- Chase Hughes of NBC Sports Washington contends that a handful of GM Tommy Sheppard‘s roster moves – including drafting Rui Hachimura, trading for Russell Westbrook, and acquiring Daniel Gafford – have the Wizards on a positive trajectory.
- Luke Walton of the Kings and Scott Brooks of the Wizards are other coaches whose job security isn’t exactly rock solid, but Charania and Amick point to financial considerations in Sacramento and a recent hot streak in D.C. as factors working in favor of Walton and Brooks keeping their jobs. Walton has a strong relationship with Kings GM Monte McNair, while Brooks is well-liked in Washington, note Charania and Amick. Still, the long-term future of Wizards GM Tommy Sheppard is also somewhat uncertain, which further clouds Brooks’ status.
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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:
- Oklahoma City Thunder: Charlie Brown Jr. (runs through May 4)
- Orlando Magic: Ignas Brazdeikis (runs through May 11)
- Brooklyn Nets: Mike James (runs through May 12)
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
- 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.
- The red-hot Wizards have three secret weapons in the middle, Thomas Boswell of the Washington Post writes. Boswell examines the production the club has received from Daniel Gafford, Robin Lopez and Alex Len, all of whom have seen valuable minutes in recent weeks. Washington has been playing without its starting center, Thomas Bryant, since he suffered a partially torn ACL in January.
- Wizards forward Rui Hachimura (knee) is set to return on Monday after missing the last four games, the team announced (via Twitter).
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:
- Heat star Jimmy Butler re-affirmed his loyalty to his teammates after a disappointing 118-103 loss to the Hawks on Friday, Ira Winderman of the Sun Sentinel writes. Miami bounced back with a 106-101 home victory against the Bulls on Saturday. “I’m telling you,” Butler said, “I’ll ride with these guys ‘til wheels fall off.”
- Several key players remain out for the Heat, Winderman writes in a different story for the Sun Sentinel. Miami played without Goran Dragic (injury recovery), Tyler Herro (sore right foot) and Victor Oladipo (knee soreness) against Chicago. All three guards play significant roles in the team’s rotation when healthy.
- Hornets coach James Borrego could stick with a variation of his new starting lineup for the rest of the season, Rick Bonnell of the Charlotte Observer explores. Borrego opted to start Terry Rozier, Devonte’ Graham, Cody Martin, Miles Bridges and P.J. Washington against Cleveland on Friday. The team, which has been playing without the likes of LaMelo Ball (wrist) and Gordon Hayward (foot), notched a 108-102 victory.
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.
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.
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.