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Wizards Notes: Brooks, Westbrook, Beal, Gafford

June 3rd, 2021 at 9:18am CST by Luke Adams

Following the Wizards‘ elimination from the playoffs on Wednesday night, the franchise will face a number of crucial offseason decisions, starting with the future of head coach Scott Brooks. Brooks doesn’t have a contract beyond this season, but indicated after last night’s loss to Philadelphia that he’d like to remain in his current role.

“I love it here. There’s no decision in my mind, I love it here,” Brooks said, per Chase Hughes of NBC Sports Washington.

The decision on Brooks will ultimately be up to Wizards general manager Tommy Sheppard and owner Ted Leonsis, but it’s possible they’ll seek input from the team’s star players. And it doesn’t sound like they’re looking for a change. As Candace Buckner of The Washington Post relays, Bradley Beal referred to Brooks as a “true player’s coach,” while Russell Westbrook endorsed the man who also coached him in Oklahoma City.

“If it was up to me, Scotty wouldn’t be going anywhere. It’s not even a question or a conversation to even be brought up,” Westbrook said, according to Hughes. “If the conversation is brought to me, I will definitely voice my opinion like I’m voicing it now and see what happens.”

Here’s more on the Wizards:

Beal’s future will also be a major topic of discussion in D.C. this offseason as the All-Star guard enters a contract year, writes Tim Bontemps of ESPN. Beal said on Wednesday that he’s making an effort not to focus on the inevitable rumors. “Ultimately, I’m in control,” Beal said. “I think that’s my biggest thing. People are going to report whatever they want, but I know where my mind is and I know if it’s not coming from the horse’s mouth, then it’s going to be rumors. I expect them. S–t, they’re starting now.”
David Aldridge of The Athletic argues that the Wizards can’t – and won’t – trade Beal this offseason, but that they owe it to him to be bold in reshaping and upgrading the roster around him.
In his look at the Wizards’ offseason, ESPN’s Bobby Marks (Insider link) notes that Beal will be eligible for a four-year extension worth a projected $181MM this offseason. Marks also examines the team’s proximity to the luxury tax line and identifies wing defenders and depth as top summer priorities.
Recently-acquired big man Daniel Gafford, who looks to be part of the Wizards’ future, says he’ll be looking to put on weight and work on his conditioning during the summer, tweets Fred Katz of The Athletic. “If I wanna be out there 20-plus minutes every single night, my conditioning has to be top-tier,” Gafford said.

Wizards Notes: Westbrook, Beal, Bertans, Gafford

May 30th, 2021 at 11:58am CST by Arthur Hill

Russell Westbrook was a game-time decision Saturday because of an ankle sprain he suffered in Game 2, but his Wizards teammates never had any doubt that he would be ready, according to Chase Hughes of NBC Sports Washington. Westbrook not only played, he recorded his 11th playoff triple-double, posting 26 points, 12 rebounds and 10 assists in a loss to the Sixers.

“I know Russ. If it’s not broke, he’s going to play,” Bradley Beal said. “So, I’m gonna be honest, I kind of knew after the last game he was going to play. Just knowing who he is, if he could play for two minutes then he was going to go out there and give it everything he had.”

Westbrook said after the game that his ankle felt “so-so” and he “just tried to go out and do what I can.” His status for Monday night’s Game 4 hasn’t been determined.

There’s more on the Wizards:

Beal has taken a major step this season in proving he can be a franchise player, according to Kareem Copeland of The Washington Post. Beal has been moving in that direction for years, but his status became clearer with the trade of John Wall. “I take pride in getting better each and every game and, obviously, in the offseason getting better,” Beal said. “… Coach trusts me, teammates and the organization trusts me to just continue to lead and kind of be the franchise focal point. Obviously, I still have a long way to go and still have a lot of room to go. But I’m definitely not the same player I was two years ago in that series.”
The Wizards moved Davis Bertans into the starting lineup to provide more size against a taller Philadelphia team, but his shooting woes prevented that move from being effective, notes Keith Pompey of The Philadelphia Inquirer. Bertans is normally one of the league’s most dangerous three-point threats, but he made just one of five shots from long distance in Game 3 after missing all four attempts in Game 2.
Sixers center Joel Embiid is putting up dominant numbers in the first-round series after being an MVP candidate during the regular season. It’s a tough matchup for Daniel Gafford, but coach Scott Brooks believes the experience will benefit the young center in the long run, Hughes tweets.

Westbrook, Curry Cleared To Play Tonight

May 29th, 2021 at 5:37pm CST by Arthur Hill

The Wizards will have Russell Westbrook in the lineup for tonight’s Game 3 against the Sixers, tweets Shams Charania of The Athletic.

Philadelphia’s Seth Curry will also be active, according to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski (Twitter link).

Westbrook was a game-time decision with a sprained right ankle that he suffered in Game 2. He didn’t practice on Friday, but he made enough progress with the injury that Washington’s medical staff cleared him for tonight.

Curry sprained his left ankle in Game 2 and missed practice as well on Friday, but received clearance just before game time.

Wizards Notes: Westbrook, Gafford, Roster, Offseason

May 28th, 2021 at 8:31pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Wizards point guard Russell Westbrook is officially listed as questionable to play Saturday’s Game 3 against the Sixers due to a right ankle sprain, the team tweets. Westbrook injured his ankle in the second half of Game 2. He played just 29 minutes and shot 2-for-10 from the field. If he can’t go, Ish Smith would likely move into the lineup and play big minutes.

We have more from the Wizards:

Daniel Gafford understands why the coaching staff hasn’t let him play heavy minutes, as Chase Hughes of NBC Sports Washington details. Gafford has played 20 minutes in both games of the series. Gafford says his conditioning wasn’t ideal due to his spotty minutes before he was traded from the Bulls. “Sometimes it’s terrible, sometimes it’s better than what it was the day before,” he said. “I have to really just maintain consistency on where my conditioning is when it comes to doing things off the court and stuff. My conditioning was lopsided at the time [of the trade]. I’ve had a weird year, I’m not going to lie to you.”
Regardless of how the series shakes out, the playoffs are a perfect measuring stick for the Wizards’ roster heading into a crucial offseason, Hughes writes in a separate story. It could require a trade or a key free agent acquisition to take the next step to being a title contender, or simply improvement from within, Hughes continues. They’ll have to decide whether to mortgage their future to put the necessary pieces around Bradley Beal and Westbrook, Hughes adds.
The front office needs to put its mid-level exception and first-round pick to good use this offseason, specifically to address its lack of perimeter shooters, David Aldridge of The Athletic opines. With Davis Bertans rendered a non-factor in the series, Washington doesn’t have any consistent 3-point threats on the current roster, Aldridge notes.

Jazz Notes: Mitchell, Snyder, Fan Incidents

May 28th, 2021 at 2:04pm CST by Alex Kirschenbaum

In limited minutes, Jazz All-Star shooting guard Donovan Mitchell looked like his old self Thursday night, his first game back since spraining his right ankle on April 16, writes Nick Friedell of ESPN. Mitchell scored 25 points in 26 minutes of game action.

The 24-year-old’s return to the floor helped galvanize the Jazz. Utah ultimately beat the Grizzlies 141-129 to knot their first-round series at 1-1.

“I felt better than I anticipated, and as a whole, I think the biggest thing as a team is we did a lot of good things tonight … so it made my job easier,” Mitchell said of his return to the Jazz. “I didn’t have to come in and just do everything. I was able to find my spots and attack. And kind of just do what I do. And my teammates made it really easy for me.”

There’s more out of Utah:

Eric Walden of the Salt Lake Tribune examines the circuitous journey Jazz head coach Quin Snyder undertook before landing in Utah. Snyder had stints with the now-Austin Spurs of the G League (then the Austin Toros of the D League), the Sixers, the Lakers, CSKA Moscow, and the Hawks. He began his journey from the college ranks to the pros in a cross-country adventure in a 2002 Volkswagen Eurovan, after his seven-year tenure as the men’s basketball head coach for Missouri ended in 2006. “I was in North Carolina living by myself, I had a great black Lab, and I was trying to figure out, kind of, ‘What next?’ And, the (next) question is, ‘Where?’ And ‘What?’” Snyder said. “And I came to the conclusion that, really, it was like, ‘Anywhere,’ because it really didn’t matter at that point. And it was a little bit of ‘Anything.’ I wasn’t sure I wanted to coach again.”
During the Jazz’s Game 2 victory over the Grizzlies, Vivint Arena security ejected three fans for unruly verbal behavior directed toward the parents of star Memphis point guard Ja Morant, writes Evan Barnes of the Memphis Commercial Appeal. The team has banned the individuals from Utah’s home arena indefinitely.
A Utah judge has rejected a $100MM lawsuit filed by two other Jazz fans against Wizards point guard Russell Westbrook and the Jazz, tweets Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN. The fans, who claimed defamation and infliction of emotional stress in their suit, had also been banned indefinitely for comments and taunts directed towards Westbrook, then with the Thunder, in a March 2019 Jazz game.

Southeast Notes: Westbrook, Wizards, McMillan, Heat

May 27th, 2021 at 10:32am CST by Luke Adams

It was a rough night for Russell Westbrook in Philadelphia on Wednesday. The Wizards guard left the blowout loss in the fourth quarter after injuring his right ankle, then had popcorn dumped on him by fan as he limped toward the locker room. Addressing the incident after the game, Westbrook called on the NBA to better protect its players with fans now permitted back in arenas, as Brian Windhorst of ESPN writes.

“To be completely honest, this s–t is getting out of hand, especially for me. The amount of disrespect, the amount of fans just doing whatever the f–k they want to do — it’s just out of pocket,” Westbrook said. “There are certain things that cross the line. Any other setting … a guy were to come up on the street and pour popcorn on my head, you know what happens. … In these arenas, you got to start protecting the players. We’ll see what the NBA does.”

The Sixers announced today in a press release that the fan who poured popcorn on Westbrook has had his season ticket membership revoked and will be banned indefinitely from attending events at Wells Fargo Center. While that’s a good first step, it’ll be interesting to see if the league takes any further action.

LeBron James (via Twitter) echoed Westbrook’s call for the NBA to protect its players, and the incident in Philadelphia isn’t the only one involving fans this week. A Knick fan appeared to spit on Hawks guard Trae Young on Wednesday (link via Bleacher Report), and Jason Quick of The Athletic notes (via Twitter) that multiple Trail Blazers players took issue with some Nuggets fans as the team was leaving the court in Game 2.

Here’s more from around the Southeast:

Westbrook’s impressive play in the second half of the season was crucial in propelling the Wizards into the playoffs, but the team will need more from him in this series in order to have a chance at upsetting Philadelphia, writes Candace Buckner of The Washington Post. First and foremost, the Wizards will need Westbrook healthy — his status remain up in the air after Wednesday’s ankle injury.
Hawks head coach Nate McMillan found his rotation decisions under the spotlight following Wednesday’s loss, but he said he was happy with his game plan, per Chris Kirschner of The Athletic. “Our starters played 35-plus minutes. That’s a lot of minutes for those guys,” McMillan said. “Trae plays 35. Bogi (Bogdan Bogdanovic) plays 35. Clint (Capela) is at 36. That’s a lot of minutes for starters. … I thought we got a little gassed in that first half. I think we have to give those guys a little breather. They’re not going to be able to play 40-48 minutes.”
Heat president of basketball operations Pat Riley was aware that his club probably needed more firepower to have a chance to return to the NBA Finals this year, says Ira Winderman of The South Florida Sun Sentinel. However, Riley was unable to land Kyle Lowry at the deadline and his acquisition of Victor Oladipo didn’t work out, which could contribute to an early postseason exit for the defending Eastern champs.
With the Heat trailing the Bucks 2-0, Anthony Chiang and Barry Jackson of The Miami Herald explore whether a frontcourt pairing of Bam Adebayo and second-half addition Dewayne Dedmon might be a viable solution to counter Milwaukee’s size.

Southeast Notes: Ariza, Westbrook, Robinson, Brazdeikis

May 2nd, 2021 at 7:29pm CST by JD Shaw

Heat forward Trevor Ariza has provided a maximum payoff since being traded to Miami earlier this year, Ira Winderman of the Sun Sentinel writes. Ariza has since earned a role in the team’s starting lineup, giving consistent production on both ends of the floor.

“Trevor’s one of the most underrated players in this league,” head coach Erik Spoelstra said of Ariza. “But I would say that the contending teams that had him before, he’s not underrated. He does so many things — his activity, his deflections, his ability to guard multiple positions.

“And he also has been a very underrated scorer over the course of his career.”

Ariza has averaged 8.9 points, 4.5 rebounds and 1.8 assists per game this season, playing an average of 27.1 minutes across 23 contests. He’s provided versatility alongside Jimmy Butler and Bam Adebayo at 6’8″, also shooting 35% from downtown.

Here are some other notes from the Southeast Division tonight:

Wizards guard Russell Westbrook further proved that he’s still a star in the team’s game against the Mavericks on Saturday, Chase Hughes of NBC Sports Washington writes. Westbrook finished with 42 points, 10 rebounds, nine assists and two steals against Dallas, shooting 17-of-30 from the floor.
Anthony Chiang of the Miami Herald examines the impressive milestone from Heat sharpshooter Duncan Robinson. Robinson became the fastest player to reach 500 made threes in NBA history on Saturday, finishing the game against Cleveland shooting 6-of-9 from deep. He’ll be a restricted free agent in August.
Josh Cohen of NBA.com examines 10 interesting basketball facts about new Magic forward Ignas Brazdeikis, who signed a 10-day contract with the team on Sunday. Brazdeikis, the No. 47 pick in 2019, holds brief NBA experience with the Knicks and Sixers.

Southeast Notes: Collins, Magic, Westbrook, Monk

April 18th, 2021 at 6:26pm CST by JD Shaw

Hawks star John Collins returned from an ankle injury on Sunday to help give his team a boost in a 129-117 victory over the Pacers, Sarah Spencer of The Atlanta Journal-Constitution writes.

Collins, who missed the team’s last nine games, finished with eight points and two rebounds in 20 minutes of action. Atlanta remains without Danilo Gallinari, De’Andre Hunter, Tony Snell, Cam Reddish and Kris Dunn due to injuries, but getting back the 23-year-old Collins will certainly help.

“I felt great,” Collins said postgame. “I feel like I’m back to 100%. Obviously, trying to get the wind back to where it was before I got hurt, but be that as it may, I felt great out there. Just great to be back out with my teammates and happy, happy, happy we got that W tonight, so trying to stay here and continue to progress.”

There’s more from the Southeast today:

The Magic‘s veterans are looking to keep the team focused as the regular season starts to wind down, Roy Parry of The Orlando Sentinel writes. Orlando currently holds an 18-38 record, the second-worst mark in the East, placing five games behind the No. 10 Bulls. “I feel like myself, T-Ross (Terrence Ross), MCW (Michael Carter-Williams), Bac’ (Dwayne Bacon), Gary (Harris), we can help them — all the young guys — have the right approach every game,” James Ennis said. “I know it’s kind of tough playing these last games. I don’t know if we can make the playoffs or not, but it’s just our jobs to keep everybody engaged and just staying focused on the goals for our team and ourselves.”
The Wizards have taken on Russell Westbrook‘s personality this season, Chase Hughes of NBC Sports Washington explores. Westbrook is averaging a triple-double on the season — 21.9 points, 10.9 rebounds and 10.8 assists per game — but his primary focus remains helping Washington make the playoffs. “He’s just full of energy, ready to go, always a winning mentality,” teammate Bradley Beal said. “He’s going to play extremely hard every single time he touches the floor. It’s so surreal to be able to see a guy that plays as hard as he does still have that type of energy, still getting himself up and ready to go.”
Hornets guard Malik Monk isn’t close to returning from injury, Rick Bonnell of the Charlotte Observer tweets. Monk has done “very little activity” since suffering a sprained ankle, coach James Borrego said. The 23-year-old is currently enjoying the best season of his young career.

Southeast Notes: Carter Jr., Westbrook, Oladipo, Magic Draft Picks

April 2nd, 2021 at 9:58pm CST by Dana Gauruder

The Magic like what they’ve seen thus far from Wendell Carter Jr., one of the pieces acquired in the Nikola Vucevic trade with the Bulls, Josh Cohen of the team’s website writes. The retooled Magic are a surprising 2-1 on their current West Coast swing with Carter averaging 13.3 PPG, 8.7 RPG, 1.7 APG and 1.3 BPG in 23.0 MPG.

“He’s smart. He’s got good instincts,” Magic coach Steve Clifford said. “He can really move his feet. His lateral quickness I would say is exceptional. His instincts (are good) of when to attack the ball, when to drop, get back to his man and obviously he’s got a basket protection component. It’s three games but I couldn’t be more pleased with what he’s doing already.”

We have more from the Southeast Division:

Russell Westbrook has posted some big numbers with the Wizards but he admits he’s been too turnover-prone, Chase Hughes of NBC Sports Washington writes. Westbrook committed nine turnovers in a lopsided loss to Detroit on Thursday. “This one is on my hands and my shoulders,” said Westbrook, who is averaging 5.1 giveaways per game. “I’ve got to do a better job leading us into nights like this, regardless of who’s playing. I’m responsible for our energy and our effort and I take the blame on this one.”
The Heat are excited to add another play-maker in Victor Oladipo, who was acquired from Houston last week, Tim Reynolds of the Associated Press writes. “He’s a veteran guy, he’s played in good programs on good teams, so he knows how to fit in,” coach Erik Spoelstra said. “I think defensively, it’s extremely natural, the fit. And offensively, he gives us that downhill attack, another guy that can make plays, another guy that can put pressure on opposing defenses in the paint.” Oladipo, who will be a free agent after the season, had six points and five assists in 23 minutes while making his Heat debut on Thursday.
The Magic received a total of three first-round picks from Chicago and Denver in the Vucevic and Aaron Gordon deals. Josh Robbins of The Athletic breaks down the protections on each of those picks, including the Bulls’ 2021 first-rounder, which will be conveyed to Orlando this year unless it’s in the top four.

Southeast Notes: Westbrook, Magic, Oladipo, Okeke/Carter

March 31st, 2021 at 10:07pm CST by Alex Kirschenbaum

Wizards point guard Russell Westbrook supplied a lengthy response to ESPN commentator Stephen A. Smith, who claimed (video link) that Westbrook still needed a championship to cement his legacy. “You’ve played with some great great players over the years. Talent. And not a single title to show for it,” Smith said. “The numbers are the numbers… It ain’t about that no more.”

Fred Katz of The Athletic tweets Westbrook’s full statement. “I’m happy,” Westbrook said in part. “I was a champion once I made it to the NBA. I grew up in the streets. I’m a champion. I don’t have to be an NBA champion… My legacy is what I do off the floor, how many people I’m able to impact and inspire along my journey, man.”

There’s more out of the Southeast Division:

Now that the Magic have fully committed to rebuilding their club through their young players and future draft assets, Josh Robbins and Sam Vecenie of The Athletic have opted to assess Orlando’s expected plans for the 2021 draft and beyond, as well as tantalizing new players R.J. Hampton and Wendell Carter Jr. Vecenie and Robbins both feel that Orlando should have perhaps pivoted to a full-tilt rebuild sooner than it did, and agree that the top-heavy 2021 draft should have several intriguing prospects for the Magic.
New Heat shooting guard Victor Oladipo is set to debut for Miami on Thursday opposite the Warriors, according to Ira Winderman of the South Florida Sun Sentinel. “We’ve had several Zoom sessions,” head coach Erik Spoelstra noted, “just to review and try to fast track our system. But he’s a savvy, high-IQ veteran player.”
Magic rookie forward Chuma Okeke and new center/power forward Wendell Carter Jr. are doing their best to capitalize on rotational opportunities with Orlando, writes Roy Parry of the Orlando Sentinel. Both players flashed some of their promise down the stretch of a surprise 103-96 win over the Clippers Tuesday.