Daniel Gafford Rumors | Hoops Rumors

MRI Set For Wizards Center Daniel Gafford

October 27th, 2021 at 9:57pm CST by Arthur Hill

Daniel Gafford will undergo an MRI on Thursday after leaving tonight’s game with a right quad contusion, tweets Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN.

The Wizards center was injured in the second quarter when he banged knees with the Celtics’ Jaylen Brown, who remained in the game. Gafford fell to the court in obvious pain and grabbed the back of his leg before being escorted to the locker room.

An extended absence for Gafford would be a tough blow for Washington — the team is already playing without Thomas Bryant, who is recovering from an ACL tear he suffered last season and is hoping to return in December. If Gafford is out, the starting center duties figure to go to Montrezl Harrell, who was acquired in a trade with the Lakers over the summer.

Gafford, 23, blossomed after the Wizards picked him up in a deal with the Bulls at the March deadline. He was averaging 9.7 points, 4.0 rebounds and 2.3 blocks through the first three games of the season. Earlier this month, he signed a three-year, $40.2MM extension that runs through the 2025/26 season.

Wizards Notes: Gafford, Beal, Leonsis, Dinwiddie

October 23rd, 2021 at 11:05am CST by Dana Gauruder

Wizards owner Ted Leonsis considers Daniel Gafford a “core piece,” which is why the organization chose to give the young big man an extension, as he told Chase Hughes of NBC Sports Washington.

“I think he’s a core piece. To have a center that young with that kind of defensive presence, I think you saw that (in Wednesday’s opener),” Leonsis said. “People were thinking twice before coming into the lane. A couple of blocks kind of gets in their head. We haven’t had that kind of size, skill and leaping ability in a long, long time.”

Gafford’s three-year extension is worth $40.2MM.

We have more on the Wizards:

Bradley Beal missed the team’s 135-134 overtime win over Indiana on Friday with a right hip contusion, Hughes tweets. Coach Wes Unseld Jr. is optimistic Beal will return to action on Monday at Brooklyn, according to The Associated Press.
The franchise has a max extension offer on the table for Beal but Leonsis isn’t fretting over the fact his star player is taking a wait-and-see approach, Hughes writes in a separate story. Beal can choose to opt out after this season if he wants to seek a new opportunity or if he wants to maximize his earnings with the Wizards. “Brad and I have a very respectful, very honest relationship. … He will obviously always do what’s right for his family. We will do what’s right for the organization,” Leonsis said. “I believe — and I think he believes — that there is synergy in what’s best for him and what’s best for us. It’s not something he’s obsessing over or we’re obsessing over.”
Key offseason addition Spencer Dinwiddie carried the team to its overtime win on Friday with 34 points and nine assists. Dinwiddie, acquired in a sign-and-trade, made several clutch 3-pointers and calls himself one of the league’s best in that department, Ava Wallace of the Washington Post writes. “Look, I get it, I’m not the sexiest name, nor do I [pretend to be] Dame [Lillard] or Steph [Curry] or none of those guys. But those things happen; the proof is in the pudding,” he said. “Like, game-winning shots, we can go on YouTube and look at mine. And if Brad’s out, I probably will be the one taking those most times, I would say.”

Southeast Notes: Magic, Gafford, Hachimura, Collins, Bridges

October 19th, 2021 at 1:18pm CST by Arthur Hill

The Magic are being realistic about their expectations as they prepare for a season that will likely end with another trip to the draft lottery, writes Chris Hays of The Orlando Sentinel. With the league’s third-youngest roster at an average age of 24.7 years, Orlando will focus on developing its young talent rather than wins and losses.

“I don’t really set benchmark goals. I always believe that if you play the right way and play together, then the results will kind if speak for themselves,” said president of basketball operations Jeff Weltman. “Obviously, we’ve recalibrated what we’re doing right now, so with this group I do expect us to play hard. This is about growth. This is about the development of our players. It’s about a lot of young guys learning what it takes to win in the NBA.”

Weltman has upended the Magic’s roster since the March trade deadline, shipping out most of the team’s veterans in exchange for young players and draft assets. Mohamed Bamba, who is about to start his fourth season, is now second on the team in most games played for Orlando, and admitted surprise at becoming a veteran leader so quickly.

“I just try to do my part,” he said. “I don’t try to do too much, I don’t over-extend myself and when the younger guys come to me for anything, I try do the best I can to help.”

There’s more from the Southeast Division:

Daniel Gafford‘s three-year extension shows the value the Wizards place on their young center, observes Chase Hughes of NBC Sports Washington. The team also has Thomas Bryant, the starting center before being injured last year, along with Montrezl Harrell, who was acquired in an offseason trade, but management decided to make a long-term commitment to Gafford, who is now the team’s only player signed through the 2025/26 season.
Wizards forward Rui Hachimura has cleared the league’s health and safety protocols and has returned to the team, Hughes tweets. However, he won’t travel with his teammates to Toronto for Wednesday’s season opener, according to Ava Wallace of The Washington Post (Twitter link). Hachimura will remain in Washington and will continue individual workouts with assistant coaches.
Hawks big man John Collins is relieved not to have to think about his contract situation this season after signing a five-year, $125MM deal with the team over the summer, he tells Chris Kirschner of The Athletic. “It’s like getting a full, restful night of sleep. That’s what it felt like to sign the paper,” Collins said. “That relief of stress and pressure just felt like I was fully awake now. It put me in a better mood. It took me a while to understand the stress but in the moment, it’s just pure bliss.”
Miles Bridges didn’t work out a contract extension with the Hornets by Monday’s deadline, but he tells Rod Boone of The Charlotte Observer that he loves playing in the city. “I’m just going to continue to get better,” he said, “and hopefully I can stay with the Hornets my whole career.”

Wizards Extend Daniel Gafford Through 2025/26

October 19th, 2021 at 10:40am CST by Luke Adams

10:40am: The Wizards have officially announced Gafford’s extension, confirming the move in a press release.

“We’re very excited to extend Daniel’s contract and continue to see him develop within our system after his athleticism on both ends of the floor made such an immediate impact for us last season,” GM Tommy Sheppard said in a statement. “We are confident that he has the character and drive to keep working hard to improve his overall game and become an even bigger part of what we are building with our team.”

5:49am: The Wizards and big man Daniel Gafford agreed to a three-year contract extension late on Monday night, according to Shams Charania of The Athletic (Twitter link), who reports that Gafford’s new contract will be worth $40.2MM.

Gafford, the 38th overall pick in the 2019 draft, spent the first year-and-a-half of his NBA career with the Bulls and played a modest role for the club, averaging 5.0 PPG, 2.8 RPG, and 1.2 BPG in 74 contests (13.4 MPG). He was sent to the Wizards in a three-team deal at the 2021 trade deadline.

In D.C., Gafford enjoyed a mini-breakout in 23 games down the stretch, putting up 10.1 PPG, 5.6 RPG, and 1.8 BPG in just 17.7 minutes per contest. Although the Wizards acquired Montrezl Harrell in the offseason and will be getting Thomas Bryant back from his ACL tear this winter, the team envisions the athletic Gafford playing a key rotation role at the five.

Gafford’s minimum-salary contract pays him approximately $1.78MM this season and includes a $1.93MM team option for the 2022/23 season. According to Charania (Twitter link), the new deal will run through the ’25/26 season, which suggests Gafford’s option for next season is being exercised as part of the agreement, with the new deal going into effect in ’23/24.

Monday was the last day for extension-eligible players with multiple years left on their current deals to sign new contracts. Since Gafford’s option is being picked up, he fits that bill, which is why he and the Wizards had to beat the clock late last night. If they hadn’t finalized an extension on Monday, Gafford wouldn’t have been eligible to sign a new contract until the 2022 offseason.

A player signing a veteran contract extension is typically eligible to receive up to a 20% raise on the salary in the final year of his current contract. However, someone like Gafford, who is earning a smaller salary, can sign an extension that starts at up to 20% of the NBA’s “estimated average salary” in the year which the extension is signed. This year’s estimated average salary is $10.335MM, so a 20% bump to that figure would get Gafford a starting salary of about $12.4MM and a three-year total in excess of $40MM, assuming 8% annual raises.

Cap/Contract Notes: Taxpayers, Allen, Carter, Shamet, Gafford

October 19th, 2021 at 10:10am CST by Luke Adams

Now that all 30 regular season rosters have been set, 10 teams project to be taxpayers, tweets ESPN’s Bobby Marks. The Warriors, Nets, Clippers, Lakers, Bucks, Jazz, Sixers, Celtics, Trail Blazers, and Raptors are currently over the luxury tax threshold.

Some of those teams are in better shape than others. While the Warriors ($159.9MM) and Nets ($110.4MM) project to have nine-figure tax bills, the Raptors are barely into tax territory and should be able to sneak below the line, perhaps by waiving one of their two players who have partially guaranteed deals.

Besides Golden State and Brooklyn, the Clippers, Lakers, Bucks, and Jazz all have projected tax bills exceeding $33MM, according to Marks. The Sixers, Celtics, Blazers, and Raptors would owe less than $8MM each based on the current numbers.

Of course, these numbers can and will change over the course of the season as teams make roster moves, since tax bills are determined by the team’s year-end salary. For now though, the 20 non-taxpayers project to receive year-end payments of $12.7MM, Marks notes.

Here are a few more cap- and contract-related notes from around the NBA:

Grayson Allen‘s two-year extension with the Bucks features a base value of $17MM ($8.5MM per year) in guaranteed money, plus incentives, tweets Michael Scotto of HoopsHype. The exact value of the incentives is $1.275MM annually, Hoops Rumors has learned. Currently, those are a mix of likely and unlikely bonuses, but since the deal doesn’t begin until 2022/23, those likely/unlikely designations will ultimately be based on what happens this coming season.
Wendell Carter Jr.‘s four-year extension with the Magic has a descending structure, Scotto tweets. It starts at $14.15MM in year one and dips to $10.85MM by year four. The deal is fully guaranteed, with no options.
In addition to having a team option on its fourth year, Landry Shamet‘s extension with the Suns has a non-guaranteed salary in year three, Hoops Rumors has learned. The last two years both have June 29 trigger dates, in 2024 and 2025. Only $19.75MM of Shamet’s $42.5MM deal is fully guaranteed for now.
Daniel Gafford‘s three-year extension with the Wizards doesn’t include any options or incentives, tweets John Hollinger of The Athletic.

Southeast Notes: Gafford, Bradley, Heat, Magic

September 26th, 2021 at 5:50pm CST by JD Shaw

Wizards head coach Wes Unseld Jr. recently praised center Daniel Gafford, calling the 22-year-old a unique defensive talent, as Chase Hughes of NBC Sports Washington writes. Gafford was acquired by the team in a three-team deal last March.

“I’ll say this, I haven’t had the opportunity over the past few years to have a dynamic guy like that,” Unseld said. “The shot-blocking, his ability to change shots around the rim, to run the floor, to finish above the rim and be a presence to put pressure on the rim as a roller. His flexibility, his versatility; he’s very fluid. For a lot of guys that big, it doesn’t come easy.”

In his 23 games with the Wizards last season, Gafford averaged 10.1 points, 5.6 rebounds, 1.8 blocks and 17.7 minutes per contest. He’s expected to compete for minutes this season in a Washington frontcourt that features Thomas Bryant and Montrezl Harrell.

Here are some other notes from the Southeast Division:

Ira Winderman of the Sun Sentinel explores whether the Heat should’ve brought back Avery Bradley. Bradley, who played 10 games for Miami last season, ultimately decided to sign a deal with the Warriors, having reportedly not received much interest from the Heat. Miami could still use some backcourt depth — especially if Victor Oladipo (quadriceps tendon rehab) isn’t close to a return.
Speaking of the Heat, Anthony Chiang of the Miami Herald offered a breakdown of the team’s roster entering training camp. Miami currently has a full 20-man squad, including four players on Exhibit 10 contracts.
Josh Robbins of The Athletic examines what the Magic would consider a successful start of the season to be. Orlando is entering a rebuild year, sporting a young core that includes Markelle Fultz, Jalen Suggs, Jonathan Isaac and Wendell Carter Jr.

Wizards Notes: Offseason, Centers, Defense, Go-Go

September 9th, 2021 at 8:08pm CST by Rory Maher

The Wizards had an extremely busy offseason, headlined by the massive five-team trade that saw the team send Russell Westbrook to the Lakers and second-round picks all over the place, with the Wizards acquiring Spencer Dinwiddie, Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, Kyle Kuzma, Montrezl Harrell, Aaron Holiday, and 31st overall pick Isaiah Todd.

The team is undeniably deeper now, but is it better? Zach Harper of The Athletic isn’t sure, but in his offseason report, he says Washington’s newfound depth ultimately wins out, assigning the team a B grade for its work this summer.

We have more on the Wizards:

Harper asked Fred Katz of The Athletic, the Wizards’ beat writer, the same question. Katz thinks the team is about on par with where it was at the end of last season, in the range of the play-in tournament for the East.
In Katz’ own Q&A mailbag, he speculates that Daniel Gafford will be the Wizards’ opening night starting center, partly because Thomas Bryant is still recovering from the torn ACL he suffered last season. Katz notes that Gafford needs to improve his conditioning to play more minutes, and is reported to be a hard worker. It remains to be seen how Harrell will fit into the rotation once Bryant recovers, as Katz views Bryant as a better defender and a much better shooter.
Harper and Katz both believe Caldwell-Pope and Kuzma will help the team on defense, but the Wizards will likely miss Robin Lopez on both ends of the floor. The two Athletic writers are also curious to see how new coach Wes Unseld Jr. handles the rotations, because one drawback of having so much depth is the limited amount of minutes available for several talented players.
In a lengthy article on the team’s G League affiliate, the Capital City Go-Go, Jackson Flynn of WashingtonWizards.com spoke to several members of the organization about how they utilize the Go-Go to develop not just their young players, but young coaches and front-office personnel as well. New Go-Go head coach Mike Williams is just 25 years old.

Wizards Notes: Gafford, Bryant, Beal, Dinwiddie

August 29th, 2021 at 11:57am CST by Arthur Hill

Daniel Gafford had the best stretch of his brief career after being traded to the Wizards in March and he’s spending the summer trying to upgrade his low-post moves, writes Chase Hughes of NBC Sports Washington. With a compressed schedule caused by an early-season outbreak of COVID-19, Washington went weeks without practicing, so Gafford had to save the tweaks to his game for the offseason.

Used as a backup center after being acquired from the Bulls, Gafford averaged 10.1 points, 5.6 rebounds and 1.8 blocks in 23 games. He may take over the starting role this season and wants to become more of a scoring threat.

“I’m really just focusing on if I get the ball down in the post, working on my face-up game,” Gafford said. “Shooting the ball more, just trying to be more of a threat on the floor when I’m out there, during the times that I get on the floor.”

There’s more from Washington:

Injured center Thomas Bryant may be ready to return early in the upcoming season, relays Bijan Todd of NBC Sports Washington. Bryant is working his way back from a torn ACL he suffered in January, and his agent, Todd Ramasar, provided an encouraging update this week on SiriusXM NBA Radio. “He’s doing great. He’s right on track in terms of his recovery,” Ramasar said. “If I’m guestimating in talking to his trainers, he’s probably going to make a return towards the end of this (calendar 2021) year, or let’s say, the beginning of the regular season.”
Bradley Beal is already a nightmare for opposing defenses and he’s working to expand his game even further, Hughes adds in a separate story. Beal hopes to become more effective on longer three-point shots to put pressure on the defense as soon as he crosses half court. “Deeper threes. I’m not trying to compete with (Damian Lillard), I’m not Logo Lillard. But I want to shoot deeper threes and shoot more threes,” Beal said. “You know I need to shoot more threes. You probably say it all the time. And, obviously, make them. I have to make them.”
Beal has been teaming with new backcourt partner Spencer Dinwiddie in pickup games hosted by skills trainer Drew Hanlen, according to Mike DePrisco of NBC Sports.

Unseld Jr.: Dinwiddie, Beal Will Be “Dynamic” Backcourt

August 24th, 2021 at 12:57pm CST by Arthur Hill

Wes Unseld Jr. is excited about the talent he’ll have available with the Wizards in his first NBA head coaching job, writes Fred Katz of The Athletic. Although the former Nuggets associate head coach is leaving the No. 3 seed in the West for a team that had to go through the play-in tournament last season, Unseld believes Washington is ready to compete right away.

He’s particularly thrilled about the addition of guard Spencer Dinwiddie, who agreed to a three-year, $62MM contract in free agency and was acquired in a complex five-team trade. Dinwiddie was a proficient scorer before missing most of last season with a partially torn ACL, and Unseld expects him and Bradley Beal to form a dangerous backcourt.

“On paper, it’s one of the most dynamic 1-2s, 2-1s, however you wanna call it, on the East Coast,” he said. “So, I’m excited to have both those guys. I think they’re about the right thing. I think they’re gonna play together, make us better. Honestly, the way they can score the ball, they’re gonna bail us out of a lot of tough spots.”

Unseld discusses several other topics in the lengthy interview with Katz:

On the versatility of Kyle Kuzma, who was acquired from the Lakers in the deal that included Dinwiddie:

“Whether you wanna call him a two, three or four, he’s gonna be out there. He’s gonna space the floor. He’s gonna make shots. I think the game has moved away from the standard point guard, two-guard, small forward, etc. I think you wanna put your best matchups out there.”

On sorting out playing time at center, where Daniel Gafford is expected to start, but Thomas Bryant will return from an ACL injury and newly-acquired Montrezl Harrell will also expect minutes:

“I made this point to those guys when I spoke to them. All of that is great, but all of our decisions are gonna be based on what’s best for the group. I may at times ask somebody to sacrifice a little bit for the betterment of the group. There’s times when I may ask (them) to do more. And I think that’s a fair way to look at it, and I think it’s just one of our pillars. It’s about us. It’s about ‘we,’ not ‘me.’ ”

On the plans for first-round pick Corey Kispert, who joins a team loaded with young wing players:

“I don’t know. I never wanna paint myself into a corner, commit to something I’m uncertain of, but I think he has a good chance to be impactful. I said at draft night, he’s got a discernible NBA talent. His maturity, the fact that he’s played four years at a high level for a great coach — he’s disciplined. He understands his strengths. He’s gonna play to his strengths. And his ability to stretch the defense is a premium in the league.”

On the significant changes the Wizards have undergone since the draft:

“On a macro level, (changes to the team) don’t change our overall philosophy when it comes to spacing, playing with pace, shots, as far as what we value. That doesn’t change. I think you’ve got to shift your gears as far as some of the nuanced things you run. … I think as coaches, we all steal from each other, so there are gonna be some things that are very similar-looking to what you’re accustomed to.”

Trade Rumors: Rubio, Ball, Knicks, Wizards, Simmons

July 29th, 2021 at 1:55pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Ricky Rubio is busy playing the point for Spain in the Olympics but a number of NBA teams are doing due diligence on a potential trade for the veteran point man, Darren Wolfson of KSTP tweets. The Celtics, Clippers and Lakers are keeping tabs on the Timberwolves guard. Rubio has a $17.8MM expiring contract for next season.

We have more trade chatter from around the league:

The Pelicans and Pacers discussed a Lonzo Ball deal, Ian Begley of SNY.TV reports, though it’s unknown if those talks ever reached an advanced level. Ball will be a free agent, so a deal would only be possible via sign-and-trade.
In the same piece, Begley writes that the Knicks plan to maintain enough cap flexibility to pursue top free agents in 2022, a class that could include Zach LaVine and Bradley Beal.
The Wizards have received calls on their best young players, Chase Hughes of NBC Sports Washington reports. Those players are presumably Rui Hachimura, Daniel Gafford and Deni Avdija. The front office could be motivated to move one or more of those players to appease Beal in a win-now scenario.
There’s been plenty of speculation about a potential Ben Simmons trade. The latest from Mark Medina of USA Today (Twitter link) is that the Sixers are looking either for an All-Star talent in return or a starting-caliber player along with multiple draft picks.