Washington Wizards Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Draft Workouts: S. Henderson, Blazers, Howard, Nowell, Roberts

June 3rd, 2023 at 2:37pm CST by Rory Maher

The Trail Blazers, who control the No. 3 overall pick, are holding a pre-draft workout Saturday with G League Ignite guard Scoot Henderson, a projected top-three pick, tweets Sean Highkin of The Rose Garden Report.

Henderson has said in the past he thinks he’d be a good fit alongside Damian Lillard and he reiterated that again today, according to Aaron J. Fentress of The Oregonian (Twitter link).

Recent mocks have Henderson, who was a candidate for No. 1 overall at one point before Victor Wembanyama went to a different level this season, going No. 3 to Portland, with Alabama’s Brandon Miller going to Charlotte at No. 2.

Highkin recently said he thought the Blazers would trade their pick for an established star player, mentioning Jaylen Brown and Pascal Siakam.

Here are a few more 2023 NBA draft-related notes ahead of June 22:

Michigan wing Jett Howard will work out for the Magic Saturday, per Cody Taylor of Rookie Wire (Twitter link). The Magic control the Nos. 6, 11 and 36 picks in the draft, while Howard is currently ranked No. 17 on ESPN’s big board. The son of Juwan Howard, Jett is thought to be one of the better shooters in the draft.
Kansas State guard Markquis Nowell has workouts lined up with the Mavericks, Pacers, Suns and Clippers. He also worked out for the Jazz and Wizards the past couple days, according to Chase Hughes of NBC Sports Washington (Twitter link). The 5’8″ Nowell had a memorable performance in the NCAA tournament for the Wildcats, averaging 23.5 points, 13.5 assists, 3.5 rebounds and 4.0 steals on .446/.419/.920 shooting in four games (40.0 MPG) en route to the Elite Eight.
Georgia guard Terry Roberts worked out for the Nets this week and had a previous workout with the Rockets, a league source tells Adam Zagoria of ZagsBlog.com (Twitter link). Roberts had previous experience with Florida SouthWestern State College and Bradley before playing for the Bulldogs as a senior.

Wizards Notes: Schlenk, GM, Winger, Offseason, Richman

June 2nd, 2023 at 9:13am CST by Luke Adams

Having reached an agreement to join the Wizards as the team’s senior VP of player personnel, Travis Schlenk will oversee Washington’s player evaluation work at all levels (amateur, international, and professional), according to Josh Robbins of The Athletic, who says scouts will report to Schlenk.

While new team president Michael Winger will have the final word on personnel moves, Schlenk’s input will carry “significant weight,” writes Robbins, as will that of the executive that the Wizards eventually hire in a general manager-type role. Winger hasn’t offered that position to anyone yet, sources tell The Athletic.

As Robbins explains, Winger’s previous work has focused less on player evaluation and more on bigger-picture roster construction and strategy, as well as navigating the CBA and salary cap, so he wants to ensure he’s surrounded by strong player evaluators in Washington’s new-look front office.

Here’s more on the Wizards:

According to Marc Stein at Substack, the word in league circles is that the Wizards offered Winger an annual salary in the neighborhood of $9MM to lure him away from the Clippers to become the new head of basketball operations in D.C.
Chase Hughes of NBC Sports Washington lists five major decisions Winger will have to make within his first few months on the job, starting with hiring a general manager. The Wizards’ new president will also have to determine whether or not to keep the team’s “big three” (Bradley Beal, Kristaps Porzingis, and Kyle Kuzma) intact and figure out whether or not to sign Deni Avdija to an extension this offseason.
Assistant coach Ryan Richman is leaving the Wizards and taking a job as the head coach of the Seahorses Mikawa, a Japanese team, sources tell Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN (Twitter link).

Wizards To Hire Travis Schlenk In Front Office Role

June 1st, 2023 at 6:12pm CST by Rory Maher

President Michael Winger plans to make his first addition to the Wizards‘ new-look front office, hiring former Hawks president of basketball operations Travis Schlenk as senior vice president of player personnel, sources tell ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski (Twitter link).

Josh Robbins of The Athletic confirms the news (via Twitter) through his own league sources.

While Schlenk is certainly a notable executive, Winger is still searching for a general manager to directly oversee the Wizards and their G League affiliate, the Capital City Go-Go, Wojnarowski adds. The new GM would report directly to Winger.

Formerly an assistant GM in Golden State, Schlenk was hired as Atlanta’s general manager in 2017 and was promoted to president of basketball ops in 2019. He had been the ninth longest-tenured head of basketball operations in the NBA before he moved into an advisory role in December.

Schlenk launched a rebuild when he initially joined the Hawks and oversaw three losing seasons before the team turned things around in 2020/21, making a run to the Eastern Conference Finals. They have been ousted from the first round of the playoffs each of the past two seasons.

During his tenure atop the team’s front office, Schlenk swung two major draft trades to land Trae Young (for Luka Doncic and a future pick) and De’Andre Hunter; drafted John Collins, Kevin Huerter, Cam Reddish, and Onyeka Okongwu; and acquired Dejounte Murray from San Antonio in a blockbuster deal this past summer.

Although the Hawks publicly announced Schlenk was transitioning to advisory role, subsequent reporting from Sam Amick of The Athletic indicated that he was no longer part of the operation in Atlanta and was free to leave for another team if he desired to. About five months later, he’s landing in D.C.

According to Amick, Schlenk expressed reservations about the price to acquire Murray (three first-round picks, including two unprotected, and a pick swap), and that played a factor in his exit from the franchise. The Atlanta Journal-Constitution also reported that Schlenk’s relationship with Young had deteriorated after the point guard chartered a private flight home from Miami without telling anyone from the team during last year’s playoffs. Young was later fined.

Southeast Notes: Winger, Hornets, Hawks’ Coaches, Bitadze

May 28th, 2023 at 12:01pm CST by Arthur Hill

New Wizards president Michael Winger loves the idea of building a foundation and he’s eager to use the lessons he learned during his time with the Cavaliers, Thunder and Clippers, writes Ben Golliver of The Washington Post. Winger is taking on one of the NBA’s biggest challenges in the Wizards, who haven’t posted a 50-win season in 44 years. He’s inheriting a team that’s desperately in need of a makeover after missing the play-in tournament, but he welcomes that opportunity.

“I wouldn’t want a ready-made organization,” he said. “That’s not very exciting. It’s going to be a matter of establishing a culture and creating an identity that we can latch onto and carry into the next half-decade. Sometimes, change for the sake of change accelerates progress.”

Winger had been with Los Angeles since 2017 and he helped team president Lawrence Frank oversee the transition from the Chris Paul–Blake Griffin era to the new-look Clippers built around Kawhi Leonard and Paul George. Winger comes highly recommended as he looks to perform a similar roster remake in Washington.

“One thing that separates Michael from others is his ability to be a couple steps ahead,” Frank said. “It’s one thing to know what you’re trying to get accomplished. But Michael can show you how the pieces on the board need to move to get it done, and how one move can set up the next. That’s invaluable.”

There’s more from the Southeast Division:

Hornets general manager Mitch Kupchak has a talent for finding useful players late in the draft, and he’ll have an opportunity again this year as Charlotte holds five selections, per Roderick Boone of The Charlotte Observer. They Hornets landed the second slot in the lottery, and they control picks No. 27, 34, 39 and 41 as well. Charlotte has been holding workouts with a lot of players projected to go in that range, including Saturday’s session with Serbian forward Nikola Djurisic. “So at the combine, I hit some shots. I was hitting shots — five in a row, six in a row, which I think the scouts from the clubs can see me shoot, differently from in the game or practice,” Djurisic said. They could see me shoot. But I’m not worried about the 3-point shot because it will come with hard work. But they could see I’m athletic.”
Bryan Bailey, Antonio Lang, Mike Brey and Sanjay Lumpkin will be announced as members of Quin Snyder‘s coaching staff with the Hawks, tweets Emiliano Carchia of Sportando. Jeff Watkinson and Steven Klei will be retained from the current staff, sources tell Carchia.
The Magic have a team option on Goga Bitadze for the 2023/24 season, and Khobi Price of The Orlando Sentinel suggests that the aggressive rebounding he displayed during his brief time in Orlando will make them consider picking it up. Bitadze averaged 5.8 points and 5.2 rebounds after signing with the Magic in February, and he was the team’s primary backup center by the end of the season.

Stein’s Latest: Irving, Russell, Wizards, M. Williams, Raptors

May 28th, 2023 at 8:58am CST by Arthur Hill

If the Lakers opt to pursue Kyrie Irving in free agency, the Mavericks wouldn’t be interested in taking back free agent guard D’Angelo Russell as the primary player in a sign-and-trade deal, Marc Stein reports in his latest Substack column.

There hasn’t been any concrete information that trying to sign Irving is part of the Lakers’ offseason plans, Stein adds, but there’s plenty of speculation that LeBron James would like to reunite with his former Cavaliers teammate. L.A. was heavily rumored as a possible destination for Irving when he considered opting out of his contract last summer and again when he asked the Nets for a trade in February.

James’ retirement talk after being swept by Denver is widely seen as a message to the Lakers’ front office that a roster upgrade is needed, but Stein isn’t convinced that they’ll be active on the free agent market. He states that the team’s preferred plan is to reach new deals with two of its own free agents, Austin Reaves and Rui Hachimura. It’s less certain that L.A. wants to keep Russell after his disastrous performance in the Western Conference Finals, Stein adds.

The Mavericks appear committed to keeping Irving after paying a high price to acquire him from Brooklyn, according to Stein. A report last weekend indicated that a “handshake deal” may already be in place for Irving to remain in Dallas.

Stein passes along more inside information:

Teams around the league are expecting new Wizards president Michael Winger to be aggressive in trying to reshape the roster this summer, but Bradley Beal‘s no-trade clause may complicate his plans. Stein points out that Beal has four seasons left on his five-year, $251MM contract and can’t be sent to any other team unless he agrees to the deal. Stein also wonders how the front office change will affect Kristaps Porzingis, who reportedly began extension talks in March.
Kevin Ollie and Charles Lee were set for second interviews this week for the Pistons‘ head coaching vacancy, but Stein hears that the team hasn’t given up on its pursuit of Monty Williams. The former Suns head coach reportedly turned down a “big-money” offer from Detroit, but some members of the organization are hoping he might reconsider.
A source tells Stein that Kings associate head coach Jordi Fernandez is a legitimate candidate to become the Raptors‘ new head coach.

2023 NBA Draft Picks By Team

May 27th, 2023 at 8:36am CST by Luke Adams

Two of the biggest winners on draft lottery night last week were the Hornets and Pacers. Charlotte moved up two spots from the pre-lottery standings to claim the No. 2 overall pick. The Pacers, meanwhile, stayed put in the lottery, but because San Antonio leapfrogged Houston in the first round, Indiana moved up 18 spots from No. 50 to No. 32 in the second round due to a convoluted set of trade criteria.

The Hornets and Pacers have something else in common: Charlotte and Indiana are the only teams that control more than three picks in the 2023 NBA draft. In fact, the two clubs own five selections apiece, accounting for 10 of the 58 total picks in this year’s event.

Nine additional teams each have three 2023 picks, joining the Hornets and Pacers to control nearly two-thirds of the draft — those 11 teams hold 37 of this year’s 58 picks, leaving the other 19 clubs to divvy up the remaining 21 selections.

On the opposite end of the spectrum, three teams don’t own any 2023 draft picks. The Bulls, Knicks, and Sixers will sit out this year’s event unless they acquire a pick via trade.

To present a clearer picture of which teams are most – and least – stocked with picks for the 2023 NBA draft, we’ve rounded up all 58 selections by team in the space below. Let’s dive in…

Teams with more than two picks:

Charlotte Hornets (5): 2, 27, 34, 39, 41
Indiana Pacers (5): 7, 26, 29, 32, 55
San Antonio Spurs (3): 1, 33, 44
Portland Trail Blazers (3): 3, 23, 43
Orlando Magic (3): 6, 11, 36
Washington Wizards (3): 8, 42, 57
Utah Jazz (3): 9, 16, 28
Oklahoma City Thunder (3): 12, 37, 50
Brooklyn Nets (3): 21, 22, 51
Sacramento Kings (3): 24, 38, 54
Memphis Grizzlies (3): 25, 45, 56

Teams with two picks:

Houston Rockets: 4, 20
Detroit Pistons: 5, 31
Atlanta Hawks: 15, 46
Los Angeles Lakers: 17, 47
Los Angeles Clippers: 30, 48

Teams with one pick:

Dallas Mavericks: 10
Toronto Raptors: 13
New Orleans Pelicans: 14
Miami Heat: 18
Golden State Warriors: 19
Boston Celtics: 35
Denver Nuggets: 40
Cleveland Cavaliers: 49
Phoenix Suns: 52
Minnesota Timberwolves: 53
Milwaukee Bucks: 58

Teams with no picks:

Chicago Bulls
New York Knicks
Philadelphia 76ers

Wizards’ Michael Winger Talks New Role, Clippers Tenure, Beal, More

May 26th, 2023 at 10:37am CST by Luke Adams

Having passed on the opportunity to interview for a general manager role with at least one other NBA team in the past, Michael Winger tells Andrew Greif of The Los Angeles Times that he had begun to wonder whether he’d get an opportunity to become the lead executive in a front office. That was the impetus for his decision to pursue the job as the Wizards‘ president, a position he officially secured on Thursday.

“Seldom, I think, in pro sports do those opportunities come along where almost all of your boxes, if not all of your boxes, are checked,” Winger said. “And this was I think the rare and supremely fortunate opportunity for somebody like me to check all the boxes: ownership, market, fan base, already a talented team.”

Winger has some familiarity with the Washington area already, as Greif notes. The former Clippers general manager lived in Baltimore during his final year of law school and often visited friends in D.C. during that time.

“I just felt like if I’m ever going to challenge myself, now’s the time and (Wizards owner) Ted (Leonsis) is the right person,” Winger said. “I think D.C. is the right fan base.”

Here’s more from the new Wizards executive on the challenges that await him in D.C. and the six years he spent in Los Angeles as the Clippers’ GM:

According to Winger, he achieved most of his goals with the Clippers over the last six years, having helped turn the franchise into a desirable destination for stars. Of course, there’s one notable goal that will go unresolved. “I would have liked to have won one or more championships in the four years that we’ve had Paul (George) and Kawhi (Leonard), but every team that tries to win a championship and doesn’t wishes that they would have won a championship,” Winger told Greif. “I mean, certainly winning at the highest level would have been awesome. What else? That’s really it.”
Winger added that he still has full confidence that George and Leonard are a “championship tandem” capable of leading the Clippers to a title: “I believe that to my core that those two guys when healthy can absolutely win a championship, so I’m a little sad that I’m not gonna be there when they finally do.”
Most of Winger’s conversations with Leonsis during the interview process focused on a “big-picture vision” for the Wizards rather than on specific roster moves, writes Greif. The plan is to dig deeper into specific plans for the roster once Winger brings in a second executive who will focus exclusively on the Wizards in a GM-type role.
Winger said he’s thrilled about the prospect of having Bradley Beal as the cornerstone of Washington’s roster: “His former coaches, his former teammates, they all have extraordinarily high regard for him, and he is unequivocally a superstar. The hardest thing to do in the NBA is acquire a superstar talent and it’s even harder to acquire superstar talent with his level of character. And so, I think it’s an extremely, extremely fortunate starting point. So to me, that’s really exciting to have somebody like Brad on the team.”
Winger is confident that Leonsis will “put forth both the resources and the patience” to build the Wizards into an organization with a winning culture, pointing to Leonsis’ work with the NHL’s Washington Capitals as proof of his ability to steward a successful franchise. “It’s just a matter of taking some of those principles, injecting the equivalent of the NBA’s nuances into those principles, and hopefully building something that is sturdy, sound, attracts good players, attracts good staff, keeps good players, keeps good staff, and ultimately wins basketball games,” Winger told Greif.

Wizards Owner Ted Leonsis Not Opposed To Rebuild

May 25th, 2023 at 2:15pm CST by Rory Maher

New Wizards president Michael Winger will have “carte blanche” to reshape the team’s roster, and owner Ted Leonsis isn’t opposed to a rebuild if that’s what Winger has in mind, a league source tells Josh Robbins of The Athletic.

Leonsis has been rumored to be opposed to tearing down the roster and building through the draft in the past, so this could be a pivot point for the franchise. It will be interesting to see which direction Winger goes.

Winger’s decision-making power won’t be limited to just the Wizards’ roster, as he will have “wide latitude” to reshape the organization’s infrastructure, including the front office and coaching staff, according to Robbins. The 43-year-old had been the Clippers’ GM since 2017.

Both Robbins and David Aldridge of The Athletic have heard from sources who say Winger will submit a five-year plan to Leonsis that will be updated after every year. Washington’s owner “wanted someone who’d take big swings, in a big market,” according to Aldridge’s source. Leonsis has assured Winger he’s willing to pay the luxury tax if necessary in the future, Aldridge adds.

Winger, who is a lawyer and has an analytics background, is known as a “big-picture” thinker who has extensive experience handling contract and trade negotiations, as well as navigating the NBA’s Collective Bargaining Agreement and salary cap, per Robbins and Aldridge.

A source tells Aldridge that Winger isn’t afraid to voice his opinion, as he was one of the few Clippers executives who had reservations about the Paul George trade with the Thunder — which was tied to Kawhi Leonard signing with L.A. as a free agent — because Winger believed the Clippers were giving up too many first-round picks.

Leonsis also owns the NHL’s Washington Capitals, WNBA’s Mystics, and the Wizards’ G League affiliate, the Capital City Go-Go. Winger will oversee the Wizards, Mystics and Go-Go.

Although one report suggested Winger might not hire a No. 2 executive until after the draft and free agency, the team stated the search will be undertaken immediately, and Robbins’ sources inform him that Winger will look to hire someone within the next couple weeks. The new hire will likely have a “relatively traditional basketball background,” per Robbins.

Marc Stein reports (via Twitter) that Thunder vice president of basketball operations Will Dawkins is considered a “strong candidate” for the position. Dawkins worked with Winger for several years in Oklahoma City, Stein notes. Dawkins got his start as an intern with the Thunder in 2008 and has steadily worked his way up in the basketball operations department.

Aldridge believes hiring Winger is a step in the right direction, because it shows Leonsis isn’t satisfied with the status quo. The Wizards have posted five straight losing seasons and haven’t had a 50-win season since 1978/79.

Wizards Hire Michael Winger To Run Front Office

May 25th, 2023 at 1:15pm CST by Rory Maher

MAY 25: The Wizards have officially hired Winger, the team announced in a press release. Winger and owner Ted Leonsis will immediately undertake a search for a No. 2 basketball operations executive to oversee the Wizards and Go-Go and report directly to Winger.

“Michael’s vast experience and broad range of executive-level skills will provide stability, accountability and leadership for all of our basketball franchises,” said Leonsis. “His influence on helping to restore and sustain excellence at three different teams aligns with our goal of building championship contenders while his collaborative approach supports our shared services structure.”

MAY 24: The Wizards intend to hire Clippers general manager Michael Winger to run their front office, sources tell ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski.

According to Wojnarowski, Winger’s title will be president of Monumental Basketball — Monumental Sports and Entertainment is the parent company that controls the Wizards. Winger will also be in charge of the WNBA’s Mystics and the Wizards’ G League affiliate, the Capital City Go-Go.

Josh Robbins of The Athletic, Andrew Greif of The Los Angeles Times, and Ava Wallace of The Washington Post have confirmed the news (all Twitter links) with their own sources.

As Greif notes (Twitter links), Winger was the No. 2 man in Los Angeles under Clippers president of basketball operations Lawrence Frank since 2017. According to Greif, since Winger’s responsibilities will also include two other teams, Washington’s organization is still looking for another front office member, presumably a GM, that only oversees the Wizards. That individual would report to Winger.

Winger has been an NBA executive for nearly two decades. He served as the Cavaliers’ director of basketball operations from 2005-10 and then was an assistant general manager with the Thunder under Sam Presti from 2010-17. Winger was atop the Wizards’ wish list for a new lead executive, per Wojnarowski.

Winger has drawn interest from rival teams since joining the Clippers, but he had consistently turned down those overtures until now. The Timberwolves, for instance, sought an interview with him when they were seeking a new head of basketball operations in 2019, but he opted to pass on that opportunity and remain in L.A.

Pelicans GM Trajan Langdon was the only other known candidate to interview for the Wizards’ front office vacancy, though they were linked to a few other names. A former first-round pick, Langdon started his front office career as a scout and assistant GM prior to claiming the Pelicans’ GM job in 2019.

Former Wizards president Tommy Sheppard was dismissed in April after the team went 35-47 and missed the play-in tournament and playoffs each of the past two seasons. The Wizards won a combined 59 games in Sheppard’s first two years in charge after he was promoted in 2019.

Determining what to do with Bradley Beal (max contract, no-trade clause), Kyle Kuzma (unrestricted free agent) and Kristaps Porzingis ($36MM player option) are among the most immediate questions facing the Wizards this offseason, as we noted in our preview. It will be interesting to see how Winger impacts the roster with the draft and free agency coming up in the next handful of weeks.

Southeast Notes: Vincent, Heat, T. Young, Beal

May 24th, 2023 at 11:08pm CST by Rory Maher

Heat guard Gabe Vincent has been a key member of the team’s surprising playoff run, boosting his regular season averages of 9.4 points and 2.5 assists on .402/.334/.872 shooting (25.9 minutes) up to 13.1 points and 4.1 assists on .417/.375/.893 shooting in 15 postseason games, all starts (30.8 minutes).

Unfortunately, the impending free agent suffered a left ankle sprain in Tuesday’s Game 4 loss to Boston and is officially listed as questionable for Game 5, per Ira Winderman of The South Florida Sun Sentinel (Twitter link).

Barry Jackson of The Miami Herald hears (via Twitter) that Vincent is “doing all he can” to try and play Thursday night. The Heat lead the series 3-1 and are only one win from the Finals.

Here’s more from the Southeast:

The Heat were unfazed by their lone loss in the Eastern Conference Finals on Tuesday, writes Nick Friedell of ESPN. “If anything, it will build momentum for us knowing that we have to play with a lot more energy,” star Jimmy Butler said. “We’ve got to play like our backs are against the wall. But I think all year long, we’ve been better when we’ve had to do things the hard way.”
Although the Lakers have reportedly had internal dialogue about trying to trade for Trae Young, Chris Haynes of Bleacher Report said on the #thisleague UNCUT podcast that Young and the Hawks seem to be in a good spot right now, with no talks of a possible trade (hat tip to HoopsHype). Jeff Schultz of the Athletic contends that trading Young this summer – especially to Los Angeles – doesn’t make sense, as the Lakers don’t have much to offer and the Hawks want to see what he can do with a full season playing under Quin Snyder. Schultz notes that Young praised Snyder at the end of the season, saying the coach could bring Atlanta a championship.
Wizards guard Bradley Beal was surprised former president Tommy Sheppard was dismissed after the season, league sources tell Fred Katz of The Athletic. The Wizards are set to hire a new president, former Clippers GM Michael Winger, who will reportedly have full discretionary power over the team’s roster.