The Washington Wizards made a couple of roster decisions earlier today.
Washington Wizards Rumors: Wiz Make A Pair Of Roster Decisions, Tre Jones Future and Nearing Franchise Record
Washington filled the open roster spot after the expiration of Justin Champagnie’s 10-day contract with young veteran RJ Hampton. Like Champaignie’s contract, Hampton’s deal is temporary as it is for 10 days, per The Athletic’s Josh Robbins.
(1/2) The Washington Wizards will sign guard RJ Hampton of the Capital City Go-Go to a 10-day contract, a source said.
— Josh Robbins (@JoshuaBRobbins) March 3, 2024
Hampton has bounced around the league since being drafted with the No. 24 overall pick in 2020. The Wizards are the 23-year-old’s fifth team. Hampton was with the Miami Heat on a two-deal earlier this season before being released on Feb. 9. He struggled mightily in his limited minutes with the Heat as he saw just 76 minutes of court time over eight games, including two starts,
After getting released, Hampton joined the Wizards’ G-League team and impressed. In six games with the Capital City Go-Go’s, the 6-4 combo guard compiled 12.7 points, 3.0 rebounds, and 2.5 assists while posting a shooting slash line of .500/.412/.818 in 20 minutes. He scored at least nine points in five of his six outings and reached double-figures on four occassions.
Hampton is a better scorer playing off the ball, though he is not a good shooter. He is also a capable distributor and rebounder, though ball-handling is an issue. Defense is arguably his best attribute.
In addition to Miami, Hampton has played for Orlando, Denver, and Detroit. He averages 6.8 points, 2.7 rebounds, and 1.4 assists in 170 career games while shooting .408/.338/.679.
Washington (9-57) is in evaluation mode so that Hampton could get a few minutes. The Wizards have five games over this week and a-half stetch starting in Utah on Monday. Rookie wing Bilal Coulibaly is the only Wizard who is currently sidelined.
“Right now, it’s a lot of discovery,” Kyle Kuzma recently told The Washington Post’s Ava Wallace. “Trying to figure out what a lot of guys do, what they can do, what they can’t do, what they bring to winning basketball.“
Champaignie saw 16 minutes over three appearances during his 10-day contract.
Justin Champagnie Earns Two-Way Contract
While Champagnie didn’t get a second 10-day or standard contract out of his time with Washington, he did impress the Wizards’ brass enough to earn a two-way pact. The deal includes the rest of this season as well as 2024-25.
Official: We have signed @JusChampagnie to a two-way contract. 🤝
📰 Read more: https://t.co/BpOOgXXm81
🤝 pres. by @RobinhoodApp pic.twitter.com/paJ72HmYJs— Washington Wizards (@WashWizards) March 3, 2024
Champaignie was extremely aggressive during his limited time with the Wizards, averaging 3.3 shots a game. He produced 10 points on 5 of 10 shooting. Half of his 10 shots came within 10 feet of the basket and half came from beyond the arc (1 of 5).
Washington had an open roster spot due to the recent promotion of Eugene Omoruyi recently. Champaignie has appeared in 41 career NBA games, averaging 2.3 points and 1.8 rebounds with a shooting slash line of .446/.316/1.000. He can appear in 12 of the Wizards’ final 14 games.
Wizards’ Offseason Decisions
The Washington Wizards have several decisions to make this offseason. The Wizards have 11 players currently under contract for 2024-2025.
Richaun Holmes will certainly exercise his $12 million option. Holmes is not in the Wizards long term plans but they may be willing to keep him around depending on what they can do this offseason. He has played fairly well in limited time with the Wizards. However, he is currently behind Marvin Bagley III and Omoruyi.
Holmes may be used as part of trade this offseason or at next year’s trade deadline.
Omoruyi, whose contract is nonguaranteed for next season, is undersized for a center. The 27-year-old doesn’t defend or shooter well enough to be a regular rotation. However, he has shown enough to at least get a chance to win a job during training camp.
Landry Shamet’s $11 million contract for next season is nonguaranteed.
Shamet is a quality role player who can put up solid numbers in spot starts. He is an above-average 3-point shooter and quality defender.
There is a chance that Shamet does return, but not at his current salary next season. So, unless Shamet renogates he will be a free agent.
Shamet is having the worst season of his career across the board, averaging 7.5 points while shooting 43.2% from the field and 34.2% from the 3-point line.
Tyus Jones and Anthony Gill will be unrestricted free agents. Meanwhile, Isaiah Livers, Jules Bernard, and Jared Butler will be restricted free agents.
Washington will have a top-12 first round pick and a second round pick this summer. The Wizards project to have $22 million in cap space.
Tyus Jones’ Time Done In Washington?
While Livers may be back, if the Wizards decide to tend him a $2.29 million qualifying offer, Jones is expected to vacate DC after one season, according to The Athletic’s David Aldridge.
The Jones- Jordan Poole backcourt experiment has been a total disaster, leading interim coach Brian Keefe to send Poole to the bench to start games. The Wizards are being outscored by 4.1 points in the 27.2 minutes duo are on the floor together. Jones has a minus-7.0 plus/minus rating on the season.
Poole has over $95 million and three seasons left on his contract, so he is not going any where.
Jones, who is having a career season, an excellent ball-handler and great orchestrator of an offense. He also has been very efficient with a shooting slash line of .493/.418/.789. However, he is awful defensively and has a cap hold of $21 million.
Jones will likely have a lot of suitors on the free agent market . He is a top 30 free agent this summer.
Wizards Focusing On Growth
Washington are on pace to produce the worst season in franchise history as they are 9-51 on the campaign. The Wizards need to go 9-13 the rest of the season just to their fewest wins on the season.
While it appears the Wizards will set the franchise record for futility, they are two losses from setting a consective the franchise mark for most losses. The Wiz are on a 14-game skid.
Despite the losing streak, the Wizards’ focus is on growth.
“Right now, we understand a lot of things we’re doing … halfway through the year. Changing coaches, we’re also changing a lot of philosophies, we’re also changing to do a lot of things that these young guys, they haven’t necessarily been taught,”Kuzma said following Saturday’s loss. “We have a learning curve right now. We understand that. It’s always tough to lose, especially when you’re a competitor, and everybody in this locker room is a competitor. But we understand that we’re searching and we’re fighting for growth every single day.”
