With their eyes on the future, the Washington Wizards would like to move two-way player Anzejs Pasecniks to a standard NBA contract, according to multiple people aware of the team’s plans.
Washington has until Jan. 15, the last day to convert a player on a two-way contract to an NBA deal, to make its decision. If the Wizards convert Pasecniks, they would be able to sign another player to a two-way contract. The return of Johnathan Williams, whose temporary contract with the team expired Sunday, would be a likely scenario, according to several people with knowledge of the situation.
When injuries stacked up, the Wizards qualified for a hardship exception and went to great lengths to bring in Williams, a 6-9 forward who had been playing in Israel. In six games and five starts, Williams averaged 5.5 points and 6.3 rebounds, impressing the Wizards enough for the team to consider bringing him back.
Since the inception of the two-way contract in 2017, the Wizards have used it as an effective tool for advancing players through their system.
Last season, Jordan McRae played on a two-way deal and spent the majority of his time with the G League’s Capital City Go-Go. This season, he has been a consistent scorer for the Wizards. Garrison Mathews, a rookie on a two-way contract, has recently logged time with the NBA club and helped the Wizards to their most successful week of the season with wins over the Miami Heat (Dec. 30) and the Denver Nuggets (on Saturday). Mathews left Monday’s win against the Boston Celtics early with a sprained right ankle, but X-rays returned negative.
Pasecniks has emerged as another two-way success story, averaging 7.7 points and 6.3 rebounds in 11 games. Even if the Wizards do not promote Pasecniks, he will remain with the franchise, either as a backup big or with the Go-Go. This summer, Pasecniks, 24, will be a restricted free agent, which means the Wizards would be able to match any offer sheet he receives.
If the Wizards reward Pasecniks with an NBA contract, they would have to get creative to move another player. That decision probably would be rooted in big-picture thinking.
Despite its underwhelming record, Washington has a young and promising core that will be expected to firm up the foundation in 2020-21 alongside franchise cornerstones Bradley Beal and John Wall. Washington probably will have to prioritize the future, even though that could undercut its present rotation.
A rash of injuries, combined with the team’s philosophy to allow players to take as long as they feel is necessary to heal, has dwindled the roster’s manpower. The Wizards had seven of their top eight rotation players unavailable when they surprisingly shut down the Celtics, 99-94, on Monday.
Five rotation players are on the last year of their contract, indicating they could be out of the team’s long-term plans and candidates to move. Two players — coveted sharpshooter Davis Bertans and CJ Miles — are injured, though Bertans (quad injury) appears on track to return before the end of this week, according to several people familiar with his rehabilitation.
Other players on expiring deals include defensive-minded guard Gary Payton II, who signed as a hardship exception before the Wizards waived a player to keep him around, and 33-year-old center Ian Mahinmi. Finally, there’s former all-star point guard Isaiah Thomas, who signed a one-year, veteran’s minimum contract this past summer.
Thomas, 30, chose Washington to revive his career after spending the previous two seasons rehabbing a painful hip injury, but his stop in the District appears temporary. The team is set to have Wall and Ish Smith at point guard next year. While the Wizards have been content with Thomas’s production (13.0 points per game on 41.7 percent shooting), especially considering his contract, he probably will not be in their plans beyond this season.
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