76ers' Raul Neto Joins Washington Wizards in Free Agency
Former Philadelphia 76ers backup guard Raul Neto has found a new temporary home for the 2020-2021 NBA season. On Saturday, Shams Charania of The Athletic reported the veteran point guard had inked a one-year deal with the Washington Wizards.
Neto, who was drafted in the second round by the Utah Jazz back in 2013, was waived by the team in July of 2019 after four seasons. A few days after being released by the Jazz, Neto inked a one-year deal with the Sixers.
Heading into last season's training camp, Neto expected to participate in a position battle for the backup point guard spot. As the Sixers also signed Trey Burke during the same summer, the two veteran backups had to earn their spot behind the team's All-Star, Ben Simmons.
During the preseason, neither Neto nor Burke stood out enough to garner the backup role as they had similar performances. Therefore, former head coach Brett Brown decided to rotate Burke and Neto throughout the season.
However, once the trade deadline approached, somebody had to go. The Sixers elected to keep Neto over Burke. So, after the 76ers waived Burke, the backup spot was Neto's to lose.
Unfortunately for the veteran point guard, the Sixers didn't trust him enough to have sole possession of the spot. Throughout the remainder of the season, the Sixers constantly switched from Neto to Shake Milton, Alec Burks, and even Josh Richardson.
Seeing as though the Sixers didn't trust Neto enough to allow him to maintain a position as a consistent contributor off the bench, it was becoming clear he likely wouldn't come back for another year. Now, that much is confirmed as he joins the Wizards.
Justin Grasso covers the Philadelphia 76ers for Sports Illustrated. You can follow him on Twitter: @JGrasso_
