With Bradley Beal missing 6-8 weeks due to a wrist injury, the Washington Wizards don’t want to have too much ground to make up in the East by the time he returns. In an effort to strengthen a depleted backcourt, the Wizards have signed John Lucas III, the team announced Tuesday. ESPN’s Marc Stein originally reported Washington’s interest in the 31-year-old veteran.
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
Details of the deal were not disclosed, per team policy.
The Wizards still have John Wall running things, and a healthy Marcin Gortat and Nene makes Washington just as good as most of their Eastern Conference brethren. But with Beal out for around two months and Martell Webster sidelined indefinitely after back surgery, the Wizards are seriously shorthanded at the shooting guard position. Glen Rice Jr. also sprained his ankle last week.
John Lucas III is no shooting guard, but he may fill in off the bench alongside Andre Miller. At the very least, he provides some backcourt security for a Wizards team that will have to choose between Otto Porter Jr., Garrett Temple, Rasual Butler or training camp invite Xavier Silas to fill in alongside Wall and Miller.
The 5’11” Lucas III was last seen playing for the Utah Jazz, where he averaged 3.8 points and 1.0 assists in 14.1 minutes per game. He shot 32.6 percent from the field and 29.8 percent from three-point range.
In his best season, Lucas was a useful backup point guard for the Chicago Bulls during the 2011-12 season. He averaged 7.5 points and 2.2 assists in a career-high 14.8 minutes per game while shooting 39.3 percent from three-point range. Lucas has played for four NBA teams in his six-year career and has never played more than 63 games in a season.
Originally undrafted out of Oklahoma State in 2005, Lucas signed as a free agent with the Houston Rockets halfway through the 2005-06 season. He stayed there for two seasons before taking his talents overseas, where he played professional basketball in Italy, Spain and China. He rejoined the NBA with the Chicago Bulls and spent a season with the Toronto Raptors before playing for the Jazz last season.
Lucas probably won’t be starting in Beal’s spot, but he will give the Wizards at least a little peace of mind while they wait for their backcourt to heal. At the very least, they might not have to start Otto Porter Jr. at shooting guard.