UPDATE: Jeff Green has agreed to a one-year deal with the Wizards. The original post is below.
After striking out on Nerlens Noel and watching Mike Scott join the Clippers, the Wizards appear to have set their sights on local talent. David Aldridge of NBA.com is reporting the Wizards are taking a look at former Georgetown Hoya Jeff Green:
Wizards, needing to replace bench production of @mikescott after he agreed to terms with Clippers, have contacted Cavs’ UFA @unclejeffgreen, per sources.
— David Aldridge (@daldridgetnt) July 3, 2018
Green is what he is at this point: A multi-dimensional player who can do a little bit of everything, but not in a dependable, efficient way. He won’t be as effective as Mike Scott, but he won’t be putrid. If you can get him at the minimum, like the Cavaliers did last season, you can probably live with it. Carter Rodriguez of Fear the Sword put together a nice summary of the Jeff Green Experience in Cleveland last season:
Green managed the best net rating of his career, as the Cavaliers outscored opponents by 4.1 points per 100 possesions when he was on the floor. The team’s defense was an astounding 7.8 points per possession better when he was on the floor than when he was off it.
Some of that is playing against opposing benches, but it would be folly to assume he didn’t have a part in allowing the Cavaliers to play switch-heavy lineups that simplified their scheme and prevented them from getting torched several rotations into a possession.
Green wasn’t a perfect player - he went through stretches where he fell asleep defensively and was too eager to jack threes, or worse, mid-range post-up fadeaways. In the playoffs, some of these flaws were exacerbated, as they tend to be in the postseason. Twitter, naturally had their fun at Cleveland’s expense for being so foolish as to believe in Green.
The Wizards are also reportedly interested in D.C. native Thomas Robinson, according to Alex Kennedy of HoppsHype.
Thomas Robinson has received interest from the Milwaukee Bucks, Los Angeles Clippers, Washington Wizards and Phoenix Suns, according to league sources. The 27-year-old spent last season in the Euroleague with Khimki Moscow and he's now an unrestricted free agent.
— Alex Kennedy (@AlexKennedyNBA) July 3, 2018
Robinson is intriguing as a buy-low candidate, but the fit is a little tricky in Washington. He didn’t add a 3-point shot while he was over in Europe last season, so he would need to make it work as a smallball 5 if he wants to succeed. He doesn’t offer much as a rim protector, but he could be useful if the Wizards wanted to utilize a switching scheme more often to limit penetration.
Generally speaking, it’s hard to get too worked up about anyone signing at the minimum. If they’re useful, that’s great, if they’re terrible, it’s easy to cut them and find someone new. That said, if the Wizards’ summer amounts to swapping out Marcin Gortat, Mike Scott, and their guard flotsam for Austin Rivers, Jeff Green, Thomas Bryant, and Thomas Robinson, it’s hard to envision how the team is discernibly better than last year’s disappointing iteration.