When the Wizards exiled big man Marcin Gortat, they did more than simply shed the 34-year-old’s contract, they filled a void that they’ve had for some time, Chase Hughes of NBC Sports Washington writes. The addition of backup combo guard Austin Rivers should alleviate some of the workload on Bradley Beal.
Beal logged the fourth most minutes in the NBA last season but ran out of gas for the Wizards late in the season. Rivers will also slot in behind John Wall at the point, providing capable support at both backcourt positions.
For the addition to work, Rivers will have to change his game slightly. For instance, he’ll have to tone down the volume shooting as part of a larger, competitive Wizards team.
There’s more from the Southeast Division:
- The Heat will bring back their “captain”, 38-year-old Udonis Haslem, for the 2018/19 season. Now, an Associated Press report states, he’ll get to work convincing Dwyane Wade to join him in fending off retirement. “My mindset has always been for us to finish it together,” Haslem said. “I want us to do a whole season together. Experience the road, dinner on the road, go through that whole process. I want us to experience that together.” Wade, of course, played half of last season with the Cavaliers after initially leaving Miami for the Bulls in the summer of 2016.
- The Magic are expected to open the season with Nikola Vucevic as their starting center, team scribe John Denton writes, but the club will make sure that Mohamed Bamba has plenty of time to demonstrate his potential. According to Denton, the rookie has already “greatly impressed” the squad with the improvement he’s made since the end of the NCAA season.
- The Heat have a number of options that Erik Spoelstra will need to mix and match in order to fill his frontcourt. Ira Winderman of the Sun Sentinel writes in a mailbag with readers that he views Kelly Olynyk as a change-of-pace backup center behind Hassan Whiteside and James Johnson as the club’s power forward.
Erik Spoelstra needs to get his rotations right man, stop starting James Johnson because he’s better off the bench. I still don’t understand why they don’t give Justice Winslow a starting position and give him a featured role where he could get 10-16 shots a night just to see how he does.
I really don’t rate Rivers that much, maybe will be better as a sub, but surely he won’t make much of a difference.
Of course Vucevic have to start, he is Orlando’s best player & it isn’t even close. But obviously this situation with him & Bamba on the bench can’t last, so at some point during the season they will trade Vucevic, don’t understand why they haven’t done it yet, hopefully they will do it before the RS starts.
Nikola better than Gordon? No way.
The magic should trade vucivic for a point guard. Would kemba for vuc and a first make sense?