Lots of folks here have been asking why the Wizards have not signed this guy, or that guy... or why they haven't otherwise filled out the roster.
As it stands now, and with the signing of Josh Howard, the Wizards have 12 players under contract.
The Wizards complete roster after the jump.
Roster (as of 07/30/2010):
PG John Wall
SG Gilbert Arenas
SF Josh Howard
PF Andray Blatche
C JaVale McGee
G Kirk Hinrich
GF Nick Young
SF Al Thornton
F Yi Jianlian
F Trevor Booker
CF Kevin Seraphin
C Hilton Armstrong
Not to sound TOO optimistic, but that's not a terrible starting line up; and the bench has at least a few guys that have some skill and experience. As you can see, the team is pretty deep at most positions, but could use some more help at Guard (only 4 guards on the roster) and SF.
So, why consider bringing back James Singleton, when the Wiz are loaded with talent at Forward? Wouldn't his minutes come at the expense of Trevor Booker, and/or Yi? Of all the positions on the Wizards, PF (Blatche, Booker, Yi, Seraphin) is already pretty well set. I would be more worried about injuries at Guard. The Wizards appear to be pretty deep up front - with McGee and Armstrong at Center and Seraphin, Yi Jinlian, Booker, and Blatche able to play multiple positions; but if one of their guards is injured, they may be in some trouble.
I'm assuming they will sign their second round pick, Hamaday Ndaiye, to a rookie minimum contract. I think that's a pretty good assumption, since the rookie minimum is only $473,604 - and considering the only "true" centers on the team are JaVale McGee and Hilton Armstrong (bleh). There is no rush however, since they retain his rights until September 6th (see below); so keeping his roster spot open is a smart move.
That leaves 2 roster slots left. If the Wizards are prudent, they will probably keep one of those roster slots unfilled at least until February - so that they won't be restricted from making unbalanced trades at the deadline that may require 2 for 1, etc...
So that leaves 1 roster slot open; or two, if they find someone better than N'daiye that they want to sign. I think it would be foolish to go into the season with only 4 guards on the roster.
On September 6th, second round draft picks become free agents if they are not given a "required tender" by the team that drafted them. A required tender is a minimal contract offer teams must submit to their second round picks in order to retain their draft rights. The logic here is that a team can't draft a player without providing any kind of contract offer. If they refuse to offer at least a minimal contract, then they lose their draft rights to the player, and he becomes an unrestricted free agent.
Each year, several good young players are either not "tendered", or cut loose - ending up in the D-League or in Europe. We have already seen some of that happening already, with Joe Alexander being cut by the Bucks and Kyle Weaver released by the Thunder. As everyone here knows, both Alexander and Weaver were favorites of mine in the 2008 draft. Weaver is a big guard (6'6") with a pass first mentality and a penchant for playing hard nosed, in your face defense on the perimeter - and Alexander can head butt the rim. Who knows what gems might be available after September 6th?
The Wizards would be wise to keep an open roster spot, and a close watch on the required tender offers.