{"id":732644,"date":"2026-06-29T10:04:16","date_gmt":"2026-06-29T10:04:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/732644\/"},"modified":"2026-06-29T10:04:16","modified_gmt":"2026-06-29T10:04:16","slug":"the-wizards-summer-roadmap-free-agency-key-dates-and-cap-space","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/732644\/","title":{"rendered":"The Wizards’ summer roadmap: Free agency, key dates and cap space"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a>2025 first round picks Will Riley (27) and Tre Johnson will join 2026 No. 1 selection A.J. Dybantsa on the Wizards\u2019 summer league team (All Pro Reels)<\/p>\n

(Hi. We now have a newsletter focused on the Wizards from someone \u2014 me \u2014 who has covered the franchise in some form since the Gilbert Arenas era. Click here<\/a> to subscribe to the Wizards-dedicated newsletter or visit lastmanstandig.substack.com\/newsletters. Join us!)<\/p>\n

The Washington Wizards spent every offseason since 2023 building a roster young enough to develop and bad enough to lose 60-plus games.<\/p>\n

After finally landing a franchise cornerstone with the No. 1 pick in the 2026 NBA Draft, general manager Will Dawkins enters this offseason with a different objective: surrounding that young core with enough competent veterans to compete in a crowded Eastern Conference.<\/p>\n

Washington\u2019s 15-man roster is nearly complete because the front office essentially handled its biggest free-agent business months ago, acquiring Trae Young \u2014 the player the organization viewed as the top 2026 free agent \u2014 and Anthony Davis before February\u2019s trade deadline.<\/p>\n

The current roster:<\/p>\n

Guards<\/p>\n

Trae Young<\/p>\n

Tre Johnson<\/p>\n

Bub Carrington<\/p>\n

Jaden Hardy<\/p>\n

D\u2019Angelo Russell<\/p>\n

Wings<\/p>\n

AJ Dybantsa<\/p>\n

Kyshawn George<\/p>\n

Bilal Coulibaly<\/p>\n

Will Riley<\/p>\n

Jamir Watkins<\/p>\n

Forwards<\/p>\n

Anthony Davis<\/p>\n

Justin Champagnie<\/p>\n

Cam Whitmore<\/p>\n

Centers<\/p>\n

Adding a veteran center behind Sarr and Davis remains the most obvious need.<\/p>\n

So does creating another roster spot, potentially by waiving Russell or negotiating a buyout. The veteran guard, part of the Davis trade with the Dallas Mavericks, exercised his $5.9 million player option earlier this month despite never reporting to Washington.<\/p>\n

That doesn\u2019t mean the Wizards are planning an aggressive summer.<\/p>\n

The organization believes a roster built largely through its own draft picks \u2014 supplemented by All-Star veterans acquired via trade \u2014 is ready to take the next step.<\/p>\n

It may be a relatively quiet offseason in Washington, but it\u2019s still an important one as the Dybantsa era officially begins.<\/p>\n

Here are the key dates before free agency opens at 6 p.m. ET on June 30.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n

The first domino falls with Washington\u2019s decision on Jamir Watkins\u2019 $2.15 million team option for the 2026-27 season.<\/p>\n

The No. 43 overall pick in the 2025 draft averaged 7.4 points, 3.9 rebounds and 1.1 steals across 50 games as a rookie.<\/p>\n

His physical on-ball defense and switchability at 6-foot-6, 210 pounds fit Dawkins\u2019 defensive philosophy. While his outside shot (29.7 percent from three) remains a work in progress, Watkins finished the season on a high note with 24 points and five made 3-pointers in the finale.<\/p>\n

The Florida State product turns 25 on July 6.<\/p>\n

After beginning last season on a two-way contract before earning a standard NBA deal, Watkins is expected to remain in Washington. The question is whether the Wizards simply exercise the option or negotiate a longer-term contract.<\/p>\n

June 29 is also the deadline to extend a qualifying offer to two-way guard Sharife Cooper, who averaged 8.1 points and 3.0 assists in 41 appearances.<\/p>\n

Other candidates for Washington\u2019s two-way contracts include Julian Reese, Leaky Black and Okpara.<\/p>\n

Washington\u2019s biggest moves are already behind it.<\/p>\n

Still, don\u2019t expect Dawkins to spend the week on vacation.<\/p>\n

The Wizards clearly need another dependable frontcourt player.<\/p>\n

Davis and Sarr project as the starters, with Vukcevic and Okpara behind them. Vukcevic continues to show offensive promise but posted a 118.5 defensive rating, while Okpara remains an offensive project entering the league.<\/p>\n

Dawkins acknowledged that need during Okpara\u2019s introductory press conference, identifying another veteran big man as the organization\u2019s top offseason priority.<\/p>\n

After agreeing to Young\u2019s four-year, $212 million extension<\/a> and selecting Dybantsa first overall, Washington still has financial flexibility.<\/p>\n

\"TheThe case at No. 1 for A.J. Dybantsa, the scoring threat who blends star appeal with the safest profile in the draft<\/a><\/p>\n

2026-27 salaries<\/p>\n

Anthony Davis \u2014 $58,456,566<\/p>\n

Trae Young \u2014 ~$49,186,509<\/p>\n

AJ Dybantsa \u2014 $15,200,000<\/p>\n

Alex Sarr \u2014 $12,370,680<\/p>\n

Bilal Coulibaly \u2014 $9,240,012<\/p>\n

Tre Johnson \u2014 $8,649,600<\/p>\n

Jaden Hardy \u2014 $6,000,000<\/p>\n

D\u2019Angelo Russell \u2014 $5,969,250<\/p>\n

Cam Whitmore \u2014 $5,458,310<\/p>\n

Bub Carrington \u2014 $4,900,560<\/p>\n

Will Riley \u2014 $3,688,320<\/p>\n

Kyshawn George \u2014 $3,108,000<\/p>\n

Tristan Vukcevic \u2014 $3,000,000<\/p>\n

Justin Champagnie \u2014 $2,667,944<\/p>\n

Jamir Watkins \u2014 $2,150,917<\/p>\n

Total salary: $190,046,668<\/p>\n

Luxury-tax space: $10,953,332<\/p>\n

First apron space: $18,953,332<\/p>\n

Second apron space: $31,953,332<\/p>\n

Washington also owns the full non-taxpayer mid-level exception (approximately $15.05 million) and a $13.45 million trade exception that expires July 9.<\/p>\n

The bottom line: The Wizards have the financial flexibility to add an experienced backup center.<\/p>\n

Marvin Bagley III remains an intriguing reunion candidate after spending parts of the previous three seasons in Washington, followed by stops with Memphis and Dallas.<\/p>\n

In 38 games with the Wizards last season, Bagley averaged 10.1 points and 5.7 rebounds while shooting 62.6 percent from the field.<\/p>\n

Other unrestricted free-agent centers include:<\/p>\n

Mitchell Robinson<\/p>\n

Nikola Vucevic<\/p>\n

Jusuf Nurkic<\/p>\n

Zach Collins<\/p>\n

Robert Williams III<\/p>\n

Those players would likely command salaries in the $10-15 million range and, therefore, are unlikely targets unless a Davis trade looms. <\/p>\n

Less expensive alternatives include a pair of former Wizards:<\/p>\n

Moritz Wagner<\/p>\n

Nick Richards<\/p>\n

Kevon Looney<\/p>\n

Thomas Bryant<\/p>\n

Dwight Powell<\/p>\n

Drew Eubanks<\/p>\n

July 1: Bilal Coulibaly and Cam Whitmore become eligible for rookie-scale extensions.<\/p>\n

Washington previously extended Deni Avdija and Corey Kispert before eventually trading both. An extension for Coulibaly, Dawkins\u2019 first draft selection as Wizards general manager, appears far more likely than one for Whitmore, who missed most of last season after developing deep vein thrombosis in his shoulder.<\/p>\n

July 6: Free agency officially begins.<\/p>\n

Teams may agree to contracts starting June 30, but signings cannot become official until the new league year opens on July 6.<\/p>\n

July 9: Dybantsa\u2019s Summer League debut.<\/p>\n

The Wizards open Summer League at 9 p.m. ET on ESPN against Darryn Peterson and the Utah Jazz.<\/p>\n

Washington\u2019s roster is expected to feature Dybantsa, Johnson, Riley and Okpara, giving fans their first extended look at the organization\u2019s next wave of talent.<\/p>\n

The scheduled matchups and expected opposing headliners are:<\/p>\n

Thursday, July 9: vs. Utah Jazz at 9:00 PM ET (No. 2 pick Peterson)<\/p>\n

Sunday, July 12: vs. Sacramento Kings at 8:00 PM ET (No. 7 Darius Acuff)<\/p>\n

Tuesday, July 14: vs. Chicago Bulls at 8:00 PM ET (No. 4 Caleb Wilson)<\/p>\n

Wednesday, July 15: vs. Los Angeles Clippers at 10:30 PM (No. 5 Keaton Wagler)<\/p>\n

A fifth game will be scheduled, depending on the results in the first four matchups.<\/p>\n

Greg Finberg is entering his fifth season covering the Washington Wizards. He\u2019s spent the last three years as a staff writer and editor at Bullets Forever while earning his bachelor\u2019s degree in digital and print journalism from Penn State University and covering the Nittany Lions football team for the Philadelphia Inquirer. You can find Greg\u2019s Wizards coverage on X (@GregFinberg) and on YouTube @TheWizardsPodcast.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"2025 first round picks Will Riley (27) and Tre Johnson will join 2026 No. 1 selection A.J. Dybantsa…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":732645,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[64],"tags":[355,99],"class_list":["post-732644","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-nba","tag-nba","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/732644","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=732644"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/732644\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/732645"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=732644"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=732644"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=732644"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}