Washington Wizards Pass Up Fourth-Year Option on Chris McCullough

The Washington Wizards pass up their 2018-19 option on 22-year-old forward Chris McCullough, but that doesn’t necessarily mean they’ve given up on the young prospect.

Washington Wizards forward Chris McCullough is eligible for unrestricted free agency next summer. However, the decision doesn’t imply that McCullough’s future with the Wizards is over.

According to Basketball Insider’s Michael Scotto, the Wizards have come to a decision to decline their 2018-19 option on the former Syracuse star.

McCullough began his NBA career after the Brooklyn Nets selected him with the No. 29 overall pick in the 2015 draft. After averaging 4.7 points and 2.8 rebounds in his rookie season, the rebuilding Nets sent McCullough to the Wizards in a trade that included three-point specialist Bojan Bogdanovic.

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Nonetheless, after appearing in 38 games with the Nets, McCullough has recorded 15 minutes in three games so far in his time with the Wizards.

The Wizards choice to not pick up the fourth-year option on McCullough saves the Wizards $2,243,326, per Luke Adams of Hoops Rumors. Besides that, the Wizards recently exercised their option on starting forward Kelly Oubre.

The move raises the Wizards guaranteed salary next year to roughly $116MM and adding McCullough’s salary would further risk placing in the tax territory once again.

Since McCullough is in the midst of his third NBA season on his rookie contract, the gain the forward’s complete Bird rights, per the 2017 Collective Bargaining Agreement. For example, the Wizards could re-sign the 22-year-old forward next July without exceeding the cap.

The Wizards return home Wednesday night following an intense four-game West Coast trip against the Pheonix Suns. Ultimately, with Wizards starting power forward Markieef Morris nearing his return from a sports hernia injury, McCullough chances of seeing action is slim to none.

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McCullough made his season debut in the Wizards’ 110-83 blowout win over the Sacramento Kings Sunday evening and finished with five points.