Washington Wizards: Admiral Schofield and Justin Robinson assigned to G-League

The Washington Wizards are making room to welcome back a few injured players, but that means saying goodbye to a couple, as well.

On Tuesday morning, the Washington Wizards announced that two of their rookies- Admiral Schofield and Justin Robinson– are being assigned to the G-League. The two will play with the Wizards’ G-League affiliate, the Capital City Go-Go.

Still just three games into their NBA careers, neither Schofield nor Robinson had done anything yet to truly wow. However, for Robinson, that could be due to a lack of opportunities more than anything.

Robinson was one of the bigger roster question marks as the Wizards widdled down their preseason sheet to an opening night one. However, the undrafted rookie did make the final cut. He just never really saw much/any playing time through the first three games. In fact, he saw just 37 seconds total; some garbage time action at the end of the Wizards’ 108-100 loss to the Dallas Mavericks in the season opener.

It’s no shocker that Robinson is far from the starting rotation, but seeing him securely behind Chris Chiozza as the team’s fourth point guard is a bit confusing. Chiozza is the one on the two-way contract, not Robinson. Yet, Chiozza has seen MUCH more playing time through three games. Chiozza played 19 minutes in the loss at Dallas and 15 in the win over the Oklahoma City Thunder. During Isaiah Thomas‘ return, he saw zero minutes, though, as Ish Smith and Thomas handled the point guard responsibilities against the San Antonio Spurs.

Admiral Schofield, the 42nd overall pick from the 2019 NBA Draft, will also be joining Robinson with the Go-Go. Unlike Robinson, Schofield saw some decent minutes through the first three games before his assignment.

Schofield’s career got off to a bit of a rocky start versus the Mavericks. In the 16 minutes he played during the season opener, Schofield missed all three of his field-goal attempts (three three-pointers) and recorded just one assist. However, he bounced back nicely against Oklahoma City. Against the Thunder, Schofield shot 100 percent on the night, making his only three-point attempt, his only two-point attempt, and both of his free throws. He also added some boards, finishing with seven points and five rebounds in just 10 minutes of play.

Both players will

definitely benefit from some G-League action where they’ll have more room to grow without the pressures of a real NBA contest. We saw how the G-League helped Troy Brown, Jordan McRae, and (to a degree) Thomas Bryant last season. Why not try and have the same developmental success this year? If you’re going to have a G-League affiliate, you might as well use it to help develop your draft picks.

Schofield’s assignment, more so than Robinson’s, has just as much to do with the status of Schofield’s teammates as it down with his own game. Schofield has played the majority of his NBA minutes as a small forward. According to Scott Brooks, Troy Brown should be available for the home opener versus the Houston Rockets. CJ Miles should be available within a week or two.

Unfortunately, a healthy stable of small forwards is just a bit too crowded for the Wizards. Brown and Miles aren’t going anywhere, leaving Schofield as the odd man out. I wouldn’t be surprised if we see him back with the team later this season looking a lot more polished after some run with the Go-Go. And the same goes for Robinson. Overall, this is a smart move by the Wizards.