While the Washington Wizards made some trades, there’s still work to be done on the roster. Here’s 4 buyout candidates they should consider.
The Washington Wizards were big winners at the trade deadline, doing right by Isaiah Thomas and gathering a pair of promising younger players in Shabazz Napier and Jerome Robinson. They even showed some real respect to Jordan McRae on his way out the door.
But it’s the latter of those two points that’s really key here: gathering promising young players. It seems to be newly minted general manager Tommy Sheppard’s calling card as he’s brought in high-character, promising players with a look for retooling the roster for the future.
Sheppard’s been a breath of fresh air following years of mismanagement from general manager Ernie Grunfeld. Here’s a list of all the player Tommy’s brought in:
- Garrison Matthews
- Rui Hachimura
- Admiral Schofield
- Moritz Wagner
- Isaac Bonga
- Dāvis Bertāns
- Anzejs Pasecniks
- Gary Payton II
- Shabazz Napier
- Jerome Robinson
The average age of those guys? 23.7.
He rounded out the roster with veterans Ish Smith and Isaiah Thomas as well. Not bad at all, considering the salary cap hell that he inherited when he took the job.
The point is that Tommy Sheppard has a type, and while Washington Wizards fans should be entirely satisfied with the roster as it stands, another move isn’t out of the question. As I mentioned in a previous article, there are exceptions available if they want to sign someone who gets bought out to see how they look.
I fully expect them to guarantee Garrison Matthews’ contract, which would bring the roster to 16 bodies. They can have a max of 17 players on the roster, so that means they could potentially go after one of the players that is liable to be bought out around the league.
But it would be best if the Wizards target young players that haven’t had opportunity to shine, or just need a second chance to perform, as opposed to veterans. There are a few options available out there if that’s what they’re going after.
Here are four players I think the Washington Wizards should target if they want to sign a player whose been bought out.