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The Washington Wizards took another step towards building long-term continuity by signing Corey Kispert to a four-year $54 million contract extension one hour ahead of this past Monday's deadline. However, the 25-year-old wasn't a big part of the Wizards' offense in Thursday's loss to the Boston Celtics, scoring just six points on 3-of-6 shooting with five rebounds and three assists in 24 minutes.
Washington head coach Brian Keefe doesn't blame him, though.
Corey Kispert, who recently signed a four-year, $54 million extension, only took six shots in the Celtics loss. However, Wizards coach Brian Keefe isn’t worried. #wizards pic.twitter.com/izUPwbQlBR
— Joshua Valdez (@joshvaldez100) October 25, 2024
“I think that's on us. I mean, we gotta find him when he's open,” Keefe said. “I think that's one thing we didn't do as the game went on, we didn't find openings for guys in passing. Corey should get up a lot of shots just by us playing the right way. But I'm not concerned about Corey at all.”
It'll take some time for the new-look Wizards to fire on all cylinders offensively, as they're still in the early stage of their rebuild. When they do, though, Kispert could break out. The Gonzaga alum is coming off a career year in which he averaged 13.4 points per game on 48.6% shooting and 38.3% from deep across 25.8 minutes.
Kispert isn't a shot-creator, which is why he needs the offense to hum around him to get open looks. However, the 6-foot-6, 224-pounder is a proven sniper when he gets the chance, and he's still improving.
Additionally, Kispert's new contract lifted a weight off his back, which could give him a mental boost.
Corey Kispert feels secure on the Wizards
Kispert opened up about his new outlook at Tuesday's practice, via Monumental Sports Network's Bijan Todd.
Corey Kispert has been in Washington through front office, coaching, and roster changes.
After signing a four-year extension he’s now grateful the “ground is [no longer] shaking underneath me.” pic.twitter.com/h4GKiYxN2I
— Bijan Todd (@bijan_todd) October 22, 2024
“It's different than what I've had in the last couple years, man. It feels like the ground's kind of always shaking underneath you, or has been underneath me at least for the last couple of years,” he admitted. “It feels really good to kind of have something to lean on, for me and my family.”
Kispert has steadily improved each year since Washington drafted him 15th overall in 2021, and now he can enjoy the fruits of his labor.
“It's peace of mind and security that no matter what happens here or anywhere else, that I have that to lean on. That's something that, no pun intended, that money can't buy,” the Washington state native continued. “I'm really happy for that, and my family's really happy for that. It's one of the reasons why I play the game, you know?”
Now that Kispert's contract saga is out of the way, he can focus solely on putting the ball in the hoop. A good sign about Thursday night's game was that although he wasn't heavily involved, he was efficient with the opportunities he did have, making all three of his two-point field goals. The next step will be to regain his momentum from deep, as he missed all three of his attempts from beyond the arc.
Kispert's next chance will come on Saturday night, as the Wizards host the 2-0 Cleveland Cavaliers. Keefe and company are still experimenting with the rotation, so 2021 WCC Player of the Year could firmly establish himself as the sixth man, or even a starter, by stringing together quality performances.
Kispert did lead the bench in minutes against Boston and only played six fewer minutes than starting shooting guard Bilal Coulibaly, which shows that Keefe trusts him.
