Washington Wizards: 5 players facing most pressure in 2019-20

3. Thomas Bryant

After an excellent 2018-19 campaign playing in place of Dwight Howard, re-signing big man Thomas Bryant was a priority for the Washington Wizards.

The combo center/power forward averaged 10.5 points and 6.3 rebounds in 20.8 minutes per game while leading the league with a 68.5 percent field goal percentage.

Pretty early in free agency, the team announced it had agreed with Bryant on a three-year, $24 million contract. While the contract is not enormous by any means, the 22-year-old will feel the pressure from a team that committed to him.

The Wizards were the team that gave him a chance after he was released by the Los Angeles Lakers after 15 games during the 2017-18 season. Their three-year commitment showed they are excited about the places that this former second round pick can go.

https://twitter.com/NBCSWizards/status/1066131463790346240

Bryant showed a lot of improvement last season, including a great interior game that plays against strong NBA center. He has also shown a willingness to improve, especially his 3-point shot that already works. He shot 33.3 percent from deep on 1.4 attempts last season.

With increased confidence in that shot, the former Indiana Hoosier can be an outside threat.

The pressure on Bryant will mostly be internal. If he can show improvement and become the starting caliber center the team believes he can be, then the pressure will be lifted in the first year of his new deal. If not, the big man could become dead weight.

He will never be as bad as Ian Mahinmi, contractually or on the floor.

The investment averaging $8 million per year (Mahinmi signed a deal worth an average of $16 million per year) is not too big but there is pressure from the team to be the starter after the Wizards traded away Howard this offseason.

While he will face the third-most pressure on the team this upcoming season, the heat could be seen as motivation that will help Bryant take the next step in his development.