Ian Mahinmi Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Wizards Notes: Horford, Mahinmi, Smith, BIG3

April 30th, 2017 at 12:05pm CST by Arthur Hill

Boston’s Al Horford could have been in the visiting locker room as the Eastern Conference semifinals get under way this afternoon, writes J. Michael of CSNMidAtlantic. Before signing a four-year, $113MM deal with the Celtics last summer, Horford narrowed his list to three finalists that also included the Wizards and Rockets. Wizards president Ernie Grunfeld and VP of basketball operations Tommy Sheppard flew to Atlanta to make a personalized pitch to Horford. Point guard John Wall also joined in the recruiting process.

“Me and him had a great conversation,” Wall recalled. “He told me it was down to [us], them and I think Houston. He made his final decision after that, you’ve got to move on. It would’ve been great to have him on our team, but he’s with the Celtics. They had a great season this year. He had a heck of a season and we’re competing against him now so all that texting, all we had is out the window.”

There’s more today out of Washington:

The Wizards have announced that back-up center Ian Mahinmi won’t be available for today’s game (Twitter link). That isn’t suprising, Michael tweets, because Mahinmi hasn’t gone through a full practice since straining his left calf two weeks ago. He has ramped up his individual workouts over the past week, but isn’t ready for game action. Mahinmi played just 31 regular season games after signing a four-year, $64MM deal last offseason, as knee problems limited him to just five games before the All-Star break.
There’s better news about reserve big man Jason Smith, tweets Candace Buckner of The Washington Post. Coach Scott Brooks said Smith will be ready for today’s game. He has been dealing with a left calf strain, but played 11 minutes in Friday’s closeout game against the Hawks.
Four former Wizards players are hoping to be part of the BIG3 league this summer, relays CSNMidAtlantic. Etan Thomas tweeted Saturday that he was at the league’s draft combine along with DeShawn Stevenson, Kwame Brown and Michael Ruffin. The new league, which features three-on-three competition among former NBA players, will hold its draft today in Las Vegas.

Southeast Notes: Spoelstra, Heat, Millsap

April 29th, 2017 at 10:35am CST by Austin Kent

Whenever the time comes that Heat president Pat Riley decides to step down, head coach Erik Spoelstra will be eager to fill the position. Spoelstra recently spoke with Adrian Wojnarowski of The Vertical on his podcast.

“The short answer would be, I’m a Pat Riley disciple. He’s always pushed me and nurtured me for the next step,” he said, adding that through both good and bad, the Heat feel like a family. The coach tempered expectations that anything imminent could happen, however.

“But, yeah, Pat’s going to go on hopefully for a while though. I think he’s younger now than when he was coaching. […] I want this to be the set up that it is. I feel involved, I’m in every meeting that deals with the [Heat] organization and personnel.”

Spoelstra has served as the head coach of the Heat since 2008 and was an assistant coach for ten years before that.

There’s more from the Southeast Division:

Though they may have ultimately lost, Dennis Schroder‘s performance in the first round of the postseason shows just what the Hawks see in him, writes Michael Lee of The Vertical. “Dennis’ competitive spirit and his competitive nature, I think we’re always going to bet on that first,” head coach Mike Budenholzer said.
With their cap space set to shrink in 2018/19, this is the last chance for the Heat to land a major free agent, Tim Bontemps of the Washington Post writes. Gordon Hayward, Blake Griffin and Paul Millsap could be possible options.
Although it appears they’ll offer Cavaliers general manager David Griffin their president of basketball operations position, John Hammond and David Morway are also on the Magic‘s short-list, Steve Kyler of Basketball Insiders tweets.
It’s reasonable to expect Paul Millsap to opt out of his contract this summer but the Hawks forward hasn’t made any decisions about where he’ll go just yet, Ohm Youngmisuk of ESPN writes.
The Wizards won’t need a seventh game to close out the Hawks but even if they did, center Ian Mahinmi wouldn’t have played in it, J. Michael of CSN Mid-Atlantic writes. The big man had said that he hoped he would be able to recover from a strained calf in time to play in the first round.

Injury Updates: Rondo, Mahinmi, Nurkic

April 25th, 2017 at 7:00pm CST by Luke Adams

When the Bulls first announced Rajon Rondo‘s thumb fracture on Friday, they indicated that he’d be re-evaluated in seven to 10 days and may not be ready to return at that time. However, with Chicago’s first round series now tied at two games apiece, it sounds like the veteran point guard may be looking to force the issue.

According to Nick Friedell of ESPN.com, Rondo has been ruled out for Game 5 on Wednesday, but was taking jump shots before Tuesday’s practice, with his hand no longer in a hard cast. Bulls head coach Fred Hoiberg insisted today that it’s still a “long shot” that Rondo gets back on the court in the series, but he acknowledged that it’s a possibility.

“It’s so early in the process,” Hoiberg said of Rondo’s potential return for the Bulls. “Just watching him wince a little bit as the ball was coming to him makes me think it’s a long shot, but if there’s anybody that can do it, will try to fight through it, it’s Rondo. Just because the competitor that he is and obviously wanting to get back out there. Doing everything that he can to put himself into position, knowing that it’s obviously still a long shot for that to happen.”

Here are a couple more updates on noteworthy injuries from around the NBA:

Injured center Ian Mahinmi said today that he still hopes to return to the Wizards before the end of the first round series vs. Atlanta, but he has yet to practice with the team, tweets Candace Buckner of The Washington Post. While Mahinmi says he’s ahead of schedule in his recovery from a strained left calf, head coach Scott Brooks suggests the big man has been ruled out for Game 5, and he’s skeptical about Mahinmi’s availability for Game 6 (Twitter links via Buckner).
With his Trail Blazers out of the playoffs, there’s no longer any need for Jusuf Nurkic to rush his return. Nurkic said today during his exit interview with local media that he expects his leg injury to take about two to three months to heal, per Joe Freeman of The Oregonian (Twitter link).
On Monday, we passed along word that Austin Rivers will return for the Clippers in Tuesday’s Game 5 against Utah. Rivers will be on a minutes restriction tonight.

Wizards Notes: Wall, Mahinmi, Jennings

April 22nd, 2017 at 9:55am CST by Austin Kent

The first round of the 2017 postseason has thus far served as an opportunity for John Wall to showcase his progress as an NBA superstar, Jonathan Tjarks of the Ringer writes in a new feature. These playoffs, he says, belong to the 26-year-old guard.

Up an early two games on the Hawks, Wall and the Wizards have been particularly tough on Atlanta. The relatively unheralded point guard has simply outmatched Dennis Schroder throughout their time on the court together.

Considering that Wall still doesn’t even have a signature shoe deal, as Tjarks points out, he’s flown under the radar compared to his superstar NBA counterparts. That would change if Wall is able to carry the Wizards into an Eastern Conference Finals showdown with the Cavaliers.

There’s more from Washington:

Center Ian Mahinmi didn’t play for the Wizards in either Games 1 or 2 of their first-round series and isn’t expected to be available in the next two either, Ava Wallace of the Washington Post tweets.
The NBA has come down on Kelly Oubre Jr. with a $25K fine for kicking a ball into the stands and striking a spectator, the league announced in a press release. The second-year guard kicked the ball into the air during Washington’s post-game celebration.
Acquired to provide a spark off the bench for the Wizards, Brandon Jennings did exactly that in Washington’s Game 2 over the Hawks. The eight-year veteran has been a valuable source of experience, too, writes Ava Wallace for the Washington Post.

Wizards’ Ian Mahinmi To Miss Start Of Playoffs

April 12th, 2017 at 11:59am CST by Luke Adams

The Wizards will be without a key bench piece when their first-round series against the Hawks gets underway this weekend, reports Candace Buckner of The Washington Post. According to Buckner, veteran center Ian Mahinmi is dealing with a strained left calf, and will miss the team’s regular season finale, in addition to the start of the postseason.

Mahinmi, who sustained the injury on Monday, underwent an MRI that revealed some swelling. While Washington’s playoff schedule hasn’t yet been announced, the team intends to re-evaluate Mahinmi in seven to 10 days, so even if he’s ready to get back on the court at that point, he’d likely miss the first two or three games of the first round.

It’s a disappointing setback for Mahinmi, whose first season with the Wizards after signing a four-year, $64MM deal last summer has been marred by injuries. Although knee problems kept the 30-year-old out of action for most of the first half of the season, he had played well off the bench for Washington over the last couple months, averaging 5.6 PPG, 4.8 RPG, and 1.1 SPG in 31 regular season contests (17.9 MPG).

“We’ll definitely miss Ian because he was actually playing his best basketball, defensively he was giving us a very good rim protector and pick-and-roll player,” Wizards head coach Scott Brooks said. “I’m still confident in the group. We’ll still play hard and play well.”

With Mahinmi out, the Wizards may lean more heavily on starting center Marcin Gortat, with players like Markieff Morris and Jason Smith spelling him as needed.

Southeast Notes: Mahinmi, Ibaka, Ross, Ilyasova

March 29th, 2017 at 7:43pm CST by Arthur Hill

Ian Mahinmi‘s return from injury has brought a defensive presence to the Wizards‘ bench, writes J. Michael of CSNMidAtlantic. He controlled the lane in the fourth quarter of Tuesday’s comeback win over the Lakers, as L.A. shot just 5-of-21 in the final 12 minutes. Problems with both knees limited Mahinmi to just five games before the All-Star break, but he has played 19 since then and has shown why Washington was willing to give him a four-year, $64MM contract last summer. “He’s a great defender,” said teammate Kelly Oubre. “He’s what we’ve been missing in the paint. I can’t wait until he’s dunking on people like he used to.”

There’s more news from the Southeast Division:

Serge Ibaka wanted to be used more often at center during his time with the Magic, relays Josh Robbins of The Orlando Sentinel. Ibaka, who was acquired from Oklahoma City last summer and dealt to Toronto after 57 games, said he approached coach Frank Vogel about using him at the five spot in a small-ball lineup. The problem was that the Magic already had centers Nikola Vucevic and Bismack Biyombo in their rotation. Even though he’s with a playoff team now, Ibaka is disappointed that things didn’t work out better in Orlando. “I remember in the beginning, I was so excited,” he said. “Even mentally I was so fresh and excited about the season. But in life sometimes the way we try to do things, or the way we think things can go, may not happen. That’s the case out there in Orlando. But I had good moments there.”
Terrence Ross, who was sent to the Magic in that deal, got a friendly reception from the fans Monday in his return to Toronto, according to Mike Ganter of The Toronto Sun. The 26-year-old swingman spent four and a half seasons with the Raptors.
Ersan Ilyasova was both surprised and not surprised to be traded from the Sixers to the Hawks at the deadline, tweets Jessica Camerato of CSNPhilly. He thought he fit well in Philadelphia, but adds that he understands the business side of basketball. Ilyasova has been with six teams since the 2014/15 season and will be an unrestricted free agent this summer.

Southeast Notes: Gordon, McGruder, Wizards

February 26th, 2017 at 9:15pm CST by Austin Kent

The trade that sent Serge Ibaka from the Magic to the Raptors opened an opportunity for 21-year-old forward Aaron Gordon to slide from the three to his natural position at the four, writes John Denton of the team’s official website. The third-year man is readjusting to the defensive responsibilities of the power forward position.

“I need to become a better shot-blocker because I missed plenty of opportunities where I could have at least altered shots,” the Magic big man said of his first game back at power forward on Thursday night. “I was unsure of the timing, when to go and my positioning on the court.”

Previously the Magic had been using Gordon as a perimeter defender charged with the task of checking the opposing team’s best scorer. “I’m used to not over-helping and over-committing because I’m usually guarding the best player on the floor,” Gordon said. “Now, that’s not the case and I have the leniency to go help and block shots.”

There’s more out of the Southeast Division:

Undrafted rookie Rodney McGruder is making a name for himself as a scrappy, pest of a player, writes Ira Winderman of the Sun-Sentinel. The forward has played a substantial role on a Heat team that has done nothing but exceed expectations this season. “He’s always head first, nose first into everything,” teammate Wayne Ellington said. “He makes it hard for guys when he frustrates guys.“
Backup center Willie Reed is day-to-day with ankle bursitis and didn’t travel with the team for Sunday’s matchup with the Mavs. With Reed out, the Heat will turn to veteran Udonis Haslem or an out-of-position James Johnson to handle duties at the five, says Winderman in a separate piece for the Sun-Sentinel.
The Wizards have some adjustments to make with offseason acquisition Ian Mahinmi back in the lineup and newly acquired Bojan Bogdanovic still settling in, writes J. Michael of CSN Mid-Atlantic. “We’re trying to find some consistency,” said head coach Scott Brooks. “Getting Ian back, hopefully we can get him back to a stretch of games where he can play and build a chemistry with the group he’s out there with. Now Bojan so we can have him out there with that group. It’s consistency and understanding where we can get some points. I got to try to figure out what’s the best minute-wise and who plays and the matchups.“

Southeast Notes: Heat, Mahinmi, Smith

February 18th, 2017 at 1:59pm CST by Austin Kent

Pat Riley has to do more than just appease paying customers, writes Ira Winderman of the Sun Sentinel, the team president needs to steward the future of the Heat franchise. That means, despite the 13-game win streak that has suddenly put Miami within striking distance of the playoffs, the club would be wise to approach the February 23 trade deadline with caution.

This summer will be a pivotal one for the Heat, Winderman writes, citing things like Chris Bosh‘s contract situation and the fact that the club has already traded two of the club’s next four first-rounders as reasons why they ought to be smart about how they structure the team heading forward. The draft matters now more than ever, he adds, suggesting that hasty moves to load up on short-term assets this week would only hurt their 2017 draft position.

Winderman notes that the camaraderie in the Heat locker room is similar to that of the upstart 2004/05 Heat team anchored by a rookie Dwyane Wade, Lamar Odom and Caron Butler. That team started slow but rallied to become a playoff team. Tellingly, it wasn’t long after the turnaround when Riley opted to cash in his chips in the blockbuster deal that netted Shaquille O’Neal.

There’s more out of the Southeast Division:

It wasn’t long ago when Heat forwards Justise Winslow and Josh Richardson appeared to be reasonably untouchable, writes Ira Winderman in a separate piece for the Sun Sentinel, but Miami’s recent improvement may have altered that. Now that the club isn’t in position to land a Top 3 pick, Winderman says, the club might consider holding onto Goran Dragic more than anybody else.
After missing 50 games for the Wizards through the first four months of the season, Ian Mahinmi isn’t about to take time off during the All-Star Break, writes Chase Hughes of CSN Mid-Atlantic. The big man inked to a four-year, $64MM deal over the summer has been on a minutes restriction and will look to get himself back into a rhythm in the second half.
The return of Ian Mahimi has eaten into backup center Jason Smith‘s minutes but the consummate professional made an impression while filling in for the injured big man. “What he’s done the last two or three months is what he’s done his entire career and he’s been terrific,” Wizards head coach Scott Brooks tells Candace Buckner of the Washington Post. Smith has averaged close to 14 points and 9 rebounds per 36 minutes so far this season.
The Hornets complicated their cap situation when they acquired Miles Plumlee earlier this month but retain some expiring contracts that could be dealt ahead of the deadline. General manager Rich Cho, Bobby Marks of The Vertical explains, has made four trade deadline deals since his first year with the squad back in 2011.

Southeast Notes: Battier, Beal, Ibaka, Ross, Mahinmi

February 17th, 2017 at 6:14pm CST by Milo Taibi

Ira Winderman of the Sun Sentinel wondered if Shane Battier, recently hired as the Heat‘s Director of Basketball Development and Analytics, will eventually assume leadership of the franchise from Pat Riley. For the interim, Winderman writes, Battier’s position will be the “first step” toward a post-Riley front office. Battier will work alongside Andy Elisburg and Nick Arison, executives with an advanced “business-of-basketball” acumen. While there is no reason to believe Riley is ready to step away from the game, Winderman could see Riley moving into a role similar to Jerry West’s with the Lakers; an executive board member who isn’t accountable for mundane, day-to-day front office operations.

Wizards Notes: Mahinmi, Bench, Wall, VR

February 9th, 2017 at 12:33pm CST by Luke Adams

Ian Mahinmi finally returned to the court for the Wizards on Wednesday, logging 12 minutes off the bench in only his second game for the team this season. Injury problems had previously limited Mahinmi to just a single game in November for Washington after he signed a four-year, $64MM deal with the club in the offseason.

Although Mahinmi’s contributions for his new team have been extremely limited so far, his ability to rebound and play defense could prove useful down the stretch. A report earlier this week indicated that the Wizards had also made Mahinmi available in trade talks, and while his injury issues and massive contract make him somewhat unappealing as a trade target, that could change over the next couple weeks if he stays healthy and plays well. Mahinmi, who told reporters last week that he feels “fixed,” will be worth monitoring going forward.

Here’s more out of Washington:

If the Wizards can find a way to upgrade their bench, it would significantly improve their chances to make some noise in the postseason, writes Tim Bontemps of The Washington Post. Bontemps acknowledges that Mahinmi’s return will help, but says the team probably still needs to make another move, perhaps one along the lines of last year’s acquisition of Markieff Morris.
Heading into the season, John Wall was recovering from surgical procedures on both knees, and it wasn’t clear whether he’d be able to have his usual impact on the court in 2016/17. Fifty games later, with Wall in the midst of his best NBA season – including career highs in PPG (23.0), APG (10.5), and FG% (.454) – Brian Windhorst of ESPN.com revisits the point guard’s journey.
In an engaging piece for ESPN.com, Tom Habestroh takes an in-depth look at how the Wizards are using virtual reality technology to try to help the players on their roster. “I could see a lot of NBA teams starting to use it,” Wall said. “I think it’s helping so many different ways — ballhandling, shooting, moving.”