Wizards' Tristan Vukcevic Embracing Post-Signing Relief

Tristan Vukcevic wasn't the draft night darling that former classmate Coulibaly was, but that comes with an advantage on his part. As a second-round-caliber talent, he's been relegated to a tertiary standard of security, and the franchise, free from having to play the same waiting game with a player who's spent his Wizards tenure in-and-out of the G League, quietly signed him to several more years of D.C. hoops on a full-NBA deal that effectively works as an extension.

Such an indicator of faith in his production and trajectory have enabled the young seven-footer to play with more relief than ever before, as he himself said following a 21-point outburst against the Detroit Pistons earlier this week.

“I feel better, I feel more relaxed, I’m not rushing," he said. "Sometimes you lose focus on what you’ve actually gotta do, but since signing that I don’t think about that issue.”

Embracing His Game

The three-year, $9 million standard deal he agreed to last month isn't of the same caliber that Coulibaly or any of his lottery-picked compatriots should expect, but it's a lot more than the two-way deals he's spent the last three falls accepting. But with such an option limited to players within their first three seasons and holding prospects to 50 or fewer games, it was time to give Vukcevic more leeway as one of the men with actual stakes to look forward to in the spring.

He's thrived over the last two months, filling in for the oft-injured Sarr and the since-traded Marvin Bagley III as rare-stretch big option on a depleted Washington roster. With more touches have brought a spike in efficiency, as he's salvaged his once-dreadful shooting splits to average 52.9% from the field and 48.3% from behind the arc as a volume scorer over his past 14 outings.

Now that the reserves have taken over the rotational minutes that the regulars have vacated while rehabbing, he, along with a few other benchwarmers, are hunting for roles in next fall's fully-healthy group. And considering his one-of-one skillset in Washington's versatile locker room and continuity alongside other Wizards, he has a fair shot at getting his shots in whenever Sarr and Davis won't share the frontcourt.

Vukcevic will be more-or-less back on the hot seat by this time next year, when the Wizards will decide between his team option or a full extension, but he's clearly enjoying knowing where he stands in the organization in anticipating a summer without having to worry about what's next.