Washington Wizards Rumors | Hoops Rumors

O’Connor’s Latest: Harden, Beal, Nets, Sixers, Pelicans

January 11th, 2021 at 4:05pm CST by Luke Adams

While James Harden‘s offseason trade request has dominated NBA headlines for the last month or two, league sources question how willing Rockets general manager Rafael Stone is to deal the superstar guard this season, according to Kevin O’Connor of The Ringer.

With the likes of John Wall, Christian Wood, and even rookie Jae’Sean Tate playing well, front office executives around the NBA believe the Rockets are becoming more confident that Harden will be comfortable staying in Houston for the rest of the season, writes O’Connor. The former MVP still prefers to be traded, but if the Rockets can build upon their early promise and improve their 3-5 record, he may not push quite as hard for a deal.

Here’s more from O’Connor:

Teams around the NBA are keeping close eye on the 2-8 Wizards in case Bradley Beal grows frustrated and decides he wants out. Both O’Connor and John Hollinger of The Athletic suggest there’s a case to be made that Beal could be even more appealing as a trade target than Harden. Beal is nearly four years younger than Harden and has “a more malleable game” that makes him a great fit in any system, O’Connor argues.
The presumed top suitors for Harden, including the Nets and Sixers, would also have interest in Beal, league sources tell The Ringer. The 76ers are a threat to acquire any available star player if they’re willing to put Ben Simmons on the table, but people around the league are more skeptical about Brooklyn’s ability to land a star, says O’Connor.
O’Connor asked 14 executives which under-the-radar teams could be candidates to acquire a star player via trade, and six named the Pelicans — rival execs don’t necessarily expect David Griffin to hoard New Orleans’ excess draft picks for years, given how good Brandon Ingram and Zion Williamson already are. The Heat, Knicks, Mavericks, Nuggets, and Spurs also received votes.
In case you missed it, O’Connor also said that Wizards head coach Scott Brooks is “firmly” on the hot seat, as we detailed earlier today.

COVID-19 Notes: Protocols, Rosters, Beal, House

January 11th, 2021 at 3:05pm CST by Luke Adams

For COVID-19 tracing purposes, the NBA follows CDC guidelines, defining “close exposure” as having spent 15 or more minutes within six feet of someone who tests positive for the virus. As Tim Cato and Jared Weiss of The Athletic explain, league research has shown this doesn’t happen during games, where players don’t spend more than five or six total minutes within six feet of any one player. That’s why teams aren’t required to fully isolate following one positive test.

However, applying CDC guidelines – which are meant to cover average circumstances – to NBA games without accounting for all the extenuating factors in play may be risky, infectious disease physician Dr. Amesh Adalja tells The Athletic.

“We know that when people are engaged in athletic activity they’re often breathing faster,” Adalja said. “(It’s) more likely for more viral droplets to emanate during high intensity exercise, especially in indoor environments where people are less than six feet apart.”

As Cato and Weiss note, there haven’t been any confirmed examples of on-court transmission of COVID-19 between opposing NBA teams. If that does happen, the league may have to make some tough decisions, since applying week-long contact tracing protocols to entire squads following a positive test would make it difficult to continue playing games at all.

Here are more updates on how COVID-19 is affecting the NBA:

Some team executives are hoping to revisit the possibility of expanding rosters as a way to avoid COVID-related postponements, says Dan Woike of The Los Angeles Times. According to Tim MacMahon of ESPN (Twitter link), the argument against adding more roster spots is that, as one exec put it: “More players means more risk.”
After missing Saturday’s game due to the health and safety protocols, Bradley Beal will be available for the Wizards on Monday, tweets Fred Katz of The Athletic.
The Rockets said today that Danuel House has been ruled out for the time being due to the league’s health and safety protocols, tweets Kelly Iko of The Athletic.
As the NBA considers ways to potentially tighten its coronavirus protocols, its primary areas of concern are what happens on team benches, in locker rooms, and on planes, according to Marc Stein of The New York Times (Twitter link).

Westbrook Expected To Miss At Least One Week With Quad Injury

January 11th, 2021 at 12:25pm CST by Luke Adams

Wizards point guard Russell Westbrook is expected to miss the next week due to a left quadriceps injury, the team announced today (Twitter link).

According to the Wizards, the injury is a result of repeated contact to the area since the start of the season. The former MVP will be re-evaluated at the end of the week, per the club.

While Westbrook has been posting his usual lofty averages in his first seven games as a Wizard (19.3 PPG, 11.3 APG, 9.7 RPG), he has lacked his usual explosiveness on drives to the basket and his shooting percentage so far is a career-worst 37.8%.

The Wizards have looked to manage Westbrook’s workload and health this season by resting him in back-to-back sets. However, in the games he has played, he’s seeing plenty of action — his 37.1 minutes per game would be a career high.

Wizards’ Scott Brooks ‘Firmly’ On Hot Seat?

January 11th, 2021 at 10:05am CST by Luke Adams

Wizards head coach Scott Brooks is “sitting firmly” on the hot seat, league sources tell Kevin O’Connor of The Ringer.

Brooks, who was hired by the Wizards in 2016, is now in the final season of his five-year contract with the club, O’Connor notes. His tenure in D.C. got off to a strong start with a 49-33 regular season record and a first-round playoff series win in ’16/17, but Washington’s winning percentage has declined every year since then. So far this season, the team is 2-8.

O’Connor suggests that Brooks “looks lost trying to find effective lineups” this season, though he cautions that the Wizards’ struggles can’t all be blamed on the head coach.

The team’s mid-level free agent addition – Robin Lopez – hasn’t been great, newly-added guard Russell Westbrook has shot a career-worst 37.8% from the floor, and Deni Avdija is a rookie going through growing pains. Thomas Bryant is now out for the season with a torn ACL, while Davis Bertans has been ineffective in the early going after signing a lucrative new long-term contract in November.

As O’Connor writes, it’s still very early in the season, so if the Wizards can turn things around, the pressure on Brooks should lift a little. But the fact that he doesn’t have a contract beyond this season doesn’t bode particularly well, especially if the club continues to underperform.

Thomas Bryant Suffers Torn ACL

January 10th, 2021 at 11:34am CST by Arthur Hill

An MRI performed this morning on Wizards center Thomas Bryant confirmed that he suffered a torn ACL in his left knee, tweets ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski. Thomas was injured during the first quarter of Saturday’s game with Miami and had to be helped off the court by trainers.

Bryant, 23, was averaging a career-best 14.3 PPG, along with 6.1 rebounds and 0.8 blocks through 10 games. He will probably need nine to 12 months to recover and will be heading into a contract year, notes Chase Hughes of NBC Sports (Twitter link). Bryant will make $8,666,667 in 2021/22 and will be a free agent following that season.

Veteran Robin Lopez will probably take over as the starting center, Hughes adds (Twitter link), and the injury creates an opportunity for Moritz Wagner, who was recently removed from the rotation. Wagner has gotten into just four games this season and is averaging 11.5 minutes per night.

Washington will likely apply for a disabled player exception to offset the loss, tweets Bobby Marks of ESPN. It would be valued at roughly $4.2MM, which is half of Bryant’s salary for this season. Marks notes that the Wizards are currently $842K below the luxury tax line and don’t have a roster spot open. The deadline to apply is March 3 and it can be used until April 19.

The DPE can be used to sign a free agent, to claim a player off waivers, or to acquire a player in a trade. However, it can only be used on one player and can only accommodate a player on a one-year deal. A free agent signee can’t get a multiyear contract, and any trade or waiver target must be in the final year of his contract.

Southeast Notes: Beal, Bryant, Ball, Bamba

January 10th, 2021 at 9:57am CST by Arthur Hill

The Wizards didn’t find out that Bradley Beal wouldn’t be able to play Saturday night until an hour before game time, according to Fred Katz of The Athletic. Beal has been placed in the NBA’s health and safety protocols because of contact tracing, which normally sidelines a player for seven days, assuming he continues to test negative for COVID-19. He landed there because of a post-game conversation Friday night with Boston’s Jayson Tatum, who subsequently tested positive for the virus.

A source tells Katz the league is still reviewing the Beal situation and hasn’t decided how long he will have to sit out. Washington has upcoming games that could be affected on Monday, Wednesday and Friday.

“The NBA is really serious about this thing,” Rui Hachimura said. “We gotta (wear) masks on the bench and stuff, those kinds of stuff, and we gotta follow the rules. And we have to be ready. Any time — who knows? — someone (could) get injured or someone (could) get (ineligible). Brad just got called, and he can’t play right before the game. So, someone’s gotta step up and be ready every night.”

There’s more from the Southeast Division:

The Wizards may have suffered a significant loss Saturday night when starting center Thomas Bryant had to leave the game after hurting his left knee in the first quarter, Katz adds in the same story. An MRI will be conducted today to determine the extent of the damage, and a source tells Katz there’s hope it’s an injury to the MCL rather than the ACL. “T.B. is a huge part of what we do on both ends of the floor, and he’s been playing big for us,” Robin Lopez said. “… I hope everything turns out OK. I’m not sure what the status is right now, but we love having him on the floor. I love playing with him. I hope he’s OK.”
Hornets rookie LaMelo Ball entered the NBA record book Saturday, becoming the youngest player ever to post a triple-double. Sam Amick of The Athletic expects Ball to eventually replace Devonte’ Graham as the starting point guard, but admits it’s a difficult decision for coach James Borrego because Gordon Hayward handles so much of the playmaking for the first unit.
Magic center Mohamed Bamba is still playing catchup after the effects of a summer coronavirus case extended into this season, writes Roy Parry of The Orlando Sentinel. Bamba wasn’t cleared for contact work until December 16, and limited practice opportunities because of the condensed schedule have slowed his attempt to get back into game condition.

Thomas Bryant To Have MRI On Left Knee

January 9th, 2021 at 8:50pm CST by Arthur Hill

Wizards center Thomas Bryant will undergo an MRI on his left knee Sunday morning, tweets ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski. Sources tell Woj that he suffered an “initially painful” injury in tonight’s game.

Bryant hurt his knee during the first quarter against the Heat and had to be helped to the locker room by trainers, tweets Chase Hughes of NBC Sports. The Wizards later announced that he wouldn’t return (Twitter link).

Bryant is off to a strong start to the 2020/21 season, averaging a career-high 15.9 points per game, along with 6.8 rebounds. The 2-8 Wizards are already short handed, as they are avoiding playing Russell Westbrook in back-to-back games and will likely be without Bradley Beal for at least a week due to contact tracing.

Bradley Beal Out Due To Health And Safety Protocols

January 9th, 2021 at 5:28pm CST by Arthur Hill

Wizards guard Bradley Beal will miss tonight’s game against the Heat because of NBA health and safety protocols, tweets Shams Charania of The Athletic. Beal is subject to contact tracing because of exposure to the Celtics’ Jayson Tatum, who tested positive for COVID-19.

While several Washington players came in close contact with Tatum during Friday’s game, the league is investigating Beal for potential exposure because he and Tatum spoke afterwards while standing close to each other, Charania adds (Twitter link).

The Wizards’ past two games have been against the Celtics and Sixers, who have both been hit hard by the virus. Due to contact tracing and injuries, Philadelphia had just eight eligible players for today’s game.

The NBA’s protocol states that players under contact tracing can return after seven days as long as they continue to test negative. Including tonight’s game, the Wizards play four times in that span. Beal is the NBA’s leading scorer, averaging 35.0 PPG through his first nine games.

Westbrook's Fluid "Load Management" Schedule

January 9th, 2021 at 3:31pm CST by Alex Kirschenbaum

Fred Katz of The Athletic details the Wizards‘ “load management” plan for new starting point guard Russell Westbrook. Washington GM Tommy Sheppard tells Katz that the club’s process for resting Westbrook will be fluid going forward. “We’ve adhered to a schedule thus far and a lot of it just kinda evolves on how he’s feeling, how he’s responding to the rigors of the season,” Sheppard said. “It’s way too early right now to say, ‘OK, well this is how it’s going to be the entire year.’”

G Leaguers Will Join Pelicans' Affliliate

January 8th, 2021 at 7:54pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Now that plans have been revealed for the G League season, the Wizards will assign players to the Pelicans’ G League club, the Erie Bayhawks, for the games in Orlando, Fred Katz of The Athletic tweets. Both franchises will chip in the costs associated with participating in the “bubble” season, Katz adds.