Thursday, August 2, 2007

The Washington Wizards and second-round pick Dominic McGuire have agreed to terms on a three-year contract, according to a league source. McGuire, a forward who was selected with the 47th overall pick out of Fresno State in the June 28 draft, impressed the team with a strong all-around performance during the Las Vegas summer league.

The 6-foot-8, 220-pound McGuire averaged 13.5 points, 9.8 rebounds and 3.6 blocks as a junior at Fresno State last season and averaged 12 points and 6.2 rebounds in five summer league games for the Wizards last month.

The Wizards have 11 players under contract. They still are negotiating with forward Andray Blatche, a restricted free agent, and fielding trade offers for guard Juan Carlos Navarro.

Navarro's European team, FC Barcelona, said Wizards President Ernie Grunfeld has until the end of business tomorrow to trade Navarro's NBA rights. If the deadline passes, Navarro will return to Barcelona and his buyout will rise to $14 million.

Navarro negotiated the buyout down to around $2 million earlier this summer after stating his desire to play in the NBA. However, the Wizards already are over the salary cap with about $64.7 million committed to contracts for next season, and the team used a portion of the mid-level exception to retain starting shooting guard DeShawn Stevenson.

Grunfeld is trying to save what little remaining money the team has to keep Blatche, who has been offered a five-year contract worth roughly $12.5 million and is mulling over his options, according to a league source. Should Blatche sign an offer sheet with another team, the Wizards would have seven days to decide whether to match it.

Teams that do not stay under the $67.9 million luxury tax threshold have to pay $1 for every dollar they are over.

Also, Harvey Grant, a former forward for the franchise who has spent the past two seasons as director of player development, will not have his contract renewed.

-- Ivan Carter