The Washington Wizards have reportedly added to the team's roster ahead of yet another week of NBA action. According to a Sunday afternoon report from Marc J. Spears of ESPN, the Wizards are now expected to sign guard Gary Payton II to a 10-day contract.
However, the underwhelming Eastern Conference franchise has yet to announce the news with the Wizards off on Sunday and fresh off an overseas victory over the lowly New York Knicks.
Washington is almost at their limit from having to add a player. They've been under the minimum for standard contracts for almost two weeks. Adding Gary Payton II on a 10 Day contract gets them there and gives them a little extra point guard depth behind Satoransky and Randle.
— Keith Smith (@KeithSmithNBA) January 20, 2019
In an attempt to fill the void left by All-Star point guard John Wall, who is currently sidelined due to left heel surgery, it appears as though the Wizards will be turning to the son of an NBA legend. Payton has yet to appear in a regular-season game this season, while Wall has not made an appearance for the Wizards since back on Dec. 26 against the Detroit Pistons.
The 26-year-old guard, who played his collegiate basketball at Oregon State, last made a regular-season appearance atop the highest level during the 2017-18 season, a campaign in which he split between the Milwaukee Bucks and Los Angeles Lakers. After spending his rookie campaign in Milwaukee, Payton then started last season with the Bucks before making his way to Los Angeles in order to wrap up his sophomore season with the Lakers.
Payton joined the Portland Trail Blazers ahead of this season, but he was waived before games tipped off for real.
Over the course of a mere 29 regular-season appearances as an NBA player, six of which were starts, Payton is currently averaging 3.1 points, 1.9 rebounds and 1.2 assists per game. During that same span, he has averaged an even 11 minutes per game.
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