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Community Shootaround: Best Team For Bradley Beal

July 24th, 2021 at 10:01pm CST by Arthur Hill

High-scoring Wizards star Bradley Beal hasn’t issued a trade request yet, but a report this morning that he’s considering it has the rest of the league ready to pounce. Washington is in a precarious position with Beal, who can decline his $36.4MM player option next summer and become an unrestricted free agent.

Beal is said to be considering that the Wizards may start a rebuilding process if they decide to move him, which is no doubt why the report was leaked on the weekend before the draft. Beal would like to join a contender, and sources identified the Warriors, Celtics, Heat and Sixers as possible trade destinations.

Golden State is in the best position if Washington wants draft picks in return. The Warriors hold the No. 7 and No. 14 selections in this year’s lottery and may be willing to part with last year’s No. 2 pick, center James Wiseman, to get their hands on Beal, who is reportedly at the top of their wish list. Andrew Wiggins would likely have to be included to match salary.

In Boston, Beal would be able to unite with his close friend and fellow St. Louis native Jayson Tatum. Washington may ask for Jaylen Brown in return, but the Celtics would be reluctant to part with Brown when they can open enough cap space to sign Beal in 2022. Al Horford‘s $27MM salary would go a long way toward matching purposes, and he is only guaranteed $14.5MM for 2022/23 if he is released before the start of that season. Boston could load its offer with future picks and possibly arrange a sign-and-trade involving free agent guard Evan Fournier, who plays the same position as Beal.

The Heat are at a disadvantage when it comes to draft assets, not holding any picks this year and having future first-rounders tied up as a result of trading a protected 2023 pick. Miami has team options on Goran Dragic ($19.44MM) and Andre Iguodala ($15MM), who can both help with salary matching, but young assets such as Tyler Herro, Duncan Robinson and Kendrick Nunn may not be enough to interest the Wizards.

The Sixers would almost certainly have to move Ben Simmons in a trade for Beal, either to Washington or to someone else in a multi-team deal. Philadelphia is also low on draft assets, but throwing in young players such as Matisse Thybulle or Tyrese Maxey could appeal to Washington.

We want to get your input. Do you believe Beal will be moved this summer and where do you think he should go? Please leave your responses in the comments section.

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Duncan Robinson Discusses Free Agency

July 24th, 2021 at 2:00pm CST by Eli Cohen
  • Heat sharpshooter Duncan Robinson, entering his first free agency as a coveted player, isn’t sure what’s going to happen, writes Ira Winderman of The South Florida Sun-Sentinel. “I’d love to try to make something work with Miami,” Robinson said. “The reality is, like, I tell this to my family, I don’t know how the next 10-plus days, two weeks, how it’s going to play out. At this point, and I’ve said this already on this podcast, but I think the biggest challenge has been detaching myself from a particular outcome.”
  • Winderman also answered a mailbag question about whether the Heat could bring back former players Josh Richardson and Justise Winslow this summer. Winderman believed that there could be more desire with the team to bring back Richardson than Winslow, but if Richardson declines his $11.6MM player option with the Mavericks, it’s unlikely that the Heat could afford him.
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Bradley Beal Pondering Trade Request Before Draft

July 24th, 2021 at 10:10am CST by Dana Gauruder

Wizards All-Star guard Bradley Beal is considering whether to request a trade prior to the draft, Jake Fischer of Bleacher Report.

Sources close to Beal say he’s mindful that the Wizards could get a better package of picks as well as players if a deal is done by Thursday night. After that, the Wizards would have to settle for future picks with uncertainty over what kind of prospects they’ll eventually draft. Plenty of front office personnel around the league still believe Beal will decide to stay put, but a source close to the league’s second-leading scorer this past season admits the situation is fluid.

If Beal informs the front office he prefers to go elsewhere, he’d want to land in a place that already has, as Fischer describes it, an established winning environment.

Beal doesn’t have a known list of preferred destinations, though sources told Fischer that teams such as the Warriors, Celtics, Heat and Sixers would likely be among that group. Golden State’s veterans have pushed management to pursue a Beal trade but virtually every team in the league would have some level of interest in bringing in the high-scoring wing.

Beal’s potential change of heart about staying in Washington is somewhat tied to the uncertainty surrounding Russell Westbrook, who is reportedly among the players the Lakers might pursue in a trade. Westbrook and Beal hold options on their contracts after next season, which could also impact what the Wizards might do.

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Olympic Notes: LaVine, NBA Participants, Hernangomez, Finals Trio

July 24th, 2021 at 9:22am CST by Dana Gauruder

Zach LaVine was placed in protocols due to contact tracing before he was allowed to go to Tokyo. That development came as a big surprise to the Team USA wing. LaVine was sidelined for 11 Bulls games in April when he tested positive for COVID-19, Joe Cowley of the Chicago Sun Times writes. “Well I was a little shocked,’’ LaVine said. “Obviously, I didn’t think I could get [the virus]. Obviously, I didn’t. I’m going to have to be careful with everybody including the team and everybody coming over here, so it made sense, and I pretty much had to do my time, jump through a couple hoops to get here.’’

We have more Olympic-related notes:

  • If there are a lot of familiar faces in the Olympic tournament, it’s because there are a record number of current and former NBA participants. According to an NBA press release, there are 49 current players and 16 former players dotting Olympic rosters. The Heat lead the way with four players in the competition.
  • Spain’s basketball federation president claims that Juan Hernangomez won’t play in the Olympics because Timberwolves president Gersson Rosas nixed it, according to a Eurohoops story relayed by Emiliano Carchia of Sportando. Hernangomez dislocated his left shoulder this summer but Jorge Garbajosa says the big man has been cleared by Spain’s medical staff. “Juancho wants to play in the Olympic Games, but Juancho won’t be able to play,” Garbajosa said. “We’ve had countless medical meetings and we’ve never received a ‘no.’ We have a received a ‘yes’. … It’s a problem of people – not medical personnel – who have personally decided that Juancho couldn’t play. I’m talking about their president of basketball operations.”
  • Devin Booker, Khris Middleton and Jrue Holiday arrived in Tokyo on Saturday and their Team USA teammates are impressed by the commitment of the three players who participated in the Finals, Brian Windhorst of ESPN writes. “I have a lot of respect for those guys for not only committing to do this but actually keeping their word,” Draymond Green said. “You’re talking about three true professionals, three extremely competitive guys that wouldn’t be on their way here if this didn’t mean something.”
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Southeast Notes: Herro, Unseld Jr., T. Murphy, Magic

July 21st, 2021 at 6:21pm CST by Arthur Hill

Although Heat president Pat Riley considers Tyler Herro to be a “core player” for the franchise, Herro heard his name in a lot of trade rumors during his second NBA season, writes Anthony Chiang of The Miami Herald. Herro was mentioned frequently as Miami pursued James Harden in January and Kyle Lowry at the trade deadline in March. Now that he’s been exposed to the distraction of trade talk, Herro plans to ignore it in the future.

“I’m done listening to all that, honestly,” he said. “I think every time that we’re not playing or even if we are playing, my name is brought up in something. So it is what it is at this point. Like I said, I’m focused on getting better, getting this team better.”

Herro averaged 15.1 points, 5.0 rebounds and 3.4 assists per game this season while shooting 43.9% from the field, all better numbers than in his rookie year. He has already gained four pounds since the Heat were knocked out of the playoffs and hopes to add between 10 to 12 overall to become stronger for next season.

“I think it translates obviously offensively,” he said. “Getting stronger, I can get to my spots easier and just being able to defend bigger guys than me. I want to be able to be as big as the rest of the vets are in the league. So just gaining weight I think will help me tremendously on both ends.”

There’s more from the Southeast Division:

  • The Wizards conducted 26 interviews before deciding to hire Wes Unseld Jr. as their next coach, writes Ethan Cadeaux of NBC Sports Washington. During an appearance this week on the Sports Junkies podcast, general manager Tommy Sheppard talked about the process, which included 18 formal interviews and eight others over the phone. “We went about it pretty thoroughly, pretty thoughtfully, and where we arrived was at a fantastic, young head coach that has been putting in the time and doing everything he could possibly do,” Sheppard said. “Not a self-promoter, but somebody that was ready for this job.”
  • Potential lottery pick Trey Murphy is scheduled to work out for the Wizards on Thursday, the team announced on its website. A junior out of Virginia, he shot over 40% from beyond the arc last season and ranked seventh in the ACC in made three-pointers. St. Louis guard Jordan Goodwin and Kyree Walker of Chameleon BX will also participate.
  • Josh Robbins of The Athletic proposes a few potential draft-day trades for the Magic involving the other teams in the top six.
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Victor Oladipo Switches Agents

July 21st, 2021 at 8:23am CST by Eli Cohen
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Northwest Notes: Lillard, Blazers, Hernangomez, Nuggets

July 20th, 2021 at 8:26am CST by Luke Adams

While it doesn’t look at this point like the Trail Blazers will seriously explore Damian Lillard trades this offseason, that doesn’t mean they’re not getting calls about their All-NBA point guard. Front office sources tell Kevin O’Connor of The Ringer that the Heat, Kings, Knicks, Rockets, and Sixers have been the most aggressive suitors for Lillard as of late.

With no Lillard trade request imminent, the Blazers are more likely to pursue upgrades around the star guard, though O’Connor notes that the team’s trade assets are somewhat limited. Portland doesn’t have any draft picks this year and rival teams aren’t particularly high on young players like Anfernee Simons and Nassir Little, according to O’Connor. The club’s best bet for a deal that reshapes the roster and increases its ceiling might involve CJ McCollum and Ben Simmons, O’Connor adds.

Here’s more from around the Northwest:

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Eight Current NBA Players On Nigeria’s 12-Man Olympic Roster

July 19th, 2021 at 3:55pm CST by Luke Adams

After making some noise in the exhibition schedule by upsetting Team USA, Nigeria will be looking to become the first African men’s basketball team to win an Olympic medal. And they’ll be doing so with a roster that features eight current NBA players, along with one former NBA player.

Here’s the 12-man squad that will represent Nigeria at the Tokyo games, per the Nigeria Basketball Federation (Twitter link):

Achiuwa, Nwora, Okafor, Okogie, and Okpala are all on guaranteed contracts for next season with their respective teams. Metu and Oni are on non-guaranteed deals, while Vincent will be eligible for restricted free agency after finishing the season on a two-way pact. Udoh, a former sixth overall pick who just finalized a two-year deal with Italian club Virtus Bologna, has appeared in a total of 400 NBA games (regular season and postseason)

While the Nigerian squad isn’t exactly loaded with star power, it’s worth highlighting since it’s rare for any country besides Team USA to send so many current NBA players to the Olympics.

Australia’s team will have seven players who finished the season on NBA rosters, while Spain’s roster features 10 players with at least some NBA experience. But the U.S. team is the only other one in Tokyo that will feature at least eight current NBAers.

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Heat Release Preseason Home Schedule; Examining Damian Lillard Speculation

July 18th, 2021 at 5:16pm CST by JD Shaw
  • The Heat have released their preseason home schedule for 2021/22, per an announcement on the team’s website. Miami’s first home game will be against Atlanta on Monday, October 4, just 78 days away. The league’s offseason will once again be shortened this year due to the altered schedule caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.
  • In his latest “Ask Ira” mailbag, Ira Winderman of the Sun Sentinel examines whether Bam Adebayo should serve as a roadblock in the Damian Lillard-Heat trade speculation. Portland likely wouldn’t entertain any offer for Lillard that doesn’t include Jimmy Butler or Adebayo, and to this point, neither Lillard nor the Blazers have indicated that a separation is being considered.
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Southeast Notes: Dragic, Heat, Unseld, Hornets

July 17th, 2021 at 1:01pm CST by Eli Cohen

Goran Dragic has been with the Heat for over six seasons, and has played some of the best basketball of his career in Miami. He was arguably the third-best player during the Heat’s run to the Finals last season before a foot injury limited him to two games against the Lakers. But the 35-year-old point guard is coming off an injury-plagued season and owed over $19MM next season.

According to Ira Winderman of the South Florida Sun-Sentinel, the Heat don’t want to trade Dragic this offseason. But if a deal for a star presents itself, the team would be willing to do so.

We have more news from around the Southeast Division:

  • The Heat have traded away both their picks in this year’s draft, but that hasn’t stopped team president Pat Riley for setting the edict to the scouting department to find and secure useful players from the draft, writes Winderman. “We don’t have any picks, but I can guarantee you we’ll probably get a couple of good players out of this year’s draft, somehow,” Riley said at the end of the season. The Heat have a track record of landing productive players like Kendrick Nunn and Duncan Robinson despite scant draft resources. They’ll try to repeat history this year.
  • Anthony Chiang of the Miami Herald looks at how the Olympics experience could help the Heat‘s Nigerian trio of Gabe Vincent, KZ Okpala and Precious Achiuwa. Team Nigeria has been dominant during exhibition games, but if they don’t make the medal round, it’s possible the three young players will be back in Las Vegas for Summer League, looking to build off the momentum and confidence they’ve gained from this experience.
  • Wes Unseld Jr. is not just a familiar name, he’s also an experienced coach who has paid his dues, writes Fred Katz in a piece for The Athletic on the Wizards’ newest head coach. Katz writes that Unseld sold the Wizards based not only on his track record, but also on ideas for how to better utilize star Bradley Beal and last season’s lottery pick Deni Avdija.
  • The Hornets are working out six prospects today, per a tweet from the team: Derrick Alston Jr., Ian Dubose, Romeao Ferguson, Ariel Hukporti, Carlik Jones, and Ruot Monyyong. The Hornets have the 56th and 57th picks in the draft, the range in which most of said prospects may be available.
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