2020 NBA Free Agency: Grading all four moves the Washington Wizards made on day two
By Ethan Smith
Fee Agency Move #3: Sign Yoeli Childs
The Washington Wizards just picked up one of the most productive players in BYU basketball history, not named Jimmer Fredette. After an impressive four-year career, during which Childs was a regular starter every year, the BYU standout went undrafted. That ended up being great for the Wizards, who signed Childs for what is likely a non-guaranteed minimum salary. However, details have not yet been released.
To confirm the report last night from @JacobCHatch former BYU star Yoeli Childs is heading to the Washington after signing with the Wizards, according to League Sources
— Tony Jones (@Tjonesonthenba) November 21, 2020
Childs finished his BYU career as the school’s leader in career rebounds. He was a two-time All-West Coast Conference team member and led the West Coast Conference’s second-best team in both points and rebounds during his senior season. That year, Childs averaged 22 points and 9.0 assists. Although it was a smaller than usual sample size, just 19 games, those numbers are nearly identical to what Childs averaged as a junior: 21.2 points, 9.7 rebounds in 32 games.
Childs also showed some outside shooting ability at BYU. Despite never taking a huge number of threes, Childs averaged 35.6 percent from beyond the arc as a Cougar. He never averaged more than 3.1 attempts per game in a single season, though.
Aside from Avdija, the Wizards seem to have a type when it comes to the 2020 NBA draft class. Cassius Winston, Caleb Homesley, and now Yoeli Childs. All played four full seasons of NCAA basketball. All four were incredibly productive. Childs also checks the “high motor” and “quality character” boxes that GM Tommy Sheppard is a fan of. It’s another low-risk move. It’ doesn’t move the needle, but it’s hard to hate on taking a cheap chance on a productive player.