Shams-Tristan Vukcevic 3 years 9 million

[Benjammin]

Read on Twitter

Such a smart deal. The Washington Wizards are signing two-way center Tristan Vukcevic to a new three-year, $9 million deal, sources tell ESPN. Team option in third season. The Wizards and the 7-footer's agent, Jason Ranne of Wasserman, reached the new contract Saturday.

Sent from my Pixel 10 Pro XL using Tapatalk

[Lucky Once]

Good to have some big man depth though I assume this means there likely won't be another Bagley reunion. There is still some upside if he can figure things out defensively but I think third center is probably the correct spot for him absent some big jump in production. Nice to see draft picks earn a second contract even if its depth.

[SUPERBALLMAN]

He’s definitely skilled with upside, and he’s been better of late on the defensive end, seems to be giving more effort on that end and on the boards.

[AFM]

Let’s go!!!!!!!!

[FAH1223]

Read on Twitter

[nate33]

I'm honestly shocked by this. I really didn't think the team cared much for Vukcevic's play and demeanor.

I'm not saying it's a terrible idea or anything. Vukcevic really does have some serious offensive talent. And he makes a lot more sense as a 3rd center who is likely to be paired with either Davis or Sarr when he is on the floor.

I also have a theory that European bigs tend to develop a bit later and don't peak until Year 5 or Year 6. They may be offensively polished early, but it takes them several years to adapt defensively to the NBA style. The European leagues let you get away with a lot more hand checking and physical play and it takes time for them to unlearn this.

I guess this is reason to believe that our developmental staff also thinks he has a lot of improvement ahead of him.

[ledell_gumbo]

This might also indicate that they're not going to sign a more qualified backup center, which might indicate they're going to stagger Sarr and Davis, which I think is a good idea.

[nate33]

This might also indicate that they're not going to sign a more qualified backup center, which might indicate they're going to stagger Sarr and Davis, which I think is a good idea.

The way I see them handing the Sarr/Davis tandem is like this:

In games where the opponent doesn't have an overwhelming amount of size, we start Sarr and Davis for 5 minutes together, and then have them alternate the remaining 19 minutes of the half. Sarr would play 30 minutes and Davis plays 28. We would only see the double-big combo for 10 minutes a game. In games with garbage time, Davis' minutes drop even more, helping to load manage him.

In games where the opponent is big, then Sarr and Davis play together for the first 5 minutes and last 5 minutes of each half, while alternating the 14 minutes in the middle of each half. That's 34 minutes for both guys, and for 20 minutes of the game they field a double-big lineup. In a playoff game or some other important game, play them together for the first and last 6 minutes of each half, which gets them 36 minutes each.

[9 and 20]

7 foot Jordan Crawford. But maybe now he won't shoot every time he touches the ball.

[tontoz]

I don't get it. I'd rather behave a defense first backup. Bagley was far better.

[nate33]

I don't get it. I'd rather behave a defense first backup. Bagley was far better.

I'm inclined to agree. And if not Bagley, why not a guy like Mo Wagner?

I guess the optimistic viewpoint on this is that they really think Vukcevic has a lot of untapped potential that they believe they can unlock. The guy does have a lot of physical talent. He is big, fairly strong, skilled, and has very nimble feet.

[nate33]

3 years $9M sounds like a vet minimum contract. With the final year a team option, it's basically the Justin Champagne contract.

[Benjammin]

Very little risk or cost and he does have some upside. DARKO statistical model loves him fwiw.

Sent from my Pixel 10 Pro XL using Tapatalk

[closg00]

This was probably the plan all along. It is smart that the clock starts on him now rather than when we first drafted him. OTOH, I partly feel it is out of desperation that we needed to sign him. We stockpiled wings and guards in the drafts and off-seasons while ignoring our weak front court. Now, we're in a weak Center drafting class and our depth behind AD and Alex is now just Tristan. Sure, we could bring back Gil, but we never aspired to give him any completion for his job. Perhaps we end up with Caleb..

[payitforward]

Can't say I get this.

[nate33]

This was probably the plan all along. It is smart that the clock starts on him now rather than when we first drafted him. OTOH, I partly feel it is out of desperation that we needed to sign him. We stockpiled wings and guards in the drafts and off-seasons while ignoring our weak front court. Now, we're in a weak Center drafting class and our depth behind AD and Alex is now just Tristan. Sure, we could bring back Gil, but we never aspired to give him any completion for his job. Perhaps we end up with Caleb..

I don't think this is desperation. There are plenty of available veteran backup centers this offseason. They could easily sign Bagley back, or Mo Wagner, or absorb Goga Bitadze off of Orlando's cap sheet.

I think they really believe in Vukcevic's upside. Or at the very least, think they can coach him up so that he is a value on his contract and could bring back value in a trade. They may be wrong in that assessment, but I don't think it's due to desperation.

[leswizards]

I like Tristan, and I never understood the hate he receives. His per 36 over the last 5 games is ~ 27.5 points, 9 rebounds, 4 assists, 3.5 steals, and 2 blocks on 60% 2PA and 40% 3PA.

I want them to experiment with him at pf. Can’t really do it this year, but maybe next season.

[closg00]

This was probably the plan all along. It is smart that the clock starts on him now rather than when we first drafted him. OTOH, I partly feel it is out of desperation that we needed to sign him. We stockpiled wings and guards in the drafts and off-seasons while ignoring our weak front court. Now, we're in a weak Center drafting class and our depth behind AD and Alex is now just Tristan. Sure, we could bring back Gil, but we never aspired to give him any completion for his job. Perhaps we end up with Caleb..

I don't think this is desperation. There are plenty of available veteran backup centers this offseason. They could easily sign Bagley back, or Mo Wagner, or absorb Goga Bitadze off of Orlando's cap sheet.

I think they really believe in Vukcevic's upside. Or at the very list, think they can coach him up so that he is a value on his contract and could bring back value in a trade. They may be wrong in that assessment, but I don't think it's due to desperation.

At a minimum we had to lock him up, it remains to be seen who we will be able to get this offseason.

In an era where are supposed to be aspiring for contention, and in the Wemby era, it is shocking to me that we took no bigs outside of Alex, or a PF.

[nate33]

This was probably the plan all along. It is smart that the clock starts on him now rather than when we first drafted him. OTOH, I partly feel it is out of desperation that we needed to sign him. We stockpiled wings and guards in the drafts and off-seasons while ignoring our weak front court. Now, we're in a weak Center drafting class and our depth behind AD and Alex is now just Tristan. Sure, we could bring back Gil, but we never aspired to give him any completion for his job. Perhaps we end up with Caleb..

I don't think this is desperation. There are plenty of available veteran backup centers this offseason. They could easily sign Bagley back, or Mo Wagner, or absorb Goga Bitadze off of Orlando's cap sheet.

I think they really believe in Vukcevic's upside. Or at the very list, think they can coach him up so that he is a value on his contract and could bring back value in a trade. They may be wrong in that assessment, but I don't think it's due to desperation.

At a minimum we had to lock him up, it remains to be seen who we will be able to get this offseason.

In an era where are supposed to be aspiring for contention, and in the Wemby era, it is shocking to me that we took no bigs outside of Alex, or a PF.

Were you upset that they drafted Kyshawn instead of a big? Would you rather have Jonathon Mogbo or Kyle Filipowski?
Were you upset that they drafted Riley instead of a big? Would you rather have Danny Wolf or Rasheer Fleming?

They went BPA with their late FRP's, which I'm fine with.

In general, I'm not a huge fan of using a good pick to draft a backup center. Centers take too long to groom, and most of them end up departing after their rookie contracts anyhow. Better to just find a free agent who has already gone through the developmental stage and has become a competent backup. You can always find a guy like Goga Bitadze or Jock Landale. Don't spend a good pick on a guy that will be useless for two years before he becomes no better than a Goga-tier backup.

(This doesn't apply to Vukcevic. They didn't spend a good pick on him. They drafted him in the 2nd round.)

[FAH1223]

Read on Twitter