4 forwards the New Orleans Pelicans should target in NBA free agency
By Cody Taylor
Jabari Parker, Washington Wizards, Unrestricted Free Agent
It’s been a little while since we have talked about Jabari Parker. The last time I talked about him, I said he would have to come cheaper than $20 million. The Washington Wizards seemed to agree. Chris Haynes of Yahoo! Sports reported that the Washington Wizards are going to decline Parker’s team option and let him hit the open market again.
Yahoo Sources: Washington Wizards will decline $20 million team option on Jabari Parker, but there’s mutual interest in re-signing. https://t.co/7l8njqXvUE
— Chris Haynes (@ChrisBHaynes) June 22, 2019
That comes to no surprise as he didn’t make a huge impact on the Wizards’ lost season averaging 15/7/2 in 25 games off the bench once the Chicago Bulls traded him. Parker’s career has (up to this point) been a lot of hype, injuries, and failure to live up to the expectations placed on him when he was selected #2 out of Duke in 2014.
The man is only 24 years old, so there is time for him to try and prove his detractors wrong. A career line of 15/5/2 on 49.1% shooting and 33.7% from three-point range isn’t terrible. Not what you want from a former number 2 pick sure, but I digress.
The biggest issue will be getting him to play real defense and not hide on that end of the court as he holds a career .4 blocks and .9 steals per game, never averaging higher than .5 blocks for a season. It would be a risky proposition for the New Orleans Pelicans to bring in Jabari Parker, but a potential 1 year rental with a team option could benefit both parties in the long run, as long as it’s not anywhere close to his previous $20 million price tag.