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Southeast Notes: Connelly, Walker, Lamb, Briscoe

April 7th, 2019 at 12:58pm CST by Arthur Hill

Asked about the possibility that he might leave to run the Wizards‘ front office, Nuggets president of basketball operations Tim Connelly passed on the chance to issue a denial, relays Mark Kiszla of The Denver Post. Washington has reportedly targeted Connelly as its top candidate after firing Ernie Grunfeld this week.

“To be honest with you, I was hoping not to have to answer that question on a night when we win the Northwest Division,” Connelly responded Friday as the team celebrated its title.

Connelly grew up in Baltimore and had his first NBA job as an intern with the Wizards. He signed an extension with the Nuggets in February, but Kiszla notes that the organization doesn’t have a history of paying executives especially well, which led to the departure of Masai Ujiri in 2013. Kiszla suggests that Josh Kroenke, vice chairman of Kroenke Sports and Entertainment, should refuse any request from the Wizards to interview Connelly.

There’s more from the Southeast Division:

  • With the Hornets as a long shot to reach the playoffs, Shane Rhodes of Basketball Insiders examines some situations that might be better for free agent guard Kemba Walker. Rhodes states that the Suns are intriguing with Devin Booker and Deandre Ayton already in place and a high lottery pick about to join them. Rhodes names the Bulls, Knicks, Lakers and Mavericks as other possibilities.
  • Rick Bonnell of The Charlotte Observer examines whether the Hornets can afford to bring back Jeremy Lamb if they re-sign Walker. Lamb has established himself as a legitimate scorer and another crunch-time option, but the team would be well into luxury tax territory if it brings back both free agents. Bonnell speculates that it will probably take a max offer to keep Walker ($190MM over five seasons or up to $221MM if he makes an All-NBA team and qualifies for a super-max contract), plus something in the range of $10-$13MM annually for Lamb.
  • The Magic are interested in working out a new deal with Isaiah Briscoe this summer, tweets Keith Smith of Yahoo Sports. Briscoe, who is sidelined by a torn meniscus, was waived this week to open a roster spot for Michael Carter-Williams. He cleared waivers yesterday and is an unrestricted free agent.
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Jeff Green Wants To Return

April 5th, 2019 at 9:55pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Jeff Green has played for six teams since the 2014/15 season and he’d like to stay put for a change. The veteran forward said he “would love to come back” to the Wizards, Chase Hughes of NBC Sports Washington tweets. Green is averaging 12.3 PPG, 4.0 RPG and 1.8 APG for Washington. Green, 32, signed a one-year, minimum-salary contract with the Wizards last summer and will be an unrestricted free agent once again.

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Wizards Waive Wesley Johnson

April 5th, 2019 at 9:26pm CST by Dana Gauruder

The Wizards are waiving forward Wesley Johnson, Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN tweets. The team has issued a press release confirming the move is official.

Washington acquired him at the trade deadline from the Pelicans for Markieff Morris. Johnson was acquired by New Orleans in October from the Clippers.

Washington beat the Sunday deadline to waive a player with an expiring contract, Bobby Marks of ESPN notes (Twitter link). Johnson’s cap hold for this offseason would have been $9.2MM.

Johnson, 31, appeared in just 12 games with the Wizards, averaging 2.8 PPG and 1.5 RPG in 13.1 MPG. He made 13 starts with the Pelicans.

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Southeast Notes: Beal, Carter-Williams, Haslem, Young

April 4th, 2019 at 5:26pm CST by JD Shaw

The next general manager of the Wizards will be tasked with making a major decision on star guard Bradley Beal, David Aldridge of The Athletic writes.

Beal, named to his second All-Star team this season, has transformed into Washington’s clear leader in the absence of John Wall. He’s averaging a career-high 25.9 points per game on 48% shooting from the field, due to make $27MM next season and $28.7MM the following season.

“I’m not saying you have to trade him,” one NBA executive told Aldridge of Beal. “But you do have to think about it.”

Between Beal and Wall, the next Wizards GM will find more interest around the league in Beal’s services. Wall is under contract for another four seasons ($37.8MM in 2019/20, $40.8MM in 2020/21, $43.8MM in 2021/22 and a $46.9MM player option in 2022/23). That, combined with Wall’s surgeries on his heel and ruptured Achilles this year, make trading him virtually impossible in the present day.

For the Wizards, deciding whether to keep or trade Beal in the coming months will determine their future course. The general manager position — which was vacated when the team dismissed Ernie Grunfeld this week — is said to appeal to current GMs under contract elsewhere largely due to the resources and geography that comes with the job, according to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski (Twitter links).

There’s more from the Southeast Division today:

  • Magic guard Michael Carter-Williams is proving to be a difference maker as the team looks to make a final push for the playoffs, John Denton of NBA.com writes. Orlando signed Carter-Williams to a rest-of-season contract on Thursday, waiving guard Isaiah Briscoe. Carter-Williams provided a much-needed boost of energy off the bench during his first two 10-day contracts, scoring 5.4 points and dishing out 3.7 assists in 18.7 minutes per outing.
  • Heat veteran Udonis Haslem reflected on his storied 16-year career in an exclusive article relayed by Marc Spears of ESPN’s The Undefeated, looking back on his competitors, teammates, early upbringing and love for the game of basketball. Haslem has spent the past few seasons in a very limited on-court role, doing most of his work on the Heat with the younger players in practice and in the locker room. Haslem’s veteran presence is greatly valued by Miami’s coaching staff and players, many of whom have publicly stated their hopes of him returning for another season.
  • ESPN’s Brian Windhorst chronicles the slow build to success for Hawks guard Trae Young, who continues to improve as the 2018/19 season nears the finish line. Young, a dominant shooter and passer in contention for the Rookie of the Year award, must continue to improve on defense in order to take his game to the next level. The Hawks hold major selling points of Young, John Collins, a new head coach in Lloyd Pierce, cap flexibility and future draft picks for star players entering free agency this summer.
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Wizards Notes: GM Search, Wall, Ariza

April 3rd, 2019 at 10:59pm CST by Luke Adams

The Wizards will be vying this spring with the Suns, Pelicans, and possibly the Timberwolves for general manager candidates. And while Washington may not have the promising cap outlook or collection of young players out of those teams, it still may be considered the best opportunity for GM hopefuls, writes Ben Golliver of The Washington Post.

“We really care about two things: Is the boss invested in his team, and will he prove it by spending the money we ask him to spend?” one longtime executive said to Golliver. “(Wizards owner) Ted (Leonsis) is two-for-two. He won the Stanley Cup with the Capitals. He paid John Wall, Bradley Beal, Otto Porter and Ian Mahinmi. He paid Andray Blatche and then paid him to go away. What more could you want?”

Leonsis says there’s no list of candidates yet to replace former president of basketball operations Ernie Grunfeld, but league executives tell Golliver that the search figures to include “past and present top decision-makers, as well as up-and-coming executives.” Besides some of the names already mentioned as candidates, Golliver identifies Thunder vice president Troy Weaver and Jazz assistant GM Justin Zanik as a couple more options for the Wizards.

Here’s more out of D.C.:

  • Firing Grunfeld was the right move, but the Wizards did it for the wrong reasons, contends Tom Ziller of SBNation.com. In a separate article for The Washington Post, Golliver writes that a number of Grunfeld’s personnel missteps continue to loom large over the franchise.
  • While head coach Scott Brooks is expected to return for the 2019/20 season, he acknowledges that it could be a difficult year of transition for the Wizards. “It’s going to be a great opportunity for the next general manger to come in and shape the team,” Brooks said, per Lisa Redmond of NBC Sports Washington. “… We have five players and plus a first-round pick coming up and so it’s going to be a very important summer with John (Wall) being out. You know, we have to be very creative. Not going to make an excuse that it’s going to be a tough year, but it’s going to be a challenging year.”
  • Speaking of Wall, even though his Achilles injury is bad news for the Wizards, there’s a possible silver lining, writes Candace Buckner of The Washington Post. As Buckner outlines, the franchise will only be on the hook for 20% of Wall’s 2019/20 salary until he returns to the court, with insurance picking up the other 80%. Of course, Wall’s full super-max salary (projected to be worth $37.8MM) will still count against the cap.
  • Wizards forward Trevor Ariza is likely done for the season due to his groin injury, tweets Chase Hughes of NBC Sports Washington. The team has previously expressed interest in retaining Ariza – an unrestricted free agent this summer – beyond this season, but it’s not clear how the front office shakeup will affect the veteran.
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NBA G League Announces 2018/19 All-NBAGL Teams

April 3rd, 2019 at 2:56pm CST by Luke Adams

After being named the G League’s Most Valuable Player and the Defensive Player of the Year for the 2018/19 season on Monday, Raptors 905 big man Chris Boucher – now a member of the Toronto Raptors – headlines the All-NBA G League first team, as the league announced today in a press release.

Boucher was joined on the All-NBAGL first team by teammate Jordan Loyd, as well as Capital City Go-Go guard Jordan McRae, Long Island Nets big man Alan Williams, and Agua Caliente Clippers of Ontario center Angel Delgado. All four players are currently on two-way contracts with NBA teams.

That’s a common theme for this year’s All-NBAGL teams, as most of the 15 players named to the three squads aren’t currently NBA free agents, having signed two-way or NBA contracts.

The complete list of the 2018/19 All-NBA G League teams, along with the All-Rookie and All-Defensive squads, is below. Players currently on a 15-man NBA roster are marked with an asterisk (*), while players on two-way contracts are noted with a caret (^).

All-NBAGL First Team:

  • Chris Boucher (Raptors 905) *
  • Angel Delgado (Agua Caliente Clippers of Ontario) ^
  • Jordan Loyd (Raptors 905) ^
  • Jordan McRae (Capital City Go-Go) ^
  • Alan Williams (Long Island Nets) ^

All-NBAGL Second Team:

All-NBAGL Third Team:

NBAGL All-Rookie Team:

  • Chris Chiozza (Capital City Go-Go) *
    • Note: Chiozza wasn’t on an NBA contract for most of the season, but was recently called up by the Rockets.
  • Angel Delgado (Agua Caliente Clippers of Ontario) ^
  • Yante Maten (Sioux Falls Skyforce) ^
  • Theo Pinson (Long Islands Nets) ^
  • Duncan Robinson (Sioux Falls Skyforce) ^

NBAGL All-Defensive Team:

The All-Defensive team is the only squad that features players who are currently NBA free agents — Brimah and Pelle haven’t been on an NBA roster this season, while Payton only briefly spent time with an NBA team, signing a 10-day contract with the Wizards in January.

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Wizards Expected To Keep Scott Brooks As Coach

April 3rd, 2019 at 9:11am CST by Arthur Hill

The shakeup in Washington won’t include head coach Scott Brooks, according to David Aldridge of The Athletic. The Wizards fired GM Ernie Grunfeld yesterday as the first step in what could be a massive housecleaning, but multiple sources tell Aldridge that Brooks’ job remains safe.

Brooks has a 124-118 record since taking over in Washington in 2016. He still has two years left on his five-year, $35MM contract, so there’s a financial incentive for the franchise to keep him around. This will be the first time the Wizards will miss the playoffs under his guidance.

“I’ve spent one-on-one time with Scott just to tell him I expect us to do, work hard and play hard and continue to give the fans their money’s worth,” owner Ted Leonsis said Tuesday.

There’s more today on the shakeup in Washington:

  • Nuggets executive Tim Connelly is believed to be the top candidate to replace Grunfeld, but the Wizards will strongly consider promoting VP of basketball operations Tommy Sheppard, confirms Ben Standig of NBC Sports Washington. Leonsis told reporters that Sheppard, who has been with the organization for 16 years, will get a shot at the GM post. “I’ve told Tommy it’s not lip service, you’re highly regarded and there’s other teams that want to talk to Tommy and when the time comes, we will interview for the top job,” Leonsis said. Sheppard is also reportedly being considered for the Pelicans’ open GM spot.
  • League sources tell Standig that others names to watch in the GM search are Rockets executive VP of basketball operations Gersson Rosas, Celtics assistant GM Mike Zarren and Pelicans interim GM Danny Ferry. Other possibilities include former Cavaliers GM David Griffin and Nets assistant GM Trajan Langdon.
  • Figuring out what to do with the backcourt will be the greatest challenge for the new GM, notes Chase Hughes of NBC Sports Washington. John Wall may miss all of next season with a ruptured Achilles while making $37.8MM in the first year of his supermax contract, while Bradley Beal will be eligible for a supermax of his own this summer if he makes an All-NBA team. If the Wizards decide to rebuild, Beal could find himself on the trade market.
  • Grunfeld’s most significant mistake was targeting Kevin Durant in free agency in 2016 and not having a backup plan ready when he signed with the Warriors, Aldridge contends in the Athletic piece. Grunfeld spent two years clearing cap space to make a run at Durant, who never gave the team serious consideration. That meant parting with solid players such as Nene and Trevor Ariza. Grunfeld tried to sign Al Horford after not getting a meeting with Durant, but then gave $64MM to Ian Mahinmi and $26MM to Andrew Nicholson.
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Wizards Targeting Tim Connelly To Run Front Office

April 2nd, 2019 at 8:22pm CST by ChrisCrouse

The Wizards have centered in on Tim Connelly as the top candidate to run their front office, sources tell Fred Katz of The Athletic.

Connelly, who currently serves as the Nuggets‘ president of basketball operations, grew up about an hour north in Baltimore and began his NBA career as an intern with the Wizards. He joined Denver in 2013 and recently signed an extension with the team.

While prying him from Colorado may be tricky, Katz notes that teams have been able to land coaches and executives under contract in the past, citing Doc Rivers‘ move from Boston to Los Angeles and Jason Kidd‘s journey from Brooklyn to Milwaukee.

Connelly and Tommy Sheppard are close friends dating back to their time together in Washington. Sheppard reportedly has a chance to land the GM position.

“Tommy is the first person I met with, and I reminded Tommy of what happened with the Capitals, that our No. 2 to the GM that wasn’t a known commodity, wasn’t a frontrunner. He had the best interview,” owner Ted Leonsis said today. “And the reason he had the best interview was he was the most prepared, and he knew all of the good things and all of the not good things. And so I’ve told Tommy, ‘It’s not lip service. You’re highly regarded.’ And there’s other teams that want to talk to Tommy. And when the time comes, he will interview for the top job.”

Sheppard, who most recently served as second-in-command to Ernie Grunfeld, began his career with the Nuggets, starting in public relations before eventually switching over to basketball operations. Perhaps a Connelly/Sheppard ticket could be in the works in Washington.

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Wizards Notes: Grunfeld, Leonsis, GM Search

April 2nd, 2019 at 7:18pm CST by ChrisCrouse

Wizards owner Ted Leonsis said he alone made the call to relieve Ernie Grunfeld of his duties. “No one made this decision other than me,” Leonsis said (Twitter links via Candace Buckner of the Washington Post).

“My main goal is to right now as fast as I can bring in an outside firm to provide some services for us,” Leonsis said. “I want to do what’s called ‘best practicing.’ What do the best organizations look like? What do they spend?

“Maybe I made the mistake in the way we spent and invested out money. I have to be open-minded.”

Leonsis does not believe the organization will have issues attracting a top candidate for the GM gig, a sentiment echoed by ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski (Twitter link). Resources and geography are among the reasons to expect the position to be highly sought after.

Here’s more from Washington:

  • Tommy Sheppard, the team’s interim GM, is a strong candidate for the position, per Leonsis. Sheppard is the senior vice president of basketball operations and has been with the organization for 14 years.
  • Leonsis called both Bradley Beal and John Wall shortly after making the move to notify them of the change, Chase Hughes of NBC Sports tweets.
  • Scott Brooks’ job status will be determined after a general manager is hired, Leonsis added (via Hughes in a separate tweet). The new GM won’t be restricted in terms of the direction the franchise goes in, as Leonsis is open to all ideas.
  • Hughes (in a full-length piece) identifies 10 possible candidates for the GM position, including Sheppard and former Cavs GM David Griffin. Hughes also speculated that Bucks assistant GM Milt Newton, who was with the Wizards from 2003 until 2013, could be a candidate for the position.
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NBA Teams With Open Roster Spots

April 2nd, 2019 at 3:57pm CST by Luke Adams

Earlier today, the Kings and Knicks filled the final open spot on their respective rosters, signing a 15th man to a rest-of-season contract. With the NBA’s 2018/19 regular season set to come to an end next Wednesday, we can expect to see more teams making that kind of transaction in the next week.

While teams often leave a roster spot or two open during the season to maintain flexibility or to help reduce their projected tax bill, most of those clubs won’t leave any openings at season’s end. After all, the one-day cap hit for a minimum-salary player signed on the last day of the season maxes out at $8,548.

For playoff-bound clubs, that’s a small price to pay to add one more depth piece who might be needed for a game or two in the postseason. For lottery-bound teams, it’s a worthwhile investment to fill that 15th roster spot with a developmental player who could be an option for the 2019/20 roster.

With that in mind, here are the teams that still have at least one 15-man roster spot available:

Teams with two open roster spots:

  • Miami Heat

Teams with one open roster spot:

  • Brooklyn Nets
  • Houston Rockets
  • Los Angeles Clippers
  • Oklahoma City Thunder
  • San Antonio Spurs
  • Toronto Raptors
  • Washington Wizards

Teams with a full 15-man roster who have one player on a 10-day contract:

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