Washington Wizards Rumors: Wizards Lead Way To Sign Brandon Jennings

Washington Wizards, looking for point guard help, are leading the chase to sign Brandon Jennings, who was waived by the New York Knicks on Monday.

Over the past few games, the Washington Wizards‘ bench – which is 29th in scoring and last in assists – has barely been cracking double-digit points.

Trey Burke, whom the Wizards acquired for virtually nothing this past summer, has struggled to solidify his role with the team as the backup point guard. At the beginning of the season, Burke focused on facilitating, playing a more pass-first role.

With the team needing a boost in scoring, Burke has become more aggressive offensively, looking to shoot the ball more often than he did when the season began.

This season, Burke has averaged less than 5 points in 12 minutes per game.

As a 6-foot point guard, the former lottery pick has struggled to adjust to the pro game. His size, coupled with his lack of speed, makes Burke unplayable.

Other undersized point guards are able to contribute by making up with their quickness, but Burke’s physical limitations are too significant.

Tomas Satoransky, who’s ironically one of the tallest point guards at 6-foot-7, is in the same boat.

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He’s been solid defensively for Scott Brooks, but Satoransky’s hesitancy and inability to score doesn’t alleviate the bench’s problems.

Plus, as an international rookie, these sort of roadblocks were expected.

Now, the Washington Wizards have been left scrambling looking for help.

Washington acquired Bojan Bogdanovic during the NBA Trade Deadline, hoping the swingman would give the second unit a scoring boost.

The problem is, Bogdanovic isn’t an isolation scorer and needs to be set up.

Neither Burke nor Satoransky are capable of leading a bench.

On Monday afternoon, the New York Knicks waived Brandon Jennings. The day prior, Ernie Grunfeld spoke about continuing to dig the market in an attempt to bolster the bench.

Jennings, who averages 15 points per game for his career, seems to have the skill-set that the Washington Wizards are looking to add. He’s a score-first guard capable of setting himself up, but an underrated passer as well.

As a backup to Derrick Rose this season, Jennings has averaged 9 points and 5 assists.

Shortly after he was released by the Knicks, it was reported that the Washington Wizards had interest in Jennings.

Since Jennings was just waived, he’ll officially be on the waiver market for the next 48 hours. The highest bidding team will get his services. The Washington Wizards have more than the veteran minimum to offer.

But, if the two sides agree, the Wizards will likely let the time expire and sign Jennings afterwards, just like the Cleveland Cavaliers did with Deron Williams recently.

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Jennings has made just 38 percent of his shots this season and has built a reputation of being a gunner. At this point, though, his deficiencies aren’t relevant for the Wizards, who are desperate for help. His ability to create will be a godsend if he comes to Washington.