Following an eventful offseason filled with trades and small victory signings, the Washington Wizards are left with an important question regarding their roster: who will take the final two-way slot on the roster?
With the NBA expanding available two-way roster spots to three players this season compared to the previous two, there is more room for flexibility on various rosters. However, there are some teams like the Wizards who have yet to fill their final roster slot.
Currently, the Wiz only have Jared Butler and Eugene Omoruyi signed to two-way contracts leaving one available for a player to take.
This will no doubt be the story of training camp for the Wizards as they have some stiff competition for the role.
The Washington Wizards already have two players signed to Exhibit 10 deals
Following Thursday’s signing of Chase Audige, the Washington Wizards now have two players on training camp contracts The other being Dejan Vasiljevic who was a standout performer during summer league for the Wiz.
Both of these guards will have the opportunity to compete for that final two-way slot throughout training camp. Both are talented players who undoubtedly deserve a spot on an NBA roster, however, there are a few caveats to converting their contracts.
First, they are both guards. This means they would see extremely limited minutes even if a player gets injured. With the Wizards being extremely deep at both guard positions, it may be best to reserve this spot for a big man.
Second, it would force the team to trade away or waive two players before the start of the season in order to have a legal roster. The Wiz are currently two players over the legal limit for a roster and will be forced to make moves before the season begins.
Speaking of having too many players on the roster…
The Washington Wizards could convert Ryan Rollins’ contract into a two-way deal
Ryan Rollins is still on his rookie contract making him eligible to be converted into a two-way player since he was drafted in the second round of the draft. This move would do some heavy lifting in making the roster legal.
Turning Rollins’ contract into a two-way deal would allow the Wizards to get away with only trading/waiving one player from their current roster. This would then allow them to keep two of Danilo Gallinari, Landry Shamet, and Delon Wright rather than needing to trade two of them.
He spent all of last season on the sidelines due to a stress fracture in his foot, this makes sending Rollins to the G-League at least temporarily an enticing option for the Wizards. he could get more reps in before making a true run in the NBA after the trade deadline when many players currently on the roster will likely be gone and they will actively try to lose games.
I lean in favor of Ryan Rollins for this spot. The Wizards should be able to retain both Dejan Vasiljevic and Chase Audige with the Capital City Go-Go, allowing them to be signed to two-way deals midway through the season if the Wiz clear house as many expect them to.
They would also be able to keep valuable mentors on the roster to help guide the youth on the team in the right direction. They would also be able to continue to solidify the culture they are attempting to instill in the locker room by keeping the vets around.
What the Washington Wizards decide to do with their final two-way roster spot will greatly impact what we can expect out of them for the remainder of the offseason. This could even be the reason why they haven’t made a clear decision yet, just to keep the leverage in any trade discussions.
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