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September 8th, 2020 at 2:14pm CST by Luke Adams

If you enjoy Hoops Rumors on your smartphone or tablet, be sure to check out our free Trade Rumors app!

Trade Rumors, available for iOS and Android, is the best way to consume our content on a mobile device. Here’s what it delivers, all for free:

  • All the articles from Hoops Rumors, MLB Trade Rumors, Pro Football Rumors, and Pro Hockey Rumors in an easy-to-navigate, eye-catching format. Swipe through stories to quickly consume all the news and rumors from our four sites. Not into all four sports? No problem – any sport can be easily removed.
  • Customize what you see. You can create feeds for any team or player across any of our sites.
  • Notifications. For any team or player, you can set up push notifications to ensure you always get breaking news instantly. Notifications can also be set up at the sport level.
  • Commenting. You can read and contribute comments on the app seamlessly.
  • Customer service. If you find a bug, we’ll fix it. If you have a feature request, we’ll consider it. The app is continually evolving and improving.
  • Did we mention Trade Rumors is a free app? What do you have to lose? Download it now!
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NBA Team Option Decisions For 2020/21

September 8th, 2020 at 12:44pm CST by Luke Adams

Having already created a space to track this offseason’s player option decisions, we’re turning our attention today to team options. Over the next couple months, we’ll use the space below to keep tabs on all the team options for 2020/21, making note of whether they’re picked up or declined.

True team options are somewhat rare in the NBA, since clubs have typically preferred to include a non-guaranteed year or two in player contracts. Non-guaranteed salaries are less restrictive and provide a little more flexibility than team options, which clubs must act upon by a specific date each year. Typically, that date falls in late June, but this year it will be October 17 if free agency isn’t further delayed.

Still, team options can be useful at the end of a contract, since turning down that option allows the team to retain some form of Bird rights on the player — waiving a player with a non-guaranteed salary doesn’t present that same opportunity. Additionally, a handful of contracts still don’t become fully guaranteed once an option is picked up, giving teams an extra level of flexibility.

The list below doesn’t include rookie scale team options for 2020/21, since those third- and fourth-year options function differently than team options on standard veteran contracts. Those ’20/21 rookie scale team option decisions were made during the 2019 offseason, and can be found here.

The standard team options for 2020/21 are listed below. This list – which can be found anytime under the “Hoops Rumors Features” menu on the right sidebar on our desktop site or on the “Features” page in our mobile menu – will be updated throughout the fall to note the latest decisions.

Point Guards

Shooting Guards

Small Forwards

Power Forwards

Centers

Note: Options marked with an asterisk (*) won’t become fully guaranteed once they’re exercised, per Basketball Insiders and/or ESPN. If they’re exercised, they’ll become partially guaranteed or remain non-guaranteed until a later deadline.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

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Community Shootaround: Jazz’s Future

September 7th, 2020 at 8:54pm CST by Dana Gauruder

The playoff series between with the Jazz and Nuggets was arguably the most entertaining of the first round. It featured a brilliant guard duel between Donovan Mitchell and Jamal Murray and wasn’t decided until the final buzzer of Game 7.

Denver advanced to play the Clippers, while Utah left Orlando facing an interesting and difficult off-season. Mitchell certainly solidified his status as the team’s star and most dynamic player.

The question hovering over the franchise is how can it go from a playoff team to a serious title contender? It’s hard to take that next step without multiple All-Stars.

Rudy Gobert is, of course, one of the league’s premier defenders but he’s limited offensively in a league where big man are now expected to expand their offensive games beyond the paint.

Mike Conley, who will almost assuredly opt in for the remaining $34.5MM on his contract, didn’t have as big an impact on the franchise as hoped when Utah traded for him last summer. His expiring contract, should he opt in, could be their best trade asset.

Royce O’Neale and Joe Ingles are solid, if unspectacular, role players with multiple years left on their contracts. The Jazz were missing a key piece in Orlando in Bojan Bogdanovic and they have expressed strong interest in re-signing free agent sixth man Jordan Clarkson, though other teams will be pursuing his services. Bogdanovic could have easily been the difference in the opening-round series, though it must be mentioned that the Nuggets advanced despite injuries to multiple rotation players.

That brings us to our question of the day: What should the Jazz do improve their roster and get to the next level?

Please take to the comments section to weigh in on this topic. We look forward to your input.

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Poll: Best Available NBA Head Coaching Job

September 7th, 2020 at 5:00pm CST by Luke Adams

Now that the Knicks and Nets have hired new head coaches, there are four NBA clubs that have coaching openings to fill. Those teams are the Bulls, Pacers, Pelicans, and Sixers, and each head coaching job comes with some pros and cons.

In Chicago, for instance, there’s a solid group of promising young players – including Zach LaVine, Lauri Markkanen, Wendell Carter, Coby White, and this year’s No. 4 overall pick – and expectations shouldn’t be overly high for the first year or two, since the team is still in the process of rebuilding.

The Bulls are somewhat lacking in star power, however, which may limit the team’s ceiling. That’s not the case in Philadelphia, where the Sixers have a pair of All-Stars – Joel Embiid and Ben Simmons – on long-term contracts.

That’s a great foundation to build upon, but the new 76ers head coach will be tasked with solving a puzzle that Brett Brown couldn’t — figuring out how to get the most of Embiid and Simmons together on offense. With Tobias Harris and Al Horford earning nearly $62MM combined in 2020/21, the team’s ability to make upgrades around its two stars will be limited, so maximizing the current roster will be paramount.

The Pelicans also have some star power that could appeal to a head coaching candidate, with Jrue Holiday serving as the team’s veteran leader, while Zion Williamson and Brandon Ingram are the rising young stars. It’s certainly an intriguing job, but Holiday is entering a contract year, Ingram is about to get very expensive, and Williamson hasn’t yet proven he can consistently remain healthy. Expectations in New Orleans are rising, putting added pressure on the team’s next head coach.

Meanwhile, in Indiana, Victor Oladipo is entering a contract year and it’s not clear whether or not he envisions a long-term future with the Pacers, which could complicate matters for a new head coach. Still, there’s a lot to work with here. Even if Oladipo and/or Myles Turner end up on the trade block at some point, the Pacers could get a strong return for either player and can lean on the likes of Domantas Sabonis, Malcolm Brogdon, and T.J. Warren.

What do you think? If you were a head coaching candidate with equal offers in hand from the Bulls, Pacers, Pelicans, and Sixers, which job would you take? Which one would be the least appealing, in your opinion?

Vote in our poll, then head to the comment section below to weigh in with your two cents!

Trade Rumors app users, click here to vote.

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2020 NBA Offseason Preview: Sacramento Kings

September 7th, 2020 at 3:53pm CST by Luke Adams

Hoops Rumors is previewing the 2020 offseason for all 30 NBA teams. We’re looking at the key questions facing each club, as well as the roster decisions they’ll have to make this fall. Today, we’re focusing on the Sacramento Kings.

Salary Cap Outlook

The Kings might be able to open up a little cap room by renouncing free agents and waiving non-guaranteed players, but they’re unlikely to go in that direction. Any attempt to re-sign Bogdan Bogdanovic, who has a $16MM cap hold, will all but ensure that Sacramento operates as an over-the-cap team this offseason, barring major cost-cutting moves.

The Kings should also have the flexibility to make use of their non-taxpayer mid-level exception ($9.26MM) and/or bi-annual exception ($3.62MM), if they so choose.

Our full salary cap preview for the Kings can be found right here.

Roster Decisions To Watch

Options:

Non-Guaranteed Contracts:

Two-Way Contracts:

Free Agents:

2020 Draft Assets

First Round:

  • No. 12 overall pick

Second Round:

  • No. 35 overall pick
  • No. 43 overall pick
  • No. 52 overall pick

In addition to their own draft picks at No. 12 and No. 43, the Kings picked up a pair of extra second-rounders in past trades.

That No. 35 overall selection is the Pistons’ pick, which Sacramento acquired from Phoenix on draft night in 2016 in the same deal that saw the Suns move up to No. 8 for Marquese Chriss while the Kings acquired Bogdan Bogdanovic‘s draft rights.

The No. 52 pick is from the Rockets as a result of a three-team Iman Shumpert trade at the 2019 deadline.

Three Key Offseason Questions

1. Are Buddy Hield‘s days in Sacramento numbered?

Following a breakout 2018/19 performance, Hield had another productive season in ’19/20, averaging 19.2 PPG and shooting 39.4% on an eye-popping 9.6 three-point attempts per game. However, Hield’s first season under new head coach Luke Walton was much more tumultuous than those numbers made it seem.

In December, upset about hardly seeing any fourth-quarter action in a pair of close losses, Hield told reporters there were “trust issues” in Sacramento. Less than a month later, in January, he was removed from the Kings’ starting lineup in favor of Bogdan Bogdanovic. And a few weeks after that, in mid-February, a report from The Athletic suggested it wouldn’t be a huge surprise if Hield requests a trade in the offseason.

A second-half surge from the Kings, with Bogdanovic thriving in the starting lineup and Hield doing the same off the bench, temporarily quieted speculation about the shooting guard’s future. But a disappointing showing in Orlando this summer – along with the firing of general manager Vlade Divac – helped reignite that speculation.

Hield’s new contract extension – which starts at nearly $25MM before declining in later seasons – will go into effect in 2020/21. Having already committed big money to Hield and Harrison Barnes, Sacramento want to lock up Bogdanovic with a lucrative long-term contract of his own, and De’Aaron Fox‘s payday is around the corner too. Unless they want to lock themselves into this core going forward, common sense suggests that the Kings may have to shop one of their highly-paid players.

Hield and Barnes are the most logical candidates to be moved, and Hield would be the more valuable asset of the two on the trade market, given his three-point prowess and his positional overlap with Bogdanovic. The Kings could probably get a pretty decent package in return for him — but will they want to move him?

It’s too early to get a sense of whether Sacramento will seriously consider a Hield trade this fall. But it certainly wouldn’t come as a shock to hear his name pop up in trade rumors. Divac was motivated to see Hield succeed in Sacramento since he was the centerpiece of the DeMarcus Cousins trade, but with Divac no longer in the picture, the new decision-makers in Sacramento may not feel the same attachment to the veteran sharpshooter.

2. Who will assume long-term control of basketball decisions for the Kings?

Speaking of the new decision-makers in Sacramento, for now we only know who is making those calls in the interim. That’d be former advisor Joe Dumars, who was named the team’s executive vice president of basketball operations in the wake of Divac’s departure.

It’s been difficult to parse exactly what’s happening in the Kings’ front office. Multiple reports suggested that Divac’s ouster occurred as a result of team owner Vivek Ranadive asking him to surrender control of basketball decisions to Dumars. When Divac was unwilling to accept a demotion, he was let go and Dumars was – at least temporarily – promoted.

However, a subsequent report suggested that Dumars won’t be a candidate for the Kings’ permanent general manager job. That report indicated he’d be involved in the hiring process and would interview candidates along with Ranadive. But the plan, apparently, is for the newly-hired GM to gain full control of roster moves and report directly to Ranadive. It’s unclear what role Dumars would have with the franchise after that.

If the new general manager is going to have long-term control of the team’s basketball decisions, it would make sense for Sacramento to conduct its search as soon as possible in order to ensure that the new GM can have a say in this offseason’s roster decisions. But the Kings are said to be in no rush to finalize a hire before the draft and free agency.

That puts added pressure on Dumars and the current group in the front office to make quality decisions this fall as they tackle several major issues. If Dumars makes a questionable lottery pick, overpays to retain Bogdanovic, or doesn’t get great value in a Hield trade, the job may look a little less appealing to GM candidates who will have to live with the effects of those decisions for the next few years.

3. Will De’Aaron Fox get a maximum-salary extension offer?

Perhaps the most important decision of the Kings’ offseason relates to their promising young point guard. Fox, 22, had an up-and-down season in 2019/20, battling health issues and struggling to knock down three-pointers (he made just 29.2% after hitting 34.5% in his first two seasons).

However, he established new career highs in PPG (21.1) and FG% (.480), flashed star potential, and was especially effective during the summer restart. As some of his teammates struggled, Fox averaged 26.2 PPG and 7.3 APG in six games in Orlando. Those six summer seeding contests represent the last look the Kings will get at Fox in game action before he becomes eligible for a rookie scale extension this fall.

The Kings and Fox have reportedly already had some preliminary discussions about a new deal, and Fox has said he’s interesting in signing an extension before his fourth season. The question now is how high Sacramento is willing to go with its offer.

If the Kings are ready to offer Fox a five-year max deal, negotiations should be quick and painless. There would be little reason for the young point guard to wait for restricted free agency in 2021 unless he really doesn’t want to be in Sacramento, and there has been no indication that’s the case.

If the Kings don’t offer Fox the max, things could get a little trickier. Amidst a global pandemic, with league revenues very much up in the air, would the 22-year-old be willing to accept a more team-friendly deal? Or would the team risk rubbing him the wrong way with such an offer, making the situation unnecessarily contentious?

The guess here is that the Kings will offer Fox a five-year max. That’s essentially the same deal that Ben Simmons and Jamal Murray each signed a year ago, starting at 25% of the cap. And while Fox has yet to make an All-Star team like Simmons or show he can be a big-time playoff scorer like Murray, the Kings have signaled during the last couple years that they believe in Fox’s potential and are willing to build their roster around him. I don’t expect they’ll risk complicating the relationship by low-balling him in extension talks.

Information from Basketball Insiders and ESPN was used in the creation of this post. Photos courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

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NBA Player Option Decisions For 2020/21

September 7th, 2020 at 11:32am CST by Luke Adams

A number of NBA contracts include player options in the final year. Those option years give the player the opportunity to either opt into the final year of his deal, finishing out his contract, or to decline the option and hit the free agent market a year early.

Several factors play a part in a player’s option decision. The value of the option salary is obviously crucial, as is the player’s performance in the season leading up to his decision. In 2020, the state of the NBA’s salary cap also figures to be a major consideration for players weighing their decisions.

Due to the coronavirus pandemic, the cap won’t increase in 2020/21 from its current level (approximately $109MM), which means fewer teams will have the ability to spend in free agency. As a result, many players who hold options for ’20/21 will likely prefer to take the guaranteed money on their current contracts rather than rolling the dice on the open market.

This year’s player options are listed below. This list – which can be found anytime under the “Hoops Rumors Features” menu on the right sidebar on our desktop site or on the “Features” page in our mobile menu – will be updated throughout the fall to note the latest decisions.

Point Guards

Shooting Guards

Small Forwards

Power Forwards

Centers

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

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Community Shootaround: Do The Bucks Have A Chance?

September 5th, 2020 at 8:01pm CST by Arthur Hill

Of all the unusual things that have happened since the NBA’s restart began, nothing would be more surprising than to see the East’s top seed swept out of the playoffs. But that’s the situation facing the Bucks, who will be fighting to save their season Sunday against Miami.

The Heat took complete control of the series Friday, outscoring Milwaukee 40-13 in the final quarter to complete their comeback. Jimmy Butler, Bam Adebayo and Goran Dragic have all been dominant as Miami has won its first seven playoff games.

Making things even more dire for the Bucks is an ankle injury that reigning MVP Giannis Antetokounmpo suffered early in Game 3. He was able to produce 21 points, 16 rebounds and nine assists while playing through pain, but has been listed as questionable for tomorrow afternoon.

John Hollinger of The Athletic examines the criticisms being directed at Milwaukee coach Mike Budenholzer and disputes several of them. Budenholzer is taking heat for not playing his stars enough, but Hollinger notes that Miami is handling its top players the same way. He also points out that Budenholzer’s system, which is under fire, has produced success in the past. The Bucks won 10 of their first 11 playoff games last season before falling to Toronto in the conference finals.

The implications of a second-round loss are huge for Milwaukee and they stretch far beyond this season. Several teams have been making sure they have plenty of cap room for next summer in case Antetokounmpo opts for free agency rather than a long-term deal with the Bucks. A report this week indicates that rumors at the Disney World campus have the Heat and Raptors as frontrunners to land Antetokounmpo.

The Bucks face four must-win games that will likely affect the future of the franchise. Tim Reynolds of the Associated Press tweets that no team with a winning percentage as high as Milwaukee’s has ever been swept, but that’s little consolation as they try to figure out how to survive, possibly without their star player.

We want to get your opinion. Do the Bucks have a chance to make history by rallying from a 3-0 deficit, or should the series be considered over? Please leave your responses in the space below.

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Free Agent Stock Watch: Playoff Edition

September 4th, 2020 at 6:39pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Throughout the season, Hoops Rumors takes a closer look at players who will be free agents or could become free agents this off-season. With the playoffs ongoing at the Orlando campus, it’s time to examine if their stock is rising or falling due to performance and other factors.

Enes Kanter, Celtics, 28, C (Down) – Signed to a two-year, $9.77MM deal in 2019

It’s difficult to pump up your value when you’re glued to the bench. That’s the dilemma for Kanter, who has dropped out of the Celtics’ big man rotation. Kanter averaged 15 MPG in the opening round against Philadelphia but coach Brad Stevens has gone with Daniel Theis and Robert Williams III during the second-round series against Toronto. Save for a four-minute cameo on Thursday, Kanter has been a spectator. He has a $5MM player option for next season and the benching might compel him to take the guaranteed money and force the front office’s hands.

Goran Dragic, Heat, 34, PG (Up) – Signed to a five-year, $85MM deal in 2015

Perhaps we all forgot how good this guy can be. Dragic is getting a little long in the tooth and has battled injury issues, but he’s been fantastic on the Orlando campus. He’s been the most consistent offensive force for the surprising Heat, averaging 22.8 PPG and 5.0 APG against Indiana in the first-round sweep and 25.0 PPG and 4.5 APG in Games 1 and 2 against Milwaukee. Dragic could provide a major jolt for any playoff-caliber club and his price tag keeps rising.

Ben McLemore, Rockets, 27, SG (Down) – Signed to a two-year, $4.3MM deal in 2019

McLemore got off to a strong start in Orlando, including back-to-back 20-point games during the seeding round. As the playoffs have moved along, McLemore has seen his playing time diminish. He received 10 or fewer minutes in the last three games against Oklahoma City, as Russell Westbrook’s return affected his role. McLemore’s $2.3MM for next season isn’t guaranteed. The contract is cheap enough for the Rockets to retain him, but if that happens, there’s no guarantee he’ll be a rotation player.

Evan Fournier, Magic, 27, SG (Down) – Signed to a five-year, $85MM deal in 2016

Fournier has a $17.15MM option on his contract for next season. It seemed likely prior to the stoppage of play in March that he’d opt out and test a weak free agent market. His career year hit a snag during the restart, as he battled a non-COVID related illness and then was generally a non-factor in the first-round series against Milwaukee. He shot 35.7% from the field, compared to 44.9% shooting during the regular season. With all the uncertainty surrounding next season, Fournier has more incentive to take the guaranteed money.

Noah Vonleh, Nuggets, 25, PF (Down) – Signed to a one-year, $2MM deal in 2019

A lottery pick in 2014, Vonleh has already played for six organizations. It looks like he’ll be adding a seventh to his resume next season, provided he can find another NBA home. Vonleh made three brief appearances in the seeding round but his only action during the playoffs was a three-minute stint during a 37-point loss to Utah. It’s easy to forget that Vonleh started 57 games for the Knicks last season. There won’t be any teams valuing him as a starter this offseason; he’ll be fortunate to get another veteran’s minimum deal.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

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2020 NBA Offseason Preview: Washington Wizards

September 4th, 2020 at 12:01pm CST by Luke Adams

Hoops Rumors is previewing the 2020 offseason for all 30 NBA teams. We’re looking at the key questions facing each club, as well as the roster decisions they’ll have to make this fall. Today, we’re focusing on the Washington Wizards.

Salary Cap Outlook

John Wall and Bradley Beal will make a combined $70MM in 2020/21, and the Wizards have seven more players with fully guaranteed salaries under contract, so the team won’t have any cap room. Washington shouldn’t be in danger of going over the tax line either, unless re-signing Davis Bertans is pricier than anticipated.

Depending on whether Bertans is re-signed, how expensive he is, and what other moves the Wizards make, they could end up with the non-taxpayer mid-level exception ($9.26MM) and the bi-annual exception ($3.62MM), though they’re probably unlikely to use both exceptions in full.

Our full salary cap preview for the Wizards can be found right here.

Roster Decisions To Watch

Options:

  • None

Non-Guaranteed Contracts:

Two-Way Contracts:

Free Agents:

  • Davis Bertans (Bird)
  • Ian Mahinmi (Bird)
  • Shabazz Napier (Early Bird)
  • Gary Payton II (Non-Bird)
  • Jerian Grant (N/A)
    • Note: Grant won’t have any form of Bird rights because he was signed as a substitute player.
  • Jarrod Uthoff (N/A)
    • Note: Uthoff won’t have any form of Bird rights because he was signed as a substitute player.

2020 Draft Assets

First Round:

  • No. 9 overall pick

Second Round:

  • No. 37 overall pick

The Wizards technically finished with the league’s eighth-worst record, but were locked into the No. 9 spot in the lottery standings because the eight teams not invited to the NBA’s summer restart in Orlando were assigned the top eight spots.

If the order had instead been based on records after the summer seeding games and the Wizards had entered the lottery in that No. 8 slot, it would’ve been Washington – not Charlotte – that moved up to claim the third overall pick. Instead, the Wizards stayed put at No. 9.

Washington traded away its second-round pick (No. 39) but has the Bulls’ second-rounder at No. 37 to make up for it. That was one of the assets the Wizards acquired in last summer’s Tomas Satoransky sign-and-trade.

Three Key Offseason Questions

1. Is the clock ticking on the John Wall/Bradley Beal backcourt?

Both Wall and Beal have been Wizards for their entire NBA careers, and they’ve been playing together since 2012. So far, the duo only has four playoff appearances and three second-round exits to show for its efforts, but general manager Tommy Sheppard sounds committed to giving the star-studded backcourt at least one more shot when both players return healthy for 2020/21.

Wall, who hasn’t appeared in a game since December 2018 due to a torn Achilles, has negative trade value at this point due to his long injury layoff, his age (30 on Sunday), and his contract, which will pay him about $133MM over the next three years. As such, the Wizards’ decision to stick with him and hope for a strong comeback is an easy one.

The equation isn’t as simple for Beal though. The two-time All-Star is coming off his most productive offensive season yet, having averaged 30.5 PPG and 6.1 APG in 57 games in 2019/20. His contract – $63MM over the next two years, with a $37MM player option for ’22/23 – is more team-friendly than Wall’s, and he’s three years younger than his backcourt partner.

It all adds up to make Beal a desirable trade target for rival teams should the Wizards decide to make him available. Trading Beal would be the most logical way for the franchise to launch a rebuild and restock its shelves with young players and/or draft picks.

There has been no indication that Sheppard would consider such a move this offseason, but if the Wizards get off to a poor start in 2020/21, trade speculation surrounding Beal will certainly heat up by 2021’s deadline.

He and Wall are under pressure to make things work, and the Wizards are under pressure to surround them with the right pieces to help them do that — Beal has been patient so far and said the right things about his commitment to D.C., but another losing season could cause that commitment to waver.

2. How much will it cost to re-sign Davis Bertans?

Fortifying the roster around Wall and Beal will be challenging because of how sizable those stars’ salaries are. The Wizards don’t project to have cap room for the next couple years, so unless they plan on cutting costs, their most viable paths for upgrading the roster are through the draft and trades — and re-signing their own key players.

Bertans is one such player, and there’s no doubt the Wizards would like to retain him when he reaches free agency this fall. They rebuffed offers for him at the trade deadline, and holding his Bird rights means they’ll be able to comfortably go over the cap to re-sign him. But it won’t be easy.

Estimates earlier this season suggested that Bertans may be in line for a deal worth in the range of $15-20MM per year. There was a belief that the financial uncertainty created by the coronavirus pandemic may lower his price tag, but a recent report indicated that people around the league still expect Bertans to command a salary in the range of $15MM+ annually. That report also suggested that several teams with cap room – the Hawks, Knicks, and Suns – are candidates to pursue the sharpshooting Latvian.

Bertans isn’t an All-Star, so the Wizards should be wary about investing in him too heavily. But there just aren’t many 6’10” players in the NBA who can shoot like Bertans (42.4% on 8.7 threes per game in 2019/20) and hold their own on defense. His size and his ability to stretch the floor make him a valuable asset, and letting him walk wouldn’t open up any cap space that could be used to replace him.

The Wizards are in a tough spot here, given the unrestricted nature of Bertans’ free agency. While they really won’t want to let him get away, they probably need to have a walk-away point if bidding increases to the $20MM-per-year neighborhood.

3. Can the Wizards draft a foundational piece at No. 9?

In the last two years, the Wizards have drafted Troy Brown at No. 15 (2018) and Rui Hachimura at No. 9 (2019). Although neither player has immediately emerged as an impact player, they’ve taken positive strides and look like they could be long-term building blocks.

In 2020, Sheppard and his front office will once again pick at No. 9. And while the 2020 draft class may be lacking in surefire All-Stars, there’s enough depth in the pool to create some intriguing options for Washington in the top 10.

In his latest mock draft, Sam Vecenie of The Athletic has USC center Onyeka Okongwu slipping to the Wizards at No. 9 and suggests that would be a big win for the club, given Okongwu’s defensive-first mentality and his abilities as a rim-runner.

Most other mock drafts assume Okongwu will be off the board before the Wizards pick. It’s probably safe to expect LaMelo Ball, Anthony Edwards, James Wiseman, and Obi Toppin to be unavailable too. Deni Avdija, Isaac Okoro, Tyrese Haliburton, and Killian Hayes are other strong candidates to be drafted in the top eight, but at least one of those nine players will fall to No. 9 and could appeal to Washington.

Knockdown shooters like Aaron Nesmith and Devin Vassell will likely be options for the Wizards at No. 9. Athletic big man Precious Achiuwa figures to be available too — ESPN’s Jonathan Givony has the Memphis forward/center going to Washington in his latest mock draft.

By staying put at No. 9 in the draft lottery, the Wizards may not get a chance to acquire a future star in this year’s draft, but there’s certainly an opportunity for the team to add a promising young role player at that spot.

Information from Basketball Insiders and ESPN was used in the creation of this post. Photos courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

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Poll: Who Will Make Western Conference Finals?

September 3rd, 2020 at 2:36pm CST by Luke Adams

It has taken them a little longer to get underway due to a pair of Game Sevens in the Western Conference quarterfinals, but the second round of the Western playoffs are finally set to tip off tonight. The No. 2 Clippers will face the No. 3 Nuggets on Thursday, with the No. 1 Lakers playing the No. 4 Rockets on Friday.

The Clippers will enter their series against the Nuggets as overwhelming favorites. Of the 19 ESPN experts who made predictions for the series, not a single one picked Denver to win — and not one thinks it will take the Clippers more than six games to dispatch the Nuggets.

Kawhi Leonard and Paul George figure to be major problems for Denver. It’s unclear if the Nuggets have defenders capable of slowing down the duo; and on the other end of the court, top Denver scorers like Jamal Murray and Michael Porter Jr. will face more resistance from Leonard, George, and company than they did from Utah’s defenders in the first round.

The Lakers also open as heavy favorites over Houston. The 16 ESPN experts who made picks for the series were once again unanimous in projecting an L.A. victory, though in this case at least a handful predicted it will take a full seven games.

The well-rested Lakers will have the size advantage over the Rockets, as forwards like P.J. Tucker, Jeff Green, and Robert Covington will be tasked with guarding Anthony Davis and LeBron James. L.A. also had one of the NBA’s best defenses all season long and may force Houston’s role players to beat them with outside shots.

Still, while an all-L.A. Western Finals looks – as it has all year – to be the likeliest outcome, the Nuggets and Rockets have the star power to make things interesting. Nikola Jokic, James Harden, and Russell Westbrook aren’t about to bow out quietly. And as we’ve seen in the two Eastern Semifinals so far, a solid game plan and some well-timed hot shooting streaks can quickly put a series favorite on its heels.

What do you think? Are you penciling in a Clippers/Lakers showdown already, or do you think the Nuggets or Rockets are capable of pulling off an upset?

Vote in our poll below and head to the comment section to weigh in with your thoughts on both series!

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