Mobile Menu
HEADLINES

Wizards Rumors

Wizards Exercise 2021/22 Options On Troy Brown, Rui Hachimura

December 28th, 2020 at 2:56pm CST by Luke Adams

2:56pm: Fred Katz of The Athletic confirms (via Twitter) that the Wizards are declining their fourth-year options on Robinson and Wagner.

2:52pm: The Wizards have picked up their fourth-year option on Troy Brown and their third-year option on Rui Hachimura, the team announced today in a press release.

The options apply to the 2021/22 season, fully guaranteeing each player’s salary for next year. Brown will make $5.17MM in the final year of his rookie contract, while Hachimura’s third-year option is worth $4.92MM.

The 15th overall pick in the 2018 draft, Brown emerged as a regular rotation player for Washington in 2019/20, averaging 10.4 PPG, 5.6 RPG, and 2.6 APG with a .439/.341/.784 shooting line in 69 games (25.8 MPG).

Hachimura, the ninth overall pick in the 2019 draft, averaged 13.5 PPG and 6.1 RPG in 48 games (30.1 MPG) last season, earning a spot on the All-Rookie Second Team. He’s currently sidelined due to an eye issue.

Teams typically pick up all of their rookie scale options at once, so it’s worth noting that today’s announcement from the Wizards didn’t mention Jerome Robinson ($5.34MM fourth-year option) or Moritz Wagner ($3.89MM fourth-year option). Assuming those options aren’t exercised by Tuesday’s deadline, Robinson and Wagner will be on track for unrestricted free agency in 2021, and Washington won’t be able to offer them starting salaries higher than the values of their declined options.

Retweet 4 Share 0 Send via email0

Southeast Notes: Wizards, Hayward, Robinson, Dragic

December 28th, 2020 at 12:03pm CST by JD Shaw

The Wizards have opened the 2020/21 season with three straight losses — the most recent coming on Sunday against the Magic — despite leading by as many as 17 points in the fourth quarter.

Washington played without Russell Westbrook (rest) on the second night of its back-to-back, losing 120-113.

“You don’t go from 17 points, damn near 20 points, to losing the damn game,” Bradley Beal said, as relayed by Chase Hughes of NBC Sports Washington. “That’s unacceptable on all fronts.”

Beal played well in the team’s first game against Orlando on Saturday, scoring 39 points on 14-of-24 shooting, though he shot just 10-of-29 on Sunday. As a whole, the team allowed 250 points during the two contests (an average of 125 per game).

“If it’s a three-game season, we didn’t have a very good year,” coach Scott Brooks acknowledged, working to remain positive. “But we’ve still got 69 games left. We’ve gotta keep fighting.”

There’s more from the Southeast Division today:

  • Hornets veteran Gordon Hayward demonstrated that he can help the team in a variety of ways on Sunday, Rick Bonnell of the Charlotte Observer writes. Hayward, who joined the Hornets on a four-year, $120MM deal in free agency, carried the load offensively against Brooklyn. The 30-year-old recorded 28 points, six rebounds and seven assists, helping secure a 106-104 victory.
  • Ira Winderman of the Sun Sentinel explores the impending restricted free agency of Heat guard Duncan Robinson, noting that several teams have prioritized re-signing their sharpshooters in recent years (ex. Joe Harris with Brooklyn, or Davis Bertans with Washington). Robinson has established himself as one of the league’s top shooters, sinking seven threes in Miami’s game against New Orleans on Christmas Day, and Winderman believes the Heat are very likely to lock him up in 2021.
  • Goran Dragic has thrived off the bench for the Heat, proving his worth as a quality back-up ball-handler for the club, Winderman writes in a separate story for the Sun Sentinel. Dragic appears to be comfortable with starting or coming off the bench, a positive sign for a team that hasn’t finalized its starting lineup yet. “He’s a decorated veteran,” coach Erik Spoelstra said of Dragic. “He keeps himself in great shape, at a high fitness level. So it’s really about getting your basketball rhythm. That’s a great lesson to any young player. As long as you’re not woefully out of shape during the offseason, you can get it back with experience pretty quickly.”
Retweet 3 Share 0 Send via email0

Outstanding 2021/22 Rookie Scale Option Decisions

December 28th, 2020 at 9:48am CST by Luke Adams

The deadline for teams to exercise the third- and fourth-year team options for 2021/22 on players’ rookie scale contracts is Tuesday, December 29, meaning that clubs who have yet to finalize those decisions will have to do so today or tomorrow.

Most clubs with options to pick up have already done so, and in many cases those decisions were no-brainers. Luka Doncic (Mavericks), Ja Morant (Grizzlies), Trae Young (Hawks), and Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (Thunder) are among the players whose 2021/22 options have been exercised, and as long as they remain on their rookie contracts, they’ll be among the best bargains in the NBA.

With the help of our tracker, here are the option decisions that have not yet been announced or reported, with Tuesday’s deadline looming:

Boston Celtics

Golden State Warriors

Los Angeles Clippers

Minnesota Timberwolves

New York Knicks

Philadelphia 76ers

Washington Wizards

The fact that these option decisions haven’t been formally finalized yet doesn’t mean they won’t be easy calls. For instance, there’s no chance that the Sixers are going to decline their third-year option on Thybulle — they just haven’t made it official yet.

However, not all of these options are locked to be picked up. The Knicks, for instance, previously exercised their options on RJ Barrett and Kevin Knox but didn’t do so for Spellman. Teams almost always announce all their option pick-ups at once, so the fact that Spellman wasn’t included in that press release is a strong sign that New York will make him an unrestricted free agent in 2021.

Meanwhile, Poole’s option is the least expensive on this list and is barely worth more than the minimum, but even at that price, the Warriors have a tough decision to make. Poole has been relatively ineffective so far (.334/.277/.805 shooting in 60 games) and Golden State’s roster is expensive. The team has to determine whether it makes sense to continue investing in Poole’s development next season, or whether a minimum-salary veteran should get his spot on the ’21/22 roster.

I think most of the other options listed here – with the possible exception of Wagner’s – are more likely to be exercised than declined, but it’s possible there will be a surprise or two. It’s worth noting that turning down an option doesn’t mean the team can’t re-sign the player in 2021 free agency — it just means they can’t offer a starting salary higher than the value of the declined option.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Retweet 1 Share 0 Send via email0

Avdija Getting Quick Whistle From Refs

December 27th, 2020 at 4:19pm CST by Alex Kirschenbaum
  • Rookie Wizards swingman Deni Avdija is getting the first-year treatment from league referees, per Chase Hughes of NBC Sports Washington. Head coach Scott Brooks contends that Avdija is receiving quick whistles from league officials. Early foul trouble limited Avdija to just 15 minutes of action in a loss to the Magic yesterday. “It’s just part of the rookie initiation,” Brooks commented. “I [reviewed the plays] at halftime… I didn’t think two of them were fouls.”
Retweet 1 Share 0 Send via email0

2020/21 NBA Disabled Player Exceptions

December 25th, 2020 at 5:05pm CST by Luke Adams

A disabled player exception can be granted when an NBA team has a player go down with an injury deemed to be season-ending. The exception gives the club some additional spending flexibility, functioning almost as a cross between a traded player exception and a mid-level exception.

We go into more detail on who qualifies for disabled player exceptions and how exactly they work in our glossary entry on the subject. But essentially, a DPE gives a team the opportunity to add an injury replacement by either signing a player to a one-year contract, trading for a player in the final year of his contract, or placing a waiver claim on a player in the final year of his contract.

Because the rules related to disable player exceptions are somewhat restrictive and the exceptions themselves often aren’t worth a lot, they often simply expire without being used. Still, it’s worth keeping an eye on which disabled player exceptions have been granted, just in case.

We’ll use this space to break down the teams with disabled player exceptions available for the 2020/21 league year, updating it as the season progresses if more teams are granted DPEs and/or to indicate which ones have been used.

Teams have until March 3 to apply for a disabled player exception and until April 19 to actually use them.

Here’s the list so far:

Teams that have been granted disabled player exceptions:

The Warriors were granted a disabled player exception following Thompson’s season-ending Achilles tear. Because his salary exceeds $35MM+, Golden State’s exception is worth the amount of the mid-level exception. However, it remains to be seen how enthusiastic the team will be to use it. The Warriors, who are way over the luxury tax line, already project to have the NBA’s most expensive roster in 2020/21.

Two of Orlando’s young building blocks suffered torn ACLs that will sideline them for the entire 2020/21 season, resulting in a pair of disabled player exceptions for the team. However, the Magic have a full 15-man roster and aren’t far from the tax line, which will limit their options as they consider whether or not to use it.

Brooklyn received a disabled player exception after Dinwiddie underwent ACL reconstruction surgery. Like the Warriors, the Nets project to have a significant luxury tax bill at the end of the 2020/21 season, so they’ll be careful about using their disabled player exception. Since Brooklyn still has its full taxpayer mid-level exception, the DPE could be more useful on the trade market.

Leonard’s season-ending shoulder surgery paved the way for the Heat to apply for and receive a disabled player exception. However, they forfeited that exception when they agreed to send Leonard to Oklahoma City in a trade for Trevor Ariza.

The Wizards were granted a disabled player exception in response to Bryant’s ACL tear. The team doesn’t have the flexibility to use the full exception and remain out of luxury tax territory unless it sheds salary elsewhere.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Retweet 8 Share 0 Send via email0

Latest Details On NBA G League Bubble

December 24th, 2020 at 2:17pm CST by Luke Adams

Seventeen teams have indicated that they plan to participate in the NBA G League bubble, according to Jonathan Givony of ESPN, who notes that the G League Ignite select team will be the 18th squad.

While we don’t yet have a full, official list of the teams participating in the G League bubble, Ridiculous Upside has done a good job passing along reports (including some of ours) and providing new details on which clubs are in and out. Their list includes 13 teams believed to be in, not counting the Ignite, as follows:

  • Agua Caliente Clippers of Ontario (Clippers)
  • Austin Spurs (Spurs)
  • Canton Charge (Cavaliers)
  • Delaware Blue Coats (Sixers)
  • Fort Wayne Mad Ants (Pacers)
  • Lakeland Magic (Magic)
  • Long Island Nets (Nets)
  • Memphis Hustle (Grizzlies)
  • Oklahoma City Blue (Thunder)
  • Raptors 905 (Raptors)
  • Salt Lake City Stars (Jazz)
  • Santa Cruz Warriors (Warriors)
  • Westchester Knicks (Knicks)

G League expert Adam Johnson says the Greensboro Swarm (Hornets), Iowa Wolves (Timberwolves), and Erie BayHawks (Pelicans) are also expected to take part (Twitter link).

The G League reportedly asked for teams to volunteer to opt out, since bringing 29 franchises to the bubble wouldn’t have been logistically possible, so the clubs passing on the bubble aren’t necessarily doing so because they’re not interested in participating.

Teams opting out of the bubble who signed players to Exhibit 10 contracts before the season will be given the option to loan or “flex” those players to another G League team for the bubble and will be responsible for paying all expenses for those players, Givony explains.

The Wizards, for example, aren’t expected to have the Capital City Go-Go play in the bubble, but will likely use the Pelicans’ affiliate – the BayHawks – as their temporary affiliate for their former Exhibit 10 players, such as Caleb Homesley, Marlon Taylor, and Yoeli Childs, tweets Fred Katz of The Athletic.

A G League draft would take place in January, according to Givony, who reports that players whose returning rights are held by non-bubble teams would temporarily be dispersed to other clubs in that draft. If non-bubble teams don’t want to “flex” their former Exhibit 10 players to G League teams participating in the bubble, those players will also enter the draft pool, says Givony.

Stefan Bondy of The New York Daily News reported earlier this week that the tentative start date for the G League season is February 8. Adam Zagoria of Forbes (Twitter link) shares a more detailed breakdown of the proposed timeline, which would see G League players and staffers begin an “at-home” quarantine period on January 13.

Givony confirms that teams participating in the bubble still expect to play a minimum of 12 games apiece (not including the playoffs), as was reported in November.

Finally, Givony reports that the G League is making adjustments to its roster rules to make it easier for NBA teams to recruit and sign veterans with five or more years of NBA experience. Each team will be able to designate an “NBA Vet Selection” who fits that bill, and won’t have to navigate the NBAGL’s complicated waiver process to add that player, per Givony.

As Johnson tweets, the rule will be a one-off for this season and will allow – for instance – the Warriors to add Jeremy Lin to their Santa Cruz affiliate, like they wanted to.

Retweet 2 Share 0 Send via email0

Wizards Surprised Avdija Fell To No. 9

December 23rd, 2020 at 8:14pm CST by Alex Kirschenbaum
  • The Wizards were apparently so set on drafting rookie forward Deni Avdija that they at one point almost made a deal with the Bulls to move up to the No. 4 pick, but determined the cost was too high, per Chase Hughes of NBC Sports Washington. The Wizards did not anticipate that Avdija would last long enough to be available at No. 9.
Retweet 0 Share 0 Send via email0

Westbrook Hasn't "Been At Peace" In Recent Years

December 22nd, 2020 at 9:50pm CST by Dana Gauruder
  • There’s a feeling of familiarity for Russell Westbrook with the Wizards, starting with his former coach with the Thunder, Scott Brooks, Michael Lee of The Washington Post writes. Westbrook is seeking a comfort zone while playing for his third organization in as many seasons. “Really, it’s just being at peace,” Donnell Beverly, Westbrook’s business partner, told Lee. “I don’t think that’s where he’s been the last few years. I don’t think he’s been at peace.”
Retweet 3 Share 0 Send via email0

Rui Hachimura Out For Three Weeks Due To Eye Issue

December 21st, 2020 at 12:52pm CST by Luke Adams

Wizards forward Rui Hachimura will be sidelined for approximately three weeks due to bi-lateral epidemic keratoconjunctivitis (EKC), the club announced today in a press release.

Hachimura is essentially dealing with a severe case of pink eye, according to Wizards head coach Scott Brooks, who said the second-year forward has blurred vision and is sensitive to light (Twitter link via Chase Hughes of NBC Sports Washington).

Hachimura, who missed Washington’s last two preseason games, is “getting better,” Brooks said. However, it sounds like he won’t be able to make his regular season debut until sometime in the new year. The Wizards will play their 11th game of the season three weeks from today, so Hachimura will likely be sidelined for at least 10 contests.

The ninth overall pick in the 2019 draft, Hachimura averaged 13.5 PPG and 6.1 RPG in 48 games (30.1 MPG) last season, earning a spot on the All-Rookie Second Team.

While Davis Bertans would be the most obvious candidate to take Hachimura’s spot in the starting lineup, Brooks has typically liked to bring Bertans off the bench, notes Fred Katz of The Athletic (Twitter link). If Bertans doesn’t get bumped into the starting five, the club could turn to Anthony Gill or shift Deni Avdija to the four and start another wing, says Katz.

Retweet 6 Share 0 Send via email0

Wizards Notes: Westbrook, Avdija, Neto, International Players

December 20th, 2020 at 12:45pm CST by Arthur Hill

The Wizards enjoyed their first look at Russell Westbrook, who made his preseason debut Saturday night, writes Ava Wallace of The Washington Post. He contributed eight points, seven rebounds and three assists in 17 minutes and helped Washington outscore the Pistons by 11 points while he was in the game.

Wizards coach Scott Brooks was encouraged after watching Westbrook and Bradley Beal on the court together for the first time in a game situation.

“I like the fact that they were looking for other players, not just playing back and forth,” Brooks said. “Russell’s going to find whoever’s open; he’s going to make the right play. And Brad’s the same way.”

There’s more from Washington, D.C.:

  • First-round pick Deni Avdija is making a strong bid to be the team’s starting small forward on opening night, Wallace adds in the same piece. The 19-year-old got his second preseason start Saturday and played 32 minutes. “He’s definitely working his way to being a starter one day,” Brooks said. “Don’t know when that will be; it might be Wednesday night. He’s playing hard, he’s tough, he has great size, and he’s going to make us a better team. … He’s making a good case (to start) — there’s no question.”
  • Point guard Raul Neto has been a surprising standout during the preseason, notes Chase Hughes of NBC Sports Washington. The 28-year-old was brought in to improve the defense, but he scored 34 points in three preseason games. With Ish Smith as the primary backup to Westbrook, the Wizards may consider using Neto at shooting guard, Hughes adds. He played there for a while Saturday, taking minutes that normally would go to Jerome Robinson and Garrison Mathews.
  • With seven international players on their roster, the Wizards are tied with the Mavericks for the most in the league, Hughes writes in a separate story. In addition to Avdija, who is from Israel, and Neto, who hails from Brazil, Washington has Rui Hachimura of Japan, Davis Bertans and Anzejs Pasecniks of Latvia and Moritz Wagner and Isaac Bonga of Germany. “Those seven guys have the attributes we look for, not the passports we look for. It doesn’t really matter to me where you’re from,” general manager Tommy Sheppard said. “If there’s talent all over the world, it’s your job to go find it. It’s never intentional.”
Retweet 1 Share 0 Send via email0
Load More Posts