The Washington Wizards have had an eventful 2025 offseason. The Wizards added their eighth newcomer to their 18-man roster, including six standard deals, last night, with the signing of Sharife Cooper.
“The Wizards have signed point guard Sharife Cooper to a two-way contract,” Josh Robbins of The Athletic tweeted. “Cooper fills Washington’s final two-way contract spot, joining Tristan Vukcevic and Jamir Watkins.”
“Cooper was a 2021 second-round pick by Atlanta when Travis Schlenk was Atlanta’s top basketball operations executive,” Robbins continued. “Schlenk is now the Wizards’ senior VP for player personnel.”
Wizards Finalize 2-Way Spots And Add 2 More Players, Big East Product Out of Mix?
Cooper has spent most of his professional career in the G League, although the 24-year-old does have 13 games of NBA experience, all of which came while he was with the Hawks during the 2021-22 season. He also spent two seasons with the Cleveland Charge, the Cavaliers’ G-League affiliate, before heading overseas last year.
Cooper is a quick-scoring lead guard who loves to attack the hoop and is a good finisher. Cooper is also an excellent facilitator, although ballhandling and decision-making are areas for improvement. The 2022-23 G-League All-Star has five 40-point games and 25 career double-doubles.
Copper moved around a considerable amount while overseas. He finished the 2023-24 campaign in China, making seven appearances with Liaoning. The 6-foot point guard played in Greece, Turkey, and France last season. He averaged 12.2 points, 3.6 assists, and 2.8 rebounds in 45 games. He compiled just shooting splits of 42.5/29.7/76.2.
Cooper could be in line to see some time with Washington. The Wizards, who will have to decide their 15-man roster before the start of the season, have an abundance of guards, though they are a little thin at the one.
Wizards Options at Point Guard
Bub Carrington is expected to start at the point alongside CJ McCollum. If that is the case, that would leave AJ Johnson or Malaki Branham has Carrington’s backup.
Johnson, who started 11 of 22 games with the Wizards, has shown he is better suited off the ball than running an offense. Johnson averaged 7.6 points, 3.1 assists, 2.4 rebounds, and 1.2 turnovers with shooting splits of 38.5/26.7/86.5. The 20-year-old did have four games with five or more assists and one or fewer turnovers. The 2024 first round selection scored the ball well during Las Vegas Summer League action, although he struggled with his ballhandling.
Meanwhile, Branham is in jeopardy of getting waived. It is expected that he or Dillon Jones will compete for the Wizards’ last roster spot, though it is conceivable that Washington makes another trade. Branham is also better suited for the wing than the point, though he has seen considerable time at the one. He averaged 5.0 points on 45.8% shooting and less than one assist and turnover per game in 49 appearances for San Antonio last season. The 22-year-old has a career 1.7 assist-to-1.1 turnover ratio.
Wizards Other Moves
In addition to signing Cooper, Washington also signed Keshon Gilbert and Jonathan Pierre to Exhibit 10 contracts on Friday. Gilbert and Pierre are the second and third players to sign such deals, with Akoldah Gak being the other. All three players project to begin the season with the Wizards’ G-League affiliate, Capital City Go-Gos.
Gilbert is a 6-4 guard who went undrafted out of Iowa State this past June. Gilbert averaged 8.0 points, on 50% shooting from the field, 3.0 rebounds, 2.0 assists, and 1.0 steals in three G-League games for the Wizards. His best performance came against New York, where he produced 15 points, eight rebounds, and five assists in 34 minutes.
Pierre is a 6-9 wing who went undrafted out of Belmont. Pierre also played for the Wizards’ summer league squad, compiling 7.7 points, 3.0 boards, and 1,7 assists while shooting 33.3/35.7/1.000. Like Gilbert, Pierre’s best game came against the Knicks as he tallied 18 points, five caroms, and four assists in 36 minutes.
Gak has been playing for Cairns in Australia since going undrafted in 2022, though he also appeared in 12 games for Capital City last season. The 6-11 forward appeared in three summer league games for the Wizards, compiling 4.7 points, on 45.5% shooting, and 4.0 rebounds in 19 minutes of action. He posted eight points, seven boards, and four assists in 27 minutes against the Knicks during summer league action.
What about Kadary Richmond?
With the recent signings, Washington now has 22 players on deals heading into training camp. Therefore, the Wizards will have to make at least one roster move before opening camp on September 29. They could easily get down to the maximum of 21 players by waiving Gak, Pierre, or Gilbert.
The bigger question is what about Kadary Richmond? Immediately after going undrafted, NBA Insider Chris Haynes reported that the 6-5 guard agreed to terms with the draft.
“Undrafted guard Kadary Richmond out of St. John’s has agreed to a deal with the Washington Wizards, his agent Daniel Hazan tells me” — Haynes tweeted on June 27.
While it was speculated that Richmond would sign a two-way deal, that seems out of the realm of possibility now. However, the Wizards could still sign the former top 100 2020 recruit to an Exhibit 10 contract. He finished his collegiate career at St. John’s after playing at Seton Hall and Syracuse.
Richmond is very athletic and at his best with the ball in his hands, as he can create opportunities for himself and his teammates. Richmond is also a lockdown defender capable of defending all three backcourt positions. He appeared in just two summer league games for the Wizards, totaling 37 minutes of action.
Photo Credit: © Christopher Crevelin, Imagn Images
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