Washington Wizards stock up, stock down
The Washington Wizards are coming off back-to-back 35-win seasons and looking to make noise this offseason after shaking things up in the front office. Here are four members of the Wizards franchise whose stock is trending either up or down:
Stock Up
Kyle Kuzma, F: Kuzma, 27, is primed to cash in this offseason. Eligible to ink a five-year, $194M max contract with the Wizards, Kuzma is fresh off a career season where he averaged 21.2 points per game and established himself as Washington's No. 2 option behind Bradley Beal.
Washington will have serious competition to retain the versatile forward this offseason, who will likely pique the interest of a slew of well-off cap space squads such as the Houston Rockets, San Antonio Spurs and Utah Jazz.
Kuzma's development as a player, stock around the league and his bank account are all trending in the right direction.
Michael Winger, President of Basketball Operations: The Wizards hired Winger in late May after six seasons of serving as the general manager of the Los Angeles Clippers. Over Winger's 18 years of experience as an NBA executive, he's been a part of two NBA Finals appearances and seven conference finals.
With Kuzma and Kristaps Porzingis both having player options looming and Washington juggling whether to enter a rebuild or add more talent to their existing roster, having an exec with a proven track record like Winger is huge.
During his time in Los Angeles, Winger helped land star talents Kawhi Leonard and Paul George.
Stock Down
Monte Morris, PG: Morris' first year in Washington marked the second consecutive campaign the 27-year-old has served as a full-time starter. While his assists numbers did improve from the season prior with Denver (+0.9 per game), Morris saw a dip in all major shooting/scoring statistics, including a 2.3 dip in his points per game average.
In the grand scheme of things, Morris is a serviceable point guard teetering on his ceiling as a player. In the final year of a 3-year, $27.7 million deal, don't be surprised to see Morris' name dangled in trade talks as Winger looks to add more high-end talent around Beal and company.
Taj Gibson, F/C: After averaging 20.4 minutes per game in 11 of his 13 seasons entering 2022-23, Gibson's usage plummeted during his inaugural campaign in DC. His 9.8 minutes per game not only marked a career low but was nearly half of the 18.2 minutes he averaged with the New York Knicks just one season prior.
At 37 years old, it's tough to expect much more from Gibson in the boxscore. An unrestricted free agent coming off a one-year, $2.9 million contract, expect Gibson to exit Washington this offseason in search of a team-friendly deal with a contender.
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