Ongoing chemistry issues in Washington could make John Wall a trade candidate, speculates Ira Winderman of The Sun Sentinel. In a question-and-answer column, the Heat beat writer addresses a reader’s proposal of Wall and Otto Porter for Goran Dragic and Justise Winslow. Winderman cautions that the Wizards might put a greater value on Porter than Winslow, and notes that Miami doesn’t have many draft picks to offer because it still owes two to Phoenix in the deal to acquire Dragic. Even if that trade doesn’t happen, Winderman states that Wall seems unhappy in Washington even after a coaching change that replaced Randy Wittman with Scott Brooks. Wall blasted his teammates for a lack of effort Tuesday after he scored 52 points but the team still lost to Orlando.
There’s more this morning from the Southeast Division:
- Wizards center Ian Mahinmi will undergo a second MRI on his right knee today, according to J. Michael of CSNMidAtlantic. Mahinmi has issues with both knees and has played just one game this season after signing a four-year, $64MM deal. He had surgery in the summer to fix torn cartilage in his left knee, then developed soreness that is believed to be tendinitis in his right knee after playing 14-minutes in his season debut. The lack of a serviceable backup has forced 32-year-old center Marcin Gortat to average a career-high 35.4 minutes per game, Michael notes.
- A disparity in free throws is helping the Hornets overcome otherwise poor offensive numbers, writes Rick Bonnell of The Charlotte Observer. Charlotte ranks third in the league with 26.6 attempted foul shots per game and surrenders a league-best 18. That has helped to give the Hornets the league’s 11th best offense despite ranking 20th in field-goal percentage, 24th in free-throw percentage and 16th in 3-point percentage. “We’ve been good at not fouling every year,” said head coach Steve Clifford, “but this year we have more guys who are good at driving the ball.”