The Washington Wizards decided to waive Ryan Rollins and his fully guaranteed $1.7 million contract on Monday to create a roster spot. The guard arrived in Washington as part of the Jordan Poole trade and was cut three days before a report about Rollins being accused and charged with shoplifting at a Target came out.
“Police said in court documents that Rollins stole small household items such as groceries, body wash, and candles from a Target store on seven different occasions from Sept. 9 to Nov. 9, when he was on the Wizards’ roster. He was charged with seven counts of petty larceny, and the items alleged to have been stolen in each incident were valued at less than $1,000.”
This story has led to a lot of criticism of the 21-year-old player who has to find a new home in the NBA. It’s unlikely he will get an NBA contract until this shoplifting situation is resolved.
He will receive the $1.7 million he was owed this season by the Wizards, along with the $600,000 from his contract which was guaranteed for the 2024-25 season.
The Wizards used the roster spot they created by waiving Rollins on Monday to sign former Slam Dunk Contest winner Hamidou Diallo to a 10-day contract, reinforcing their wing position. The Wizards are 6-31 this season, the second-worst team in the Eastern Conference.
Washington Wizards React To Ryan Rollins’ Arrest
The Athletic broke the story and also shared a quote from Monumental Basketball (Wizards’ parent company) President Michael Winger.
“We just recently learned of the charges against Ryan. We cannot comment on that matter, or the basis for our roster decisions. We do take our role very seriously as citizens of the DMV, representatives of our fans, and a team our community can be proud of. These are expectations, not aspirations. We’re eager to move forward with our team as constituted and pursue excellence on and off the court.”
Rollins is scheduled for a court hearing in February and hasn’t made a plea as of yet. The guard was averaging 4.1 points, 1.1 rebounds, and 1.1 assists in 10 games with the Wizards this season. He still has value to be extracted, so it’ll be interesting to see if any team will sign him this season after this situation.
It’s unclear whether the Wizards released Rollins because they had been notified of the upcoming charges. Rollins getting waived had surprised some due to his defensive upside, but nobody thought it would be suspicious as Rollins has a lot of development on and off the court to do before he can be considered a rotational NBA player.
Rollins cleared waivers, so his 2023-24 salary and his partially guaranteed 2024-25 salary will count on the Wizards to the NBA salary cap sheet. The contract Rollins was on is worth less than most veteran minimums, so it’s unlikely the owed amount will impact how the Wizards operate in free agency next season.
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