Washington Wizards have reportedly shown interest in veteran wing Demar Derozan
The Washington Wizards will continue their search of filling the final spot on their 15-man roster. However, many experts believe Washington will look to pursue a veteran point guard for that final spot.
However, recent reports indicate that Washington has held several conversations with 6x All-Star Demar Derozan.
While Derozan doesn't fit the point guard archetype that Washington is coveting, he brings 17 years of NBA experience to the table, alongside bench scoring and mentorship for Washington's young core.
With that being said, it's important for us to assess whether or not Derozan at the age of 37 is worth the extra spot on Washington's roster, so let's dive into it.
Darren Yamashita-Imagn ImagesDerozan is known for his scoring ability, especially in the midrange where he shot 51.5% (90th percentile) on short midrange shots, and 47.5% (76th percentile) on long midrange shots last season.
Derozan is coming off a season with the Sacramento Kings where he averaged 18.4 PPG, 4.1 APG, 2.9 RPG on 49.7% FG and 32.0% from beyond the arc in 31.2 minutes per game.
Although Sacramento was one of the worst teams in the league, Derozan proved that he's still one of the league's most efficient scorers while being on the tail end of his career.
If Washington were to add Derozan, he would be a viable scoring option off the bench, along with an elite mentor to Washington's young group of wings in AJ Dybantsa, Kyshawn George, Will Riley, Tre Johnson, Bilal Coulibaly and Cam Whitmore.
While having a scoring option off the bench of Derozan's caliber, adding him would cause some confusion as Washington gave veteran wing Khris Middleton a three-year, $17.6 million dollar contract earlier in July. I believe Middleton and Derozan would play similar roles, and I personally don't see the need in having both.
With that being said, I believe Washington should continue their pursuit in adding a backup point guard, such as Russell Westbrook or Gabe Vincent as they'd help fill Washington's need of a true playmaking bench guard.
However, if Washington were to add Derozan, I wouldn't be surprised if the front office believed they could flip him at the trade deadline for assets (given how team friendly his contract is). It would be a very Will Dawkins move to sign one of the best free agents available (who has interest from other contending Eastern Conference teams), mentor the young guys for half a season, raise his trade stock then flip him at the deadline.
Doing so wouldn't fill Washington's need of a backup point guard, but stockpiling on assets and draft compensation is how you sustain longterm success in the NBA.
It'll be interesting to see how Dawkins and company handle the remainder of the NBA offseason -- do they add that veteran point guard, or snipe one of the better scorers on the open market?
