The Washington Wizards have spent most of the offseason busy, just not in the one place that still matters most on the transaction sheet. Since signing Trae Young to a four-year, $212 million deal, Washington’s work has come through trades rather than a traditional free-agent addition, even after the draft brought in AJ Dybantsa and Felix Okpara.
That leaves one open roster spot hanging out there as August winds down, and it has become one of the more interesting questions left for the Wizards to answer. The team has been linked to a number of available players, but the board keeps shrinking as the summer drags on and more names come off it.
Russell Westbrook was one of the first big dominoes to fall among the second-tier free agents. He had been a target for Washington as it looked to shore up its guard depth, and he remained a popular name because of his one-season run with the 2020-21 Wizards. But instead of signing for year 19, he retired after watching the market move on without him.
Sometimes you don’t even know when you’ve already watched the end.You had to be there. And now it’s over. pic.twitter.com/6YoOW8WyIV
DeMar DeRozan was another major name left on the board after Westbrook, and he also turned away from Washington, choosing the Denver Nuggets instead. The Wizards may have avoided a tricky fit there given the number of ball-dominant guards and wings already in the mix, but it still sent them back to the search.
That search has shifted with the arrival of Tre Mann, who came to Washington as part of the wide-ranging Peyton Watson sign-and-trade. Mann’s addition suggested the Wizards still wanted another ball-handler, but Brandon Williams later came off the market when the Golden State Warriors signed him. He was one of the better unsigned scorers available, even if Washington did not seem especially disappointed once Mann was in place.
Anthony Gill remains another possibility. He has drawn some quiet buzz for a return to D.C. and has long been valued as a steady locker room presence through the rebuild. But this is the deepest he has gone into an offseason without a new short-term deal, and the Wizards’ willingness to look elsewhere suggests a reunion is no longer automatic.
At this stage, the fit question may matter more than the name value. Washington has already added more ball-handling help than it seemed to have earlier in the summer, so the priority now looks different. The Wizards should be leaning toward defense, hustle and rebounding, especially if they want that final spot to bring something useful to the margins.
That makes players like Nick Richards, Tony Bradley and even Kevin Love, who will soon be 38, worth a look. Aaron Holiday and Gabe Vincent have also surfaced as combo-guard options who can keep the ball moving and knock down open 3s, though the need for that type has lessened now that Washington has another fourth option behind Young, Tre Johnson and Bub Carrington.
The reality is that finding a late-summer gem is a long shot. Still, the 15th man is not usually what decides a season, and Washington has enough of the core pieces in place to keep weighing low-risk possibilities as September approaches.
In Other News...
Rockets Fans May Hate What An Anthony Davis Pursuit Could Cost
Anthony Davis stay in Washington already comes with a layer of intrigue, and it is not just because he has been through multiple trades in recent seasons. He has made clear he prefers to play power forward next to a true center, and he has also said he believes he and Trae Young can help the Wizards climb into contender territory. For a team trying to stabilize its long-term picture, that kind of star alignment talk matters as much as whatever happens on the floor.
The complication is that Davis future is still being discussed in the same breath as his present, which is usually never a comfortable place for a front office to live. With extension conversations not expected to be revisited until after the start of the 2026-27 season, the Wizards are in a wait-and-see stretch while the league keeps circling his name. That uncertainty is what makes every new rumor around him worth watching, especially for a franchise trying to build something durable around him. [Read more 🡒]
Wizards Suddenly Face A Real Bub Carrington Problem
Bub Carrington arrived in Washington as the 14th pick in the 2024 NBA Draft with the kind of long-term promise that usually comes with a first-round guard, but his path to steady minutes has been anything but straightforward. He has been used more as a part-time contributor than a locked-in piece, and the early read on his place in the rotation is complicated by a roster that already has multiple guards vying for the same opportunities.
Carringtons challenge is not just about getting on the floor, it is about finding the right lane once he gets there. The Wizards have a crowded backcourt, and recent additions have only tightened the squeeze, leaving his role unsettled as the season moves forward. For a young player still trying to carve out his identity, the next stretch will matter a lot in determining whether he becomes part of the core or just another name in the mix. [Read more 🡒]
Anthony Davis Puts One Huge Wizards Bet Under The Spotlight
Anthony Davis gives Washington a different kind of headline than the one it was used to before, and the reasons for that are bigger than his box score. Around the league, his availability has long been part of the conversation, with Klay Thompson reportedly steering toward other landing spots in 2024 because of those concerns. Now the Wizards are betting that Davis can stay on the floor enough to matter, joining Trae Young and AJ Dybantsa in a group that has raised the franchises profile even if it has not yet forced the East to treat Washington like a top-tier contender.
For the Wizards, the appeal is obvious: if Davis holds up, he can anchor real moments of progress and maybe restore some of the value that makes him such a swing piece in the first place. But the larger question around Washington is still whether this collection of talent is enough as constructed, or whether the path to true championship contention will require a much bigger move before the roster can be taken seriously in that class. [Read more 🡒]