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The Washington Wizards declined Jamir Watkins’ $2.15 million team option for the 2026-27 season, Spotrac’s Keith Smith reported Monday.
The Wizards reportedly extended a qualifying offer to Watkins, which makes him a restricted free agent this offseason.
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Watkins, 24, was selected No. 43 by Washington in the 2025 NBA Draft. He averaged 7.4 points and 3.9 rebounds across 50 games during his rookie season.
The stout defender, who averaged 1.1 steals per game last season, closed his rookie campaign with a 24-point outburst on 5-for-9 3-point shooting against the Cleveland Cavaliers.
While Washington declining Watkins’ option is surprising, the team did something similar in 2024 when it declined Tristan Vukcevic’s team option before later signing him back on a two-way deal.
That could be the case for Watkins, who started last season on a two-way before his deal was converted to a standard contract to close the year.
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Here’s how Washington’s roster looks without Watkins:
Guard:Trae Young | Tre Johnson | Bub Carrington | Jaden Hardy | D’Angelo Russell
Wing: AJ Dybantsa | Kyshawn George | Bilal Coulibaly | Will Riley
Forward: AnthonyDavis | Justin Champagnie | Cam Whitmore
Center:Alex Sarr | Tristan Vukcevic | Felix Okpara (possible two-way contract candidate)
The Wizards are at 14 standard contracts, pending a possible 15th if Okpara signs a standard deal. They could open a roster spot by waiving or buying out Russell, who opted in to his $5.9 million player option but never reported to Washington following last February’s trade from the Dallas Mavericks.
Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/articles/report-wizards-decline-jamir-watkins-004435754.html
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Publish date : 2026-06-30 00:44:00
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