Anthony Gill Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Wizards’ Khris Middleton To Undergo MRI On Right Knee

March 27th, 2025 at 10:50pm CST by Rory Maher

After playing 14 first-half minutes on Thursday against Indiana, forward Khris Middleton was ruled out for the second half due to right knee soreness, the Wizards announced (via Twitter).

In his post-game press conference, head coach Brian Keefe said Middleton would undergo an MRI on his right knee, per Chase Hughes of Monumental Sports Network (Twitter link).

It’s unfortunate news for the three-time All-Star, who was traded to Washington last month after spending 10-plus seasons in Milwaukee. Middleton was a key part of the Bucks’ championship run in 2022, but his career has been derailed by a series of injuries the past few seasons.

The 33-year-old has appeared in just 36 total games in 2024/25, averaging 12.0 points, 3.8 rebounds and 4.1 assists on .476/.362/.866 shooting in 23.0 minutes per contest. That’s the fewest minutes he’s averaged since he was a rookie with Detroit back in ’12/13.

Middleton holds a $33.3MM player option for ’25/26 that he’s widely expected to exercise.

In other Wizards injury news, forward Anthony Gill was also ruled out for the remainder of Thursday’s game after playing three minutes in the first half. He’s dealing with left hip soreness, per the team (Twitter link).

Southeast Notes: Wizards, Sarr, Daniels, Magic

March 23rd, 2025 at 11:59am CST by Arthur Hill

The Wizards looked like a team in contention for the top pick in the draft for most of Saturday’s game at New York before a late rally made things close, writes Varun Shankar of The Washington Post. Washington trimmed a 33-point deficit down to four points early in the fourth quarter, but the Knicks were able to regroup and finish off a 122-103 victory, giving the Wizards a half-game edge over Utah in the race for the league’s worst record.

“Showed great resolve during that period. … The guys just continued to make the right play on both ends of the floor,” coach Brian Keefe said. “It wasn’t home run plays. It was a box out, a deflection, making the right pass. And then we just stacked those possessions.”

After reducing the minutes for his veteran players earlier this week, Keefe has returned to a regular rotation. Khris Middleton was held out Saturday because it was the second night of a back-to-back, but Jordan Poole was on the court for nearly 28 minutes and backup center Richaun Holmes returned to action after sitting out the previous three games. Shankar notes that Keefe only used eight players until late in the third quarter when Colby Jones and Anthony Gill entered the game and helped to spark the rally.

There’s more from the Southeast Division:

The Wizards showed more confidence in rookie center Alex Sarr than they did in their last meeting the Knicks, Shankar adds. Previously, Keefe used small forward Justin Champagnie as the primary defender on Karl-Anthony Towns, with Sarr roaming on defense. On Saturday, Keefe let Sarr handle Towns one-on-one. “I loved it,” teammate Marcus Smart said. “He’s learning. Towns is a vet in this league, and he’s been doing this for a very long time. … [Sarr] has to get a little bit stronger — he knows it. But I liked the approach he had. He wasn’t running from the challenge. And he’s only going to get better.”
Hawks guard Dyson Daniels had three more steals on Saturday, increasing his league-leading total to 197 on the season. With at least one steal in 41 straight games, he tied Mookie Blaylock for the third-longest streak in franchise history, according to Lauren Williams of The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. “I’m proud of that kid. I think he’s DPOY (Defensive Player of the Year) for the season,” Onyeka Okongwu said. “I’m excited to watch him going forward.”
The Magic are hoping Friday’s 120-point outburst at Washington will spark their offense for the rest of the season, per Jason Beede of The Orlando Sentinel. He notes that Orlando is 7-1 when reaching the 120-point mark, but the team still has the league’s least-productive offense at 104.8 PPG. “It was huge,” coach Jamahl Mosley said of Friday’s performance. “Our guys understanding what we need to do, how we need to take care of business when we are on the road one game at a time and focus in these moments to play the right-type defense and have our offense clicking at the right is very important for this group as continue down the stretch.”

Southeast Notes: Hornets, Adebayo, Jovic, Gill, Wizards

July 29th, 2024 at 10:40pm CST by Tristan Tucker

The Hornets have largely done well for themselves this offseason, retaining some players, drafting Tidjane Salaun , and adding Josh Green for cheap.

They still have one standard roster spot open and Roderick Boone of The Charlotte Observer predicts that spot will remain open until closer to the start of the season. It would make sense for the Hornets to wait for roster cuts if there’s no one on the market they wish to reward with a standard deal and see if they can claim a talented young player on waivers. Boone thought summer league standout Mouhamadou Gueye might compete for a two-way deal, but the Hornets are reportedly filling their final such deal with Moussa Diabate.

Boone’s mailbag also checks in on the rest of the team, including the health of center Mark Williams. Boone opines that adding a power forward/center would be a wise option if Williams isn’t ready to go for the start of the season, since Nick Richards is the only true backup there, while Taj Gibson could fill in in an emergency.

As for Green, Boone says he’s currently penciled in to play two-guard position, but coach Charles Lee doesn’t want to pigeonhole him into a specific role until he’s spent more time with the roster.

We have more from the Southeast Division:

The Heat‘s Bam Adebayo is participating in his second Olympics after winning gold in Tokyo in 2021. He played 20 minutes off the bench and recorded four points, two rebounds and two assists on Sunday vs. Serbia, Anthony Chiang of the Miami Herald observes. While he didn’t score much, Adebayo held the task of guarding Nikola Jokic in the team’s first Olympic outing. Adebayo’s found success off the bench alongside Anthony Davis for Team USA.
The Heat had a second player in the Olympic opener, with Nikola Jovic suiting up for Serbia. The 21-year-old had five points and two rebounds in his first Olympic experience of his career, Chiang writes. He took a starting role for Miami and is expected to be a big part of their future moving forward. In his matchup against Team USA, his primary assignment was LeBron James on both ends.
The Wizards signed Anthony Gill to a two-year, minimum-salary ($4.78MM) contract, Michael Scotto of HoopsHype tweets. The deal is fully guaranteed for 2024/25 and is non-guaranteed for ’25/26. Gill has appeared in 179 games with the Wizards since 2020 but only averages 9.9 minutes for the only team he’s called home in the league. The Wizards like Gill, signing Virginia product to three standard deals so far.
Following the addition of Gill, it’s even more clear the Wizards aren’t done making moves this offseason. As Spotrac’s Keith Smith observes (Twitter link), the team has 17 players on standard contracts, with only Jared Butler and Eugene Omoruyi on non-guaranteed deals. While their decision-making could be as simple as waiving both players, they have a need at point guard, where Butler showed flashes last season and they value Omoruyi. Other players could be on the move as the offseason wears on.

Anthony Gill Re-Signs With Wizards

July 25th, 2024 at 1:58pm CST by Dana Gauruder

1:58pm: While we don’t yet know the terms of the contract, Gill has officially re-signed with the Wizards, according to NBA.com’s transactions log.

10:25am: Free agent forward Anthony Gill is re-signing with the Wizards, ESPN’s Tim Bontemps tweets.

Gill, 31, has played the last four seasons with Washington. Last season, he appeared in 50 games (three starts) and averaged 3.8 points and 1.9 rebounds in 9.3 minutes per contest.

Gill reached double figures in points in six of the last 11 games of the season when he saw regular playing time on a depleted roster. His two-year, veteran’s-minimum deal expired at the end of the season.

He’ll add depth, experience and leadership to a mostly young roster. No details of the agreement have been reported but the addition of Gill would give the Wizards 19 players on their training camp roster, including 17 on standard contracts. Two of those players on standard deals (Eugene Omoruyi and Jared Butler) have non-guaranteed salaries.

Over his four-year career, Gill has averaged 3.6 points and 1.8 rebounds in 9.9 minutes per game across 179 outings.

Gill had reportedly drawn interest from multiple European teams, including Barcelona and Anadolu Efes, but preferred to remain in the NBA. Gill started his professional career in Europe, having played for Russian club Khimki from 2017-20 after going undrafted out of Virginia.

International Notes: Hayes-Davis, Winston, Gill, Hommes

July 20th, 2024 at 4:06pm CST by Alex Kirschenbaum

Suns All-NBA combo forward Kevin Durant, who is in London with Team USA ahead of the Paris Olympics, believes USA Select Team forward Nigel Hayes-Davis, currently playing for EuroLeague club Fenerbahce, is good enough to be an NBA player, according to Cesare Milantiurant of Eurohoops.

“I think he has the talent to be in the NBA,” Durant said. “He’s been showing that so far, he’s showed that in college, and playing in the EuroLeague. Hopefully, he gets this opportunity, but he just loves to play regardless and he will play and work on his game until he can no more. Hopefully, he’s in the league soon.”

A Wisconsin alum, Hayes-Davis has appeared in nine total NBA games, all during the 2017/18 season, for the Lakers, Raptors, and Kings. The 6’8″ wing boasts averages of 3.0 points, 2.4 rebounds and 0.7 assists in those games.

Here’s more from around the basketball world at large:

Former Wizards point guard Cassius Winston has inked a new deal with Italian pro club Pallacanestro Reggiana, reports Alessandro Maggi of Sportando. The 6’1″ vet appeared in 29 games with Washington from 2020-22, averaging 1.9 points and 0.7 assists in 4.7 minutes per contest.
Despite earning interest from multiple European clubs including Barcelona and Anadolu Efes, Wizards backup power forward Anthony Gill is not considering a return to play there, reports Emiliano Carchia of Sportando. In 2023/24, Gill appeared in 50 contests for Washington, starting three. He averaged 3.8 points and 1.9 boards per night.
Former two-way Pelicans combo forward Daulton Hommes, who never played an NBA game for New Orleans, is departing Dolomiti Energia Trentino to link up with an as-yet unnamed EuroLeague team, per Dario Skerletic of Sportando.

And-Ones: Flopping, Tiebreakers, Gill, Aprons, Team USA, Durant

July 18th, 2024 at 9:47pm CST by Luke Adams

The NBA’s Board of Governors voted this week to make the in-game flopping penalty a permanent part of the league rules, according to a press release. The rule, which charges the offending player with a non-unsportsmanlike technical foul and gives the opposing team a free throw attempt, was adopted ahead of the 2023/24 season on a one-year trial basis and will remain in place going forward.

The Board of Governors also approved a tweak to the tiebreaker rules for the NBA Cup (in-season tournament), removing overtime scoring for the purposes of the point differential and total points scored tiebreakers.

There were scenarios last season in which it would have benefited the winning team to play for overtime – where it could build a bigger margin of victory – rather than trying to win in regulation by a smaller margin. That won’t be the case under the new rules, as an NBA Cup group-stage game that goes to overtime will result in a point differential of zero for both teams, regardless of how the extra period plays out.

Here are a few more odds and ends from around the basketball world:

Anthony Gill is drawing interest from a pair of EuroLeague teams, according to Alessandro Maggi of Sportando, who says that Barcelona and Anadolu Efes are eyeing the veteran free agent forward. Gill has spent the past four seasons with the Wizards, appearing in 179 regular season games during that time, almost exclusively as a reserve.
Jake Fischer of Yahoo Sports takes a closer look at how the NBA’s new tax apron rules are impacting teams’ decisions this offseason, suggesting that players whose contracts are heavy on unlikely incentives may become harder to trade going forward. Wizards guard Jordan Poole, Heat guard Tyler Herro, and Nets forward Cameron Johnson are a few of those players, Fischer writes — their deals each include between $2.5MM and $4.25MM in annual incentives. Whether or not they’re earned, those incentives are counted when determining where a team is operating relative to the aprons.
ESPN’s Brian Windhorst recaps Team USA’s Wednesday win over Serbia, while Joe Vardon of The Athletic provides a handful of takeaways from the squad’s time in Abu Dhabi, which also included an exhibition victory over Australia. Kevin Durant (calf strain) didn’t practice with the club in Abu Dhabi, but is hoping to get on the court in London during Team USA’s final stop before heading to Paris, Vardon writes. The U.S. will face South Sudan on Saturday and Germany on Monday in its last pre-Olympic tune-up games.
The Clippers sent $4.3MM to the Jazz in the Russell Westbrook/Kris Dunn trade, according to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski (Twitter link), more than covering Westbrook’s $4.03MM salary for the 2024/25 season.

Southeast Notes: Isaac, K. Thompson, Gill, Bridges

March 9th, 2024 at 9:53pm CST by Arthur Hill

The Magic got to experience a playoff-style atmosphere on Friday in New York, and even though it didn’t turn out well, Jonathan Isaac believes it was a valuable lesson for his young teammates, writes Jason Beede of The Orlando Sentinel. Orlando was limited to a season-low 74 points, but Isaac said the physicality of the game and the raucous Madison Square Garden crowd are things his team needs to prepare for.

“Coach’s message after the game was that this was good for us to face this as a group,” Isaac said. “We didn’t get off to our best start, our best footing and that kind of set us behind for the rest of the game. Over the course of the game, we learned what playoff basketball is like. I’ve experienced it before and not everybody has. We know how to move going forward.”

Beede points out that Isaac is a major reason why the Magic are in the thick of the playoff race after finishing 13th in the East last year. He’s part of the team’s four best defensive five-man lineups and he has been able to stay on the court, appearing in 43 games so far, which is the second-highest total of his seven-year career.

“It means I’m healthy,” Isaac said. “I look forward to continuing to play meaningful minutes in big games and keep moving forward. I’m not worried about injuries or looking back, or anything.”

There’s more from the Southeast Division:

The Magic expressed interest in acquiring Klay Thompson from the Warriors before last month’s trade deadline, sources tell Ian Begley of SNY. He notes that Thompson is heading toward free agency, and Orlando projects to have more than $30MM in cap room.
Anthony Gill was only on the court for 2:23 in Friday’s game, but he played an important role in helping the Wizards snap their 16-game losing streak, observes Chase Hughes of Monumental Sports. Gill has done most of his work behind the scenes during his four years in Washington, Hughes adds, and teammates are thrilled any time the 31-year-old power forward gets a chance to contribute on the court. “I just want to continue to be a light to people,” he said. “This basketball world can seem kind of small sometimes and it can seem kind of isolated. This world can pull you in many different directions. I just always want to bring people back to really what matters and that’s being a good person overall. Everyone has it in them. I just want to consistently show that every single day.”
Hornets coach Steve Clifford singled out Miles Bridges for his competitiveness tonight on the second game of a back-to-back (video link from Roderick Boone of The Charlotte Observer). Bridges has put together a strong bounce-back season after not playing last year and figures to be one of the most intriguing names on the free agent market.

Southeast Notes: Wizards, Richardson, Hornets

March 8th, 2024 at 9:59pm CST by Rory Maher

Led by Kyle Kuzma‘s 28 points (14 in the fourth quarter), nine assists and eight rebounds, plus double-doubles from Deni Avdija and Richaun Holmes, the Wizards snapped their franchise record-tying 16-game losing streak on Friday vs. Charlotte. They outscored the Hornets 44-24 in the final period to win by 12, with 44 points representing a season high for any quarter, per Josh Robbins of The Athletic (Twitter link).

According to Chase Hughes of Monumental Sports Network (Twitter link), interim head coach Brian Keefe singled out little-used reserve Anthony Gill as a key to the comeback victory due to his “contagious energy.” Kuzma said it meant “a lot” to finally get a win, tweets Robbins.

“I’m a little emotionally drained right now,” Kumza said. “But it meant a lot for us to pick that up, being in a big slump for a long time. … I’m just happy for everybody in the locker room to get that dub.”

Here’s more from the Southeast:

In a full story for The Athletic, Robbins writes that the Wizards intentionally went down the path of rebuilding to avoid the mediocrity of the past several seasons, but that doesn’t mean the poor results thus far in 2023/24 have been easy to stomach. Even after tonight’s victory, Washington is just 10-53, a half-game behind Detroit for the worst record in the NBA. Everyone involved — the team, front office, owner and fans — will have to exercise patience to see if the new front office under president Michael Winger will eventually be able to build a contender, but it will take some lottery luck in the future as well, Robbins notes.
Heat swingman Josh Richardson underwent season-ending shoulder surgery on Wednesday. He has a $3.1MM player option for 2024/25. “It’s a shame,” Spoelstra said of Richardson, per Anthony Chiang of The Miami Herald. “But some of these things happen. You can’t control it. He had really a great spirit going into it and the surgery went really well. We’ll just look forward to rehabbing him and getting him ready for next year.”
LaMelo Ball is far more likely to return this season for the Hornets than second-year center Mark Williams, Roderick Boone of The Charlotte Observer states in a mailbag column. According to Boone, Ball has been “doing just about everything except playing in actual games,” which suggests he could return at some point. The fourth-year guard has had another injury-plagued campaign, appearing in just 22 games due to ankle issues after being limited to 36 last season. Williams, who has only played 19 games due to a back injury, hasn’t been participating in any team-related on-court activities, and Boone would be stunned if he actually plays again in ’23/24. Boone also discusses who might be the primary backup point guard behind Ball and Grant Williams‘ future with the team, among other topics.

Eastern Notes: Gobert, Fournier, Van Gundy, Wizards, Black, Howard, Hayward

October 15th, 2023 at 8:33pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Timberwolves center Rudy Gobert is disappointed that fellow Frenchman Evan Fournier has an uncertain future with the Knicks and an undefined role, he told Stefan Bondy of the New York Post. Fournier anticipated during the offseason that he would be traded.

Gobert calls Fournier “the best shooter on the Knicks.”

“I think he can contribute and help a lot of teams,” Gobert added. “I think everybody knows it. But it’s kind of weird when you end up on the bench and you don’t really know why. Sometimes you can be stuck in a situation — I know he’s going to have an opportunity again, and everybody will understand that he can help and win. And do it at a high level. And do it every night.”

We have more Eastern Conference news:

Jeff Van Gundy, who was hired by the Celtics as a senior consultant, has a longtime admirer in president of basketball operations Brad Stevens. “Jeff has been an unofficial consultant for so many of us that grew up in coaching for a long time,” Stevens told Adam Himmelsbach of the Boston Globe. “He’s so humble and approachable, and has always gone out of his way to spend time helping others.”
The Wizards’ Deni Avdija (back), Patrick Baldwin Jr. (knee) and Taj Gibson (groin) were all full practice participants on Sunday, Josh Robbins of The Athletic tweets. Anthony Gill (hamstring) and Landry Shamet (toe) were the only players who didn’t fully participate.
Magic coach Jamahl Mosley felt lottery picks Anthony Black and Jett Howard showed improvement in the team’s second preseason contest against Clevleand, according to Jason Beede of the Orlando Sentinel. “That second game, they were settled down,” Mosley said. “Our coaches did a tremendous job of watching film with them to help them see what they’re able to do and they settled in that second game.”
Hornets forward Gordon Hayward (right foot discomfort) missed the team’s preseason contest against Oklahoma City on Sunday, the team’s PR department tweets.

Wizards Notes: Coulibaly, Gill, Avdija, Omoruyi, Lineup

October 13th, 2023 at 8:00am CST by Luke Adams

It raised some eyebrows around the NBA when the Wizards traded up to No. 7 in June’s draft to nab French forward Bilal Coulibaly, who played second fiddle to Victor Wembanyama for the Metropolitans 92 last season. But Coulibaly, the NBA’s third-youngest player, has impressed the team with his poise and maturity so far this fall, writes Josh Robbins of The Athletic.

“I think that’s unique for a teenager,” head coach Wes Unseld Jr. said of Coulibaly’s mindset. “It doesn’t seem like he gets rattled. He’s not overly demonstrative in any way, but I think he’s got the right approach.”

Third-year wing Corey Kispert said that Coulibaly has had to learn a lot in his first NBA training camp and preseason, joking that the rookie has been forced to “drink out of a fire hose” in taking in all the information the Wizards are throwing at him. However, Kispert added that he has been “nothing but impressed” with Coulibaly so far.

According to Ava Wallace of The Washington Post, Unseld said this week that the plan for Coulibaly this season is to give him a “steady diet” of meaningful minutes in games. That might happen in the NBA with the Wizards or in the G League with the Capital City Go-Go. The franchise doesn’t want to rush the developmental process with the 19-year-old, and he’s on board with that plan.

“I know I’m young,” Coulibaly said. “I’ll take the time that it will take.”

Here’s more out of D.C.:

The Wizards announced on Thursday that forward Anthony Gill has suffered a strained left hamstring and will be sidelined for the next two or three weeks, tweets Wallace. That means Gill likely won’t be available when the club’s regular season begins on October 25.
Deni Avdija, who has missed the Wizards’ first two preseason games due to back tightness, was a full participant in practice on Wednesday and could’ve played on Thursday if needed, tweets Robbins. It’s sounds like Avdija will be good to go for the start of the regular season, barring a setback.
Wallace shares some takeaways from the Wizards’ first two preseason games, singling out two-way player Eugene Omoruyi as an under-the-radar standout and observing that the club’s starting lineup is beginning to take shape. Tyus Jones, Jordan Poole, Coulibaly, Kyle Kuzma, and Daniel Gafford have started both preseason contests for Washington, though Wallace suspects Avdija may supplant Coulibaly in that five-man group once he returns.
With Bradley Beal no longer in Washington, which player or players might emerge as the locker room leader(s) in 2023/24? Candace Buckner of The Washington Post explores that topic, writing that those leadership roles will come down to stature and won’t simply fall to the highest-paid players by default.