Wizards Free Agent Center Options DWINDLING | Did the Wizards ALREADY MISS Out?

Wizards Free Agent Center Options DWINDLING | Did the Wizards ALREADY MISS Out?

First night of NBA free agency is underway and the Washington Wizards have already missed out on a thinning group of centers that were available here in free agency. It’s not the end of the world, but I would love to see the Wizards add someone alongside Alex Sar. This is Locked on Wizards. You are Locked On Wizards, your daily Washington Wizards podcast, part of the Locked On podcast network, your team every day. DC family, this is Lockdown Wizards, where you’re part of our family. Thank you for making Lockdown Wizards your first listing every single day. Part of the Lockdown Network, your team every day. Happy July and happy NBA free agency to all those who celebrate. We are getting closer and closer to finding out more and more about our beloved Wizards. Alongside DC Sports content creator by FanDuel. right now. New customers can get $150 in bonus bets when your first $5 bet wins. Abdullah, first night of free agency and it started out slow, period uh for the NBA as a whole. You had Josh Hart tweeting at 602 saying uh it’s been 2 minutes into free agency starting and my phone hasn’t blown up yet. What’s going on? And it was pretty slow for the most part for everyone in the NBA and things did eventually pick up. they did not pick up for our Washington Wizards. There was an ample amount of free agent centers that were available in this class for potentially Washington to go after here and maybe pair alongside Alexar, another veteran. Uh, but the Wizards here have appeared to miss out on a good amount of available options. There are still a good amount that are left. The Wizards could easily sign somebody at the time that we’re recording this or overnight because we’re recording right now 10:30 p.m. Eastern time. This comes out 7 in the morning tomorrow. Uh, but there’s a couple of things I wanted to break down here with the Wizards in free agency and how this all essentially works. So, my thinking maybe the Wizards not so active right now because uh, you know, there’s a money thing involved here. The Wizards are $13 million below the tax line and $18 million below the first apron. Now, the Wizards can spend up to $18 million there. But the Wizards do plan to use a 100% or over 100% that is of the expanded traded player exemption, which is something the Wizards have the ability to do because of the trade where CJ McComem and Kelly Litk come over in return for Jordan Pool and Sadi Bay who head out of Washington. Um, but this does mean that the Wizards are hardcapped at the first apron of $18 million. So essentially, that’s what the Wizards have the ability to spend here. And the Wizards can really always sign players through exemptions at this point because of the cap situation. And for what it’s worth, Brooklyn is the only team that’s actually under the NBA salary cap for this year. Uh, which is crazy to think about it. I don’t even really understand how it works like that, but that’s the situation that we’re in. There have been plenty teams that have been active so far in free agency and we’ve seen a bunch of centers who have gone notably a couple guys I go most recently in order here. Mason Plumbley one-year deal to the Charlotte Hornets. Luca Garza two-year deal with the Boston Cel Celtics 5 and a half million guaranteed. Brook Lopez two-year deal$1 18 million with the Clippers. Clint Capella returns to the Rockets on a three-year deal. Luke Cornett somebody I was high on potentially the Wizards getting to pair alongside Alex Sar. He heads to the Spurs on a four-year deal. And then Cavan Looney, someone Abdul and I were super, he heads to New Orleans. So, a lot of interesting moves that we’ve seen so far. And our Wizards have not been part of it.
Yeah, that that the last one, Cavan, I thought he would have been the if the Wizards somehow Wogens managed to get him here in Washington. That would have been perfect because again, the biggest question after the draft and going into free agency was who’s that big man that were going to have to fill that role. Last year it was Jonas Valentunis and we’re going to talk about later on how potentially there could be a reunion with JV here in DC. But at the end of the day, free agency, it’s not the end of the world. The Wizards don’t get that big man. I mean to me and a lot of fans right now if you’re listening it’s like yo like what what are we doing here man? passed up on a lot of options there at pick 18, trade back to 21, and you missed out on guys like AC New, Danny Wolf, and second round, you couldn’t drag the big man. And I think one thing for sure, Will Dawkins, and we we reiterated this last episode, is it’s about talent right now. And I think Will Dawkins thinks we can get that big man later down on the year, maybe come trade deadline or maybe use all the second round picks that we accumulated these past couple years to maybe gather that superstar or a potential superstar in a big man and pair alongside Alex Sar because I think right now as Wizards fans and we’ve seen Alex in his rookie year, maybe he is best suited for that forward position or maybe another year where you give him a shot at the five. Who knows? We’ll just have to see. But center is just the one thing that we’re all looking right now. We’re waiting for Shams to say Washington Wizards signed X center from this amount this team worth this amount of money. At this point, it doesn’t matter how much we give up. Obviously, we don’t want to overpay, but I think center is the ideal position that you’re looking for come free agency. And who knows, it could happen anytime. I mean, last year when Jonas Van Trunis, it was it was a nice deal as well. So, we’ll just have to see. But be patient.
It came out of nowhere, too. who was one of the first signings in free agency, I believe, and nobody really expected it. Uh JV comes over to Washington and he is traded for Malcolm Brogden. We’ll get more into that and what potentially is going on with the uh idea of a signing trade. We’ll touch on that in the second segment. One thing I want to say about the Wizards Center situation and what it means for them going into this year and obviously it’s not the end of the world if they don’t have a competitive or veteran presence to put alongside Alex Sar for a couple reasons. One, uh Tristan Buch is someone that we’ll touch on later in this episode as well. Uh the opportunity maybe see him get some more minutes. He’s a restricted free agent right now, but the Wizards can match uh if anyone does offer him something else. The Wizards,
which I think they will do. I mean, he last year B I’m the biggest Tristan Vuvich fan, but when he was given opportunities of minutes, he played well.
Exactly. But one thing, the Wizards are going to be bad on the glass next year. They are going to struggle to get rebounds, which is detrimental in the NBA. That’s something that leads to a lot of losses. And not saying that the Wizards uh shouldn’t be losing games next year because they should. I don’t think they can afford to lose eight that top uh lose that top eight protected pick from New York. But if you are struggling that mightily on the glass because you don’t have that veteran presence uh that can you that you can pair down there alongside Alexar because Sar did struggle as a rebounder. It’s just really not yet part of his game despite being a seven-footer. I think you don’t want to get into a situation that you got into last year a couple times, two 16g game losing streaks where you’re just not even competitive because although the objective and you know if you want to call it tanking classified as a tank job you can do that. Of course the the players and the coaching staff front office they won’t say or you know blatantly admit the team is tanking. It’s a development thing. Ted Leona said that. But when you are losing these games, you want to be competitive because if you are getting your butt kicked by 30 points every night, nobody is getting better. Nobody’s developing because people are going to start playing out of system. Uh people are going to start pressing and then players in your organization maybe start to lose belief in what you are building. And that’s maybe my concern right here is that if the Wizards don’t pick up a center at some point here in free agency, and we’ll touch on guys that are available here in a moment, you maybe get into a situation where it’s going to be hard for them to for them to compete against teams that are physically much more imposing than them. And I hope that’s not the case because although the losses are going to be key uh for the Wizards getting a draft pick next year in a stacked class in 2026, the Wizards need to compete. They cannot be bottoming out to lose 30 by 30 every single night like they were in the midpoint last year. Yeah, last year it was a common theme of losing the paint battle, the rebounding battle, even the turnover battle and not being able to control that pain, especially when you have a sevenfooter Alexar, which you’re you’re investing a lot in, it’s a little concerning and going into this upcoming year, again, the losses will come, but one thing for sure as Wizards fans that we want to see outside of development from the young guys is being competitive because again, eventually these are the teams you’re going to be competing to make that playoff run. And you can’t be getting blown out by last year we saw against Indiana. I get they went to the NBA finals but 60 points at home. I mean that’s just that’s inexcusable. And if you’re the Wizards I I understand like you that center position maybe it’ll be addressed later on but you just like you mentioned it and I I really agree with you to hear Ben. You can’t have the same problem again like last year because if us Wizards fans right now you and me are saying let’s be patient to anyone out there that’s listening. But how can we be patient if we’re doing the same thing over and over again and results are the same? It’s the definition of insanity as a wise man once said is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results. So if you’re the wizard front office right now and you have so much confidence in Alex Sar, maybe you bring back Rashan Holmes, Tristan Vuvich, if he gives the offer, you match him. I just Kelly Olen I I don’t his future here in DC. you really have to be able to have some improvement when it comes to rebounding this year, when it comes to battling in the paint, because if not, it’s going to be another long year for us Wizards fans.
Yeah, I think Oolen and Rashawn Holmes, uh, Oolen, I bet, is probably on this Wizards team at this point, uh, given what we’ve seen here in a Rashawn Holmes, I think, is a candidate that could be traded, uh, because he’ll be on an expiring deal this year. Uh but another thing to point out is that the Wizards have the opportunity to be very active in next free agency if that is the plan because the way the Wizards are trending right now is very similar to what we saw out of the Houston Rockets who have had a hell of an off season uh right now. So uh Benny Smith heads to Houston as well. Of course the KD trade uh a couple of weeks ago. Now, Houston is now in its championship window and obviously the East is down because of injuries. So, Houston is completely in a win now mode. When Houston began its rebuild, it was a threeyear process. They won only 17 games in the first year, then 20, then they won 22, and then they had that year where they made a jump and were at 500, went won 41 games, and then the year after that they win 53 games. First time Houston won 50 or more games in a seven-year period. The Wizards right now could be on a very similar trajectory. Uh this will be pretty much the third year of truly bottoming out uh or tanking if you want to call it that for this Wizards organization. So that might open the window for them next off seasonason over $und00 million and cap space to work with. They also will probably have plenty of assets to work with if they do take on uh more contracts that are not favorable for other organizations. I think the Wizards are going to have a lot of utility available to go and get a big man whether it’s next year or two years from now when the team is more ready to compete. I just think some of the things that we had brought up uh could be the concerns going forward. A couple of names I’ll just throw out here still available for potentially the Wizards to grab here in free agency. This is as we’re recording. So, this is subject to change by this time comes out tomorrow morning. Uh DeAndre Aton was bought out yesterday which was really surprising. Did not expect that at all. Uh Bismac Biombo who’s 32 years old. He’s a free agent. BB Bowl is an unrestricted free agent. And Thomas Bryant, former Wizard, also an unrestricted free agent right now. He’s only 28, but he’s been in the league for about eight years now. So, he could be a guy that actually would be a decent veteran that you could bring back here in Washington potentially. And another one, the last one I’ll bring up here because this is the one I’m the highest on is Larry Nance Jr. Uh he’s a guy that’s been looked on so favorably everywhere he’s been as a veteran player, a great mentor, great leader. Uh and I think he fits what, you know, we can actually dignify this right here as the Wizard tag. I think he fits the mold for what the organization is looking for out of the veteran players, much like Chris Middleton and Marcus Smart and some of the other guys the Wizards have brought in. I think Larry Nance Jr. actually fits that mold. He is still unsigned to this point. So, if I’m Will Dawkins, I’d actually be very interested in potentially bringing him in for a year. He’s also a guy you could flip as well.
Those are really good names. I think it would be funny if you bring back Thomas Bryan. DeAndre Ian is an interesting guy as well because coming out of the college, I mean, he was a guy that was just, oh, he’s freak athlete, phenomenon, 7 foot one. And I think the one thing that was holding him back was his passion. We saw so many times in his tenure in Phoenix where he just giving up on players just wasn’t giving all his 100% into the game which was frustrating but maybe a fresh a new life in DC would change that but I think just and there’s a reason why Portland gave up on him so maybe that’s not the best thing but Larry Nance would be really intriguing this man from older guy but definitely brings that wisdom here in DC and bring back bring a veteran that paired him up with Chris Militin, Marcus Smart. So, there’s still some really solid options out there, but we’ll just have to wait and see. And again, it all comes down to this year we’re expecting to be bad, which is it is what it is. You want that our top eight protected pick, but also you want to see development in some way. You Valentunis, could he be back in DC at some point soon? Let’s talk about that next tier on Lockdown Wizards. Summer sports are in full swing. And whether you’re all about baseball under the lights, golf on the green, or high stakes soccer action, FanDuel is the best way to make every game more exciting. You’re already following the action, make it a little more thrilling. With FanDuel, you can get in on the game while your friends are getting sunburned at the beach. I’ve been using FanDuel to track all my favorite matchups all summer. And the app keeps it fresh with new daily promotions and fun ways to bet. It’s easy to use, fast to pay out, and makes even regular season games feel like mustwatch events. New to FanDuel? New customers can bet just $5 and get $150 in bonus bets if your first bet wins. Open the FanDuel app today or visit fanduel.com to get started. Welcome back to Lockdown Wizards here July 1st edition. Happy you can join us here alongside Abdul Aub. I’m Ben Strober and free agency slow slow to start and the Wizards have done nothing. Uh that’s really the only way. The Wizards have done nothing so far. However, the rumblings that we have seen uh per some reports here from Jake Fischer, the Kings are planning to meet with Malcolm Brogden and among their other point guard options. It doesn’t have to be this way, but the Wizards are willing to help facilitate a potential sign in trade with Brogden. Now, if this is the case here, Abdullah, could we see Yonas Valenunis uh re reunite here in Washington? Yeah, that would be really really funny. I I think it’s a possibility, especially since again, we need a center. And when JV was here in Washington, even though it was for half of the season, he was he has some really nice touch around the rim, I think maybe a five of Carrington, Trey Johnson, Bal, Kulali, S to four, and JV would be really, really interesting. But again, we’ll have to see how a year two Alex Sar and you’re in a situation like you were last year where you were trying to increase the value of players, but also balancing the development of young guys. And now you bring in a guy that you just traded away not too long ago. So I I wouldn’t hate it obviously because again you need that big man a guy in Jonas Valentunas who is a rebounding machine double double machine and that’s something that we needed or we need right now currently. So I would love the move but again Malcolm Brog on the move going to him. It does make sense because I loved him outside of him being a UVA head. I think his availability was just the reason why it just didn’t work out here in Washington. when he was healthy, he he produces, but the biggest thing in sports is availability, and that’s your best ability. And for Balcon Bro, it just wasn’t the case. But again, it’s just a move that you need to make, especially since this upcoming year, if we get toasted off the glass every night, we’re going to look back and say, why don’t we make a move for a guy like JB again?
Yeah, that’s exactly right. And I think although he came as a surprise last year when the Wizards picked him up at the beginning of free agency, uh he was someone that did provide some really effective minutes here in Washington. I think uh his veteran leadership, his presence, and he’s a guy who can kind of do it all as a big man. And that’s important for a player like Alex Sar who’s developing because although Sar is better fit to be a power forward, a four long term here in Washington to learn from a guy like Valenunis who is a essentially a stretch five player. I’ll never forget when he was with New Orleans and he hit seven threes in a row. It was just like the most unconscious Valenunis game ever. One of the most random performances ever. but he’s a guy that can teach essentially the tricks of the trade here to Alex Sar for a second time. And I I think those two had a decent relationship when he was here the first time. I think Alexar was able to pick up some things early on in his career from that experience. So, if you’re able to bring him back and then try to flip him again because the Wizards are going to be really active at the trade deadline again next year. It’s just inevitable. They’re probably picking up more bad contracts. are probably going to be acquiring even more draft picks to work with even though it’s 18 second round picks right now through the next six or seven years. But the Wizards maybe hopefully are going to get first round picks at next year’s trade deadline if they pick up some more bad contracts and they’re going to have the financial uh flexibility to do so. So, there’s a lot that can be said about the idea of a reunion uh with Valenunis here in DC. the other names that I mentioned a couple minutes ago that the Wizards could go after uh here in free agency still are also people I’d be interested in. It’s just tough for me right now because at the end of the day, I’m not going to lose sleep over the Wizards not getting a big man uh here at all in the offseason. I am confident that maybe they give some more run uh to Tristan Buch. Like you you like you might see him start. I know that’s maybe not the most likely thing, but if the Wizards don’t do anything here and they want to start him over a guy like Kelly Olen, like that is entirely possible. I think Vuvich needs to be in a bit better shape conditioning wise, I think at times we saw him get gassed in some of his minutes, so that’d be something he would need to work on if he were going to have an expanded role this upcoming season. Uh, but I just I just keep going back to it. But I don’t want to see this Wizards team fall into the trap of getting blown out every single night because in order for players to develop, they need to be competing. They need to be in close games uh down the stretch. That’s going to be the most important thing for the Wizards next year.
I agree. And I would love to have uh TV take that forward position, but again, he needs to get better conditioning wise and defensively. I named I don’t know if we talked about Ben Moagner. Has he been there’s no news on him yet in his
He is available.
Okay. That’s a guy that I think would be nice. I know he was here in Washington during the Russell Westbrook days and that was quite a time. So maybe bring him back. He could be that spark. I know he’s younger than Jonas Valentunis and maybe him and Alex Hark would have some we could be really compatible. I don’t know. What do you think about that? Uh it could be interesting. It’s just I I really have a hard time remembering his impact from when he was here that many years ago because everything has turned over. So, the organization is completely different from that time. Uh, but I’m really bringing anybody in at this point is a favorable move for me. I think there’s something that to be said about the benefit you could get really from anyone being brought in. Uh, there’s just a lot to unpack and this free agency has just been a wild one so far. The teams out west continue to get better and better. The East has kind of been dull. It’s been a little bit humrum so far to start free agency, but Thinking about it, Ben, sorry, just before we move on, next year
cuz Tyrese Hallebran’s going to be out for a while. Tatum’s going to be out for a while. The window right now for the Knicks to win. And it’s off topic, but there they should be expected to come out the East because again, Achilles injury is no joke. And I forgot Damen Lillard Milwaukee, too.
Yeah, the the East is completely wide open, but with LeBron’s future up in the air all of a sudden, I think if he leaves Los Angeles, he’s definitely going to the East. I don’t know. So, we talked about this on the Craig Hoffman show today because we were like, who could trade for LeBron? What would it cost? Who would be? Well, like so many teams would be interested in LeBron James, even though he is 41 years old and about to play in his 23rd season. The only player to do that in NBA history. Uh, but he still brings so much to the table. He’s an allNBA player still. But with the Eastern Conference being as open as it is, I I don’t think he would stay in the West. I don’t think it would make any sense if he is only interested in winning championships right now, which is what his camp appears to be saying at this point with the Lakers and why his future is up in the air there. I It’s crazy. We’re talking about LeBron and the Wizards podcast, but yeah, the East is so wide open that it just makes you think that LeBron would might actually find his way back in the Eastern Conference. All right, well, let’s get back to the Wizards here. Which young Wizards have the most to prove this upcoming season? We have that next and the final segment today of lockdown wizards. [Music] Welcome back. Locked on Wizards segment number three. Ben Shrober alongside Abdullah Aub. Which Wizards this year have the most to prove this upcoming season? So, there’s a lot to unpack right here because the Wizards roster is just full of youth. It’s the full youth movement, Abdul, as we have touched on and there are a lot of moving pieces right here. Who on this roster to you stands out will have the most to prove this upcoming season?
I think I’m going to go with the easiest answer. I have to go with Bal Koulali. That year three jump offensively is just something that us Wizards fans have been really, really patiently waiting for. And we get it. He’s a defensive menace. he his potential to be that locked down guy guarding the team’s best player. We’ve seen that a lot of flashes at that. But offensively, he needed to be consistent. Last year, you trade away Kyle Koozma and less than 24 hours later, you get your first career triple double against Brooklyn. I I was excited. I was a big fan of the law coming out of the draft and a lot of people overlooking at him over saying that he was Victor Rebeyama’s teammate in uh in France. Nothing really came out of that and he don’t think he’s going to be that special in the NBA level. Defensively, he’s proven why he’s going to be really, really good. But offensively, that game needs to translate in. I think the jump shot needs to get better. At times was flat, but maybe he’ll fix that. He’ll fix that mechanics this off seasonason or just be able to be that guy who can have confidence. Again, you’re a young Wizard squad and 20 21 years old, not even 21 yet. It’s it’s insane to think about. And with his uh payday extension coming up cuz going into his you have the option to pay him this upcoming year after the season, a lot of moves needed to be done. And this is the first guy that was drafted by W Dawkins. This is the first drafting of the Wool Dawkins regime. So, I think he has a lot to prove because these past two seasons, you end both seasons off injuries and you miss a lot of time. You can’t have that in year three, Ben. That’s just it’s you can’t. And I get it. Part of that maybe was you wanted to shut him down because tanking or whatnot, but year three, Belali needs to play at least 65 games because at the end of the day, this is a guy that we’re going to have to pay. And if I I go back to talking about Malcolm Brogen, the best ability in any sport is availability. And for Bal Kulabali’s past two years really to the second half of the season hasn’t shown why he deserves to be here in Washington. But I think he’ll make that year to jump offensively and then eventually when that happens, we’ll all sit back and relax saying it was all worth it in the end.
Yeah, I think Bal is a fine better than fine player really. I think borderline allstar player and that’s the kind of player I think we do see him become here in year number three. So absolutely uh he would be my top choice for a player with the most to prove out of all the young kids the Wizards have right now just given that he is extension eligible next summer and the Wizards have added so many wings to this roster. You call them wings stop at this point but the Wizards have added so many good one Ben
somebody in the comment I stole that from somebody in the comments. So, if I stole that from you, comment again and I’ll I’ll give you credit in the next episode. Anyways, the Wizards have added so much at that position that essentially if Bal doesn’t make that jump, he could be somebody that the Wizards would look to not necessarily replace, but the Wizards would try to find somebody who they do believe is the long-term answer at that position. To answer my own question about players with the most approved next year, for me it’s got to be Bob Carrington. And because we already know how highly this organization, Will Dawkins, Michael Winger, Travis Schlank, we know how high they are on Bob Carrington. This is a guy that they shocked the world to get on draft night a year ago. They traded Danny Avdia on draft night and get back in the first round to take Bob Carrington. Now, at the time, I think there was a lot of speculation on what this move would mean for the Wizards going forward, but given the situation that he is now in, Jordan P is now playing in New Orleans, obviously, after the trade. Uh, Bub Carrington has been given the reigns to become the point guard of the future here in DC if he can prove himself to do so. You get a true two guard in this drafted number six at Trey Johnson. We know what kind of player he’s going to be because his best trait is shooting the three-point ball. That’s something he’s going to be good at in the NBA no matter what. That is almost a guaranteed thing to translate to the next level. This allows an opportunity for Bub Carrington to prove himself not just as a playmaker, but as a ball dominant player. You now have guys that are better playing off the ball. I think even CJ McCollum playing here in DC benefits Bub Carrington because he’s a better offball player than Jordan Pool was. I think P in order for him to be effective, he was the guy that needed the ball in his hands. Now, if you have the ball in Bub’s hands a lot more, this will give him the ability to one to work on himself as a shot creator because one thing we need to see from him is get to the rim uh a lot more often, get to the free throw line with more regularity. And I think with the with the Wizards, what they have in place for him and the belief they have in him, this is absolutely the year where I expect him to make a big jump and prove himself to be the Wizards point guard of the future because there’s a lot of noise out there, a lot of naysayers that say Bub is not a true point. And this is an opportunity for him to prove those people that don’t believe in him wrong. The Wizards have given him this chance. It’s no it’s no uh secret. Bub Carrington is a is a freaking dog. I mean, last year when he was given those minutes, he he stepped up career high of 34 against Orlando, was going at every team’s best player, getting in their faces, which I love to see. I mean, look at it. Last game of the year against the Miami, he floater off the glass for the win. I get you’re a losing team, but you’re still going out there, you’re competing, playing 82 games. It was like every night when I was watching a Wizards game, I just see a tweet saying that Bub Carrington is the youngest guy to do this as a Wizard. It’s just insane the amount of potential he has. Hey, it’s kind of funny because Ben, looking at this question about the the young wizard that has the most approved, we can make this case for a lot of these young guys, Alex Sar and Keshan George, a guy that we he needs to step up, especially since we’re thinking that Cory Kispert’s out the window, who we don’t know what’s his future here in Washington after giving that extension. And if we made the case for Trey Johnson, I mean, let’s talk about it right now. I think he should have the second or third best odds to be rookie of the year because if you look at Ace Bailey situation, if you look at Cooper Flag situation, VJ Edge, those guys have more mouths to be here in their teams. But look at in DC, it’s Bub, it’s Trey, and Trey was an amazing score in the SEC. So, I expect him to get a lot of touches and be that guy that proved what, hey, I was the second or third best player in the draft. I don’t know how the heck I fell to the sixth pick. Yeah, I think you’re exactly right. He is going to have more opportunities, especially early on compared to other teams. And it’s obvious that he’s not the betting favorite to be the rookie of the year, but the situation he’s in gives him maybe a leg up to have the opportunity to jump some guys when it’s all said and done. Well, the Wizards haven’t done anything yet in free agency at the time that we have recorded this, but we’ll see. Maybe tomorrow by the time this comes out or at some point throughout the day, if you’re just watching this, whether it’s in the morning or the afternoon or the evening, maybe the Wizards do something and do get that big man uh that they can use as a veteran president going forward. Maybe it’s one of those names we threw out there. We will just have to see.
Comment down below because I really want to hear what people think could be that center that could sign in free agency.
Let us know your thoughts. Let us know everything you’re feeling about the Lockdown Wizards podcast. Be sure to follow us on all of our socials. Subscribe, like the video, and keep on uh putting the pressure on us to do better and better every single episode here of Lockdown Wizards. That’s going to do it for this one. We thank you for making Lockdown Wizards your first listen today. For your second, check out the 2025 Lockdown NBA mockdraft, a five episode series, the most comprehensive NBA draft analysis. Hold on a second. That is the wrong ad from last week. I think right now what I meant to say is that check out that locked on NBA live stream that we have out there where there is no offseason. Every day they are breaking down free agency draft uh what we’ve seen so far from that and what’s yet to come in this NBA offseason. I I can’t believe I pulled up the wrong one there. But yeah, be sure to check that out. This is Locked on Wizards. We’ll catch you in the next one. For Abdul Aub, my co-host, I’m Ben Strober. We’ll see you next time.

The Wizards did not have an active first night of NBA Free Agency, with a ton of available centers signing deals with other squads. Ben Strober and Abdullah Ayubi express whether or not this is of any concern. Also, they touch on the idea of other options at center, including a possible reunion with Jonas Valančiūnas. Lastly, what Wizards have the most to prove this season?

0:00-15:07: Top options already signed elsewhere
15:08-22:07: Reunion in D.C. incoming?
22:10: Who has the most to prove?

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