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Wizards Hire Antawn Jamison In Front Office Role

August 14th, 2019 at 8:49am CST by Luke Adams

The Wizards have brought a familiar face back to the organization, announcing today in a press release that Antawn Jamison has been hired as the club’s director of pro personnel.

Jamison, the fourth overall pick in the 1998 draft, spent nearly six of his 16 NBA seasons with the Wizards. He played for the franchise from 2004-10, earning both of his All-Star nods during his time in Washington. Now, after spending the last two years as a scout for the Lakers, he returns to D.C. in a role that will see him contributing to the Wizards’ NBA, G League, and international scouting efforts.

“We are absolutely thrilled to bring Antawn back to the Wizards organization,” Wizards GM Tommy Sheppard said in a statement. “In addition to his strong feel for the game and basketball knowledge, he has always been a true professional and a dedicated worker. We look forward to him bringing those qualities to our front office.”

The Wizards also announced the hirings of Laron Profit and John Cariedo, both of whom will join the team as scouts. Like Jamison, Profit also spent time in Washington as a player — the two men were teammates during the 2004/05 season.

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Eastern Notes: Brooks, Poirier, Beasley, Magic

August 11th, 2019 at 7:00pm CST by JD Shaw

The Wizards are set to face a number of challenges entering the 2019/20 season, which could ultimately reinvigorate head coach Scott Brooks as the team works through its struggles, Chase Hughes of NBC Sports writes.

Brooks, who was hired by Washington in 2016 after eight years with Oklahoma City, is set to coach one of the league’s most underwhelming rosters on paper this season. The matter intensifies when you remember All-Star guard John Wall will likely sit the entire season due to a torn Achilles’ tendon.

“One thing I also want to really pipe in on is the support we have from Coach Brooks and his staff and the ability they have to pivot,” general manager Tommy Sheppard said. “When Coach Brooks got here, we won 49 games and we were one game away from going to the conference finals. That was kind of the team he got coming through the door. Now, this takes him back to his OKC days.”

The Wizards wound up missing the playoffs last season due to an assortment of injuries, and a new roster will certainly test the patience of Brooks this year as the franchise seeks to find a new identity under Sheppard.

Here are some other notes from the Eastern Conference tonight:

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Six Teams Interested In Chasson Randle?

August 10th, 2019 at 1:00pm CST by Arthur Hill

Free agent guard Chasson Randle has received interest from the Hawks, Trail Blazers, Heat, Bucks, Warriors and Bulls, tweets Ben Stinar of Amico Hoops.

Randle, 26, became an unrestricted free agent in June when the Wizards opted not to tender a qualifying offer. He appeared in 49 games in his lone season in Washington, posting a 5.5/1.1/2.0 line in about 15 minutes per night and shooting 40% from 3-point range. Randle played a combined 26 games for the Sixers and Knicks during the 2016/17 season before spending 2017/18 in the EuroLeague with Real Madrid.

Unless someone offers him a fully guaranteed deal, Randle will likely face a process similar to how he earned a roster spot with the Wizards. He signed a training camp contract in September, but was waived before the season began. He had a strong showing during camp with Washington’s G League affiliate in Capital City and was signed for the rest of the season in late October.

Randle was waived again on November 12, but rejoined the Go-Go three days later and re-signed with the Wizards after Austin Rivers and Kelly Oubre were traded in mid-December.

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Leonsis Plans To Be More Visible

August 9th, 2019 at 8:54pm CST by Dana Gauruder
  • Tomas Satoransky‘s price tag became too much to bear for the Wizards in restricted free agency, as Fred Katz of The Athletic details. The Bulls offered him a three-year, $30MM contract and Washington felt that was too much for a player who’d be a backup once John Wall returned from his Achilles injury. A sign-and-trade was worked out that brought back a 2020 second-round pick and other considerations to Washington. Satoransky wasn’t disappointed. “I always felt like, for me, it was always harder than for others,” he said of his experience in Washington. “I had to always keep proving (myself) to people. And I always felt like, ‘Man, I’ve done enough to have that.’ So, I felt this needs a new start.”
  • Wizards managing partner Ted Leonsis will be more visible with a new front office structure in place, according to Chase Hughes of NBC Sports Washington. “Our owners are going to be more involved,” Leonsis said. “You constantly have to gauge back and forth: is it good to be involved, or is it not good to be involved? Every agent, every player that I’ve talked to said the more they see Raul Fernandez and Laurene Powell-Jobs and me, the more connected they feel to what our vision and what our ultimate plan is.”
  • Any package that the Heat would send out in a potential Bradley Beal and Wall deal with the Wizards would need to include James Johnson, Dion Waiters, Justise Winslow and Kelly Olynyk for salary-matching purposes, as Barry Jackson of the Miami Herald details. Trading for Beal alone would probably require the Heat to give up their three best assets, Bam Adebayo, Winslow and Tyler Herro, but they wouldn’t realistically be able to attach a draft pick until next June, Jackson adds.
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Wall Thinks Beal Will Sign Extension

August 7th, 2019 at 8:35pm CST by clarkcrum
  • Per Chase Hughes of NBC Sports Washington, Wizards point guard John Wall believes that teammate Bradley Beal will sign the three-year, $112MM contract extension being offered by Washington despite the financial reasons for not doing so, as we’ve detailed.
  • The Wizards have officially announced the hiring of Mark Simpson as the team’s new vice president of player performance. Simpson has spent the last three seasons as director of performance for the Clippers, where he oversaw the team’s player load management strategies.
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NBA Teams With Hard Caps For 2019/20

August 6th, 2019 at 11:16am CST by Luke Adams

The NBA salary cap is somewhat malleable, with various exceptions allowing every team to surpass the $109,140,000 threshold once their room is used up. In some cases, teams blow past not only the cap limit, but the luxury-tax limit of $132,627,000 as well — the Trail Blazers have this season’s highest payroll at the moment, more than $11MM above the tax line.

The NBA doesn’t have a “hard cap” by default, which allows a club like Portland to build a significant payroll without violating CBA rules. However, there are certain scenarios in which teams can be hard-capped.

When a club uses the bi-annual exception, acquires a player via sign-and-trade, or uses more than the taxpayer portion ($5,718,000) of the mid-level exception, that club will face a hard cap for the remainder of the league year.

When a team becomes hard-capped, it cannot exceed the “tax apron” at any point during the rest of the league year. The tax apron was set $6MM above the luxury tax line in 2017/18 (the first year of the current Collective Bargaining Agreement) and creeps up a little higher each season. For the 2019/20 league year, the tax apron – and hard cap for certain clubs – is set at $138,928,000.

More teams than ever this offseason have been willing to hard-cap themselves, and in at least a couple cases, it will significantly impact a team’s ability to add further reinforcements later in the league year. The Warriors and Heat are nearly right up against the hard cap, and won’t be players in free agency during the season unless they can shed salary.

So far this year, half the teams in the NBA have imposed a hard cap on themselves by using the bi-annual exception, using the non-taxpayer mid-level exception, or acquiring a player via sign-and-trade. Listed below are those 15 teams, along with how they created a hard cap.

Boston Celtics

  • Acquired Kemba Walker from the Hornets via sign-and-trade.

Brooklyn Nets

  • Acquired Kevin Durant from the Warriors via sign-and-trade.

Charlotte Hornets

  • Acquired Terry Rozier from the Celtics via sign-and-trade.

Chicago Bulls

Dallas Mavericks

  • Acquired Delon Wright from the Grizzlies via sign-and-trade.
  • Used approximately $7.46MM of their mid-level exception to sign Seth Curry.
  • Used their bi-annual exception to sign Boban Marjanovic.

Detroit Pistons

  • Used approximately $7.32MM of their mid-level exception to sign Derrick Rose.
  • Used their bi-annual exception to sign Markieff Morris.

Golden State Warriors

Indiana Pacers

Memphis Grizzlies

  • Used their full mid-level exception ($9,258,000) to sign Tyus Jones.
  • Used their bi-annual exception to sign Marko Guduric.

Miami Heat

Minnesota Timberwolves

  • Acquired Jake Layman from the Trail Blazers via sign-and-trade.

Orlando Magic

  • Used their full mid-level exception ($9,258,000) to sign Al-Farouq Aminu.

San Antonio Spurs

Toronto Raptors

Washington Wizards

Outside of the Warriors and Heat, no clubs on the list above are really being restricted by the hard cap at this time. A few teams – such as the Pistons and Magic – are near the luxury tax threshold, but that still gives them several million dollars in breathing room below the hard cap.

While it’s possible that trades could push some teams closer to the apron, Golden State and Miami appear to be the only clubs that will be noticeably affected by the hard cap in 2019/20.

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Sam Dekker Signs With Russian Team

August 5th, 2019 at 9:03am CST by Dana Gauruder

AUGUST 5: Lokomotiv Kuban has officially confirmed its deal with Dekker (Twitter link).

AUGUST 3: Forward Sam Dekker is close to an agreement with Russia’s Lokomotiv Kuban, Emiliano Carchia of Sportando tweets.

Like several other NBA veterans, Dekker didn’t attract much interest in the free agent market this summer and was forced to explore overseas options.

Dekker became an unrestricted free agent when the Wizards declined to extend a $3.91MM qualifying offer. Dekker wound up in Washington via a three-team December deal that also involved the Bucks and Cavaliers.

The 18th overall pick in the 2015 draft has struggled to find his footing in the NBA after a stellar college career at Wisconsin. He’s averaged 5.5 PPG and 3.0 RPG in 15.5 MPG while playing 200 NBA games for Houston, the Los Angeles Clippers and Cleveland as well as the Wizards.

He made just 28.8% of his 3-point attempts during his four NBA seasons and knocked down only 28.6% in 38 games off the bench for Washington. Dekker averaged 6.1 PPG and 3.0 RPG in 16.3 MPG after the trade.

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John Wall Discusses Injury, Bradley Beal, Future

August 4th, 2019 at 10:20am CST by Arthur Hill

Injuries have slowed down John Wall since he signed a four-year, $170MM extension with the Wizards in 2017, but he tells Michael Lee of The Athletic that he’s not interested in a fresh start with a different team.

Wall has been limited to a combined 73 games over the past two years, and he may miss the entire upcoming season while recovering from an Achilles tear. There have been rumors that Washington might try to unload Wall’s contract, but he prefers to stay with the franchise that drafted him.

“I love where I’m at. I love D.C. My loyalty is to D.C.,” Wall said. “To hear a lot of Wizards people, Tommy (Sheppard, the new general manager), (managing partner) Ted Leonsis and (Monumental Sports and Entertainment senior vice president) Zach Leonsis and all those guys, the whole community is behind me, and they’re not giving up on me, so that’s big for me.

“I’m not one of those guys that wants to play for multiple teams. I want to play for one organization. If it comes down to it, where you have to move around, and it don’t work, they’re giving me the opportunity to come back, not this year but next year after, if I don’t play well, you trade me. I can’t be mad at nobody because they gave me the opportunity and I gave myself a chance to prove myself. That’s all I ask for.”

Wall touches on several subjects during the wide-ranging interview. Here are a few more highlights:

On his sometimes rocky relationship with backcourt partner Bradley Beal:

“Me and Brad are brothers. I tell everybody, you’ve got two young guys that’s so talented. Who ain’t going to bump heads at some time? We both want to be great. We both want to take the last shot. But we built that type of bond. Brad is so mature for his age, you wouldn’t expect for him to be the age he is, but give a lot of credit to his parents and his brothers that raised him. I feel like we need one more shot. We need one more run at it. But we’ve got to add some pieces around us, some dogs that can go to war with us. I mean, me and him together, we can go against anybody.”

On the Wizards’ moves this summer that seem to be building around Beal:

“I’ve known Brad for years before he came into the league. When Brad didn’t make All-Star that one year, I said, ‘It’s crazy, he should’ve made it.’ I was vouching for him every day. It’s going to be times on the court; he don’t pass me the ball, I don’t pass him the ball. We’re going to disagree. It happens. It’s basketball. But put him in that platform, this is what he needs; this is what he should be. This is the type of rise, popular spot that Brad deserves, even if I’m there or not there. When I come back, give him the same treatment, because he deserves it. He’s put in the work. He’s earned it. You’ve seen it from Day 1. Even when John Wall is playing, John Wall is not playing. Give him that same stuff, whether I’m there or not there. He don’t have to be in the shadow. I’m the franchise guy because, yeah, I was here before him. He’s right there. There’s no John Wall without Bradley Beal. There’s no Bradley Beal without John Wall. It’s that simple. And I got nothing to hide to say that. I’m a talented basketball player. That ain’t going to get accomplished if we’re not together.”

On criticism from social media:

“It fuels me. (The) ’16/17 (season) was my best year. (Averaged) 23 (points) and 11 (assists). John Wall is a top-two point guard. I get injured. John Wall is not a top-five point guard? Now, because I’m injured, I can’t defend myself. Now I’ve got the worst contract ever? That’s fine. I deserved that contract. My whole mindset is – it’s in my notes – I didn’t deserve it? When I come back, I’m going to show them I earned it. I never want a handout. I always worked for mine.”

On dealing with an extended injury:

“The one thing I take from this is never take the game for granted. Never. Never. Never. I can’t control injuries. They happen. You can’t. Some people are healthy forever. Some are not. But don’t ever take the game for granted. I never did that. But I just started jogging. For five months. I couldn’t do nothing. I couldn’t walk. I’m thankful that I can jog and walk. And play basketball. … But if the basketball stop bouncing today, the Washington Wizards are going to get their franchise guy. And John Wall, if he stopped playing basketball today, they’ll get a new guy. If John Wall retires tomorrow, the NBA is going to keep going on. I ain’t God. It ain’t going to stop. But I’m doing what I can while I’m here, and enjoying the process. I can’t wait to get back. I got a lot of fire in my belly. I’m itching. I’m itching to get back.”

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Hawks Notes: Carter, Roster, Parker, Spalding

August 2nd, 2019 at 8:55pm CST by Dana Gauruder

The Hawks have left open a roster spot for Vince Carter but it’s still unsure whether the 42-year-old will rejoin them, as Chris Kirschner of The Athletic details.

Carter doesn’t want to just ride the bench if he plays a 22nd season, which would be an NBA record. However, lottery picks De’Andre Hunter and Cam Reddish and free agent signee Jabari Parker will all see significant action, which would cut into Carter’s minutes. Carter is taking a wait-and-see approach.

“Just waiting for the right opportunity, and nothing has changed as far as that goal, and that dream of mine is to still play,” Carter said. “It’s just a patient thing. I get it. I’m older. Teams are going younger. Hopefully, within the coming days, we’ll have something figured out.”

We have more on the Hawks:

  • The Hawks plan to keep one roster spot open entering next season in order to facilitate trades, Kirschner reports in the same piece. They plan to use their approximate $5MM in remaining cap space to help make a trade before February’s deadline to collect future draft picks.
  • Parker used his abbreviated stay with the Bulls as a learning experience, as he told Alex Kennedy of Hoops Hype. Parker signed with the Bulls last offseason on a two-year, $40MM deal that included a team option. He lost his rotation spot and was traded to the Wizards, who declined the option this summer. He then signed a two-year, $13MM contract with the Hawks. “It was really good because now I can relate to every kind of player,” Parker said of playing for Chicago. “When I talk to kids, I can talk to them about everything – from being the best player on a team to being the player who isn’t even playing. I’m just grateful for that experience. It allowed me to see things differently.”
  • Forward Ray Spalding said the Hawks sought him out after the Suns declined to sign him after summer league play, as he told Chris Vivlamore of the Atlanta Journal Constitution. “Phoenix set up different contracts with different players. My agent thought maybe it would be time to look elsewhere,” Spalding said. “So we did that and the Hawks reached out. He really liked what the Hawks said about me and offered me so I felt like this would be a safe place to start.” Spalding signed an Exhibit 10 contract.
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World Cup Updates: Shamet, Powell, Germany, Senegal

August 2nd, 2019 at 12:29pm CST by Luke Adams

The series of withdrawals from Team USA’s World Cup training camp rosters continued on Friday, as ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski reports (via Twitter) that Clippers guard Landry Shamet has opted against participating. Shamet had been penciled in as a member of USA Basketball’s Select Team.

“He was appreciative of the opportunity and hopes to be part of USAB again in future,” agent George Langberg said of Shamet, who will focus on preparing for what he hopes will be a long Clippers season that ends with a deep playoff run.

Of course, Team USA isn’t the only club dealing with NBA players removing their names from consideration. After finding out earlier this week that R.J. Barrett wouldn’t participate in this year’s World Cup, Team Canada will now also be without Mavericks big man Dwight Powell, league sources tell Marc Stein of The New York Times (Twitter link). Having signed a contract extension with Dallas this offseason, Powell will use the time to focus on the upcoming season, says Stein.

Here’s more on the 2019 World Cup:

  • After the 2014 World Cup, FIBA altered the qualification process and schedule for the event going forward, and Team USA – with a roster full of NBA players – has been hit hard by those changes, as USA Basketball managing director Jerry Colangelo tells Ben Golliver of The Washington Post. “Playing in back-to-back years, with full NBA seasons before and after, in a real hurdle to overcome,” Colangelo said. “FIBA is not concerned about us. They’re concerned about what’s best for basketball internationally. FIBA got exactly what they wanted. They’re getting a lot of games, a lot of attendance. There’s more interest in a lot of countries. Personally, I didn’t like the change. I knew it would have a negative effect on us.”
  • Team Germany formally announced a preliminary 16-man World Cup roster that features several NBA players, including Mavericks forward Maxi Kleber, Thunder guard Dennis Schroder, Celtics center Daniel Theis, and new Wizards Moritz Wagner and Isaac Bonga.
  • Team Senegal’s preliminary 24-man squad will have to be cut in half in advance of the 2019 World Cup, but it also includes some intriguing names. According to the official release, Timberwolves big man Gorgui Dieng and Celtics rookie Tacko Fall are among the players representing Senegal.
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