On Thursday, the Washington Wizards re-added forward/center Marvin Bagley III on a one-year deal. The team previously rostered the 26-year-old before trading him to the Memphis Grizzlies in February. Bringing back the second overall pick in the 2018 NBA Draft now gives Washington 16 standard contracts. That is one more than the limit meaning the Wizards will have to make a move. Now, they have time (needs to be done by day before the start of the regular season), but they do have two players on non-guaranteed deals. One of those, Richaun Holmes, seems the more likely candidate of the two to be waived.
After Bagley III Signing, Wizards Center Is Candidate To Be Waived
Richaun Holmes Could Be Waived By Wizards
The Wizards acquired the 31-year-old Holmes in February of 2024 in the deal that netted the Dallas Mavericks center Daniel Gafford. Last offseason, Washington agreed on a two-year, $25.93 million deal to re-sign the 6-foot-10 Holmes. The second year of the deal (worth $13.28 million) is only guaranteed for $250K. It will become fully guaranteed on January 10 if he remains on the roster as per Spotrac.
The other non-guaranteed deal on the Wizards roster comes courtesy of 24-year-old Justin Champagnie. The 6-foot-6 forward was on a two-way deal last season before he was signed to a standard deal in March. Champagnie was given a four-year deal then, but the last three are all non-guaranteed. His $2.35 million for 2025-26 will also become fully guaranteed on January 10 per Spotrac.
With Champagnie being more than seven years younger and possessing a much more manageable salary, Holmes certainly seems more likely to be waived. Plus, Champagnie showed a load of potential last season after ending the year as a starter.
Justin Champagnie Showed Much Promise Last Season
Now, the Wizards could make a trade prior to the regular season beginning to solve the problem of their roster crunch. If that doesn’t happen though, in all likelihood, it would be a player on a non-guaranteed deal that would be shown the door. With how Champagnie played last season, one would think Washington would want to hold on to him.
Champagnie started 16 of his last 18 appearances for the Wizards in 2024-25. Over that time, he posted averages of 11.9 points, 8.2 rebounds, and 1.4 assists. He shot 53.1% from the field and 40.3% from beyond the arc. In three of his last four outings, Champagnie dropped at least 20 points.
Last season, Holmes appeared in 31 games (seven starts). Playing 17.2 minutes per contest, he averaged 7.4 points (on 64.7% shooting) and 5.7 rebounds. The 10-year veteran’s most productive seasons came when he was the Sacramento Kings. Holmes averaged double figures in scoring for three straight seasons for them spanning from 2019-20 until 2021-22.
While a decision isn’t needed to be made for a few months, if the Wizards know they want to waive Holmes, it would behoove him if they did so in the near future. That would allow him more time to find another team to join up with for the upcoming season.
Photo credit: © Reggie Hildred-Imagn Images
The post After Bagley III Signing, Wizards Center Is Candidate To Be Waived appeared first on Last Word On Basketball.