Since we wrote “The 10 best free agents still on the market,” players such as Grant Williams, Mattise Thybulle and Paul Reed have signed for next season.
However, the top two on the list — Kelly Oubre and P.J. Washington, both of the Hornets — are still out there. Why?
In Oubre’s case, he’s been overlooked, which can happen after playing only 48 games for a Charlotte nobody watched after LaMelo Ball’s injury. Still, Oubre averaged 20.3 points per game last season. Maybe he’s not the most efficient scorer nor a lock-down defender, but to think no team would go over the minimum for him — which is pretty much all that’s left, outside of a handful of teams that still have exceptions — is still surprising. (I expected him to be closer to $8-$10 million a season.)
Oubre is holding out for more, but if a team gets him for anywhere near the minimum it will be a steal. Oubre likely will want to sign with a team that can get him minutes and touches to build his value back up, but any team looking for an offensive spark off the bench should be reaching out.
Washington is the poster child for why agents and players hate restricted free agency.
It seems every team wants a stretch four on the roster, and here is Washington, a plus defender in the paint, he’s long and athletic, and is a career 36.6% shooter from 3 — a guy who should be making at least what Isaiah Stewart just got forum the Pistons, four years at $64 million. The Hornets and Washington reportedly are far apart on a new deal. Washington and his agent need a team to step up and do them a favor with a larger offer that the Hornets likely just match, just like how Deandre Jordan got his four-year max from the Suns last summer (the Pacers stepped up). The problem for Washington, in a compressed free agency, is the most any team can realistically offer right now is around the mid-level exception (four years, $53 million). That’s less than Washington deserves and would be quickly matched by the Hornets, which is why no other team is stepping up with an offer.
Adding to the uncertainty is the ownership — and likely front office and coaching — changes coming to Charlotte. Jake Fischer sums this up well at Yahoo Sports.
It’s no secret Charlotte will transition to new ownership in Gabe Plotkin and Rick Schnall… And yet, it was Michael Jordan, league sources told Yahoo Sports, who oversaw the Hornets’ decision with the No. 2 pick in June’s NBA Draft, just a week after agreeing to sell the franchise to Plotkin and Schnall. Mitch Kupchak and Steve Clifford held the large voices any general manager and head coach should have when deciding to select Brandon Miller instead of Scoot Henderson. There remains an idea in league circles, however, that this season could very well be the last for Charlotte’s leading personnel.
Washington appears to have three options: 1) Take the Hornets’ offer (the least likely of the choices presented him); 2) Sign the qualifying offer for $8.5 million for next season (which would be a huge flight risk for the Hornets); 3) Find a sign-and-trade offer that lands him with a new team at a contract he likes, and the Hornets get something in return.
Fischer at Yahoo says the sides are looking for a sign-and-trade. They can do that into the start of training camp, but at that point Washington may just take the qualifying offer and bet on himself (as Miles Bridges has already done with Charlotte).