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2022 Free Agents - Thomas Bryant

Summary
Bryant has always been a highly efficient scorer, shooting really well at the rim, above-average from midrange, and even knocking down a small number of threes at a decent rate. He overall has really nice touch, and has used that to finish well inside despite not being super bouncy or someone that is going to finish over and through defenders in the post.

The questions for Bryant really come at the defensive end. The Wizards were 26th in defensive rating in '18-'19, and dead last in '19-'20. While Bryant's individual defensive metrics aren't quite that bad, they don't suggest that he can be excused for his team's defensive struggles. Unless Bryant can prove that he can anchor an average defense, I'm not sure he's a starting-level center.

Bryant suffered a torn ACL early in the '20-'21 season, and due to the delayed start to that season it caused him to miss the majority of the '21-'22 season as well. Unfortunately for Bryant, he hasn't been able to show that he's back to being healthy and playing at a level near to what he was pre-injury, so he may struggle to get any big offers in free agency. Khem Birch got 3-years, $20 million from Toronto in 2021, so if I were Bryant's agent I would be using that as a baseline and hoping for something similar.

 
Cap Considerations
Bryant will be an unrestricted free agent with a $16.5 million cap hold and full Bird rights. As his cap hold exceeds the salary he will get in free agency, his cap hold is not really relevant. If the Wizards re-sign Bryant, his cap hold will be replaced by his starting salary, and the Wizards may still have some cap space available depending on his salary and what happens with their other free agents. It's also most likely that the Wizards operate over the cap in 2022.

Other teams will have multiple ways to sign Bryant as even teams without cap space could possibly use the Non-Taxpayer MLE, the Taxpayer MLE, or possibly even the Room MLE to sign him.

Potential Teams: Trailblazers, Wizards, Raptors, Heat, 76ers

Predicted Contract: 2-year, $10.9 million with the Trailblazers

Actual Contract: 1-year, $2.1 million ($1.8 million cap hit) with the Lakers

Bryant ended up settling for a minimum contract with Los Angeles, but he could restore his value by being a starting center on a good team if this upcoming season goes well.

Last updated: 7/10/2022

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