Washington Wizards Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Wizards Hire Johnny Rogers In Front Office Role

August 2nd, 2019 at 12:05pm CST by Luke Adams

AUGUST 2: The Wizards have officially announced the hiring of Rogers as VP of pro personnel. He’ll oversee Washington’s NBA, G League, and international scouting efforts, according to the team.

“Johnny brings tremendous global experience, vast NBA knowledge and great basketball relationships to our franchise,” Sheppard said in a statement. “He is universally respected as a player and executive.”

JULY 30: After being named the permanent general manager in Washington, Tommy Sheppard is in the process of filling out the Wizards‘ front office, and is hiring Johnny Rogers away from the Clippers, league sources tell ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski and Zach Lowe (Twitter link).

According to ESPN’s report, Rogers will be named the Wizards’ VP of pro personnel, which will be a new position in the club’s front office. He had been the Clippers’ director of pro player personnel.

A handful of Clippers executives have drawn interest from rival NBA teams this summer, though the club managed to hang onto most of its front office talent. General manager Michael Winger and assistant GM Trent Redden opted to remain in Los Angeles after receiving consideration for jobs with other clubs.

However, the Clippers won’t be able to retain Rogers, who previously worked for the Thunder as well. In Washington, he’ll reunite for a second time with former OKC head coach Scott Brooks — as Chase Hughes of NBC Sports Washington tweets, Rogers and Brooks played together in college at UC Irvine.

Wizards Announce Changes To Coaching Staff

August 1st, 2019 at 5:14pm CST by Luke Adams

The Wizards have formally announced a series of changes to Scott Brooks‘ coaching staff, issuing a press release to confirm the moves.

Tony Brown, who has been an assistant on Brooks’ staff since 2016, has been promoted to associate head coach, making him the lead assistant in Washington. The team also hired Mike Longabardi, Corey Gaines, and Dean Oliver as assistants.

Longabardi, a veteran coach who served as an assistant for the Rockets, Celtics, Suns, and Cavaliers, has won titles with Boston and Cleveland. Gaines served as a coaching consultant for the Pistons last season after spending time as an assistant for the Knicks and Suns. Oliver, whom the Wizards call a “pioneer in sports analytics,” comes to D.C. from Sacramento.

Ryan Richman, an assistant coach for Brooks last season, has been named the head coach of the Capital City Go-Go, Washington’s G League affiliate. Jarell Christian, the Go-Go’s head coach in 2018/19, has joined the Wizards’ staff as an assistant. Interestingly, the Go-Go’s press release refers to both moves as “promotions.”

Despite all the incoming hires, the Wizards are also bringing back several members of last year’s staff, including assistants Robert Pack and Mike Terpstra, and developmental coach Kristi Toliver.

“Coach Brooks and I worked closely to pinpoint what areas we needed to improve and identify the best candidates, both internally and externally, to make the appropriate changes,” new permanent Wizards GM Tommy Sheppard said in a statement. “We’re very confident that we have a strong staff in place that is in line with the vision we have for our rebuilding our culture and focusing on the overall development of our players.”

Southeast Notes: Gordon, Wizards, Miller

July 30th, 2019 at 7:09pm CST by ChrisCrouse

Aaron Gordon jumped on Sirius XM NBA Radio to talk about the Magic‘s NBA offseason and he portrayed optimism about Markelle Fultz‘s future with the club.

“[Fultz] is a sleeper. If he wakes up and if he’s awake and woken up, he’s a monster,” Gordon said.

Fultz, whose return to the court has yet to be determined, will have a chance to win the team’s starting point guard spot. Incumbent starter D.J. Augustin, who has one season left on his deal, and Michael Carter-Williams, who re-signed with Orlando on a one-year deal, will be the former No. 1 overall pick’s top competition for the role.

Orlando didn’t make major additions in the backcourt this offseason. The team re-signed a few members of its core (Nikola Vucevic, Terrence Ross) and brought in Al-Farouq Aminu with its mid-level exception. Gordon is excited about the addition of Aminu, as well as the continuity the team will experience next season.

“We got Al-Farouq, which is dope,” Gordon said. “[He’s] another 3-and-D guy. Tenacious, hard noise, long-defender and that’s the most beautiful thing. Nothing has changed from this year to last year.”

Here’s more from the Southeast Division:

Chase Hughes of NBC Sports Washington examines whether the Wizards can make a quick turnaround. Hughes argues that if Washington is going to contend sooner than later, the team needs its young talent to show improvement. That would increase each players’ trade value and give the Wizards an avenue to place an immediate difference maker next to Bradley Beal.
The Hawks have promoted Tori Miller to assistant GM of the College Park Skyhawks, according to the G League affiliate’s website. Miller spent the last two seasons as the Skyhawks’ Manager of Basketball Operations. She broke into the NBA as an intern with the Suns from 2014-16.
Ira Winderman of the Sun Sentinel envisions Pat Riley remaining with the Heat for the foreseeable future, as the scribe details in his latest mailbag. Winderman adds that Miami’s team president remains determined to get the team back to contention and the franchise’s young players are suited to help them achieve that goal.

Miles Eager For Bounce Back Season

July 26th, 2019 at 8:56pm CST by Dana Gauruder

C.J. Miles is eager to show he can still be an effective player for the Wizards once he returns from foot surgery, he told Chase Hughes of NBC Sports Washington. Miles split time with the Raptors and Grizzlies last season and was traded to Washington this summer in exchange for Dwight Howard. “Last year I just felt like I never really got in a groove after the work I put in to really help my team,” he said. “It just didn’t fit. It’s not personal, it was new coach and a trade happened.” Miles underwent surgery on Thursday to repair a stress fracture in his left foot and will be re-evaluated in six weeks.

Wizards Sign Phil Booth To Exhibit 10 Deal

July 26th, 2019 at 2:36pm CST by Luke Adams

The Wizards have officially signed free agent guard Phil Booth, the team announced today (via Twitter). According to Don Markus of The Baltimore Sun (Twitter link), Booth received an Exhibit 10 contract.

A Baltimore native, Booth won a pair of titles during his time at Villanova before going undrafted last month. In his final season as a Wildcat in 2018/19, the 6’3″ guard emerged as the team’s go-to scorer, averaging 18.5 PPG, 3.9 RPG, and 3.8 APG with a .434/.367/.749 shooting line in 36 games.

The Cavaliers added Booth to their roster for Summer League play in Las Vegas this month and he showed off his scoring ability in four games for Cleveland, averaging 11.3 PPG in just 15.3 minutes per contest.

Booth appears to be on track to attend training camp with the Wizards. Although he’s probably unlikely to earn a regular season roster spot, he could end up on a two-way deal or playing for the Capital City Go-Go, Washington’s G League affiliate.

Why Bradley Beal Won’t Immediately Accept Wizards’ Extension Offer

July 26th, 2019 at 10:57am CST by Luke Adams

Today marks the three-year anniversary of Bradley Beal signing his current five-year deal with the Wizards, which means it’s also the day he becomes eligible to sign a contract extension with the team.

New permanent general manager Tommy Sheppard vowed earlier in the week that the Wizards would offer Beal the maximum possible extension – nearly $112MM over three years – as soon as possible. According to David Aldridge of The Athletic (Twitter link), the team did just that today. However, Aldridge says that Beal isn’t signing that offer immediately — if at all.

As Aldridge details (via Twitter), Beal is grateful for the offer and remains committed to the franchise. But he also still has questions about the Wizards’ short- and long-term plans during the prime of his career, and has a better chance to maximize his earnings if he waits to sign a new contract. According to Aldridge (Twitter link), the two sides will continue to have “amiable” discussions about their future.

While it’s impossible for us to know at this point whether or not Beal will ultimately decide that he’s comfortable with the Wizards’ long-term vision and wants to remain in D.C. for the foreseeable future, we can at least crunch the numbers and break down why it makes more sense financially for the All-Star guard to hold off on an extension.

Cap guru Albert Nahmad has a more detailed round-up of all the scenarios on the table for Beal, but here’s a quick look at the maximum-salary extension available to him now as opposed to the ones that could be available next summer:

Year	Now	July 2020	July 2020 (All-NBA)
2021/22	$34,502,129	$34,502,129	$43,750,000
2022/23	$37,262,299	$37,262,299	$47,250,000
2023/24	$40,022,469	$40,022,469	$50,750,000
2024/25	–	$42,782,639	$54,250,000
2025/26	–	–	$57,750,000
Total	$111,786,897	$154,569,536	$253,750,000

That third column is an important one. Based on the NBA’s $125MM cap projection for 2021/22, that’s the super-max contract Beal would be eligible for if he earns All-NBA honors in 2019/20.

On a Wizards squad that projects to finish in the bottom five of the Eastern Conference, Beal will face an uphill battle when it comes to making an All-NBA team. Still, John Wall is expected to miss most or all of the season, and Beal put up his best numbers after Wall went down in 2018/19, averaging 27.2 PPG, 6.0 APG, and 5.1 RPG in 47 games the rest of the way.

Even if Beal isn’t named to an All-NBA team in 2019/20, he’d still have one year left on his current contract and would have an opportunity to become super-max eligible again during the 2020/21 season.

If Beal plays out the remaining two years on his current contract and reaches the open market in July of 2021, here are the maximum-salary options that would be available to him based on the league’s latest cap projections:

Year	Re-signing	Re-signing (All-NBA)	Joining new team
2021/22	$37,500,000	$43,750,000	$37,500,000
2022/23	$40,500,000	$47,250,000	$39,375,000
2023/24	$43,500,000	$50,750,000	$41,250,000
2024/25	$46,500,000	$54,250,000	$43,125,000
2025/26	$49,500,000	$57,750,000	–
Total	$217,500,000	$253,750,000	$161,250,000

As this chart shows, Beal could, in theory, nearly double the total value of his next contract with the Wizards if he waits until free agency to re-sign with Washington rather than signing an extension right now. If he earns an All-NBA spot in either of the next two seasons, the value of his next deal could go even higher.

The salary figures here for joining a new team are also worth noting. Signing an extension with the Wizards today would lock in a $34.5MM salary for Beal in 2021/22. Unless the NBA’s cap projections for that season change significantly over the next two years, he’d be assured of a much larger starting salary by waiting until free agency, even if he signs with a new team at that point.

If Beal believes there might be a chance that his value as a player won’t be as high in a year or two as it is now, he may be more motivated to sign an extension right now and gain some long-term security. He’s still just 26 years old though, so there’s no reason to believe he won’t maintain his current value for at least the next two seasons, barring a significant injury.

With Beal unlikely to accept an extension offer from the Wizards anytime soon, we can probably expect to hear increasing trade speculation surrounding the star guard in the coming weeks and months. However, Sheppard has said the team doesn’t plan to go down that road, and the numbers detailed above show why it makes sense for Beal to wait on a new deal even if he wants to remain in Washington.

As long as Beal doesn’t express a desire to be sent elsewhere, I wouldn’t expect the Wizards to start seriously entertaining a trade anytime soon, with or without an extension in place.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Eastern Notes: Wizards, Dragic, Davis

July 25th, 2019 at 10:09pm CST by ChrisCrouse

Sashi Brown, who previously led the NFL’s Cleveland Browns but will now work within the Wizards‘ new-look front office, admits that it will take some time to transition to the NBA, though he sees opportunity to add value, as Chase Hughes of NBC Sports passes along.

“I think that if you’re relying on winning to develop your culture you probably don’t have a very good culture,” Brown said. “It really has to be the driver for winning. That’s what we’re going to do. We’ve got guys that are experienced and passionate that will hold the entire organization accountable.”

Here’s more from the Eastern Conference:

Goran Dragic was nearly traded this offseason and that might suggest that his days on the Heat are numbered but Ira Winderman of the Sun Sentinel sees it differently. The scribe envisions Dragic playing better in 2019/20 and suggests that the best move for both parties would be to sign a one-year deal at the end of the season, as the Heat are financially gearing up for the summer of 2021 in order to chase star free agents.
The Hornets may have to choose between Malik Monk and Nicolas Batum as they decide who will be in their starting lineup, Rick Bonnell of the Charlotte Observer writes. The decision could come down to whether the team is planning on competing this season or investing in their young prospects.
Anthony Davis, who is from Chicago, called the city the “Mecca of basketball,” as The Chicago Tribune passes along. Davis added that he’d consider joining the Bulls at some point in the future if it made sense to do so.

Wizards’ C.J. Miles Undergoing Foot Surgery

July 25th, 2019 at 11:57am CST by Luke Adams

Wizards swingman C.J. Miles will undergo surgery to repair a stress fracture in his left foot, the team announced today in a press release. The procedure will be performed later today in New York.

“Our medical team has done a fantastic job of proactively diagnosing C.J.’s condition and establishing a treatment protocol,” new Wizards GM Tommy Sheppard said in a statement. “He will continue to be a positive influence on our team as he works through his rehab and we’re looking forward to getting him back on the court when he is healthy.”

It’s not clear if Miles is at risk of missing training camp or the start of the regular season. The Wizards indicated that they’ll issue another update on his condition in six weeks.

Miles, who is in the final year of the three-year contract he signed with the Raptors in 2017, was sent from Toronto to Memphis at last season’s deadline in the Marc Gasol trade. The Grizzlies flipped him to Washington this summer in exchange for Dwight Howard.

Miles’ 2018/19 season came to an early end when he was diagnosed with a stress reaction in his left foot in March. Chase Hughes of NBC Sports Washington tweets that Miles didn’t believe there were any red flags with that injury when he took a physical upon being acquired by the Wizards. However, as Sheppard’s statement suggests, it appears Washington’s medical team discovered a stress fracture that needs to be addressed via surgery.

Wizards Notes: Leonis, Sheppard, Brown, Medina, Roster

July 24th, 2019 at 2:29pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Wizards owner Ted Leonsis believes the franchise can make a quick turnaround, as he told Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN. He believes that with backcourt stars John Wall and Bradley Beal leading the way, Washington can become a contender. However, Wall is expected to miss all of next season as he recovers from an Achilles tear.

“My belief is that you can you do things fast. We have the wherewithal and resources and facilities and technology,” Leonsis said. “If we can bring John back and, with Brad, develop our draft picks and assets, start to manage the [salary] cap, why can’t this be quick? It doesn’t need to be a five years it took when we drafted John and Brad. We can turn this one faster.”

We have more on the Wizards:

Leonsis indicated that new GM Tommy Sheppard and chief planning and operations officer Sashi Brown will have equal say on decisions where their duties overlap, according to NBC Sports Washington’s Chase Hughes. There is going to be much more shared decision-making in the new front office setup. However, Brown said that basketball personnel decisions will ultimately be made by Sheppard (Twitter links).
Daniel Medina will also play a major front office role, according to USA Today’s Jeff Zillgitt. Medina has been hired as the chief of athlete care and performance for Monumental Basketball. He will focus on medical, training, mental health, strength and conditioning, nutrition, and physical therapy and recovery. “The goal is to create a very collaborative, many-hands-make-light-work level and be prepared for the new NBA where data technology and health and wellness and all of these services merge with what is happening on the court,” Leonsis said.
Leonsis now believes having three max players on the roster isn’t conducive to building a successful team, David Aldridge of The Athletic tweets. Leonsis previously felt that having three max stars was the way to go but he now subscribes to the theory that spreading the wealth is a better approach. “Depth is becoming so much more important in this league, just because of the injuries,” he said.

Inside Kawhi Leonard’s Path To The Clippers

July 23rd, 2019 at 9:19am CST by Arthur Hill

The Clippers were portrayed as a distant third in the Kawhi Leonard sweepstakes before the opportunity developed to trade for Paul George, but their work behind the scenes paved the way for success, according to Jovan Buha and Sam Amick of The Athletic in a detailed look at one of the offseason’s most important stories.

Everything came together late on the night of July 5 when a tentative deal was reached with the Thunder that would deliver George for a generous return of Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Danilo Gallinari, five first-round picks and two pick swaps. The Clippers’ front office then held its collective breath during a phone call to Leonard and his representatives to make sure he was on board.

When the answer came, L.A. vaulted into a short list of the league’s elite teams. Pairing Leonard and George gives them a pair of two-way stars in their prime who are capable of delivering the first championship in franchise history. It also brings a pair of Southern California natives back home, but the authors suggest that storyline was overblown in Leonard’s case.

From the start of free agency, Leonard was focused on finding a team that could contend for a title every year. He spoke to the Clippers several times each day once free agency began, continuing the conversation past his official meeting on July 1. The team’s selling points included owner Steve Ballmer’s commitment to winning and to spending whatever it takes to get there, a player-friendly environment and a planned new arena in Inglewood.

It turns out that discretion also worked in the Clippers’ favor. They have a history of making major deals without leaking to the press, as evidenced by recent trades involving Blake Griffin and Tobias Harris. It’s an approach that Leonard’s camp insisted upon, and it helped them as Leonard sorted through his options.

The payoff came late that Friday night as George and Leonard committed to joining forces. As Buha and Amick note, the moves validated everything the Clippers have set up since Ballmer bought the team and allowed them to cash in the assets they collected in the Griffin and Harris deals. All the small moves they had made in recent years suddenly turned into a very big deal.

There are a few more significant details from the Athletic story:

In contrast to the Clippers‘ reputation to operating in the shadows, the Lakers tend to be very public about their business. Some observers believe their chances at Leonard were severely damaged when details of his meeting with former team president Magic Johnson became public. “I truly believe that when Magic started telling the media about the meeting he had with Kawhi and (his uncle and confidant, Dennis Robertson) that sealed the fate of the Lakers,” a person involved in the process told the authors. “I think that right there was when Dennis and Kawhi decided we can’t trust the Lakers as an organization. And that was it. I think that was it for them.”
Before learning of the opportunity with George, the Clippers ran through exhaustive scenarios about NBA stars who might be available. They contacted the Wizards about Bradley Beal and the Rockets about James Harden, but were turned down in both cases. Leonard, meanwhile, reached out to Jimmy Butler and Kevin Durant about coming to Los Angeles.
George and Russell Westbrook both talked to the Thunder in June about shaking up the franchise, frustrated by a second straight early playoff exit. However, Oklahoma City management believed everything had been smoothed over by the time free agency began.
Leonard, who has built a reputation of knocking off “super teams,” wasn’t especially interested in forming another one by joining LeBron James and Anthony Davis on the Lakers. “Elite players like Kawhi earn their stripes, and he was not going to be a guy who joins a so-called ‘super team,’” a source told The Athletic’s Shams Charania. “Now, if a super team forms around him, there is nothing he can control. The Clippers were the best long-term fit.”