Washington Wizards Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Rui Hachimura Could Be Out Until February

January 18th, 2020 at 1:21pm CST by Alex Kirschenbaum

Wizards rookie power forward Rui Hachimura, absent since suffering a groin injury on December 16, may not return to the court until the calendar changes to February, according to Mike DePrisco of NBC Sports Washington. Hachimura has missed 16 straight contests with the nagging affliction.

Wizards coach Scott Brooks provided the update on Hachimura’s new health status ahead of the Wizards’ 140-111 loss to the Raptors last night.

Before going down, Hachimura was having a solid first season in D.C. The 6’8″ 21-year-old from Japan was taken No. 9 overall by the Wizards in the 2019 draft. In 25 games with the Wizards (all starts), Hachimura has averaged 13.9 PPG (fourth-best among all rookies), 5.8 RPG (first-best), and 1.6 APG. He is also shooting 48.2% from the field and a stellar 85.2% (17th-best) from the free-throw line.

DePrisco notes that Hachimura felt like a prime candidate to make the 2020 All-Star Weekend’s Rookie-Sophomore Game ahead of the injury, but that this new scheduling setback has thrown a possible wrench in an appearance for the talented Wizards rookie.

Scott Brooks Responds To Beal’s ‘Culture’ Comments

January 18th, 2020 at 9:30am CST by marksuleymanov

Wizards star Bradley Beal recently called out Washington’s team culture as the organization’s struggles continued with a tough loss to the Bulls on Wednesday. Given the team’s record, Beal addressed whether or not losing builds up frustration.

“I would hope it does,” Beal said. “I don’t like losing so it’s going to keep blowing up for me… Until we start winning and changing our culture.”

Despite the Wizards’ 13-28 record, Washington has been a fun team to watch this season and Beal — who signed a two-year extension last October — did so aware that 2019/20 would be a challenging season.

While a lack of winning can be conducive to frustration, Washington head coach Scott Brooks praised the direction in which the team is headed, per Candace Buckner of The Washington Post (Twitter link).

“I think with changing our culture, we have,” he said. “And we’ve done that. Sometimes wins and losses are part of every team’s culture. You can’t have a bunch of good guys that play hard for three straight years and not win because eventually a lot of people are no longer there. So, winning is part of the culture but right now we’re not doing that at the high level we want to do it at but we’re not going to run from it…”

In the first year of his extension, Beal has enjoyed his best individual season to date. Through 34 games, he’s averaging a career-best 27.2 PPG and 6.4 APG. Despite Beal’s frustration after Wednesday’s loss, Brooks believes the All-Star guard is a key part of the team’s present and future.

“Eventually, it’s going to pay off. I believe that. I like what we’re doing and Brad likes what we’re doing,” Brooks added. “Was he frustrated? Yeah. [But] you talk to him the next day, he feels totally different. He’s part of our culture and he’s a big part of it. When you lose everybody feels bad about it and that’s a good thing.”

Beal: Wizards Still Need To Change Culture

January 17th, 2020 at 4:00pm CST by Luke Adams

Following a tough loss to the Bulls on Wednesday night, Wizards star Bradley Beal voiced concern about his team’s culture, as Chase Hughes of NBC Sports Washington relays. After telling reporters that he was frustrated about losing “winnable games,” Beal was asked if that losing builds up.

“I would hope it does,” Beal said. “I don’t like losing so it’s going to keep blowing up for me… Until we start winning and changing our culture.” Asked what a changed culture would like, the Wizards guard replied: Winning games. Get that winning attitude and winning habits.”

As Hughes notes in a separate article, the timing of Beal’s comments is interesting, since the 26-year-old signed an extension in the offseason despite recognizing it would be a challenging season for the Wizards. The team has been fun to watch and certainly hasn’t fallen short of preseason expectations, so Beal’s comments are a little surprising.

Pointing out that Beal recently co-signed a J.J. Redick complaint about some NBA players prioritizing fashion and social media over winning, Hughes wonders if that was just coincidental timing or if the Wizards’ star is frustrated by some of his teammates’ behavior.

David Aldridge of The Athletic, who heard from a source that Beal seemed as angry and emotional after Wednesday’s loss as he’s been since joining the Wizards, noted that Washington’s defense has been “spectacularly bad” this season and speculated that the team’s effort on that end of the floor may be a source of frustration for the All-Star.

Troy Brown's Confidence Rising With Playing Time

January 15th, 2020 at 11:02pm CST by Arthur Hill

One bright spot among the Wizards‘ injury woes has been the emergence of Troy Brown, writes Fred Katz of The Athletic. Given consistent playing time, the second-year swingman has averaged 14.7 points and 7.1 rebounds over the last 18 games. “I feel like I grew a lot this year in becoming a young man and maturing,” Brown said. “But last year — I don’t know — my confidence was just so up and down just based on playing time and stuff like that.”

Pasecniks' Contract Partially Guaranteed Next Season

January 13th, 2020 at 10:58pm CST by Dana Gauruder

The Wizards used part of their mid-level exception to convert center Anzejs Pasecniks‘ contract from a two-way deal to a standard one, Fred Katz of The Athletic tweets. Pasecniks was signed to a multi-year pact on Sunday. The Wizards will take a $482K cap hit this year. Pasecniks has a $250K guarantee on his $1.52MM salary for the 2020/21 season. The contract for next season becomes fully guaranteed if he remains on the roster through July 8, Katz continues. His $1.78MM salary for 2021/22 is non-guaranteed, Katz adds.
Wizards GM Tommy Shephard reiterated that point guard John Wall will not return this season unless he’s completely healthy, Mike DePrisco of NBC Sports Washington writes. Wall has been participated in 3-on-3 drills with members of the player development staff. “We’re not going to skip steps, we’re not going to get excited about 3-on-3,” Sheppard said. “Down the road, I think we’ll start to add more players to the court and make it feel more like home, but we’re not in a rush to see John come back unless he’s 100 percent healthy.”

Thomas Bryant, Bradley Beal Back For Wizards

January 12th, 2020 at 1:13pm CST by Alex Kirschenbaum

Center Thomas Bryant will be returning to game action for the Wizards this afternoon against the Jazz, according to The Athletic’s Fred Katz (Twitter link).

Bryant, who had started all of his previous games for Washington this season, will be coming off the bench in his first NBA game since December 1, according to Hoops Rumors’ Chris Crouse (Twitter link). Crouse notes that Wizards All-Star shooting guard Bradley Beal, who has missed his team’s last five games, will return as well.

Before the 22-year-old Bryant suffered a right foot stress reaction in December, he had been enjoying his best season as a pro. The No. 42 pick in 2017, Bryant logged just 15 games for the Lakers in the 2017/18 season. Los Angeles waived Bryant in 2018.

In 2018/19, the Wizards took a flyer on Bryant, and he blossomed in his sophomore season following the injury flameout of nominal starting center Dwight Howard, who missed all but nine games in DC. Bryant averaged 10.5 PPG and 6.3 RPG for the Wizards during his age-21 season, convincing the Wizards to re-sign him this past summer to a three-year, $25MM contract.

Bryant is averaging career highs of 13.9 PPG, 8.5 RPG, and 2.7 APG in 28.4 MPG across Washington’s newly sped-up offense. The Wizards sport the third-fastest offense in the NBA.

Beal, who signed a two-year, $72MM extension with the Wizards this fall that will pay him through the 2022/23 season, had been enjoying a career year for Washington, too. He is averaging career highs of 27.8 PPG, 6.6 APG, and shooting 83.1% from the free-throw line. Beal is also averaging 4.8 RPG.

Celtics Notes: Memphis Pick, Brown, Poirier, Walker

January 12th, 2020 at 12:03pm CST by Arthur Hill

The Grizzlies‘ first-rounder that the Celtics own is a volatile asset heading into this year’s trade deadline, Sean Deveney writes for Forbes. The pick is top-six protected and becomes unprotected in 2021 if it doesn’t convey this year. Memphis is currently eighth in the West, but only three-and-a-half games ahead of the 14th-place Pelicans.

“(The Celtics) have been active in terms of seeing what is out there,” a general manager told Deveney. “I don’t think they want to sit on their hands. I am not sure how much they can realistically get done, though, because the Memphis pick is such a wild card. They can’t do anything significant unless they move that pick.”

Deveney identifies the Wizards‘ Davis Bertans and the Timberwolves‘ Robert Covington as possible trade targets. He states that Bertans is probably available for the Memphis pick, along with Enes Kanter and Semi Ojeleye. However, Bertans is entering free agency and Boston probably can’t afford to re-sign him with Jayson Tatum due for an extension. Covington is under contract for two more seasons and Deveney suggests the Celtics could get him for Kanter, Daniel Theis and the Bucks‘ 2020 first-rounder, allowing them to keep the Grizzlies’ pick.

There’s more out of Boston:

Jaylen Brown doesn’t believe Brandon Ingram was referring to him when he talked about being surprised that certain players received rookie scale extensions, relays Tom Westerholm of MassLive. “When we talked about the extension, of course, I’m human,” Ingram said in a recent interview with ESPN’s Andrew Lopez. “When I look at other guys, I’m like, ‘This (expletive) got an extension? Oh my god. Man, we can lace up right now and play one-on-one to 15 and this (expletive) won’t score.’ That’s how I looked at it as a competitor.” Asked about the comments after last night’s game against the Pelicans, Brown, who received a four-year, $115MM extension, responded, “I don’t feel any type of way, because I don’t feel like they apply to me.”
Vincent Poirier could soon provide some depth at center, coach Brad Stevens tells Adam Himmelsbach of The Boston Globe. Poirier is nearing a return after being sidelined since December 17 with a broken finger.
The Celtics snapped a three-game losing streak last night, but the recent downturn wasn’t alarming for Kemba Walker, who brings an outsider’s perspective after his years with the Hornets, writes John Karalis of MassLive. “I’ve lost so many more than three games in a row throughout the course of my career,” Walker said. “Plenty of times, so this is nothing to me personally. It’s just about getting back on track at this point.”

Wizards Waive C.J. Miles, Promote Anzejs Pasecniks

January 12th, 2020 at 11:55am CST by Arthur Hill

11:54am: The move is official, the Wizards announced in a press release.

“We appreciate CJ’s contributions to our team this season and wish him and his family the best as he continues his career,” general manager Tommy Sheppard said. “He is a consummate professional who provided a great example for our younger players despite having his season cut short by an unfortunate injury.”

The team also confirmed that Pasecniks has been signed to a multi-year contract and Williams received a two-way deal.

8:12am: The Wizards will waive injured swingman C.J. Miles, tweets Candace Buckner of The Washington Post. His roster spot will be used to convert Anzejs Pasecniks‘ two-way contract to a standard deal, and Johnathan Williams will be re-signed to fill the two-way slot.

Miles, who is making $8.73MM in the final year of his contract, was acquired from the Grizzlies in a trade last summer. He played just 10 games for Washington before suffering a wrist injury in November that will sideline him for the rest of the season.

The 32-year-old has been a positive presence in the locker room, Buckner adds, but the Wizards have been dealing with a string of injuries and need more healthy players (Twitter link).

The team will keep the $4.4MM Disabled Player Exception it received in the wake of Miles’ injury, tweets Bobby Marks of ESPN. The DPE is not affected by the decision to part with Miles.

Pasecniks, a rookie center, has played 13 games for the Wizards, averaging 8.2 points and 6.2 rebounds in about 22 minutes per night. Washington waived him before training camp, then signed him to the two-way deal in December. Buckner reported last week that the team hoped to promote him to the 15-man roster.

Williams recently had a brief stint with the Wizards as a hardship player, and impressed team officials enough that they wanted to give him another chance. He averaged 5.5 PPG and 6.3 RPG in six games, starting five of them, but was waived last week when the hardship exception expired. He’ll rejoin the roster in advance of the January 15 deadline for two-way signings.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

NBA G League Assignments/Recalls: 1/11/20

January 11th, 2020 at 9:00pm CST by Arthur Hill

Here are Saturday’s G League assignments and recalls from around the NBA:

The Kings assigned Wenyen Gabriel, Justin James and Caleb Swanigan to their affiliate in Stockton, tweets Jason Jones of The Athletic. Swanigan was recalled later in the day, the team announced (Twitter link).
The Wizards assigned Admiral Schofield to Capital City so he could play in tonight’s game against Sioux Falls, the team announced on Twitter.
The Pacers sent Goga Bitadze to Fort Wayne for the second time this season, tweets Scott Agness of The Athletic.
The Cavaliers recalled Tyler Cook from Canton, according to a press release from the team. Cook signed a 10-day contract on Thursday.
The Thunder recalled Deonte Burton and Justin Patton from Oklahoma City Blue, the team announced in an email.

Wizards Notes: Mathews, Wall, Payton, Bertans

January 10th, 2020 at 7:15pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Wizards rookie wing Garrison Mathews will miss multiple weeks with a right ankle sprain, according to Chase Hughes of NBC Sports Washington. Mathews, who is on a two-way contract, rolled his ankle when he stepped on Celtics forward Jayson Tatum‘s shoe. Mathews is averaging 6.2 PPG while shooting 42.9 % from long range.

We have more on the Wizards:

Point guard John Wall is participating in three-on-three scrimmages against members of the player development staff, Hughes relays in a separate story. It’s another step in Wall’s recovery from a ruptured left Achilles tendon. He had recently progressed from running and dunking to one-on-one contact drills with coaches, Hughes adds. However, there’s no expectation Wall will play this season. “I don’t know if he’s going to play this year. I don’t know if he’s not going to play,” head coach Scott Brooks said.
Guard Gary Payton II has earned a spot in the rotation, Jackson Filyo of the team’s website notes. Payton was signed under the league’s hardship exception last month due to a wave of injuries. “I’ve been hungry ever since I got here,” Payton said. “In and out of the G League, trying to find somewhere to stick. I think these guys here appreciate what I do and value what I do, so I go to bat for them every day.” In his first nine games with Washington, Payton is averaging 5.8 PPG, 4.7 RPG, 3.0 APG and 2.3 SPG in 23.6 MPG.
Davis Bertans returned to action on Friday with a minutes restriction, Candace Buckner of the Washington Post tweets. The stretch four was out for nine games with a quad injury. Bertans, who has an expiring $7MM contract, is averaging 15.4 PPG while making 43.2% of his 3-point attempts.