Wizards Probably Regret Waiving Former NBA Champion

This season, there have been many regrets for the young Washington Wizards. Some questionable coaching moves have cost this team games, and players have gotten time over others. One of the more recent questionable decisions was Jamir Watkins starting against the Boston Celtics. The one decision, though, that this team may start regretting sooner rather than later, is waiving Dillon Jones before the season.

Timeline of Jones in Washington

Jones was initially drafted by the Washington Wizards, but was traded on draft night to the Oklahoma City Thunder. During his rookie season, Jones did not put up impressive numbers, but he still walked away as an NBA champion. Then, over the summer, Jones was traded back to the Wizards. Both the Thunder and Wizards often trade with each other thanks to the connection between Will Dawkins, who works for Sam Presti in Oklahoma City.

The team knew they had to waive someone ahead of the 2025-26 season, as the roster was at 16 players with Jones. So, the summer felt like a test for multiple players, mainly for Jones and Malaki Branham. In this journalist's opinion, Jones had the better preseason showing than Branham. The team felt differently, though, but the potential reasons make sense. Branham was younger and on a slightly cheaper deal. The problem, though, was that the team had an open two-way slot, and Jones is eligible for a two-way contract.

How has Jones Looked in the G-League?

Now, the team has to be thinking if they made the wrong move by waiving Jones. In the NBA G League draft, Jones went first overall to the South Bay Lakers, then was traded to the Rip City Remix. So far, Jones has been impressing many people, and questions are arising about why he is not at least on a two-way deal with the team playing with the Capital City Go-Go?