It raised a few eyebrows on Monday when the Wizards waived Ryan Rollins, a 21-year-old guard who had shown some promise defensively and had potential, the kind of player the Wizards should be trying to develop. He seemed an odd player just to let go, but now we know why.
Rollins has been charged with seven counts of petit larceny in Alexandria General District Court, court documents show. He was caught shoplifting household items from a local Target store on multiple occasions while still with the team, a story broken by Josh Robbins at the Athletic. He has yet to enter a plea and is due back in court on Feb. 7, according to court documents, and the Athletic summed up the charges this way.
Police said in court documents that Rollins stole small household items such as groceries, body wash and candles from a Target store on seven different occasions from Sept. 9 to Nov. 9, when he was on the Wizards’ roster...
“We just recently learned of the charges against Ryan,” Monumental Basketball president Michael Winger told The Athletic. “We cannot comment on that matter, or the basis for our roster decisions.” Winger added: “We do take our role very seriously as citizens of the DMV, representatives of our fans and a team our community can be proud of. These are expectations, not aspirations. We’re eager to move forward with our team as constituted and pursue excellence on and off the court.”
Rollins was on a minimum contract with the Wizards, making $1.7 million in his second NBA season. That contract plus $600,000 of next year was fully guaranteed.
This is a Class 1 misdemeanor in Virginia, punishable usually by a fine, although the judge can sentence the person to up to a year in jail (however, that would be highly unusual in this kind of case).
Rollins was drafted in the middle of the second round in 2022, No. 44 overall out of Toledo, by the Hawks, who traded him to the Warriors on draft night. He played in 12 games for Golden State last year and was traded to Washington last summer in the Chris Paul/Jordan Poole deal. Rollins had played in 10 games for the Wizards this season.
