Duane Washington may be on the move after his first season in the NBA.
The Indiana Pacers, who originally signed Washington to a two-way contract with their G League franchise (the Fort Wayne Mad Ants) after the former Buckeye went undrafted last year, will reportedly waive Washington after a standout rookie campaign.
The Pacers are waiving guard Duane Washington and waiving and stretching the three players who arrived in the Boston trade for Malcolm Brogdon: Malik Fitts, Juwan Morgan and Nik Stauskas, sources tell ESPN. That'll create the cap space to sign Ayton to the max offer sheet.
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) July 14, 2022
The Pacers extended former No. 1 overall pick and restricted free agent center Deandre Ayton a four-year, $133 million offer sheet Thursday and are expected to waive Washington – among other players – as a measure to clear cap space.
Washington was a surprise success story as a rookie, averaging 9.9 points in 20.2 minutes per game in 48 appearances during his first season. The sharpshooting guard earned a multi-year contract with the Pacers in April, but will now be available for other teams to pick up on the waiver wire.
Washington averaged 11.4 points per game in 94 appearances for the Buckeyes across three seasons, and finished his junior year at Ohio State as a third-team All-Big Ten selection in 2020-21.
