NBA Rumors: Hornets hesitant to sign PJ Washington to long-term deal?
NBA Rumors: Charlotte Hornets don’t want to sign PJ Washington to a long-term deal? We explore why he still probably remains in Charlotte.
As a new era begins for the Charlotte Hornets with a brand new majority ownership group, there appears to be a strong foundation in place with a collection of talented young players. One of the bigger questions this offseason, however, has revolved around whether PJ Washington will be part of the team’s future.
More than a month into free agency, Washington is still on the open market as a restricted free agent and there doesn’t appear to be any signs of him re-signing with the Hornets, much less signing with another team.
According to a recent report, a “stalemate” remains between the Hornets and Washington when it comes to a multi-year extension. At least for now, the Hornets don’t appear in any rush to lock Washington up to a long-term deal.
PJ Washington’s time in Charlotte still may not be over
The primary reason for that is unknown but it could be the fact that the Hornets don’t want to bid against themselves considering Washington has had a somewhat surprisingly weak market in free agency this offseason.
As one of the better free agents still on the market, I’m not sure if this is something that Washington or his camp had envisioned just a couple of months ago. Nevertheless, as entering the dog days of the NBA offseason, there’s a chance that Washington’s free agency saga could continue to drag over the course of the next few weeks.
If nothing else, Washington could just play for the qualifying offer that he was texted by the Hornets. That would pay him a little more than $8 million this season and allow him to test unrestricted free agency next offseason.
Quite frankly, that may end up being his best shot at getting decent money this summer – short of a team negotiating a sign-and-trade deal with the Hornets before the start of training camp.
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After drafting Brandon Miller and re-signing Miles Bridges, it seems that the Hornets may be fine with letting Washington walk. At this point, though, the best chance of that happening is via trade. I can’t envision Washington playing on a minimum contract on another team; not with the qualifying offer from Charlotte still on the table.