Four years after he signed a $64 million contract to join the Wizards in free agency, Ian Mahinmi's career in Washington is effectively over.
Mahinmi has yet to log a single minute in the bubble during the NBA's restart and head coach Scott Brooks does not expect that to change in the Wizards' season finale on Thursday against the Boston Celtics (12 p.m. on NBC Sports Washington).
"I'm just going to keep giving them to the younger guys. Ian and I have a great relationship. We've talked [about it]. We spoke today," Brooks said.
If that holds, it would mark the end of the most infamous contract in franchise history. Mahinmi, now 33, joined the Wizards in the summer of 2016 when the salary cap spiked. It led to a lot of players getting way more money than they would have in other years and Mahinmi became a symbol of it all in Washington.
The Wizards signed him away from the Pacers, hoping he would solve their longstanding problems protecting the rim. He didn't do that, in part because of injuries. Mahinmi's Wizards career got off to an ominous start with a knee injury in his first preseason with the team.
As Mahinmi struggled, he became an eyesore in the Wizards' salary cap. His contract prevented them from making other moves and there is no telling just how many domino effects it produced.
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Mahinmi never found a consistent role in the rotation and is now set to walk away from the franchise and possibly the NBA altogether. At his age and with the way the big man position is evolving, there is no certainty he will get another contract.
So, the time in Orlando could very well be the last hurrah for Mahinmi.
"I appreciate him coming down here and being committed to the group. Everybody had a choice and it was tough to leave their families," Brooks said.
As Mahinmi is expected to leave, the Wizards will go into an offseason with a familiar goal. Now four years later, they are still looking for a reliable shot-blocker.
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After playing zero minutes in bubble, Ian Mahinmi's Wizards career is effectively over originally appeared on NBC Sports Washington
