PJ Washington belongs in Charlotte, not Greensboro
By Luke Tucker
Prior to the regular season, the Charlotte Hornets have seriously considered the possibility of PJ Washington beginning the season with the Greensboro Swarm.
Two games into the NBA season, almost nothing can be taken as a certainty. Especially when those two games aren’t even regular-season games. However, in the case of rookie PJ Washington, it is clear that he belongs in the NBA. The Hornets selected the 6-foot-7 forward with the 12th overall pick in this summer’s draft, and almost immediately after being taken, there was talk of Washington beginning the year with the Charlotte’s G-League affiliate, the Greensboro Swarm.
Through his first two NBA preseason games, Washington has averaged 14.5 points per game on 11-15 shooting, including 50% from the three-point line.
As mentioned earlier, we’ve only seen two games from the Hornets this preseason, however, Washington has perhaps unquestionably been the team’s best performer. He has continued to prove that he is an ultra-efficient shooter, a good rebounder, and a solid defender, traits that earned his place as a lottery pick.
Following Wednesday’s loss to the Miami Heat, Hornets head coach James Borrego was asked if he saw any bright spots during the game. The first name out of his mouth? PJ Washington. Borrego had this to say about his rookie forward:
"“I think PJ followed up [his first game] with another impressive performance, you know? That group there at the end came out with great energy, played with purpose. PJ looks more and more comfortable the more he’s out there, the better he looks.”"
In comparison to the rest of the Hornets’ roster, Washington leads the team in points per game and field goal percentage, and is also the team’s second-leading rebounder, behind Miles Bridges. The 21-year-old has also been Charlotte’s most accurate three-point shooter among players with significant minutes. To make top it off, he’s gotten that kind of production in only 20 minutes per game. As early as it is in his young career, it really does seem as though Washington is already at or near the level of play of his veteran teammates.
Much of the reason for Washington’s possible G-League assignment is due to the current depth the Hornets have at forward.
The fact that the Hornets currently have a logjam at the forward position means somebody is going to be left out. Veterans Marvin Williams and Michael Kidd-Gilchrist are expected to be bench pieces this season, while Bridges is slated to be the starting power forward, with Nic Batum at small forward.
If Washington winds up being the odd man out, he would undoubtedly be assigned to Greensboro. However, if he keeps up his current productivity, it would be detrimental to the organization to not keep him at the NBA level. If Washington remains in Charlotte to start the season, it would almost certainly cost one of the above names their spot in the rotation, most likely Kidd-Gilchrist’s.
One way around that would be to trade one of those players. Bridges and Washington would obviously be untouchable in a trade scenario, meaning Williams and Batum would be the most likely trade candidates. MKG could also be traded, however, it is much less likely considering his lack of offensive production and his expensive contract.
If Washington does end up in Greensboro this year, it isn’t a condemnation.
On the chance that Washington does, in fact, join the Swarm this season, it would be very unwise to believe that it could affect his long-term future with the Hornets organization. Doing so would be nothing more than giving him an opportunity to get consistent playing time, which in theory would help to accelerate his development.
For parts of the last two seasons, teammate Dwayne Bacon bounced back and forth between Charlotte and Greensboro, and with good results. Bacon was able to get steady minutes and able to perfect his craft. Looking at him now, he’s projected to be a starter for the Hornets and should be a key contributor at both ends of the floor. Other notable G-League alumni include Eric Bledsoe, Rudy Gobert, and more recently, Toronto Raptors playoff hero, Fred VanVleet.
Washington’s talent is ultimately NBA-level. If he does start the season in Greensboro, it’ll be because of the plethora of veteran options at forward–not because he’s a bust.
Also, it’s worth noting that according to NBA rules, a parent club can recall a player at any time from its G-League affiliate. If that player has less than three years of NBA service, this can be done an unlimited number of times. That means that if he is assigned to Greensboro, the Hornets can elect to “call up” Washington at any point in the season.