The Washington Wizards training camp is officially underway. This is the time for fans to look ahead to the season, get excited about the young players, and dream about the endless possibilities. Then buzz starts around certain players and the excitement reaches new heights. One of those players so far for the Wizards is Ryan Rollins.
Rollins was acquired by the Wizards this offseason in the Jordan Poole trade with the Golden State Warriors. The 21-year-old combo guard out of Toledo was a second-round pick last season and unsurprisingly failed to crack Golden State’s rotation. Now, he has an excellent opportunity with the Wizards to establish his NBA career.
So far, he is looking prime to do so.
Mike Muscala on media day brought up unprompted how Ryan Rollins has been shooting really well in preseason pick-up games. Here he is making it look easy at training camp. pic.twitter.com/1mMMakgyVW
— Chase Hughes (@chasedcsports) October 4, 2023
If Mike Muscala and the footage are accurate, the Wizards may have a player on their hands. Rollins was already a well-rounded player except for his outside shooting. In college, he shot 31.7% from three but was impressive in other facets of the game. He can score, playmake, and play tenacious defense. He has a decent size for his position. If the ball starts going in for him consistently, it will be hard not to give him rotation minutes in either guard spot.
The guard rotation for Washington was already crowded. Tyus Jones, Jordan Poole, Delon Wright, Landry Shamet, Johnny Davis, and Bilal Coulibaly are already in line to receive rotation minutes in the two backcourt spots. Add Ryan Rollins with his improved shooting, and now you have a problem.
Jones and Poole will play at least 30 minutes per game as the starters. That only leaves 36 total minutes to be shared among 5 backcourt players.
So, this likely only increases the chances of Delon Wright and/or Landry Shamet being traded before the regular season.
It behooves the front office and coaching staff to play guys like Rollins, Coulibaly, and Davis as much as they can to see what the Wizards have in them. There are encouraging early signs for the development of Rollins, but we have to see if it translates to the NBA court. In order to see it, he needs to have an open path to playing time.
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