Not many impactful free agents remain this NBA offseason, yet former first-round pick PJ Washington is still without a new contract entering the month of August. Drafted 12th overall by the Charlotte Hornets in 2019, Washington has turned himself into a key contributor for his team and had a career-year on the offensive-end of the floor during the 2022-23 season.
While he entered the offseason as a restricted free agent that was expected to re-sign with the Hornets, the 24-year-old forward has yet to receive an offer that would enable him to return to Charlotte with long-term security.
Negotiations between the two sides do not seem to be going anywhere either, as Rod Boone from the Charlotte Observer reported recently that Washington and the Hornets are at a “stalemate” in contract talks. No progress has really been made on reaching a new agreement and neither side really seems prepared to give in to the other's requests.
As things stand right now, the Hornets have 14 players under contract, with both Kobi Simmons and JT Thor holding onto non-guaranteed contracts. Charlotte would obviously like to have Washington back as a focal point in their frontcourt, yet their unwillingness to pay him on a new, long-term deal may signal that they have interest in exploring other options.
The Hornets did sign Miles Bridges to a one-year contract this offseason after he sat out the entirety of the 2022-23 season due to domestic violence charges and they did recently draft forward Brandon Miller with the second overall pick in the 2023 NBA Draft. With veteran Gordon Hayward also being under contract, there is not a major sense of urgency for the team to create a logjam at their forward positions by re-signing Washington.
They would obviously like to have him back and continue utilizing him as a core member of their team, but the Hornets have already allocated a lot of money to other players, especially All-Star guard LaMelo Ball with his five-year, $260 million extension.
As far as what Washington's options look like, he still has the $8.4 million qualifying offer Charlotte extended to him at the start of the offseason to make him a restricted free agent. If he was to return for a season single on this contract, he would become an unrestricted free agent in 2024. Another team could also look to sign Washington to an offer sheet, but that is unlikely to happen this deep into the offseason with virtually no team having cap flexibility anymore.
The only other option that can present itself is a sign-and-trade where the Hornets would give their young forward the contract he wants and re-route him to a new team. However, this new organization would end up triggering a “hard cap” for themselves and they would have to move around current salaries to make bringing in Washington's contract possible.
The Hornets have not made the playoffs since 2016. A franchise that has sat near the bottom of the Eastern Conference standings for quite some time, Charlotte continues to be a mystery heading into the new NBA season.