Now that the height of free agency this summer is over, it’s time to look ahead to the next summer. The Washington Wizards, who cleared their books and gained significant financial flexibility, have an opportunity to be major players next offseason. Since the path ahead for the Wizards during the rebuild is long, the Wizards should not rush things and sign older players to untradeable contracts. Fortunately for Washington, there are plenty of young players who are hitting free agency next summer who the Wizards should be interested in signing.
The Washington Wizards will only have three significant contracts on their books next summer; Kyle Kuzma, Jordan Poole, and Daniel Gafford. That trio will make $67 million for the 2024-25 season. However, other than them, they have the rookie-scale contract of Bilal Coulibaly, as well as team option decisions to make on Johnny Davis, Corey Kispert, and Patrick Baldwin Jr.
This means the Wizards will practically have about $57.5 million in cap space to spend in the 2024 summer.
This number can go lower or higher depending on the decisions they make on their expiring contracts and whether the Wizards sign them to a contract extension. Regardless, at the bare minimum, Washington will have at least one max contract slot available to offer next year, with a potential for more.
This is more financial flexibility for the Wizards than they have been accustomed to in recent years. They could use it to add draft compensation and young assets in exchange for absorbing bad contracts. Or, they could try to poach one or two of the upcoming free agents with lucrative offers.
Wizards general manager Will Dawkins had said they want to bring in as many “high-character players” as possible. So, let’s see who may be a good candidate to fit not only this bill but also the Wizards’ timeline.