The Washington Wizards have been one of the biggest disappointments in the NBA so far this season as they have lost four consecutive games and now sit at 6-8 for the season. The biggest reason for Washington's struggles is their star players not playing as well as they are expected to but the Wizards decided to make a move to try and insert some new energy by reportedly signing center Ryan Hollins, according to Shams Charania of Yahoo Sports.
Hollins is a nine year veteran that has played for seven different teams in his NBA career and the Wizards will be his eighth. The 31 year old is a seven footer that does not do anything flashy as he has career averages of 3.7 points and 2.2 rebounds but he brings energy, length and defense to the table and Washington needs some sort of lift.
So far this season the Wizards have been playing a three man rotation in the frontcourt of Marcin Gortat and Kris Humphries as the starters and Nene coming off the bench. Drew Gooden is also on the roster but he has only appeared in six games so Hollins will be brought in but it is unknown if he will get minutes right away. At the moment both Nene and Gooden are dealing with calf issues so that might mean some minutes for the veteran.
Hollins was in training camp with the Memphis Grizzlies this offseason and played very well in the preseason as he tried to earn a roster spot but ended up being their final cut. Hollins was reportedly in contact with the Grizzlies about potentially signing a deal up until this reported deal with the Wizards as they have frontcourt problems of their own. Hollins reportedly traveled to join Washington on Sunday and should be available for their game on Tuesday night against the Cleveland Cavaliers.
Hollins played with the Sacramento Kings last season and he appeared in 46 games, including nine starts, but played just 9.6 minutes per game. He is not the kind of player that is going to turn the Wizards season around but they hope he can infuse some sort of energy into a team that has gotten off to an extremely lackluster start.
UPDATE: As a result of Hollins' signing the Wizards are expected to waive Martell Webster who underwent season ending hip surgery a little more than a week ago, according to Sham Charania of Yahoo Sports.