Wizards waiving Landry Shamet was a massive mistake for one obvious reason

The Washington Wizards have waived shooting guard Landry Shamet, according to Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN. The move was a huge mistake on Washington’s part.

Shamet originally joined the Wizards by way of the trade that sent Bradley Beal to the Phoenix Suns and brought Chris Paul back to Washington (before he was flipped for Jordan Poole).

Now, Shamet will join this year’s free agency class and will be free to sign with any team he wants heading into next season. But the Wizards should have never let Shamet go.

Wizards waiving Landry Shamet was a mistake because he could have helped develop their young core

As Washington gets ready for next season, they will be putting a ton of stock into their new young core. It’s a group that includes French big man Alex Sarr, Pittsburgh guard Bub Carrington, Miami wing Kyshawn George, and soon-to-be-sophomore forward Bilal Coulibaly.

Obviously, the Wizards will want to give those guys as many minutes and reps as possible, but it’s also important to surround them with enough talent to help them succeed.

Washington has already made moves to assist with this, signing veteran big man Jonas Valanciunas to a three-year contract. He will likely take pressure off of Sarr while also giving the Wizards some additional post scoring.

Shamet could have done the same thing for Washington.

This past season, Shamet appeared in 46 games for the Wizards. He averaged 7.1 points, 1.3 rebounds, and 1.2 assists while shooting 43.1% from the field and 33.8% from behind the three-point line.

While he may not have had the best three-point percentage last year, Shamet is a career 38.4% three-point shooter. He’s been a reliable shooter from distance for most of his career.

Having him around would give the Wizards’ young players a great guy to kick out to on the perimeter. Shamet would help space the floor and give them more room to work.

As Washington’s youngsters develop, having three-point shooting around them will be crucial. If the floor is spaced on the offensive side of the ball, Sarr, Carrington, and George will have much more room to work.

Keeping Shamet around would have been a nice way to keep a veteran presence on the team who could have helped the team’s development.