Mobile Menu
HEADLINES

Wizards Rumors

Check-In On 10-Day Contracts, Open Roster Spots

May 3rd, 2021 at 1:45pm CST by Luke Adams

The 2020/21 NBA regular season will come to an end on May 16. That means that there are just 14 days left in the season, and just four more days left to sign a player to a 10-day contract. As of this Friday (May 7), a 10-day deal would technically cover the remainder of the season.

With the playoffs around the corner, it makes sense that the number of active 10-day contracts around the NBA has been on the decline. The number of league-wide roster openings is also dwindling.

Here are the 10-day contracts that are currently active:

Of those three players, Brown is the only one who will technically be eligible to sign another 10-day contract when his current pact expires.

Meanwhile, with players like Austin Rivers, Mfiondu Kabengele, Anthony Tolliver, Yogi Ferrell, and Freddie Gillespie signing rest-of-season contracts within the last several days, more and more teams now have full 15-man rosters and may be done making roster moves this season.

The following teams still have at least one open spot on their 15-man squads:

  • Golden State Warriors (2)
  • Miami Heat
  • Minnesota Timberwolves
  • New Orleans Pelicans
  • New York Knicks
  • Portland Trail Blazers
  • San Antonio Spurs
  • Washington Wizards

In addition to these clubs, the Nets, Magic, and Thunder would each have a roster opening if they don’t retain the players on 10-day contracts noted above. The Knicks just opened their 15th roster spot on Sunday night, when Jared Harper‘s 10-day deal expired.

While many of these teams figure to fill their rosters before the regular season ends – either with a developmental prospect or one more veteran for postseason depth – the Warriors are the only club here that must add at least one more player. Teams are only permitted to dip below 14 players on standard contracts for up to two weeks at a time. Since Golden State was carrying Gary Payton II on a 10-day deal up until last Thursday, they’ll have until next Thursday (May 13) to re-add a 14th man.

The following teams also have an open two-way contract slot, which they may or may not fill during the season’s final two weeks:

  • Minnesota Timberwolves
  • New York Knicks
  • Phoenix Suns
  • Toronto Raptors
Retweet 2 Share 0 Send via email0

Russell Westbrook Further Proves Star Status

May 2nd, 2021 at 7:29pm CST by JD Shaw
Retweet 2 Share 0 Send via email0

Wizards Rolling With Three Secret Weapons In Middle

May 2nd, 2021 at 5:58pm CST by JD Shaw
Retweet 4 Share 0 Send via email0

Rui Hachimura Set To Return For Wizards

April 26th, 2021 at 2:48pm CST by Luke Adams
  • Wizards forward Rui Hachimura (knee) is set to return on Monday after missing the last four games, the team announced (via Twitter).
Retweet 2 Share 0 Send via email0

Southeast Notes: Gill, Butler, Heat, Borrego

April 25th, 2021 at 5:29pm CST by JD Shaw

Wizards forward Anthony Gill made the most of his opportunity in the team’s game against the Thunder on Friday, Chase Hughes of NBC Sports Washington writes.

Gill received more playing time largely due to the absence of Deni Avdija (season-ending fibula fracture) and finished with nine points and 10 rebounds in 20 minutes. It was just his 19th appearance of the season.

“AG, I’m proud of him. He hasn’t played much,” head coach Scott Brooks said. “The guy works harder than anybody on our team. He comes in every day. He comes in early. He’s always cheering his teammates on, he’s the first one up [off the bench].”

Gill will have a bigger opportunity on Sunday as he starts in place of injured forward Rui Hachimura against the Cavaliers.

There’s more from the Southeast Division tonight:

Retweet 3 Share 0 Send via email0

Wizards Won’t Immediately Re-Sign Jordan Bell

April 24th, 2021 at 8:25pm CST by Arthur Hill

The Wizards don’t plan to give Jordan Bell another contract right away, but he may not be finished with the team, tweets Chase Hughes of NBC Sports. A source tells Hughes that Bell made a positive impression during his time in Washington and has “a good chance to return at some point.”

Bell has already completed two 10-day contracts with the Wizards this season, which would normally make him ineligible for a third. However, he could technically receive another 10-day deal from the team since his first one was completed via the hardship provision before this year’s 10-day window had formally opened.

Bell got into two games during his most recent 10-day deal, which expired Friday night. He played 16 minutes last Saturday against the Pistons and one minute Friday against the Thunder.

The 26-year-old also signed for 10 days in January, appearing in three NBA games before being released and joining the Erie BayHawks of the G League. In total, Bell averaged 2.8 points and 3.8 rebounds in five games for Washington, playing 13.4 minutes per night.

The expiration of Bell’s contract means the Wizards have a roster opening if they decide to re-sign him before the season ends. Hughes’ source doesn’t expect the team to pursue a small forward, even though rookie Deni Avdija is out for the season with a right fibular hairline fracture.

Retweet 4 Share 0 Send via email0

Avdija's Passing Skills Were Underutilized

April 23rd, 2021 at 9:56pm CST by Dana Gauruder

The Wizards never really found out what rookie Deni Avdija could add as a secondary playmaker in his rookie season, Fred Katz of The Athletic writes. Avdija’s rookie campaign was cut short by a right fibular hairline fracture.

Avdija didn’t have many ball-handling opportunities starting alongside Wizards stars Bradley Beal and Russell Westbrook. Avdija ascended in last year’s draft as a top-10 selection due to his passing skills, but Washington didn’t get a full picture of what the Israeli forward could produce long-term in that area as the team heads into a crucial offseason, Katz adds.

Retweet 3 Share 0 Send via email0

Deni Avdija Suffers Fracture In Right Ankle

April 22nd, 2021 at 7:11pm CST by Dana Gauruder

APRIL 22: An MRI has indicated that Avdija has suffered a right fibular hairline fracture, and will require 12 weeks — but no surgery — to recover, reports Ava Wallace of the Washington Post.

APRIL 21: Wizards rookie forward Deni Avdija suffered a hairline fracture in his right ankle, a source told ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski.

X-rays revealed the injury. Avdija will have an MRI on Thursday, but his season is over, Wojnarowski adds. He’s not expected to require surgery.

Avdija went up for a shot and landed on a Golden State defender in Wednesday’s game. He was averaging 6.3 PPG and 4.9 RPG after being selected with the No. 9 overall pick last fall. He started 31 of 53 games in his rookie campaign.

The Israeli native’s injury is a serious blow to a team making a playoff push. Washington entered the game on a five-game winning streak.

Avdija had been starting a power forward and the Wizards will now look for bigs such as Daniel Gafford, Davis Bertans and Jordan Bell to pick up the slack.

Retweet 4 Share 0 Send via email0

Checking In On Open NBA Roster Spots

April 22nd, 2021 at 4:30pm CST by Luke Adams

It has been nearly a month since the NBA’s trade deadline passed, but we’ve still seen a flurry of transactional activity during the last four weeks, as teams have signed and waived players ahead of the postseason.

While some clubs have full rosters and seem unlikely to make any changes between now and the end of the regular season, that’s certainly not the case across the board.

With the help of our roster counts tracker, here’s our latest look at open roster spots around the league, as of April 22:

Teams with one or more open 15-man roster spots:

  • Golden State Warriors
  • Miami Heat
  • Minnesota Timberwolves
  • New Orleans Pelicans (2)
  • New York Knicks
  • Portland Trail Blazers
  • San Antonio Spurs

The Heat, Timberwolves, Knicks, and Spurs each have 14 players on standard contracts and one opening on their 15-man rosters. They’re all good bets to sign a 15th man before the season ends, either for developmental purposes or for added postseason depth.

The Warriors and Trail Blazers have 13 players apiece on standard deals, one on a 10-day contract – Gary Payton II for Golden State and Rondae Hollis-Jefferson for Portland – and one open spot. Hollis-Jefferson’s 10-day pact runs through next Tuesday, while Payton’s goes through Wednesday. Once those deals expire, the Warriors and Blazers will each have up to two weeks to get back to 14 players.

Since the NBA only allows teams to dip to 13 or fewer players for up to two weeks at a time, the Pelicans are very much on the clock. They’ve been at 13 players for the last nine days, since Isaiah Thomas‘ 10-day contract expired. The expectation is that New Orleans will sign draft-and-stash prospect Didi Louzada as a 14th man by early next week.

Teams whose 15-man rosters are full due to one or more 10-day contracts:

These 10 teams have full 15-man rosters as of today, but that might not last long. The dozen 10-day contracts listed here will begin expiring as soon as tonight (Hall), so if those players aren’t re-signed, the clubs will have roster openings.

The Nets will also fall into this group once they officially waive LaMarcus Aldridge and sign Mike James to a 10-day deal.

Teams with an open two-way contract slot:

  • Cleveland Cavaliers
  • Minnesota Timberwolves
  • Phoenix Suns
  • Toronto Raptors

The Suns have only carried a single two-way player all season long, so there’s no guarantee they’ll fill their second slot before the end of the regular season.

The other teams listed here are all better candidates to do so — Cleveland (Lamar Stevens) and Toronto (Yuta Watanabe) just recently promoted two-way players to their respective 15-man rosters, while Minnesota was carrying a pair of two-way players until waiving Ashton Hagans in February.

The Cavs reportedly intend to sign Jeremiah Martin to fill their two-way opening.

Retweet 2 Share 0 Send via email0

Gafford Thriving With His New Team

April 20th, 2021 at 7:31pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Daniel Gafford thought there was a “50-50” chance he could be dealt by the Bulls before the Wizards traded for him, according to Fred Katz of The Athletic.

He’s thriving thus far since joining the Wizards, averaging 11.4 PPG, 5.8 RPG and 2.0 BPG in 17.1 MPG through his first eight games.

The Wizards were not only interested in adding an athletic body in Gafford. They also liked his affordable contract — he has a non-guaranteed $1.78MM salary next season, a guarantee Washington will almost certainly pick up given his production.

Retweet 2 Share 0 Send via email0
Load More Posts