Bradley Beal

Wizards Notes: Anderson, Schofield, Smith

October 3rd, 2019 at 10:04pm CST by ChrisCrouse

Justin Anderson is hoping to make the Wizards‘ roster and knows the role he has to play to get there, as I wrote on SLAM Newswire.

“I’m not a guy that’s going to iso and score buckets. That’s not my game. My game is to play a role, fill a void, play defense, play hard, play passionately,” Anderson said.

Washington has 13 players under guaranteed deals, but Anderson is not one of them, meaning he’ll likely compete with a handful of players for the last two spots on the roster, as our own Luke Adams detailed earlier today. Anderson, who is from Virginia and played his collegiate ball at the University of Virginia, would love the opportunity to play for the Wizards, with his family close by.

“It’s the opportunity of a lifetime,” he said. “We see Kawhi and Paul George, they get to go back home. You see it happen on all levels. Everyone is excited to go back home.”

Here’s more from training camp in Washington:

Second-round pick Admiral Schofield was forced out of a scrimmage today with what appeared to be a leg injury. There’s no word yet on the severity of the injury.
Earlier in the week, Ish Smith compared playing alongside Bradley Beal to his time playing alongside Blake Griffin. “Shooting the basketball when I’m open, cutting sometimes, mixing it up and playing it off the catch,” Smith said of the style he expects to play while on the court next to Beal. With Isaiah Thomas and John Wall sidelined, Smith is the favorite to open the season as the team’s starting point guard.
The two starting forward positions are also up for grabs during camp. Rui Hachimura and Davis Bertans could end up with those spots, though that would leave one of the two players playing out of his best position. Thomas Bryant and Beal are the only two starters that are essentially set in stone.
As we passed along earlier today, Ian Mahinmi will miss at least six weeks with a strained Achilles. Of the Wizards’ 13 players with guaranteed deals, five are currently injured.

Southeast Notes: Beal, J. Johnson, Hornets, Magic

October 2nd, 2019 at 12:03pm CST by Luke Adams

With John Wall expected to miss most or all of the 2019/20 season due to his torn Achilles and Isaiah Thomas sidelined with a thumb injury to start the year, the Wizards find themselves thin at point guard — Ish Smith is the only NBA veteran on the depth chart. However, star shooting guard Bradley Beal sounds prepared to slide down to the one and assume some of the ball-handling responsibilities if he’s asked to, as Chase Hughes of NBC Sports Washington relays.

“I’m always comfortable with that,” Beal told Hughes. “[Wizards head coach Scott] Brooks knows that and I’ve done it the last couple of years. If that time comes, I’m more than prepared and willing to do it.

“I’m confident that no one can take my ball,” he added. “I’m not a point guard, but I can play the position. If needed to, I can run the team for sure.”

Beal, who took on a greater offensive role last season when Wall went down, averaged a career-high 5.5 assists per game in 2018/19. It was the third consecutive year in which he established a new career-best in APG, and Brooks wouldn’t be surprised if it happens again this season. According to Hughes, the head coach said he could envision Beal averaging seven dimes per game.

Here’s more from around the Southeast:

James Johnson, who is away from the Heat for a second day after failing to meet his conditioning requirements, has been in touch with the team’s trainers but is working out on his own, a source tells Ira Winderman of The South Florida Sun Sentinel (Twitter link).
Hornets big man Cody Zeller said on the first day of camp that it felt like “something is missing” in Charlotte without Kemba Walker in the locker room, writes Steve Reed of The Associated Press. Zeller added that it was especially tough to lose Walker because he felt like the Hornets were “close” to breaking through and becoming a playoff team.
Magic president of basketball operations Jeff Weltman spoke to Josh Robbins of The Athletic about the club’s offseason moves and decisions, and the plans for the 14th and 15th spots on the regular season roster. Weltman was evasive when he discussed those final roster spots, but hinted that the team may not carry a 15th man to start the season.
In a separate story for The Athletic, Robbins notes that things feel a little different this year in training camp for the Magic. After a six-year playoff drought, the club made it back to the postseason last spring, and expectations have increased as a result.

Wizards Notes: Beal, Thomas, Thorn, Tanking

October 1st, 2019 at 12:59pm CST by Arthur Hill

Bradley Beal has an important financial decision to make, but the Wizards star insists that money won’t be the deciding factor, writes Fred Katz of The Athletic. The front office gave Beal a $111MM extension offer more than two months ago. He hasn’t signed it and hasn’t made a decision on whether he wants to remain in Washington long term. At Media Day, he told reporters that the chance to be on a contender will matter more than the size of the deal.

“I can really retire today and be OK. … So, I want everybody to understand, it’s not the money,” Beal said. “It’s not the money factor here. It’s me. It’s, OK, what’s the direction the team’s going in? Are we gonna win? Is this what we want? We know that this is probably gonna be a development year. It’s gonna be one of those types of years. So, does Bradley Beal wanna be a part of that ultimately? And that’s something I have to ask myself and something I’m probably still not done asking myself. So, I’m gonna use all my time until I can.”

October 21 is the deadline for Beal to accept the current deal, but turning it down won’t signal the end of his time with the Wizards. He will be eligible for a longer, more lucrative deal as a free agent in 2021, and an All-NBA nod would qualify him for a super-max contract that could reach up to $250MM over five years.

There’s more from D.C. on the first day of camp:

A lot of contenders would like to find a way to add Beal this season, notes John Hollinger of The Athletic. The former Grizzlies executive writes that swapping newly signed D’Angelo Russell for Beal is a “dream scenario” for the Warriors. He mentions the Lakers, Raptors, Nuggets and Celtics as teams that would also be interested if Beal becomes available.
Isaiah Thomas is trying to laugh off his latest injury, a torn ligament in his left thumb that will force him to miss the entire preseason, according to Candace Buckner of The Washington Post. It’s the latest in a series of physical mishaps for Thomas since his last All-Star appearance in 2016/17. “I was in there laughing because I’m like: ‘Damn. It’s always something,’” Thomas said. “But at the end of the day, this won’t break me. I’ve been through way worse.”
Rod Thorn, who has more than 40 years of experience as an NBA executive, will serve as a senior advisor to GM Tommy Sheppard, Buckner tweets.
With John Wall possibly out for the entire season and a roster filled with young players, the Wizards are in a perfect position to tank, observes Sean Deveney of Heavy. “Keeping (Wall) out, trying to see if you can find a diamond in the rough by playing a bunch of non-guaranteed (contract) guys, that’s the way they have to go,” a rival executive said. “It’s tanking, but you can’t blame them.”

Southeast Notes: Kidd-Gilchrist, Pasecniks, Beal, Fultz

September 30th, 2019 at 9:59pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Hornets forward Michael Kidd-Gilchrist comes into camp without a clearly defined role, Rick Bonnell of the Charlotte Observer writes. Kidd-Gilchrist opted in to his $13MM contract this season rather than pursue free agency, which he did for his family’s financial security, Bonnell continues. Kidd-Gilchrist’s stock has plummeted in recent seasons and he would have had to settle for a major pay cut if he had dipped his toe into the free agent pool. He was used sparingly last season by coach James Borrego and it’s uncertain if that will change. “I don’t know,” Kidd-Gilchrist said of how he fits on the current roster.

We have more from the Southeast Division:

Center Anzejs Pasecniks will play for the Wizards’ G League affiliate, the Capital City Go-Go, Chase Hughes of NBC Sports Washington tweets. Pasecniks, a 2017 first-round pick by the Sixers, played for the Wizards during the Las Vegas Summer League. Philadelphia renounced its rights to Pasecniks during the offseason.
Count Wizards guard Bradley Beal among the stars interested in playing for Team USA in the Olympics next summer, Candace Buckner of the Washington Post tweets. “I don’t plan on having a son this next summer. Or daughter! I don’t plan on having no kids, let’s say that,” he said.
Magic guard Markelle Fultz plans to play in the team’s preseason opener on Saturday, Josh Robbins of The Athletic tweets. Fultz appeared in 19 games with the Sixers last season but has yet to make his Orlando debut. The No. 1 overall pick in 2017 was traded to the Magic in February.

Wizards Notes: Sheppard, Wall, Roster, Brooks

September 29th, 2019 at 11:50am CST by Arthur Hill

New GM Tommy Sheppard indicated in a press conference this week that the Wizards will be giving a lot more minutes to younger players this year, relays Fred Katz of The Athletic. Sheppard stated that the organization wants to have each rookie play at least 1,500 minutes between the NBA and the G League. That represents a significant change from last season, when Bradley Beal led the league in minutes played and coach Scott Brooks relied heavily on his veterans.

Washington has a pair of rookies with guaranteed contracts in Rui Hachimura and Admiral Schofield, so they should see plenty of time with the Wizards. Garrison Mathews, who has a two-way deal, and Justin Robinson, who wasn’t drafted but has a chance to make the final roster, could both wind up at Capital City. Troy Brown, Moritz Wagner, Isaac Bonga and Jemerrio Jones, all second-year players who didn’t see much time last season, may spend time there as well.

“We gotta show them why and how it’s good for them,” Sheppard said about selling the approach to veterans. “But I think they’re active participants in it, and I think everybody appreciates that we’re trying to prolong careers. You make a bad decision on a player — they go out, and they pop a hamstring, or something happens which could’ve been avoided because of fatigue factor we didn’t recognize — that’s on us.”

There’s more from D.C., all courtesy of Katz:

John Wall is serving as a virtual assistant coach while he waits to return from a ruptured Achilles that may sideline him for the entire season. Sheppard said Wall is helping to teach the younger players, and the team won’t pressure him to try to return. “We’re not waiting on a calendar. There’s not a clock when he comes back,” he said. “He comes back when he’s 100 percent.”
The Wizards have 13 players with guaranteed contracts and may opt to go with a 14-player roster rather than the maximum of 15. “If you have 15 players and one gets hurt, (using a two-way player) is the only way you can plug it,” Sheppard said. “You have 14 players; you can sign somebody and bring them in that’s not in the G League. It gives you optionality … My vision, putting rosters together, it doesn’t make a lot of sense not to hold back a roster spot for the competition, for the inevitable injury, something.” Jordan McRae, who has a $400K guarantee, is considered likely to earn a roster spot, according to Katz, but injuries to Wall and Isaiah Thomas increase the need for another point guard.
Brooks, who is entering the fourth year of his five-year contract, will be judged on building a positive culture rather than wins and losses, Sheppard adds.

Wizards Rumors: Beal, DPE, Wall, Brooks

September 26th, 2019 at 12:39pm CST by Luke Adams

When Bradley Beal become eligible for a contract extension in July, the Wizards reportedly offered the most lucrative possible long-term deal they could (three years, $111.8MM). Two months later, they still don’t have an answer from Beal, who isn’t talking as if a new contract is his top priority at the moment.

In a conversation with NBC Sports Washington’s Chris Miller (video link), Beal said he hasn’t been thinking about an extension, preferring to let his agent handle his contract situation. However, he also stressed that he’s not looking for an exit from the Wizards.

“Honestly you might slap me, but I haven’t thought about it,” Beal said. “I’m just getting better and letting my agent, [GM] Tommy [Sheppard], and everybody else deal with it. I just go hoop. Every day I see somebody and they ask ‘Beal, you leaving?’ and I’m like ‘I’m still living in D.C., I ain’t going nowhere.'”

Acknowledging that he’s aware of speculation about his future and the fact that fans want an answer, Beal said that he likes being a member of the Wizards, hinting that the grass wouldn’t necessarily be greener if he were to go elsewhere.

“It’s a great thing that a lot of people love your game and want you on their team,” Beal said. “But I love the situation I have too. Not every situation would be my situation.”

Sheppard said today that he’s giving Beal space to consider the team’s extension offer, and that it will be up to him to make a decision by October 21 (Twitter link via Chase Hughes of NBC Sports Washington). Because the All-Star guard still has two guaranteed years left on his current contract, he can’t sign an in-season extension. As we’ve noted previously, waiting until at least 2020 to sign a new deal would give him the best chance to maximize his earnings.

Here’s more on the Wizards:

Having assumed control of the Wizards’ front office this summer, Sheppard and his group are prioritizing players who embody the “Wizards Way,” as Gene Wang of The Washington Post relays. “I think we’re still evaluating the best way to express it, but we know what we don’t want the Wizards Way to look like,” Sheppard said. “We don’t want players that don’t want to be here. We don’t want people to have contracts that far exceed what they produce result-wise. We don’t want unhappy people that are going to cause disintegration in our locker room. That’s the way out. That’s the Wizards’ way out, so what we’re trying to onboard now, talent, of course, but high character, hard-driven, value-driven people that we can back with data that have places in our locker room.”
The Wizards still haven’t gotten an answer on whether their disabled player exception request for John Wall will be approved, Sheppard said today (Twitter link via Hughes). The club applied all the way back at the start of July, so it appears it wasn’t a slam-dunk decision. An NBA-designated physician will have to determine whether Wall is “substantially more likely than not” to be out of action through at least June 15, 2020.
Hughes adds in the same tweet that Wall will be helping out the coaching staff this season as he recovers from his Achilles tear. The veteran point guard will have a few players to whom he’s specifically assigned.
It will be a pivotal year for head coach Scott Brooks in Washington, according to Hughes, who writes at NBC Sports Washington that the season could go a number of different ways. It remains an open question whether Brooks will be coaching the Wizards beyond 2019/20, says Hughes.
The Wizards signed Chris Chiozza and finalized their 20-man training camp roster, as we detailed earlier today.

Wizards GM Reiterates Desire To Keep Bradley Beal

September 11th, 2019 at 10:51am CST by Luke Adams

After a wild NBA offseason in which several All-Stars changed teams, there are few intriguing trade candidates left on the market. While league observers have speculated that Bradley Beal could be the next star to be shopped, new Wizards general manager Tommy Sheppard reiterated to Brad Botkin of CBS Sports that trading Beal isn’t an idea the club is considering.

“The way that I look at this is pretty simple,” Sheppard said. “If you were looking to build a team, Brad would be the type of player anyone would want to start with. You look at the character, the talent, the age, just the whole package … Brad is without a doubt a core player in this league. Every team would love to have him, and we do.

“So we’ve never considered anything other than a situation where Brad is with us and leading us forward. We made that clear to him on the first day we could offer him an extension, and we’ll continue to make that clear.”

As Sheppard notes, Beal became eligible to sign a contract extension earlier this offseason, and the Wizards reportedly put the most lucrative possible offer on the table as soon as they were allowed to do so. However, if the All-Star shooting guard wants to maximize his potential earnings, it’s in his best interest to wait until at least next summer to sign a new deal, even if he’d like to stay in D.C.

It remains to be seen just how serious Beal is about sticking with the Wizards. He talked earlier this summer about wanting to see what sort of direction the team went in with its front office and its roster, so he has certainly been monitoring Sheppard’s first offseason as the club’s head of basketball operations. Obviously, if Beal were to request a trade, the Wizards may be forced to reconsider their stance on keeping him long-term, but there’s no indication that he plans to make such a request.

With the Wizards expected to be a lottery team in 2019/20 and Beal’s contract set to expire after the 2020/21 season, this will be a situation worth watching, but for now Sheppard remains steadfast in his desire to build around the 26-year-old.

Wizards Notes: Beal, Bertans, McRae, Jamison

September 2nd, 2019 at 10:46am CST by Arthur Hill

Bradley Beal still has a shot at a super-max contract, but the Wizards‘ lack of success on the court may stand in his way, writes Chase Hughes of NBC Sports Washington. Beal can make himself eligible for the deal, which would pay about $254MM over five years, by making an All-NBA team. He fell just short last season despite averaging 25.6 PPG, and Washington’s 32-50 record may have hurt his cause.

The Wizards will likely be even worse this year after launching a youth movement. Tomas Satoransky, Trevor Ariza, Jeff Green, Bobby Portis and Jabari Parker are all gone from last season’s team, and more minutes will go to Troy Brown Jr. and rookie Rui Hachimura. Hughes notes that Westgate Sportsbook has set Washington’s over-under on wins at 28.5. It has been 15 years since a player has made an All-NBA team while winning fewer than 29 games.

There’s more news from Washington:

Davis Bertans, who was acquired in a trade with the Spurs, will probably start at power forward until Hachimura proves he’s ready, predicts Fred Katz of The Athletic. Hachimura could still win the job with an outstanding performance in camp, but Katz sees Bertans as the safer choice. He doesn’t believe they’ll be in the starting lineup together, even if C.J. Miles isn’t able to play at the start of the season.
Jordan McRae received additional guaranteed money by staying on the roster through 5:00pm Eastern time yesterday, tweets Bobby Marks of ESPN. McRae’s guarantee on his $1,645,357 contract doubled from $200K to $400K. He will get another $200K if he makes the opening-night roster. McRae appeared in 27 games as a two-way player last season and will be fighting for a roster spot in training camp, as the Wizards have just 13 fully guaranteed contracts.
Antawn Jamison tells Candace Buckner of The Washington Post he’s enjoying his new role as director of pro personnel. Jamison decided to leave television behind when new GM Tommy Sheppard offered him the job. “This is … my calling as far as after basketball and being in the front office and being a piece of the puzzle in trying to put the right pieces together,” Jamison said. “This is going to be fun. I love being able to come back to D.C. and being around people I respect and people who respect me. Out of all the things that have happened after basketball, this might be the smoothest transition.”

Southeast Notes: Washington, Butler, Beal, Heat

August 29th, 2019 at 6:32pm CST by clarkcrum

Hornets‘ rookie forward PJ Washington, the 12th overall pick in the 2019 NBA Draft, is ready for training camp after a nagging foot injury that kept him out of summer league, notes Rick Bonnell of the Charlotte Observer.

“I’m pretty much cleared to do everything,” Washington said. “After summer league, it was about two weeks.”

As Bonnell notes, head coach James Borrego relayed back in July, the day before leaving for Las Vegas, that the Hornets were taking the precaution of shutting down Washington for summer league after pain in Washington’s left foot which caused him to miss two NCAA tournament games with Kentucky lingered upon his entry into the NBA.

Washington, who is expected to line up mostly at power forward this upcoming season, may see some time in the G League with both Marvin Williams and Miles Bridges already set to see a plethora of playing time at the four.

There’s more from the Southeast Division this evening:

Per Ira Winderman of The Sun-Sentinel, it’s very important for new Heat superstar Jimmy Butler to come into training camp ready to be the team leader, a role he struggled with in his previous NBA stops.
According to Rachel Hopmayer of NBC Sports Washington, Wizards shooting guard Bradley Beal refused to sit out last season when playoff hope was lost because – as he told head coach Scott Brooks – he signed up to be the leader of the Wizards and do it every night.
Winderman adds in a separate piece that the Heat, because they are not in contention mode, should focus on developing players based on where their potential lies, not on current talent level.

Latest On Bradley Beal

August 21st, 2019 at 5:30pm CST by ChrisCrouse

Bradley Beal hasn’t yet made a decision on his long-term future. He’s two years away from hitting the open market and even if he is leaning one way now, two seasons is a lot of time for a player to change his mind.

With all that said, Barry Jackson of the Miami Herald hears from a source that if Beal decides to leave Washington in 2021, Miami is expected to receive “serious consideration.” The source wouldn’t call the Heat or any team the favorite for Beal’s services.

Miami’s interest in Beal is no secret. Miami will surely target Beal in the 2021 offseason if he makes it to the open market. There were rumblings that Miami was looking to deal for him this summer and that there were talks within the franchise about a willingness to take back John Wall and his contract in a trade for Beal. There has been no indication that Washington is looking to make any sort of trade.

Beal remains open to signing long-term with the Wizards. While he’s not inking the extension he’s currently eligible for, that has more to do with the financial incentives than his commitment to the team. Beal can sign a three-year deal worth approximately $112MM as soon as he wants — or he could wait until next summer and sign a more lucrative max extension. By waiting, Beal can sign a deal that comes in at four years and $154.6MM if he doesn’t make an All-NBA team and five years and up to $253.8MM if he does.

Washington has undergone a makeover in the front office, adding top executive talent to coincide with the promotion of GM Tommy Sheppard as the organization shifts to a data-driven, collaborative structure. It’s been reported that Beal has had questions about the future of the franchise, though all indicators since the team announced those changes this summer have been positive.

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