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The Washington Wizards have reached an agreement with free-agent guard Ron Baker, ESPN.com’s Adrian Wojnarowski reported Wednesday.
Baker appeared in 11 games this season for the New York Knicks, averaging 1.3 points and 1.2 assists, before the Knicks waived him on Dec. 13.
According to Wojnarowski, the Wizards are waiving Okaro White in order to free up a roster spot for Baker.
Baker brings some experience to Washington’s backcourt after the Wizards traded Austin Rivers to the Phoenix Suns as part of the Trevor Ariza-Kelly Oubre Jr. trade.
General manager Ernie Grunfeld is limited in how he can improve Washington’s roster to get the team back into the top eight of the Eastern Conference. The Wizards have the NBA’s fourth-highest payroll ($135.6 million) and little in the way of trade assets, especially after shipping Oubre out.
Baker hasn’t done much in his NBA career to date. Over three seasons with the Knicks, he averaged 3.3 points, 1.5 rebounds and 1.8 assists while shooting 27.3 percent from three-point range.
Some will question whether the Wizards were better off giving Troy Brown Jr. more of a look as a response to Rivers’ departure. Brown, the 15th overall pick in the 2018 draft, has played just 91 total minutes as a rookie.
But taking a flier on Baker is worth it if only to see whether a change of scenery is what he needs to flourish in the NBA. The Wizards can presumably move on down the road with little cost if things don’t work out.
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