Kristaps Porzingis Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Wizards Notes: Player Development, Hachimura, Porzingis

February 15th, 2022 at 7:19am CST by Luke Adams

Whether the Wizards push hard for a play-in spot down the stretch or resign themselves to a lottery berth and vie for draft positioning, developing their young players will be a top priority the rest of the way, writes Chase Hughes of NBC Sports Washington.

As Hughes outlines, if youngsters like Deni Avdija, Rui Hachimura, Corey Kispert, and Daniel Gafford thrive in the second half of the season, that will give the Wizards more options in the offseason — they could decide to build around those players or could try to trade one or more of them for a more established player.

Avdija, who is averaging 7.5 PPG on the season, has looked good as of late, scoring double-digit points in all three games since the trade deadline and grabbing a career-high 15 rebounds in Monday’s win over Detroit. However, Hachimura’s developmental process may have hit another temporary snag during Monday’s victory.

As Hughes writes in a separate NBC Sports Washington story, Hachimura left the game in the first half due to a right ankle sprain. Head coach Wes Unseld Jr. said after the game that he’s hopeful the sprain isn’t too severe, but it still might make sense for Washington to hold out the third-year forward until at least after the All-Star break.

Here’s more on the Wizards:

Unseld said on Monday that there’s hope Kristaps Porzingis will be able to make his Wizards debut before the All-Star break (Twitter link via Hughes). Washington plays in Indiana on Wednesday and Brooklyn on Thursday, so we’ll see if Porzingis – who is day-to-day with a right knee bone bruise – is available for either of those games.
Although general manager Tommy Sheppard insisted a few weeks before the trade deadline that the team felt no need to move Spencer Dinwiddie, it was obvious something was “dramatically off-kilter,” writes Josh Robbins of The Athletic. Dinwiddie, who struggled to produce alongside Bradley Beal, never seemed comfortable with his role on the team, Robbins adds, noting that the point guard was “oddly passive” and probably didn’t have the ball in his hands enough.
Within that same story at The Athletic, Tim Cato considers what Porzingis can bring to the Wizards, suggesting the big man has reemerged as a strong defender when healthy this season and is no longer an obvious target for switches. However, Porzingis hasn’t been a reliable outside shooter in 2021/22, and his frequent injury-related absences resulted in some awkward readjustment periods when he’d return to the lineup after missing several games, says Cato.

Raptors Notes: Porzingis, Trade Talks, Young, Ujiri

February 14th, 2022 at 7:40am CST by Luke Adams

Before Dallas agreed to trade Kristaps Porzingis to Washington last Thursday, one report suggested that the Mavericks and Raptors may be having discussions about the big man.

Michael Grange of Sportsnet.ca (Twitter link) and Marc Stein (Substack link) have since confirmed that Toronto had some interest in Porzingis. However, Grange says the Raptors never got close to making a deal for the former lottery pick, while league sources tell Stein that Toronto “stepped away” from those discussions due to concerns about Porzingis’ long-term health.

Porzingis was eventually traded to the Wizards along with a protected second-round pick in exchange for Spencer Dinwiddie and Davis Bertans.

Here’s more on the Raptors:

Grange adds (via Twitter) that last week’s three-team trade talks involving the Raptors, Lakers, and Knicks reached an impasse in part due to L.A.’s luxury tax concerns. Presumably, the framework that was discussed would’ve required the Lakers to take on extra salary, increasing the projected luxury tax bill for a team that doesn’t currently hold a top-eight spot in the West.
Discussing the Raptors’ decision to acquire Thaddeus Young at the trade deadline, president Masai Ujiri explained that the forward checked multiple boxes for the team: “We wanted a veteran-type player, a Bird rights-type player, that came and bridged (a gap) helping our young guys both in the locker room and on the court” (link via Mike Ganter of The Toronto Sun). For his part, Young told reporters he’s excited to be in Toronto because the team’s energy and style matches how he plays (Twitter link via Eric Koreen of The Athletic).
Ujiri admitted during his post-deadline press conference that he doesn’t love the trade deadline, since he views the offseason as a better time to make moves that reshape the roster (Twitter link via Koreen).
The Raptors’ roster – which is heavy on length and 6’8″ forwards – reflects Ujiri’s refusal to subscribe to team-building orthodoxy, Koreen writes in a story for The Athletic. “We’re in a copycat league. Everybody wants to do what another person is doing,” Ujiri said. “‘Go play like Golden State.’ Well, we don’t have those types of players. You know, it’s hard to find those types of players. So, for me, we have to create ways where we think we’re going to win in this league, because it’s about winning. And I feel strongly that we can create our own style of play and bring these types of players and figure out a way to do it. Look, will it succeed? I pray it does. I’m hoping it does. And I think it will.”

Wizards Notes: Bertans, Sheppard, Porzingis, Draft Pick

February 13th, 2022 at 11:01am CST by Arthur Hill

Davis Bertans, who was traded to the Mavericks this week along with Spencer Dinwiddie, offered some insight into the dysfunctional situation he left behind with the Wizards, writes Jack Maloney of CBS Sports. During his introductory news conference Saturday in Dallas, Bertans described an atmosphere where each player seemed to have his own agenda.

“It’s tough to have team chemistry when every single day, the team is basically fighting with each other about ‘I want to get more minutes’ and ‘I want a bigger role.'” Bertans said. “That was probably the biggest part of struggles for most guys during the season. That kinda early on doesn’t show up because everybody’s trying to figure out what’s going on. Once it starts going downhill, it’s really hard to turn around and start going up again.”

Bertans’ comments seem to confirm a recent statement from Kentavious Caldwell-Pope that “egos and agendas” sank the Wizards’ season after a 10-3 start. Last weekend, Montrezl Harrell, who has since been traded to Charlotte, lamented the mood in the locker room, and he and Caldwell-Pope reportedly got into a physical altercation during halftime of a game this season.

There’s more from Washington, D.C.:

When Thomas Bryant and Rui Hachimura returned from injuries, it created a logjam of minutes that made it impossible to keep everyone happy, notes Andrew Gillis of NBC Sports Washington. General manager Tommy Sheppard admits that factored into his decisions this week, but he believes a COVID-19 outbreak contributed to the team’s decline as well. “I do know we were 15-11 and COVID hit this team, and we really have been struggling ever since then to get our legs back under us,” Sheppard said. “Just when we thought it was behind us, then [center Daniel Gafford] gets hit the other day. That’s not an excuse, but those are facts. We’ve missed a lot of players during that time.”
Kristaps Porzingis, who missed Saturday’s game with a bone bruise in his right knee, hopes his long battle with injuries will end now that he’s with the Wizards, per Chase Hughes of NBC Sports Washington. “One is staying on the floor consistently. Now that I’m healthy and I’m moving well, that’s the thing I have to prove,” Porzingis said in his first session with the D.C. media. “I truly believe that my luck hasn’t been the best luck in terms of injuries. A lot of them, if not all of them have been contact injuries. Those you can’t really avoid, 100 percent. I do my part with being in the weight room, making sure my body is right to stay healthy. But you have to have a little bit of luck.”
The 2022 second-round pick that the Wizards received from Dallas in the Porzingis trade is top-45 protected, according to Real GM. Washington won’t receive the pick if it doesn’t convey this year.

Wizards Notes: Beal, Point Guard, Porzingis, Batiste

February 11th, 2022 at 12:45pm CST by Luke Adams

Wizards guard Bradley Beal is out for the rest of the 2021/22 season after undergoing wrist surgery and can opt out of his contract this summer. However, president of basketball operations Tommy Sheppard remains confident that Beal hasn’t played his last game with the franchise.

“I believe Bradley is going to be here moving forward,” Sheppard told reporters on Friday (Twitter link via Chase Hughes of NBC Sports Washington). “… Certainly we plan on him being here in the future. If he feels otherwise, he will let us know.”

Multiple reports in recent weeks, both before and after Beal’s injury, have stated that the Wizards remain committed to offering the star guard a five-year contract if he turns down his player option in the offseason.

Here are a few more Wizards notes:

The Wizards’ point guard depth took a hit on Thursday when the team traded away Spencer Dinwiddie and Aaron Holiday just six months after acquiring them. Ish Smith and Raul Neto are handling point guard duties in the short term, but Sheppard said today that upgrading the position will be a priority for the club heading into 2022/23. “That’s our focus for sure in the offseason,” Sheppard said (Twitter link via Hughes).
The Wizards’ acquisition of Kristaps Porzingis was the “ultimate high-risk, high-reward move,” Josh Robbins writes for The Athletic. Discussing the move today, Sheppard said, “You can’t be afraid to take big swings” (Twitter link via Robbins).
Porzingis missed the Mavericks’ last five games due to a right knee bone bruise, but Sheppard expects the big man to be available soon, tweets Hughes. It’s possible Porzingis could make his Wizards debut as soon as Saturday.
Wizards assistant coach Mike Batiste was suspended two games without pay by the NBA for entering the stands in an attempt to confront a fan, the NBA announced on Thursday (via Twitter). The incident took place near the end of the team’s loss to Miami on Monday (video link). Batiste served the first game of his suspension on Thursday vs. Brooklyn and will serve the second on Saturday vs. Sacramento.

Lowe’s Latest: Gasol, Bucks, Suns, Pacers, Kings, Sixers, More

February 11th, 2022 at 12:10pm CST by Luke Adams

With Brook Lopez sidelined indefinitely, the Bucks and center Marc Gasol, who is currently playing for Girona in Spain, had discussed the possibility of a possible late-season deal, according to Zach Lowe of ESPN (Insider link). However, Lowe suggests that a union “does not appear to be in the cards” now that Milwaukee has acquired Serge Ibaka.

It’s worth noting that the Bucks have three open spots on their 15-man roster following the trade deadline, so there still could be room for Gasol down the road, and it’s not like he and Ibaka haven’t had success teaming up in the past — the two vets played key roles for the 2019 champion Raptors. Still, Milwaukee may be looking to address other positions with those open roster spots, and there’s no guarantee Gasol will look to return to the NBA when his season is over in Spain.

Here are a few more highlights from Lowe’s post-deadline roundup:

Sources confirmed to Lowe that the Suns and Pacers had brief discussions about Deandre Ayton and Domantas Sabonis, which was first reported by Jake Fischer of Bleacher Report. Fischer suggested the two teams might be exploring the idea of an offseason sign-and-trade involving Ayton, and Lowe agrees that the talks seem to have been just exploratory and informal, possibly aimed at the future rather than present. Indiana subsequently traded Sabonis to Sacramento, which could eliminate the possibility of any future deal with Phoenix for Ayton, but Lowe points out that the Suns’ willingness to consider shaking up their roster – even in the offseason – is noteworthy.
Before acquiring Sabonis, the Kings approached the Hawks about John Collins, but they didn’t discuss Tyrese Haliburton or De’Aaron Fox in that context, says Lowe.
Lowe expects the Sixers to explore the buyout market for a backup center, since there’s no guarantee that Paul Millsap will bounce back in Philadelphia and Charles Bassey is unproven.
The Spurs explored ways to move up in last year’s draft, according to Lowe, who notes that San Antonio has since gained more draft ammo to potentially revisit that idea going forward.
Lowe contends that Kristaps Porzingis should take his trade to the Wizards “as a huge slap in the face,” given the modest return the Mavericks received. As Lowe writes, Dallas appeared to be trying to gain more flexibility for future moves by taking back two (relatively) smaller contracts for Porzingis’ max deal, which could pay off down the road. But it “seems to be selling unthinkably low” on Porzingis, Lowe says.

Mavericks Notes: Dragic, Porzingis, Bertans, Dinwiddie

February 11th, 2022 at 8:05am CST by Luke Adams

Asked on Thursday night whether the Mavericks will go shopping on the buyout market, general manager Nico Harrison said he believes the team’s roster is “set,” as Brad Townsend of The Dallas Morning News tweets.

Dallas has long been viewed as a potential landing spot for buyout candidate Goran Dragic, but the team’s acquisition of Spencer Dinwiddie and Harrison’s post-deadline comments suggest a pursuit of the Slovenian may no longer be in the cards, tweets Tim MacMahon of ESPN.

According to Marc Stein (Twitter link), Dragic and the Spurs may take a little time to negotiate a buyout agreement. If and when the veteran point guard becomes available, he’ll likely have suitors who are able to offer him a more significant role than Dallas, Stein notes.

Here’s more on the Mavs:

Mavericks owner Mark Cuban explained that his team was willing to trade Kristaps Porzingis to Washington on Thursday because the deal helped address two weak spots on the roster, per Brad Townsend of The Dallas Morning News. “I think KP’s an incredible talent. But we needed that shooter [Davis Bertans] and we needed another ball handler [Dinwiddie] who could create a shot, and unfortunately that was the only way we were going to get them,” Cuban said. “It was that simple — getting two guys who fill roles that we really needed, and the fact that we have played OK without KP. But I think that doesn’t take anything away from KP being a great talent, and I actually think he’s going to be better with the Wizards than he was with us.”
Mavericks star Luka Doncic described the Porzingis trade as “shocking,” but stressed that he trusts the front office to do what’s best for the team, writes ESPN’s Tim MacMahon. “Obviously, we’re going to miss KP,” Doncic said. “We were building something great here. It didn’t obviously work out. I wish him the best, and we’ve got two new guys who are welcome. Bertans is a great shooter. Dinwiddie can put the ball on the floor and he can score. The NBA is a business.”
In case you missed it, the Mavericks are set to officially lock up Dorian Finney-Smith to a four-year contract extension. Multiple reports have pegged the value of Finney-Smith’s new deal at $52MM, while others have said it’ll be worth $55MM. If the extension includes incentives, there would be a difference between the base value and the maximum value, which could explain the discrepancy between those reported figures.

Mavericks Trade Kristaps Porzingis To Wizards

February 10th, 2022 at 9:29pm CST by Luke Adams

9:29pm: The trade is official, according to a Wizards press release. Dallas also confirmed the deal in a press release, announcing that they’ve waived Brown.

The second-rounder going to Washington is a protected 2022 pick, the teams announced. It’ll have to be the Mavs’ own second-rounder, since they hadn’t previously acquired any others.

“Kristaps is an All-Star player whose unique talents will fit well within our system and allow him to impact the game for us in multiple ways,” Wizards president of basketball operations Tommy Sheppard said in a statement. “He will get a fresh start with our team and provide us with the opportunity to play multiple lineups that feature size, versatility and shooting ability.”

1:38pm: The Mavericks and Wizards have agreed to a major trade, according to reports from Shams Charania of The Athletic and Marc Stein (Twitter links).

Big man Kristaps Porzingis is headed to Washington in the deal, per Stein, while Dallas will receive point guard Spencer Dinwiddie, according to Charania. Tim MacMahon of ESPN reports (via Twitter) that the Mavs are also acquiring sharpshooter Davis Bertans, while Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN says (via Twitter) that the Wizards are getting a second-round pick.

The Mavs will release big man Moses Brown to complete the trade, tweets MacMahon.

According to Stein (via Twitter), the Mavs spent much of the day on Thursday trying to find a home for Porzingis, who was previously linked to the Raptors. Dallas gave up a significant package in 2019 to acquire Porzingis from the Knicks, but he has continued to battle health problems in the years since then and hasn’t developed into the star running mate for Luka Doncic that the Mavs envisioned. He is also owed nearly $70MM for the two years beyond this season.

This season, Porzingis has averaged 19.2 PPG and 7.7 RPG while playing improved defense, but his three-point rate dipped to a career-worst 28.3% and he has only been healthy for 34 of 55 games. Dallas has a 13-8 record in the games he has missed.

The Wizards, who are retooling their roster around Bradley Beal, will roll the dice on Porzingis, hoping he has more success in D.C. than he did in Dallas. They’ll give up Dinwiddie and Bertans, two players who struggled badly this season in the midst of pricey multiyear deals.

Dinwiddie, 28, signed a three-year contract with the Wizards in the offseason, but has shot just 37.6% from the floor in his first season back from ACL surgery. As Josh Robbins of The Athletic tweets, Dinwiddie never seemed comfortable in Washington’s offense without the ball in his hands, which happened a lot when he played alongside Beal.

Bertans, meanwhile, is in the second season of a five-year, $80MM contract, but has seen his three-point shooting fall off a cliff in 2021/22. A career 40.7% three-point shooter entering the season, the 29-year-old forward has made just 31.9% of his attempts from beyond the arc this year.

The Mavericks will be hoping that both players, who have had plenty of success in the past can bounce back in Dallas. Dinwiddie will give the team another ball-handler when Doncic and/or Jalen Brunson aren’t on the court, while Bertans will provide another floor-spacer to give Doncic more room to operate.

As Bobby Marks of ESPN notes (via Twitter), Dinwiddie will give the Mavs’ some insurance in case they’re unable to re-sign Brunson in unrestricted free agency this summer. However, sources tell MacMahon (Twitter link) that Dallas remains confident about its ability to retain Brunson beyond this season.

Raptors, Mavericks Discussing Kristaps Porzingis?

February 10th, 2022 at 10:27am CST by Luke Adams

The Raptors and Mavericks may have engaged in some discussions about a deal involving Kristaps Porzingis, according to Jake Fischer of Bleacher Report (Twitter link).

Fischer’s report includes some hedging — he doesn’t outright confirm that Toronto and Dallas are negotiating a deal, but says the rumor that the two teams are discussing a framework has made the rounds among NBA front offices. Fischer adds that it’s not clear how serious those talks might be.

As Fischer observes, the Mavericks are known to have some interest in point guard Goran Dragic. However, Dallas would obviously be seeking more pieces than just a 35-year-old veteran on an expiring contract in exchange for Porzingis, the club’s second-leading scorer.

Porzingis has battled frequent injury issues and is owed $70MM over the next two years beyond this one, but remains an important part of Dallas’ roster. In 34 games (29.5 MPG) this season, he has averaged 19.2 PPG and 7.7 RPG while playing improved defense.

Tim MacMahon of ESPN (Twitter link) has heard that, in order to seriously consider moving Porzingis, the Mavericks would require “a lot more” than the package of Dragic and a draft pick the Raptors have been shopping. Presumably, Dallas would be more interested in a deal for Dragic if a player like Dwight Powell or perhaps Tim Hardaway Jr. is the primary outgoing piece.

For their part, the Raptors are known to be in the market for a center who can complement their core of Fred VanVleet, Pascal Siakam, Scottie Barnes, OG Anunoby, and Gary Trent Jr., though they’re not focused exclusively on a center as they shop Dragic’s expiring contract.

Toronto has also reportedly talked to the Lakers and Knicks about a three-team trade involving Dragic that would send Talen Horton-Tucker and Nerlens Noel to the Raptors. However, Ian Begley of SNY.tv has reported that those discussions appear to have stalled, and Michael Grange of Sportsnet.ca (Twitter link) hears the odds of that deal happening are slim.

Southwest Notes: Carlisle, Porzingis, Bane, Eubanks

January 29th, 2022 at 10:59pm CST by Arthur Hill

Pacers coach Rick Carlisle was touched by the video tribute the Mavericks offered tonight as he returned to Dallas to face the team he ran for the past 13 seasons, writes Brad Townsend of The Dallas Morning News. Carlisle wiped away tears and acknowledged the fans as he watched the highlights, which included the NBA title he helped bring to the city in 2011.

Carlisle resigned last spring after the Mavs were knocked out of the playoffs and signed with Indiana shortly afterward. He recalled “a lot of blessings” during his time with the organization and said the team is in good hands with new coach Jason Kidd.

“This is now Jason’s time,” Carlisle said. “It’s their time as a staff. They’ve got an amazing opportunity with a young nucleus that could go on long run, for a long time. And so that’s exciting. That’s exciting for them. But being, being a small part of that foundation is meaningful to me and all the other coaches that have worked with me.”

There’s more from the Southwest Division:

Mavericks big man Kristaps Porzingis left tonight’s game with soreness in his right knee, Townsend adds. Kidd didn’t have any information about his condition, saying, “We’ll see how he feels tomorrow,” but a source tells Townsend that Porzingis wasn’t on the team’s flight to Orlando.
Grizzlies swingman Desmond Bane, one of this season’s breakout stars, talked about using the lessons from his rookie season in an interview with Spencer Davies of Basketball News. “I learned just how to be a pro first and foremost,” Bane said. “The schedule last year was grueling due to all the games being canceled and so forth, so I had to learn how to just continue my habits more than anything. Stack good habits on top of each other and let the good days stack up, and learn how to be a pro essentially.”
Backup Spurs center Drew Eubanks has been forced to adjust to fluctuating playing time, per Tom Orsborn of The San Antonio Express News. Over a recent seven-game stretch, he played 11-to-19 minutes three times and seven or fewer minutes four times. “It can get frustrating, but I know where I’m at within the organization and with the coaches and front office,” he said. “It’s easy for me to come in every day and have a good attitude and be supportive of my teammates. I know they may be going through some turbulence too, but they’re still going to be supportive of me and whoever else.”

NBA Fines Mavs’ Porzingis, Hornets’ Washington, Raptors’ Champagnie

January 27th, 2022 at 10:57am CST by Luke Adams

Three NBA players have been fined $15K apiece by the league for recent violations, according to a pair of press releases.

Mavericks big man Kristaps Porzingis received his $15K fine for kicking the game ball into the stands during the fourth quarter of his team’s blowout loss to Golden State on Tuesday. Porzingis received a technical foul and was ejected at the time of the incident — now he’ll face an additional penalty, though losing $15K of his $31.65MM salary is hardly an exorbitant punishment.

Meanwhile, Hornets forward P.J. Washington and Raptors forward Justin Champagnie were each fined $15K for their involvement in an on-court altercation during the first quarter of Tuesday’s game in Toronto.

As the league outlined in its announcement, Washington hip-checked Champagnie to the ground and the Raptors rookie retaliated by shoving Washington in the back. The Hornets forward escalated the incident by “forcefully shoving” Champagnie, according to the league. Both players received technical fouls and were ejected.

The penalties will sting a little more for Washington and especially Champagnie than for Porzingis. Washington has a $4.2MM salary this season, while Champagnie is a two-way player whose 2021/22 earnings can max out at about $752K.