The wait is finally over. The Charlotte Hornets and PJ Washington have agreed to a three-year, $48M contract extension, per ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski.

The lone restricted free agent left on the market has agreed to an extension with the franchise that drafted him 12th overall in 2019, at very long last. It seemed like the Hornets and Washington’s camp were pretty far apart throughout the negotiating process, but a deal has been reached with a little over a month until training camps open.

On the surface, a three-year deal at $16M AAV is quite team-friendly for a 6-foot-7 forward that scored a career-high 15.7 points per game last season and has versatility on both ends of the floor. There’s a strong chance that Washington outplays his contract — the rising salary cap and experience gained from a full season as a top scoring option bode well for him exceeding the value of a deal that’s just $4M above the Mid-Level exception.

We can finally put all of the sign-and-trade fantasies and qualifying offer disaster scenarios to bed. Washington returns on a deal that keeps him with the Hornets through 2026, and with that, another impactful piece near the top of the rotation is locked in for the foreseeable future.