The veteran center re-signs with the Wizards after being traded midseason from Dallas. With NBA free agency starting in less than 24 hours, teams are securing players before they hit the open market, and players are making decisions on their options. One such player is former Maverick Richaun Holmes.
Holmes was traded to the Washington Wizards at the trade deadline for Daniel Gafford and draft compensation, a move that helped the Mavericks reach the NBA Finals this season. According to Shams Charania of The Athletic, Holmes has declined his $12.8 million player option to sign a 2-year, $25.9 million deal with Washington. This new deal slightly reduces his cap hit to $12.6 million for the 2024-25 season and guarantees only $250,000 of the potential $13.3 million for the 2025-26 season. If Holmes performs well or proves valuable in developing new top pick Alex Sarr, he could earn a significant amount in the 2025-26 season. However, it’s likely Washington will waive him after the upcoming season.
In his 17 games with the Wizards, Holmes averaged 7.1 PPG and 6.1 RPG. He played 23 games for the Mavericks after being acquired during the 2023 NBA Draft in the deal that brought promising rookie Olivier-Maxence Prosper to Dallas. Despite being disappointed with his playing time, Holmes would have picked up his option to stay with the Mavericks had he remained on the team.
