The restricted free agency situation between PJ Washington and the Charlotte Hornets remains at an impasse with both sides not being able to make significant progress yet in hammering a new contract from last month, Rod Boone of The Charlotte Observer reports.
“PJ Washington, an cog in the Hornets’ young core, remains unsigned. The sides have been unable to reach significant progress on a multiyear new deal for the better part of the past month – a stalemate that dates to the beginning of the season and has shown no indications of weakening, per league sources,” Boone wrote up.
Washington’s name remains an interesting one that is still left unsigned in this year’s free agency. The 24-year-old averaged a career-high 15.7 points to go with 4.9 boards and 2.4 assists from last season.
The Hornets have handed him a qualifying offer prior to hitting the market this summer for worth $8.5MM. Relatively, this is much lower than the deal that he seeks which will pay him $20MM annually, but he can certainly take a shot out of it and prove his worth as this will make him an unrestricted free agent next summer.
Still, a sign-and-trade option can be on the table for both sides. But for now, it is yet to be seen if other teams will entertain the amount of contract that Washington intends to have given that their salary cap space already shrunk from their player acquisitions earlier this free agency.
