Wizards latest signing could leave room for big trade in the future

The Washington Wizards don’t have much to do this summer in terms of free agency, as most of their players will still be under contract heading into next season.

They just drafted three rookies, all of whom will be a big part of their future, and guys like Kyle Kuzma, Jordan Poole, and Marvin Bagley III are all still under team control as well.

One guy who they did make a move with was big man Richaun Holmes, who had a player option for the 2024-25 season. However, the Wizards declined it and decided to make a new deal.

Wizards could use Richaun Holmes signing to make bigger trade down the line

Washington inked Holmes to a new, two-year contract with the Wizards. He will now be under contract in Washington for the next two seasons on a $25.9 million contract. He will make roughly $13 million per year.

Holmes only played 17 games with the Wizards this past season but was relatively productive when he did step onto the court. The 30-year-old center averaged 5.0 points and 4.6 rebounds while shooting 55.7% from the field. He played 18.7 minutes per game.

With French rookie Alex Sarr in the fold and Bagley having shown some serious promise last year, Holmes will act as a solid veteran presence for them moving forward. However, that’s not the best part of this contract.

At this point in his career, Holmes probably isn’t worth $13 million per season. He simply isn’t providing a team with that level of production. But signing Holmes to that big of a contract could help the Wizards facilitate a deal at some point soon.

Washington doesn’t have any cap space to make moves right now, so trading will be their only real pathway to improvement in the next couple of years.

Obviously, they could look to trade Kuzma or Poole, but if they want to make a big-time trade or take on extra salary, having a guy who makes $13 million per season is a useful commodity.

In the meantime, Holmes will be able to give the Wizards solid minutes next year and the year after, but their best course of action in the next couple of years would be to parlay his contract into a trade for a player who could grow with their new young core.