NBA Rumors: Washington Wizards Are Foolish to Not Extend JaVale McGee

The Washington Wizards need to step up and dish out some coin to their young big man, JaVale McGee. They obviously feel they can be patient with McGee and, to an extent, they are right.

While his contract is up at the end of this season, he will be a restricted free agent. This means the Wizards can match any offer he receives and he won't be going anywhere. 

This is sound logic on paper, but in reality their best move is to lock him up now. We'll get into why this is important, but first let's take a look at the rumor that they are not going to offer him an extension during the season.

The Rumors

Wizards reporter for the Washington Post Michael Lee tweets some inside info:

This rumor is easily enough to believe. Lee is a credible source, and this is a strategy that most clubs are taking with players in McGee's situation. That certainly doesn't make this the right choice, though. 

Why the Wizards Should Extend Him Now

Washington is in turmoil right now. They are just 3-15, and this dismal start led to them firing Flip Saunders earlier this week. 

They are on the precipice of an all-out disaster and total mutiny. This is going to lead to players playing for themselves and not for the team, and that is going to lead to sloppy and ineffective basketball. It will also stunt the growth of their youngsters. 

No one is going to be more vulnerable to playing for themselves than McGee. His stats are going to equal money, as he is in a contract year. 

He is already averaging career highs with 11.2 points, 9.0 rebounds and 2.9 blocked shots. These numbers are bound to go up the more he starts playing for himself at the detriment of the team. This will only drive his value up, and the Wizards will be forced into paying him the bucks it would take to extend him now. 

The difference would be that McGee would have a season of bad habits under his belt. This would effectively stunt his growth. 

Washington needs to gain some semblance of control of this team and get everyone on the same page. If they signed McGee long term now, they can reduce the risk of McGee going maverick and instead starting to buy into the team game.

This would allow the Wizards to begin to build the foundation of a winning team, instead of going backwards and starting from ground zero next season.