Wizards planning to sign Okaro White to deal, according to report

The Wizards are planning to sign Okaro White to a contract to fill one of the team’s open roster spots, according to Shams Charania of The Athletic. Washington needed to sign a player to get back up to the 14-player roster minimum after waiving Chasson Randle last Monday.

The 26-year-old White went undrafted in 2014 and started his professional career in Europe, playing in Italy and Greece before he finally got his big break in the Heat’s development system. He blossomed on their G-League team, the Sioux Falls Skyforce, and turned that into a full deal with the Heat where he averaged 2.9 points and 2.3 rebounds per game and shot 35.6 percent from beyond the arc.

Miami dealt him at the trade deadline last season to acquire Luke Babbitt from the Hawks. Atlanta then waived him and White signed with the Cavaliers near the end of the season but never got in a game. Then, over the summer they waived him to open a roster spot to acquire Sam Dekker from the Clippers. White then signed a training camp deal with the Spurs but didn’t make the final cut. He was reportedly in talks to sign a deal with Maccabi Tel-Aviv earlier this week, but clearly the Wizards had other plans.

It’s notable that the Wizards decided to go outside of their developmental system to fill this roster spot, but it’s unclear what that means for his tenure with the team. We’ll see if White sticks around for a bit, or if this is just part of the team’s ongoing effort to minimize tax payments by dipping down to 13 players every two weeks.

Either way, he should give the Wizards some extra depth in the frontcourt as a player who can play either forward position. Plus, he showed in Miami he could play a little bit of center with the Heat when Erik Spoelstra got exotic with his lineups, so there’s always a chance he could get used if Brooks wants to go outside the box.