FREE AGENCY

Key Free Agents: C Robin Lopez (2020-21 salary – $7.3M), G Ish Smith ($6M), G Raul Neto ($1.6M), C Alex Len ($1.2M), F Garrison Mathews (Two-Way)

Other Free Agents: F Isaac Bonga ($1.6M), G Cassius Winston (Two-Way)

With them already being nearly $9.8M over the salary cap for the 2021-22 season, Washington will not be able to go after some big names in free agency, but they do have some decisions to make about guys that are going to be free agents and guys with non-guarantees on their contracts for next season.

Daniel Gafford, Anthony Gill and Caleb Homesley are all “under-contract” for next season, but all of their contracts are non-guaranteed. 

Caleb Homesley signed an Exhibit-10 contract prior to the start of the 2020-21 season to take part in the Wizards’ offseason training camp and was later assigned to the G-League Erie BayHawks. There, he averaged 9.3 points, 4.1 rebounds and 2.3 assists in 15 games, resulting in Washington signing him to a three-year, non-guaranteed contract near the end of the season. 

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It is expected that Gafford’s contract will be fully-guaranteed by the Wizards at some point in the offseason, as will Homesley’s, but Gill’s contract is definitely up-in-the-air. 

The 28-year-old forward played in 26 games for Washington this year, averaging 3.1 points, 2.0 rebounds and shot 50% from the floor on 60 total shot attempts. While he is only owed $1.5M and that may not seem like a lot for the Wizards to take on, they have some other contracts to deal with this offseason, which is why Gill could be waived. 

As for the players from this year’s roster that are set to become free agents, Robin Lopez, Ish Smith, Raul Neto and Alex Len are the four names that stick out. With Thomas Bryant expected to make a full recovery from his torn ACL and Daniel Gafford playing great near the end of the year for Washington, both Lopez and Len could wind up not getting a new contract with the Wizards this offseason. 

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Depending on if the Wizards add another guard via the draft, both Raul Neto and Ish Smith could return to Washington next season, but they most likely would not get more than a minimum deal. The Wizards do not have much cap space this offseason and as a result, they will only likely be targeting veteran players who are willing to sign for minimum contracts. 

The only real value that Washington can add to their roster would be through a trade, which is why we should definitely expect the Wizards front-office to be active in terms of trade talks throughout the entire summer.