July 11: Vukcevic’s new two-way deal with the Wizards is official, according to the NBA’s transaction log.
July 10: Free agent big man Tristan Vukcevic is re-signing with the Wizards on a two-way contract, sources tell Shams Charania of ESPN (Twitter link).
The 22-year-old forward/center was given a qualifying offer last month, making him a restricted free agent, so he may simply be accepting that QO, which is equivalent to another one-year two-way contract.
Both Josh Robbins of The Athletic and Varun Shankar of The Washington Post have confirmed the news (Twitter links).
Washington drafted Vukcevic with the 42nd pick in 2023, but he spent most of the 2023/24 season with KK Partizan in Serbia before joining the Wizards in March of 2024. He started four of the 10 games he played in as a rookie, averaging 8.5 points and 3.6 rebounds in 15.3 minutes per night.
Vukcevic originally signed a standard contract with the Wizards, who declined their team option on the him last June. He returned to the organization a few days later on a two-way contract.
Vukcevic’s 2024/25 debut was delayed by a few months due to a left knee injury. Known for his ability to space the floor, Vukcevic made 35 appearances with the Wizards last season, averaging 9.4 points and 3.7 rebounds in 14.7 minutes per game, with a shooting slash line of .496/.373/.776.
As our tracker shows, Vukcevic will fill Washington’s third two-way spot, joining wings Jaylen Martin and Jamir Watkins. He will earn $636,435 in 2025/26 and can be active for up to 50 regular season games.
He seems like a solid prospect, seems like he could get a standard spot
He got unlucky with an injury last year. I was also kind of expecting him to get a standard contract, but there are so many players on the roster that it looks he’ll need to play on a 2-way until there’s an opening. They converted Champagnie to a standard deal halfway through last season – that’s probably the plan with Vukcevic. One thing I’m sure of is that they’re not going to move him on, trade him, or leave him without minutes to waive later or whatever. This new FO indicated pretty clearly that they are investing effort into players they drafted and are not looking to part ways. So Coulibaly, Vukcevic, Kyshawn, Sarr, Carrington will be staying and will be getting minutes. Unlike Avdija, Poole, who were moved on, despite clearly having talent. Kispert is in the group of those likely to leave, too.
Vukcevic getting a 2-way is more of a placeholder until there’s a roster spot rather than a “we don’t believe in you” statement. He looked competent and averaged 15pts in 23-24 in 5 games he played significant minutes in, and averaged 14.5pts in 21 mins/game in the last 15 games in 24-25 after coming back from injury. And that was on shooting % Alex Sarr could only dream of. He’s shown his value and that he’s worth being on the team.
Best 2nd Round Pick (ever), though I’m sure there may be some who’d differ…
The GOAT was picked in the 2nd as well 41st… so, there you have it!
Now look for a really young C that can rebound at a good rate