3 Washington Wizards who definitely won't be back next season
The Washington Wizards have performed just about as well as most expected entering this season. The Wizards are a team very clearly looking to rebuild, and their 9-52 record backs that up. They're not only last in the Eastern Conference but have the worst record in the NBA entering Tuesday's action.
A player most Wizards fans would love to see head elsewhere is Jordan Poole who has been a massive disappointment in his first season in the nation's capital and was recently moved to the bench. He's played better since the demotion, but with another three years remaining on the monstrous four-year deal he signed ahead of the 2023-24 campaign, the Wizards are stuck with him.
While we know Poole will almost certainly be in Washington next season, there are three players in particular who won't be back for the 2024-25 campaign.
3) There's no reason for Tyus Jones to re-sign with the Wizards
The Wizards acquired Tyus Jones this past offseason in the three-team trade that sent Kristaps Porzingis to the Celtics and Marcus Smart to the Grizzlies. Jones had established himself as a really solid backup point guard in Memphis but was given the chance to start full-time in Washington and he's responded by putting together his best season.
The 27-year-old is averaging 12.2 points per game on 49.7/42.5/78.9 splits with 2.7 rebounds and 7.2 assists. Jones has set career highs in both points and assists, while also shooting as efficiently as he ever has. Jones' breakout campaign led to trade speculation around the trade deadline as his contract expires at the season's end and the Wizards were out of contention, but for whatever reason Jones remained in Washington post-deadline.
Jones being an unrestricted free agent means he can sign wherever he wants and not look back. He's earned a pretty substantial raise and a multi-year deal with how well he's played this season, and he's also earned the chance to play on a team that isn't in the single digits in wins into March.
There should be widespread interest in Jones this summer, and it'll be interesting to see where he lands. It's really hard to envision him re-signing with a Washington team going nowhere anytime soon.