Washington Wizards Should Consider Signing Hollis Thompson

Washington Wizards need to add scoring and Hollis Thompson, a former Georgetown Hoya, could help spark the team’s second unit.

With a max player in mind, the Washington Wizards entered this past off-season expecting to land a franchise-altering piece. Instead, Ernie Grunfeld and the rest of the team’s front office struck out on premier talent, and were essentially forced to revamp the second unit.

Washington’s bench is the least efficient in the NBA and score just under 24 points per game – the second worst total in the entire league, per Hoops Stats.

Ian Mahinmi was the team’s prized signing, but has only played in one game this season. The rest of the new faces – almost all of whom are offensive-minded – have failed to contribute on a consistent basis.

Trey Burke and Tomas Satoransky have both been in and out of the team’s rotation, and Andrew Nicholson is glued to the end of the bench. Jason Smith has increased his production as of late, but has struggled to find his rhythm since the season began.

Those in the Wizards’ core group – John Wall, Bradley Beal, Otto Porter and Marcin Gortat – are putting up the best numbers of their respective careers.

Wall is on pace to make an All-NBA team.

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Both Beal and Porter are playing at an All-Star level, and Gortat is averaging a double-double.

Scott Brooks has been more reliant on his starters than expected.

Wall is coming off double-knee surgery and is still top-10 in minutes per game.

The starters have been carrying a heavy load, yet often have nothing to show for it once the reserves check into the game, perpetually blowing leads and putting the team at a deficit.

For the Wizards to remain in the playoff picture, they have to beat the teams they’re supposed to beat on paper, but that’s virtually impossible when eight of the players on the roster have borderline NBA talent.

Washington has three undrafted rookies on their roster, none of whom have played enough to earn a roster spot.

Grunfeld has cleaned up his messes in Washington in the past and could consider doing so again by making roster changes.

Since the team lacks flexibility, trades can be difficult to make, leaving the team with the free agent market.

At this point, the players available aren’t going to shift the direction of the franchise. But, that doesn’t mean Washington cannot find a contributor to replace one of the many players who’ve failed to help the team win games this season.

On Wednesday, the Philadelphia 76ers waived Hollis Thompson – a 6-foot-8 wing who’s most known for playing at Georgetown.

Thompson, 25, didn’t necessarily fit into the Sixers’ plans moving forward given their need to play more promising young players ahead of him in the rotation.

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In a league where 3-point shooting is heavily needed, Thompson should find himself on an NBA roster relatively soon.

As a career 39 percent shooter from deep, Thompson is capable of spreading a defense and providing a scoring spark off the bench in a traditional 3-and-D role.

If Thompson were to continue shooting at his career percentage, he would be the third best shooter on the Washington Wizards’ roster, behind Burke and Porter.

In two of his four seasons, Thompson has shot over 40 percent from beyond the 3-point arc.

His shooting, alone, would bolster the Wizards’ scoring output off the bench.

This season, all of Thompson’s made 3-point shots were assisted on, according to Basketball-Reference, which shows his willingness to accept a role as a catch-and-shoot option.

Adding Thompson, if things went according to plan, could be similar to when the Washington Wizards signed Martell Webster, who shared the skill-set.

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Knock-down shooters typically don’t become available this late into the season. Thompson is a proven shooter and the Wizards desperately need to revive their bench. At the very least, he would be a more promising option than the current players occupying roster spots outside of the starting five.

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