to Dallas at last season’s deadline, but he opted to remain with the Wizards, even though they were at the bottom of the Eastern Conference standings and are probably several years away from contending. Although the Mavericks reached the NBA Finals, Kuzma said in an interview with Josh Robbins of The Athletic that he doesn’t have any regrets about his decision.

“Absolutely not,” Kuzma responded. “A big part of the Mavericks becoming who they were was getting an extra center and a forward. If I would’ve went there, that wouldn’t have happened, getting two impact players. And when you look at who won the championship, it wasn’t a team with (just) three or four players; it was a team with six or seven really good players.”

Trade rumors continue to swirl around Kuzma, who is the most accomplished player on a very young team. At age 29 and with a declining contract over the next three seasons ($23.5MM, $21.5MM and $19.4MM), Kuzma will have plenty of trade value if Washington decides to move him. But he’s also happy staying where he is and being a team leader.

“We’re laying a foundation of how we want to play, how we want to be perceived on the court, what kind of team you’re going to get when you play the Wizards,” he added. “I see that vision. I’m optimistic of that trajectory, regardless of whatever our record is.”

There’s more on the Wizards:

Malcolm Brogdon injured his shooting hand during Saturday’s practice, head coach Brian Keefe said (Twitter link from Robbins). Brogdon will return to Washington for medical imaging to determine how serious the injury is.
With Tyus Jones lost in free agency, Jordan Poole will take over as the Wizards’ primary ball-handler, according to Bijan Todd of Monumental Sports Network. Keefe told reporters that Poole has been embracing his new role at training camp. “He’s been great,” Keefe said. “Pushing the ball, playing with pace, sharing it, touching the paint, creating for others. Exactly the stuff we want him doing.”
After growing up near Montreal, rookie Kyshawn George is thrilled to be making his preseason debut tonight in the city, per Varun Shankar of The Washington Post. George played collegiately at Miami (Florida), so it’s been a while since much of his family has been able to watch him in person.

Eight Teams Who Could Emulate Hornets As Trade Facilitators

October 4th, 2024 at 9:10pm CST by Luke Adams

The new rules in place this season for NBA teams operating above either tax apron dictate that those clubs are prohibited - in most cases - from taking back more salary than they send out in a trade.

That restriction will make it difficult for two teams operating above the apron to make a trade with one another, but the Knicks and Timberwolves provided a blueprint with this week's Karl-Anthony Towns blockbuster for one way it can happen -- find a third team to take on some extra salary.

In the Towns trade, the Hornets acquired approximately $6.8MM in salary from the Knicks without trading away any themselves, which allowed both Minnesota and New York to send out more salary than they took back in the deal. Charlotte received three second-round picks - two from the Knicks and one from the Wolves - for their troubles.

That's not the only way for two apron teams to trade with one another, but it's the most straightforward path, particularly in bigger deals like the Towns one. With that in mind, it's worth considering which teams around the NBA are the best candidates to be the next Hornets, acting as facilitators in deals involving two clubs facing apron-related restrictions.

There are essentially three characteristics that make a team an ideal candidate to be a third-party facilitator in this sort of trade:

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And-Ones: G League Trades, Flagg, 2025 Draft, Howard, Parsons, More

October 4th, 2024 at 7:43pm CST by Luke Adams

The Rip City Remix – the Trail Blazers‘ G League affiliate – have completed a series of trades involving players who have signed Exhibit 10 contracts with NBA teams this fall, according to a press release from the team.

The Remix acquired Henri Drell‘s returning rights in a three-team trade with the Texas Legends and Windy City Bulls, sending the returning rights for Jazian Gortman, Anthony Duruji, and Jakub Urbaniak to the Mavericks‘ affiliate in the deal. Rip City also acquired David Muoka‘s returning rights from the Long Island Nets in exchange for George Conditt‘s rights and a 2025 second-round pick.

Both Drell and Muoka signed Exhibit 10 deals with Portland ahead of training camp and were recently waived. Now that the Remix control both players’ G League rights, it’s safe to assume they’ll report to the Blazers’ affiliate and will receive Exhibit 10 bonuses (worth as much as $77.5K) as long as they spend at least 60 days with Rip City.

The Remix also received the returning rights for Aleem Ford – along with the fourth overall pick in the 2024 G League draft and a 2025 international draft pick – from the Wisconsin Herd in exchange for Terence Davis‘ and Isiaih Mosley‘s returning rights. Davis recently signed an Exhibit 10 contract with the Bucks, so it looks like he’ll ultimately land with the Herd.

Finally, Portland’s affiliate finalized a fourth trade that sent Antoine Davis‘ rights to the Stockton Kings in exchange for the rights to Stanley Johnson and Jayce Johnson, along with a pair of draft picks (Twitter link). None of those players have signed Exhibit 10 deals this fall, but it appears Sacramento’s affiliate plans to have Davis on its roster this season, given the handful of pieces it traded to get him.

Here are more odds and ends from around the basketball world:

Duke freshman Cooper Flagg told Jonathan Givony of ESPN that it’s “absolutely not” a foregone conclusion that he’ll be the No. 1 pick in next June’s draft, a position that was echoed by Blue Devils head coach Jon Scheyer. “Of course he has to prove it,” Scheyer said. “I’ve seen guys who have been projected (No. 1), that have gone there, and then guys that are projected that don’t go because you assume it’s gonna happen. … I believe in Cooper at the end of the day. But again, we got a long way to go before we start thinking about that.”
In a separate Insider-only story for ESPN, Givony shared some takeaways from his recent visits to Rutgers, Duke, UNC, and UConn, four college programs who figure to be well represented in the first round of next year’s NBA draft. Within his section on Rutgers, Givony notes that multiple NBA scouts have told him they have Dylan Harper ranked atop their draft boards ahead of the NCAA season.
Eric Pincus of Bleacher Report provides his 2024/25 win-loss predictions for all 30 NBA teams, while John Hollinger of The Athletic names the Nuggets, Grizzlies, Clippers, Hornets, and Wizards as five clubs he expects to fall short of their preseason over/under projections.
Georgia businessman Calvin Darden Jr. was found guilty on Friday of fraud, bank fraud, money laundering, and two separate conspiracy counts for his role in defrauding former NBA players Dwight Howard and Chandler Parsons out of a combined $8MM in 2021. Brian Windhorst of ESPN has the details on the case.
Long Phi Pham, one of the gamblers who took part in a scheme to have former Raptors big man Jontay Porter exit games early for betting purposes last season, pleaded guilty this week to conspiring to commit wire fraud, reports Jennifer Peltz of The Associated Press. Pham, whose sentencing is scheduled for April 25, could face anything from a no-jail punishment to up to 20 years in prison.

Southeast Notes: Hawks, Miller, Salaun, Carrington

October 4th, 2024 at 11:09am CST by Rory Maher

Speaking to reporters on Thursday, new Hawks big man Larry Nance Jr. singled out Jalen Johnson and Vit Krejci as players who have impressed him in training camp, tweets Kevin Chouinard of Hawks.com.

“He dominated practice today,” Nance said of Johnson. “He was awesome. He was knocking down threes in transition. He’s been really, really impressive, and I’m trying to push him into speaking some more and leading the group and breaking the huddles and stuff like that, because he’s going to be a guy in this league and with that comes ‘heavy is the head that wears the crown.’ He’s going to wear the crown one day, and he is being groomed for that.”

Nance, who was acquired from the Pelicans this offseason in the Dejounte Murray trade, said he wasn’t very familiar with Krejci’s game before he joined Atlanta, but that has quickly changed.

“The dude can really play,” Nance said of Krejci. “He passes, he dribbles, he can shoot it. He’s shooting the heck out of it. And he defends. … Vit has been super impressive.”

Johnson is eligible for a rookie scale extension this offseason ahead of the final season of his rookie contract, while Krejci just signed a new four-year contract with Atlanta over the summer.

Here’s more from the Southeast:

With several new players on the roster, Hawks head coach Quin Snyder is trying to figure out which lineup combinations work best together, writes Lauren Williams of The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Snyder suggested that the starting lineup is very much up in the air, and could change over the course of the season. “So, I think the question really is, ‘How does our team function?’” Snyder said Thursday. “And the other part of it is, people will focus on the first game as, like, a definitive statement about something. And, we have an 82-game (regular) season. Well, say that we’ll have focus on that in the first (exhibition) game. And, we could start anybody we want, and there’ll be different starters, I think, throughout the year, based on a lot of things, there’ll be different lineups, and it’s something we have to continue to observe and see how guys play together, see who complements each other, see what rotations look like.”
Hornets wing Brandon Miller is coming off a strong debut season in which he finished third in Rookie of the Year voting. While he has a reputation as a scorer, Miller has set an unusual goal for the 2024/25 season, per Scott Fowler of The Charlotte Observer. “I want to lead the team in charges taken,” said Miller, who added that he wants to be an “elite two-way player.” As Fowler writes, the rookie led the team several hustle stats last season, including charges taken. The 21-year-old Miller also wants to add muscle to his lean frame.
French forward Tidjane Salaun, whom the Hornets selected No. 6 overall in June, may have a lengthy learning curve as he enters his rookie season. But the team has been pleased with Salaun’s competitiveness, work ethic, and constant desire to improve his game, writes Roderick Boone of The Charlotte Observer. “It’s for sure a lot for Tidjane right now,” head coach Charles Lee said. “I think the terminology is a lot different than what he’s experienced — the physicality, the pace of the game. He’s in different positions on the floor, but he’s done a really good job of paying attention and asking questions.”
Wizards wing Corey Kispert says rookie guard Carlton Carrington has a great on-court mentality, according to Chase Hughes of The Monumental Sports Network (Twitter link). “I mean, he flips the switch, man,” Kispert said. “He’s the most friendly, talkative, bubbly guy off the court. And then as soon as the ball goes up, he turns into a killer. You want guys like that on your team and you hate playing against guys like that on other teams.”

Southeast Notes: KCP, Barlow, Nance Jr., Davis, Poole

October 3rd, 2024 at 10:53am CST by Dana Gauruder

Kentavious Caldwell-Pope was one of the biggest free acquisitions this summer, as the Magic signed him for three years and $66MM. Orlando coach Jamahl Mosley says KCP will have a major impact on both ends of the floor, Jason Beede of the Orlando Sentinel tweets.

“It’s the fact that he just knows where to be on the floor,” Mosley said. “It goes back to the fact he’s played with some of the game’s best players, so he understands the spacing, the time to cut and the time to move to find the open window that they can pass him the basketball. Defensively, he’s always in the right position.”

We have more from the Southeast Division:

The Hawks added former Spurs forward Dominick Barlow on a two-way deal this summer. Barlow believes he can force his way into the rotation by doing the “little things,” Lauren Williams of the Atlanta Journal Constitution writes. “Screening, hard, rolling hard, being able to hit that shot in the corner and then just guarding, I think will be my way to get on the court, for sure,” he said.
The Hawks acquired Larry Nance Jr. in the Dejounte Murray deal with the Pelicans. The veteran forward has quickly emerged as a vocal leader during the early days of training camp, Williams writes in a separate story. “He’s done a great job,” Barlow said. “He’s a new guy, but he’s been in a bunch of different situations throughout his career, so he kind of understands, how this works. And I think he’s kind of stepped in and taken that role.”
Wizards third-year guard Johnny Davis resents being called a bust at this stage of his career. Davis was the 10th pick of the 2022 draft but hasn’t performed like a lottery pick in his first two NBA seasons. “It’s a word that’s thrown around a lot, and I feel like it’s not fair to anybody,” Davis told Candace Buckner of the Washington Post. “I just want to show that I belong here. People can say what they want about Tommy Sheppard, the GM at the time when I got drafted here, but I don’t think people randomly get drafted top-10 for nothing.”
Jordan Poole expects his second season with the Wizards to go much smoother than his first year with the organization. He went from a perennial contender in Golden State to a rebuilding team. “I’m just a competitive person,” he said, per Josh Robbins of The Athletic. “It was new for me to go just through the losing process, honestly. Obviously, we’re in a rebuilding phase, but it was a transition year. There was a lot of movement, a lot of new things, a lot of new pieces on both sides. But now coming into Year 2, we have a little bit more clarity in what we want to do, a little bit more direction in what we want to do. So that not only helps me but it helps other guys know what they can focus on, where they can put their energy to. And that’s all you really need: a little bit of direction.”

Wizards Hire Ish Smith As Scout

October 2nd, 2024 at 1:13pm CST by Luke Adams

The Wizards have hired veteran NBA point guard Ish Smith as a pro scout, team officials said on Wednesday, per Josh Robbins of The Athletic (Twitter link).

Smith, 36, appeared in 43 games for the Hornets last season and was on Charlotte’s roster until being waived at the trade deadline in February. However, after not catching on with a new team during the final two months of 2023/24 and not signing a new contract this offseason, it appears he’s moving onto the next stage of his career.

An undrafted free agent out of Wake Forest, Smith never stuck in one NBA city for long, but played in an impressive 805 regular season contests and 23 playoff games over 14 seasons from 2010-24. The six-foot point guard set an NBA record by suiting up for 13 different teams and had two separate stints with the Wizards, first from 2019-21 and then again at the end of the ’21/22 season.

In total, Smith averaged 7.1 points, 3.8 assists, and 2.4 rebounds in 19.2 minutes per game over the course of his career for the Wizards, Rockets, Grizzlies, Warriors, Magic, Bucks, Suns, Thunder, Sixers, Pelicans, Pistons, Hornets, and Nuggets.

And-Ones: 2025 Draft, Snell, G League, Garuba, Parker

October 2nd, 2024 at 12:53pm CST by Luke Adams

The 2025 draft class is stronger at the top than 2024’s class was, according to Jonathan Givony of ESPN (Insider link), but there still isn’t a clear-cut No. 1 pick in this group like there was in 2023 with Victor Wembanyama.

Cooper Flagg has long been viewed as the best bet to be next year’s top pick, but that’s not yet a lock, Givony writes, putting the odds of the Duke forward coming off the board first at just slightly above 50%. Rutgers wing Ace Bailey is Flagg’s top competition at this point, per Givony, who has Bailey’s odds of going No. 1 at 25%. Rutgers guard Dylan Harper, Baylor guard VJ Edgecombe, and French guard Nolan Traore are also in the mix for the first overall spot, Givony adds.

“I’m going into this year with an open mind about who the No. 1 pick might be,” one NBA executive told ESPN. “This is how mistakes are made: getting anchored to an opinion and then closing yourself off to new, much more important information that we’ll be receiving in the coming months seeing how the season plays out.

“I need to see if Cooper Flagg is indeed a No. 1-type offensive option who can be expected to carry a team at some point in his career, or if he’s more of a superstar role player who is better suited as your second- or third-best player. Every year there are surprises, new players pop up and others take an unexpected leap.”

Mock drafts from last fall illustrate that potential for in-season surprises. ESPN’s November 2023 mock had Isaiah Collier first overall, Ja’Kobe Walter fourth, and Reed Sheppard 25th — they were eventually drafted 29th, 19th, and third, respectively.

Here are more odds and ends from around the basketball world:

Nine-year NBA veteran Tony Snell, who last played in the NBA during the 2021/22 season, will join the Sioux Falls Skyforce in the G League this fall, tweets Michael Scotto of HoopsHype. The Heat‘s affiliate will need to acquire Snell’s returning rights from the Maine Celtics, the team he played for last season. Snell won’t be signed to Miami’s preseason roster at all, notes Anthony Chiang of The Miami Herald (Twitter link).
The Rio Grande Valley Vipers (Rockets) traded Jarrett Culver‘s G League returning rights to the Osceola Magic in exchange for Jared Butler‘s rights, per the Vipers (Twitter link). Culver is with Orlando on an Exhibit 10 contract, so it appears he’ll play for the Magic’s G League team this season. Butler remains under contract with the Wizards and would need to be waived and sign an NBAGL contract for Houston’s affiliate to take advantage of his rights.
Speaking to Eurohoops’ Javier Molero and Alex Molina, respectively, former NBAers Usman Garuba and Jabari Parker expressed that they’re comfortable no longer playing in the league. Garuba, who returned to Real Madrid this summer after three seasons with Houston and Golden State, said his NBA experience wasn’t quite what he expected and that he’d be “more selfish” if he were doing it all over again. “I left as a kid and grew up,” said Garuba, the 23rd overall pick in the 2021 draft. “I had a lot of ups and downs and learned a lot of lessons over there. I got traded, I got cut, I saw a lot of things, the dark side of the business. I think that made me mature a lot as a player.”

Southeast Notes: Wizards, Valanciunas, Hawks, Heat Camp

September 30th, 2024 at 9:49pm CST by Tristan Tucker

The Wizards are content to continue developing their young talent and laying the groundwork for a successful future, Varun Shankar of The Washington Post writes.

“It’s process over outcomes,” head coach Brian Keefe said on Monday. “I’m a competitor. I want to win, but I want to go into the stuff that gets us to win. … How we prepare, how we handle practices, how we handle shootarounds, how we handle film sessions. Those are the things that’s going to build us to be a sustainable winner.”

Washington had a busy offseason, adding veterans like Jonas Valanciunas, Malcolm Brogdon and Saddiq Bey while drafting Alex Sarr, Carlton Carrington and Kyshawn George.

Although the Wizards are expected to be toward the bottom of the league’s hierarchy again, Keefe helped turn the team around midway through the year. They went just 8-31 under him, but they went from being dead last in the league in clutch games played to first during that stretch.

“We’re not giving up, okay? We’re going to lose some games … but we’re not going to lose games [where we] give up end of the third, halftime. [We’re going to] fight till the end, no matter what, up or down,” Valanciunas said.

We have more from the Southeast Division:

Wizards veterans are happy that Valanciunas made the decision to join the team in free agency, Chase Hughes of Monumental Sports Network writes in a subscriber-only story. The 32-year-old Valanciunas has been in the league since he was 20 and holds career averages of 13.4 points and 9.5 rebounds per game.
The Hawks announced a series of front office promotions and hires in a press release, including Daniel Starkman being elevated to vice president of player personnel. In addition, Jay Rodriguez was hired as pro personnel coordinator, Miles Simon and Bubba Burrage were hired as pro scouts and Nick Restifo as director of basketball research. Ben Peterson, Ryan Donahue, Ryan Brooks, Paddy Hogben and John Dusel were among the other additions/promotions. Starkman previously served as the general manager of the team’s G League affiliate, the College Park Skyhawks.
Atlanta added some size on the wings while getting a bit younger, Lauren Williams of The Atlanta Journal-Constitution writes in a piece recapping the team’s media day. No. 1 overall pick Zaccharie Risacher and Dyson Daniels figure to factor into the rotation while the Hawks also added Larry Nance Jr. Meanwhile, Onyeka Okongwu, Kobe Bufkin, Mouhamed Gueye and Seth Lundy all received positive injury updates. Lastly, Williams writes the Hawks are still considering whether Cody Zeller will make the roster.
The Heat have a roster full of players out to prove doubters wrong, Ira Winderman of South Florida’s Sun Sentinel writes. “No matter what it is, we’re going to find a way to make us have a chip on our shoulder,” Jaime Jaquez said. “I think even going in, I think it’s seven national TV games for the Miami Heat. That’s what the NBA thinks of us. And that’s OK, because i guarantee that they’re going to still be talking about us when the season goes on and we play our season.“

NBA 2024 Offseason Check-In: Washington Wizards

September 30th, 2024 at 12:21pm CST by Luke Adams

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

Tristan Vukcevic

Departed/unsigned free agents

Jules Bernard (Cavaliers)
Tyus Jones (Suns)

Other moves

Signed Richaun Holmes to a two-year, $25,929,058 veteran extension that begins in 2024/25. Second year partially guaranteed ($250K).
Waived Landry Shamet.
Waived Eugene Omoruyi.

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.

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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.

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