The Washington Wizards are still reeling from the news that Bradley Beal will miss a good chunk of the season due to a broken wrist, and they are looking to make a move in free agency to help bring more depth onto the roster. According to a report from ESPN’s Marc Stein, the Wizards are close to signing free agent guard John Lucas III.
ESPN sources say Wizards on the verge of signing veteran guard John Lucas to bolster backcourt depth after early injury to Bradley Beal
— Marc Stein (@TheSteinLine) October 21, 2014
Lucas isn’t necessarily a great replacement for Beal, but would provide some scoring depth if needed. He is 31 years old and has played in six NBA seasons, and has been a scoring spark when given playing time. At 5’11” there is no doubt that he is a point guard, but he likely won’t be asked to play a major role even if the Wizards do compete a contract with him.
Throughout his six-year NBA career, Lucas has had a few different opportunities to prove his worth. There were other seasons where he barely played and wasn’t given the chance to show what he could do, as the table below shows.
| Season | Tm | G | MP | FG% | 3P% | 2P% | FT% | TRB | AST | STL | BLK | TOV | PF | PTS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2005-06 | HOU | 13 | 8.2 | .389 | .222 | .444 | 0.4 | 0.9 | 0.4 | 0.0 | 0.5 | 0.5 | 2.3 | |
| 2006-07 | HOU | 47 | 8.1 | .397 | .254 | .485 | .789 | 0.8 | 0.7 | 0.4 | 0.0 | 0.3 | 0.8 | 3.3 |
| 2010-11 | CHI | 2 | 5.0 | .333 | .000 | .500 | .000 | 0.0 | 0.5 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 1.0 |
| 2011-12 | CHI | 49 | 14.8 | .399 | .393 | .404 | .875 | 1.6 | 2.2 | 0.4 | 0.0 | 0.9 | 0.9 | 7.5 |
| 2012-13 | TOR | 63 | 13.1 | .386 | .377 | .393 | .720 | 1.0 | 1.7 | 0.4 | 0.0 | 0.4 | 0.8 | 5.3 |
| 2013-14 | UTA | 42 | 14.1 | .326 | .298 | .349 | .625 | 0.9 | 1.0 | 0.3 | 0.0 | 0.5 | 1.0 | 3.8 |
Provided by Basketball-Reference.com: View Original Table
Generated 10/21/2014.
As you can see, he was finally given a chance to prove himself with the Chicago Bulls in the 2011-12 season, and made the most of the opportunity. There is no question that he can play at a high level when on the court, but being undersized certainly doesn’t help him. Washington may give him a few minutes here and there to provide a spark off of the bench, but he won’t have a big role for the most part.
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This is a fairly solid depth move for the Wizards, and it also brings in another veteran to help the younger players grow and also be a leader in the locker room. Washington will be getting Beal back before too terribly long, but having Lucas on the roster just in case isn’t a bad idea at all.
Don’t expect Lucas to receive too many minutes, but he will make the most of anything that the Wizards give him.