Here are some free agents they could consider:
Jabari Parker
Power forward
2018-19 teams: Wizards, Bulls
The Wizards didn’t enter this offseason believing they had to bring back Parker, though they considered it a possibility if absolutely necessary. And now, it might just be necessary.
Washington’s two best creators behind Beal are Smith and Thomas. Smith’s efficiency consistently bogs down because of an inability to get to the line matched with an inconsistent 3-point shot. Thomas, meanwhile, is no guarantee to stay on the floor.
Parker has injury issues, too, but he was healthy last season, already knows the system and doesn’t hurt the team’s flexibility if he returns. The Wizards don’t have to use an exception to re-sign him and can pay up to $24 million in 2019-20 salary, though they obviously wouldn’t come close to that price.
The team has two goals for this free agency, and if mismanaged, pushing too hard to accomplish one of them could lead to messing up the other. The Wizards don’t want to hand out contracts they think could turn into bad ones, but they also aren’t looking for one-year rental situations with guys trying to put up numbers and get back out on the market for 2020 free agency. Those goals, of course, would complicate a Parker return.
Right now, Brown is the projected starting small forward and Hachimura is the first-string power forward. But the Wizards don’t want to throw Hachimura into the deep end right away and would like to avoid the same for Brown, though both will receive minutes from Day 1. Parker could start at the four. He could eat up minutes. He could score and pass on the break. Even with his clear defensive flaws, those are traits that will help this squad.
Rondae Hollis-Jefferson
Forward
2018-19 team: Nets
Think Michael Kidd-Gilchrist, all the way down to the hyphen. Hollis-Jefferson doesn’t make or even take 3s, but he can do the out-of-control, barrel-to-the-basket moves that energetic forwards pull off to get his buckets. He plays and cuts hard. He’s long and defends, which the Wizards desperately need.
There’s a decent chance Washington has the worst defense in the NBA next season. Hollis-Jefferson’s presence might not even be enough to change that, but the need to sign a defensive-minded guy isn’t as much about improving the defense as it is about building an accountable culture. The Wizards don’t want their young players (Brown, Bryant, Hachimura, Schofield, etc.) to build up bad habits venturing out of place and trying to recover for frantic teammates.
At least Hollis-Jefferson can make a difference on the ball. He can use his stringy arms for good. He’s a well-liked teammate and cheery personality. He’s still only 24 years old. The Wizards might not hand him the entire biannual, but — especially if he ends up costing just the minimum — he could easily step in and start at one of the forward spots.
JaMychal Green
Power forward
2018-19 teams: Clippers, Grizzlies
There are health concerns, but the Wizards can’t be too picky, and if the market dries for Green, why shouldn’t they try to swoop in?
He’s a 3-point shooting, high-energy power forward who could space the floor for guys such as Beal and Smith, who like to operate around midrange. Green made 45 percent of his corner 3s. When Smith comes around a ball screen or Beal gets to the middle, it wouldn’t be as easy to collapse on them.
He might still be too expensive, though. Green was a rotation piece for a playoff team with the Clippers, who would have lots of money to spend if they miss out on Leonard in free agency. The power forward’s market could expand once Leonard chooses his team. If the Lakers end up Kawhi-less, they could throw money at Green, too. But there’s no question he’s someone who could provide an upgrade in Washington.
Kentavious Caldwell-Pope
Wing
2018-29 team: Lakers
Caldwell-Pope, who’s had off-court issues that could suffocate any potential Wizards interest, is another guy who might be waiting for Leonard to make a decision. On top of playing for the Lakers last season, he also shares an agent with LeBron James. But Caldwell-Pope would certainly be one of the Wizards’ best players if he made the hop to D.C. He’d instantly be their top defender on the wing or anywhere else. He’s improved as a catch-and-shoot option. He’s been durable for his entire career.
It feels like he’s been around forever, but he’s still just 26 years old. Remember, if he costs more than the biannual (which is probable), the Wizards could still make a play if the league grants them the $9.3 million disabled player exception, though they are allowed to hand out only a one-year contract using that exception. The logistics here aren’t probable, but there’s a world in which Caldwell-Pope’s market plummets and he ends up having to take a cheaper deal. And maybe in that scenario, the Wizards could land him with a $3.6 million biannual offer or a little more.
Vince Carter
Wing
2018-19 team: Hawks
It is absolute insanity that signing a 42-year-old could work for more than just chemistry-related reasons, but insanity is, after all, part of Carter’s brand. Carter has shown that he genuinely enjoys hanging around on young teams and showing inexperienced players how a Hall of Famer conducts himself. He’s spent the past two seasons on losing squads in Atlanta and Sacramento — by his choice.
He’s playing one more season. He could do wonders for the guys in Washington’s locker room who are so young, they weren’t even born yet when Carter was drafted back in 1998. And you know what? He’d help on the court, even if he wouldn’t play more than
He won’t cost more than the minimum, and the Wizards might be able to sell this situation to him.
Quinn Cook
Point guard
2018-19 team: Warriors
Maybe this one’s a reach, but let’s stretch for it anyway. The Wizards already have three point guards. Smith will start and play regular minutes. But Wall is done for possibly the entire upcoming season, and Thomas has played only 44 games since undergoing hip surgery two years ago. Coaches and execs can have all the high hopes they want for the former All-NBAer, but any realistic angle is that he’ll miss at least some time. And even if he doesn’t, Washington could justify another point guard.
Smith is tiny. Thomas is tinier. Cook, who grew up in the D.C. area, provides a little more point guard size. He shoots. He could play next to Smith in smaller lineups.
There is no longer any chance that Cook will return next season to the Warriors, who just rescinded his qualifying offer, making him an unrestricted free agent. He might be too expensive for the Wizards anyway. But even if it would make the roster construction funky, the Wizards are in a place where they can overlook those sorts of things. If they can acquire a good NBA player, they should go ahead and get him, then worry about the rest later.
Stanley Johnson
Forward
2018-19 teams: Pelicans, Pistons
Interim general manager Tommy Sheppard has shown an obvious strategy during his short time leading the front office: He’s targeting former first-round picks and seeing if they can revive their careers with the Wizards. He did it in trading for Mo Wagner, whom the Lakers drafted No. 25 in 2018. He did it in sliding Anzejs Pasecniks, who went 25th in 2017, onto the Wizards’ summer league team.
Signing Johnson, who went eighth in 2015 and will cost only the minimum this summer, would be a similar move.
He’s 23 years old, guards multiple positions and is particularly physical on the defensive end. He’s never been able to develop an offensive skill set. The jumper is flat. Touch around the rim isn’t there. But he’s the type of guy the Wizards could try to work with internally to see if they have something for the long term, which is, after all, what matters more than this upcoming season.
Justin Holiday
Small forward
2018-19 teams: Grizzlies, Bulls
Holiday might check more boxes than any other player on this list. He defends. He can score a little, mostly as a shooter.
He’s bounced around the league but has received legitimate opportunities to play for each of the past three seasons and even received enough interest on the midseason trade market that the Grizzlies gave up two second-round picks for him mere months ago.
Maybe the biannual would be enough for him. If not, the Wizards might have to dig into the DPE (if they receive it) to give him a one-year stopgap deal. But they need someone to play small forward. And he could do it as capably as any other realistic candidate out there.
Trey Lyles
Power forward
2018-19 team: Nuggets
Lyles is a restricted free agent, which would add complications to a hypothetical pursuit from the Wizards considering Washington would have to wait 48 hours after signing him to an offer sheet to see if Denver would match it. But if he lingers late enough into free agency, why not take a swing?
He fell out of the Nuggets’ rotation in the postseason, and his 3-point shooting from above the break dropped off a cliff during the regular season, but he has a history of making 3s from the four-spot and can slide over to center in some lineups, too. In spite of the dreadful jump-shooting numbers from last season, he actually still made his limited shots from the corners, which is where the Wizards could position him alongside Bryant in the dunker’s spot.
Denver’s roster is getting expensive, and it would like to avoid the tax. If Lyles receives a multiyear offer, maybe the Nuggets don’t match on a guy who couldn’t even receive playoff minutes for them last year.
