Washington Wizards Rumors | Hoops Rumors

NBA Teams With Open Roster Spots

December 21st, 2018 at 11:46am CST by Luke Adams

NBA teams are allowed to carry up to 15 players on their regular season rosters, plus two more on two-way contracts, for a total of 17 players. However, approximately half of the league’s clubs aren’t currently taking advantage of all their roster spots and have at least one open 15-man or two-way contract slot.

[RELATED: 2018/19 NBA Roster Counts]

There will likely be more roster movement starting next month, since January features plenty of important roster dates and deadlines. Teams can begin signing players to 10-day contracts on January 5. Every player on a non-guaranteed contract will have his salary guaranteed if he’s not waived by January 7. And two-way contracts can’t be signed after January 15.

For now though, there are 11 NBA teams with openings on their 15-man rosters and three more with at least one open two-way contract slot.

Here’s a breakdown of those teams with open roster spots:

Teams with an opening on their 15-man roster:

Charlotte Hornets
Cleveland Cavaliers
Golden State Warriors
Houston Rockets
Indiana Pacers
Miami Heat
Oklahoma City Thunder
Philadelphia 76ers
Phoenix Suns
Toronto Raptors
Washington Wizards

Of the 11 teams with an open roster spot, six are projected taxpayers — the Warriors, Rockets, Heat, Thunder, Raptors, and Wizards are all over the luxury tax threshold and will be in no rush to fill the 15th spot on their respective rosters, since doing so would increase that year-end tax bill.

The other clubs are more likely to add a 15th man sooner or later, though the Hornets also aren’t far off from the tax threshold and may exercise some caution with that final roster spot. Teams like the Cavaliers and Suns figure to prioritize developmental players when they eventually fill their rosters, while potential contenders the Sixers and Pacers may focus on finding a immediate contributor.

Teams with an open two-way contract slot:

Boston Celtics
New York Knicks
Portland Trail Blazers (2)

The Trail Blazers have yet to add a two-way player to their roster this season, which is somewhat unusual, even given the club’s uncertain ownership situation. It’s not as if a two-way player requires a significant investment, so that seems like a signing Jody Allen would sign off on if the front office asked.

Portland doesn’t have its own G League affiliate, so maybe the club believes its ability to develop a young player on a two-way deal would be limited. Still, the other two teams without G League affiliates of their own – the Nuggets and Pelicans – have filled both of their two-way contract slots. Perhaps if the Blazers are plagued with injuries at some point this season, they’ll use those two-way openings to add a player or two who can help out immediately at the NBA level.

Meanwhile, the Knicks recently promoted Allonzo Trier to their 15-man roster and haven’t yet filled his old two-way spot. The Celtics are in the same boat, having waived two-way player Walt Lemon Jr. at the end of November. Both teams will likely fill those openings before the January 15 deadline.

Wizards Sign Ron Baker, Waive Okaro White

December 21st, 2018 at 10:45am CST by clarkcrum

DECEMBER 21: The Wizards have officially signed Baker and waived White, the team announced today in a press release.

DECEMBER 19: The Wizards have agreed to sign Ron Baker to a new contract, reports Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN. In a related, albeit unnecessary move, Wojnarowski adds that Washington will waive forward Okaro White. Marc Berman of the New York Post adds that the Nuggets also had interest in Baker before he agreed to terms with the Wizards.

As it currently stands, the Wizards only have 14 players on their roster with standard NBA contracts, so they could have kept White and signed Baker. However, as we’ve noted on several previous occasions, Washington is extremely cognizant of their looming luxury tax bill, so it’s not surprising that they will waive White, the only player on the roster with a non-guaranteed contract, and keep their roster at 14.

Assuming that White is waived/Baker signs for the veteran’s minimum tomorrow (all that Washington can offer), and that White is not picked up off waivers, the Wizards will incur a cap hit of just over $957K for Baker and just under $248K for White, totaling approximately $1.2MM. The cap hit for White, had he remained on the roster past January 10, was for $1.19MM, so the ultimate tax difference is negligible.

Accordingly, the move likely comes down to roster fit and team need, and as Keith Smith of Yahoo Sports notes, the Wizards really need a guard more than a forward/big man right now, as further indicated by yesterday’s signing of point guard Chasson Randle and the surprisingly positive play from Sam Dekker.

Baker, 25, was recently waived by the Knicks to make room for the signing of former two-way standout Allonzo Trier. In his three NBA seasons with New York, Baker averaged only 3.3 points and 1.8 assists per game, but had become a fan favorite with his work ethic and hard-nosed play.

Meanwhile, White, 26, signed with the Wizards about a month into the 2018/19 season after spending the last couple of seasons in Miami. For his career, he’s averaged 2.7 points and 2.2 rebounds per contest.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

NBA G League Assignments/Recalls: 12/20/18

December 20th, 2018 at 9:29pm CST by JD Shaw

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

The Rockets assigned center Isaiah Hartenstein to their G League affiliate, the Rio Grande Valley Vipers, the team’s PR department announced Thursday. Hartenstein has appeared in 22 games with the Rockets this season.
The Lakers assigned rookie guard Isaac Bonga to the South Bay Lakers, the team announced. Bonga was with South Bay for their game today against Greensboro in the NBA G League Showcase.
The Wizards have assigned Troy Brown Jr. to the Capital City Go-Go, the team’s G League affiliate, Candace Buckner of the Washington Post tweets. Brown will play with the Go-Go in Friday’s game against Agua Caliente.
The Warriors assigned Jacob Evans lll to their G League team in Santa Cruz, announcing the move in a press release. Evans was drafted by the Warriors with the No. 28 pick inJune.

Howard Gives Injury Update; Randle Discusses New Deal

December 20th, 2018 at 5:30pm CST by JD Shaw

Wizards center Dwight Howard shared his first health update since undergoing back surgery, explaining his improvements to NBC Sports’ Chris Miller. “Physically, I’m a lot better than I was before the surgery,” Howard said. “The nine games I played, I basically played on one leg. So, you know, I’m just happy that that’s out the way and I can rehab and get ready for the second half of the season.” The Wizards could greatly benefit from Howard’s return, with the team just 12-20 on the season and 4-6 in their last 10 games.
Despite his one-year deal with the Wizards being non-guaranteed, Chasson Randle is excited for his new opportunity to play in Washington. “This is a once in a lifetime opportunity,” Randle told Candace Buckner of the Washington Post on Tuesday. “I’m in Atlanta playing for the Wizards. It’s just awesome to be here.” Randle, who went undrafted in 2015, held NBA experience with the Sixers and Knicks before joining the Wizards. He signed his contract with the team on Tuesday.

And-Ones: Pitino, Giannis, A. Davis, 2019 Draft

December 20th, 2018 at 4:00pm CST by Luke Adams

Former Celtics and Louisville head coach Rick Pitino is making a coaching comeback, according to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski. Agent Drew Rosenhaus tells Wojnarowski that Pitino has agreed to a deal to coach Greek club Panathinaikos for the rest of the 2018/19 season. He’s expected to make his debut on December 27.

Pitino’s lengthy stint at Louisville came to an abrupt end in 2017 as a result of the FBI’s probe into college basketball recruiting. He had spent most of the last two decades heading up the program, having previously coached the Celtics from 1997 to 2001. Since leaving Louisville, Pitino has been looking to re-enter the coaching ranks in the NBA, telling Wojnarowski earlier in the fall that he just wants to be “a part of an organization.”

“I want to develop young players,” Pitino said in October. “I want to be part of a team. I miss it terribly. I’m using this time to really study the NBA. If something opens up with a young basketball team, I’d have deep interest in it.”

While his new job isn’t an NBA position, Pitino is hoping that Panathinaikos can be a stepping stone back to the NBA, writes Wojnarowski. He’ll take over a club that ranks 10th in EuroLeague play so far, with a 6-7 record.

Former NBA players Nick Calathes, Georgios Papagiannis, and Keith Langford are among the players on Pitino’s new roster, along with Thanasis Antetokounmpo, the older brother of Giannis Antetokounmpo.

Here are a few more basketball odds and ends:

Asked whether he’s ever had an issue like the Suns, Grizzlies, and Wizards did last week, when there was confusion over which “Brooks” was involved in a proposed trade, Celtics owner Wyc Grousbeck told NBC Sports Boston that he has. “With the same team, by the way, that was involved [in last week’s failed three-team trade],” Grousbeck said. “That’s another story – that I’m not going to tell.” Grousbeck didn’t go into any more detail, so it’s not entirely clear which of the three teams he was referring to.
In the wake of LeBron James and Giannis Antetokounmpo openly recruiting Anthony Davis to their respective teams, Eric Pincus of Bleacher Report explores whether their comments constitute tampering, and whether commissioner Adam Silver is likely to step in.
Speaking of Antetokounmpo and Davis, they’re the NBA’s two most valuable trade chips, in the view of Bill Simmons of The Ringer, who ranked his top 55 players in the league in terms of trade value.
SI.com’s Jeremy Woo has published his latest 2019 mock draft, with Duke prospects holding the top three spots.

NBA G League Assignments/Recalls: 12/18/18

December 18th, 2018 at 10:05pm CST by ChrisCrouse

Here are Tuesday’s G League assignment and recalls from around the NBA:

The Lakers have assigned Brandon Ingram to the G League for a rehab assignment and since recalled him, according to the team’s website. The former No.2 overall pick is recovering from an ankle injury.
The Lakers have recalled Rajon Rondo from the South Bay Lakers, according to team’s website. The assignment was part of Rondo’s rehab from a broken right hand.
The Sixers have assigned Jonah Bolden to the Delaware Blue Coats, Derek Bodner of The Athletic tweets. This is Bolden’s seventh assignment in the G League this season.
The Wizards assigned Okaro White to the Capital City Go-Go, according to the team’s website. White scored a season-high 31 points in a game during his last stint in the G League.

Wizards Notes: Ariza, Oubre, Dekker, Porter

December 18th, 2018 at 12:07pm CST by Luke Adams

Suns guard Devin Booker referred to Trevor Ariza as a player who was “loved in the locker room” in Phoenix, but the club’s slow start to the season took a toll on the veteran forward — sources tell Duane Rankin of The Arizona Republic that Ariza “checked out mentally” early in the 2018/19 campaign. The decision to trade him was a mutual one made by the Suns and Ariza’s camp, Rankin adds.

Ariza, who is joining the Wizards for the second time in his career, will be thrown into the fire right away by his new team — he’ll be in Washington’s starting lineup on Tuesday night, head coach Scott Brooks said today (Twitter link via Candace Buckner of The Washington Post).

As Ben Standig of NBC Sports Washington observes, Ariza primarily came off the bench during his first season in D.C. back in 2012/13, but he has started every game since then, so it’s no surprise that he’ll slot right into the starting five for the Wizards. His old teammates are looking forward to playing alongside him again, as Standig relays.

“It’s always great to add a guy like Trevor back, one of the best veterans and teammates I had,” John Wall said. “We know what he brings to the table.”

Here’s more on the Wizards:

In an article for NBC Sports Washington, Chase Hughes explores whether the Wizards got enough for Kelly Oubre after spending several years developing him. Within the piece, a source tells Hughes that Oubre and the Wizards never got very close to reaching a deal on a contract extension during the offseason.
Sam Dekker is turning out to not just be a throw-in in a trade that saved the Wizards some money — the veteran forward has earned regular minutes in Washington’s rotation during his first week and a half with his new team, as Ben Standig details for NBC Sports Washington. “He cuts to the basket, he moves the ball, he plays hard, he brings energy, he plays with the proper respect for the game,” head coach Scott Brooks said of Dekker. “That is what I love about him, he always seems to be prepared. He doesn’t have to turn the switch on, it’s on.”
Otto Porter was diagnosed with a Grade II strain of his right vastus medialis, according to Candace Buckner of The Washington Post (Twitter link), who explains that the vastus medialis is part of the quadriceps muscle group. Porter will likely sit out until next week, Buckner reports.
Earlier today, the Wizards finalized their signing of Chasson Randle and we took a closer look at the timing of that move.

Wizards Sign Chasson Randle

December 18th, 2018 at 10:29am CST by marksuleymanov

DECEMBER 18: The Wizards have officially signed Randle, the team announced today in a press release.

DECEMBER 17: The Wizards will sign point guard Chasson Randle to a one-year, veteran’s minimum contract, according to Candace Buckner of The Washington Post (Twitter link).

Washington waived Randle before the season began, then re-signed him to a standard NBA contract in late October to meet roster requirements. The 25-year-old was subsequently waived again on November 12 before he appeared in a regular season game with the Wizards.

The signing of Randle gives the Wizards some guard depth after Kelly Oubre and Austin Rivers were traded to the Suns as part of the Trevor Ariza deal. It also once again allows Washington to meet the minimum roster requirements, since the team had slipped to 13 players on standard contracts upon acquiring Ariza.

Randle has played for the Wizards’ G League affiliate, the Capital City Go-Go since he was waived. He has averaged 23.0 PPG and 4.0 APG with the Go-Go through seven games. The Stanford University product appeared in 26 games last season with the Sixers and Knicks. He averaged 5.3 PPG and 1.3 APG in 11.5 minutes per game during his brief NBA stint.

Examining Suns’, Wizards’ Latest Roster Moves

December 18th, 2018 at 9:44am CST by Luke Adams

Shortly after completing their trade that sent Trevor Ariza to Washington and Kelly Oubre and Austin Rivers to Phoenix, the Suns and Wizards each lined up an additional roster move — the Suns are parting ways with Rivers, while the Wizards are re-signing Chasson Randle.

Rivers’ release was somewhat unexpected, and there’s more to the Wizards’ decision to re-sign Randle than initially meets the eye, so let’s take a closer look at each move…

Suns parting ways with Austin Rivers:

The Suns, who have had a revolving door of starting point guards this season, were said to be shopping for a play-making guard when they put Ariza on the trade block. The centerpiece of the deal they ultimately made was another forward in Oubre. However, their return also included Rivers, who is capable of handling the ball, even if he’s not a traditional point guard.

As such, it came as a surprise when Phoenix quickly reached an agreement to part ways with Rivers. The Suns and Rivers’ camp reportedly agreed that he’d be a better fit with a more veteran team that’s in playoff contention.

The Suns, under new interim GM James Jones, had already shown a willingness this year to part ways with a useful veteran player well in advance of the NBA’s typical buyout period, as they reached an agreement to cut Tyson Chandler in early November. In Chandler’s case though, the Suns at least got a little money back in a buyout. As Keith Smith of Yahoo Sports confirms (via Twitter), Rivers’ release won’t include any form of buyout, since he doesn’t have his next team lined up yet.

It’s possible that no good would have come of keeping Rivers around for the next couple months — maybe he would have been upset about being sent to the worst team in the West and wouldn’t have been a good fit in Phoenix’s locker room. Perhaps the Suns couldn’t have flipped him for anything worthwhile in another deal before the deadline.

Still, it looks like an odd move on the surface. The Suns recently carried 13 players for nearly two full weeks and still had just 14 players on their squad before making the Ariza trade, so it’s not as if they’re desperate to open up a roster spot.

Even if Rivers had no interest in suiting up for the Suns, they could have kept him under contract for the time being to see if his $12.65MM expiring contract had any use on the trade market. Once they formally waive Rivers, the Suns’ most valuable expiring contract will be Dragan Bender‘s, worth $4.66MM. That’s not a big enough cap figure to match a contract in the $10-15MM range if another trade opportunity opens up for Phoenix, which could limit the club’s options at the deadline.

Wizards re-signing Chasson Randle:

The Wizards‘ latest reunion with Randle may not be as interesting as the Suns’ release of Rivers, but it’s somewhat noteworthy.

The NBA allows teams to dip down to 13 players for two weeks at a time before getting back up to the minimum of 14 players, and the Wizards have been bouncing back and forth between 13 and 14 players so far this season in an effort to keep their projected luxury-tax bill in check. Washington had already waived and re-signed Randle once earlier this fall in order to reach the league’s minimum roster requirements.

The Wizards slipped back to 13 players as a result of the Ariza deal and have until New Year’s Eve to add a 14th player, so they’ll once again sign Randle to get back to the minimum. However, in this case, it appears they’ll sign him well before that deadline arrives. As cap expert Albert Nahmad observes (via Twitter), re-signing Randle right away instead of waiting the two weeks will cost the Wizards about $294K in salary and tax savings. So why bring back Randle so soon?

Well, having traded away Rivers and Oubre, the Wizards could use the depth. John Wall, Bradley Beal, Tomas Satoransky, and two-way player Jordan McRae are essentially the only backcourt players available for Washington at the moment, so if one of those players were to go down with an injury, the club would be in a pretty tough spot. Given the Wizards’ limited backcourt options, Randle, who didn’t appear in a game during his earlier stint with the team, might actually get a chance to play this time around.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Suns Trade Ariza To Wizards For Oubre, Rivers

December 17th, 2018 at 10:05am CST by marksuleymanov

DECEMBER 17: The trade is now official, with both the Suns and Wizards issuing press releases to confirm the move.

DECEMBER 15: After a hectic Friday night in which a three-team deal was scrapped, the Suns have agreed to deal Trevor Ariza to the Wizards in exchange for Kelly Oubre and Austin Rivers, John Gambadoro of Arizona Sports 98.7 reports (Twitter link). The trade call with the league is scheduled for later today, per ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski (Twitter link).

Last night’s nearly completed deal would have sent Ariza to the Wizards, Rivers to the Suns and allowed the Grizzlies to acquire Oubre for Wayne Selden, two second-round picks, and one other player. The confusion came over the identity of that other player as the Grizzlies believed they were dealing MarShon Brooks while the Suns thought Dillon Brooks was headed their way.

As we relayed in a separate story, despite the nixed deal, Phoenix and Washington remained in touch to see if an Ariza trade could be completed.

This version of an Ariza trade includes three players in the final year of their respective deals. For Ariza, the trade means the end of a brief 26-game stint in Phoenix as he signed a one-year, $15MM deal with the Suns during the 2018 offseason. Ariza averaged 9.9 PPG, 5.6 RPG, and a .379/.360/.837 shooting line for the Suns.

This marks a homecoming of sorts for Ariza as he spent two seasons with the Wizards, including perhaps his best season as a pro in 2013/14, when he averaged 14.4 PPG and 6.2 RPG with a .456/.407/.772 shooting line. Prior to this trade, we had relayed at least eight teams had expressed interest in Ariza, including the Lakers and Rockets — two teams he had previously suited up for.

During his stint in the nation’s capital, Ariza was reportedly a respected presence who, among other things, had a good impact on the team’s All-Star point guard, John Wall. At 11-18, the Wizards are 2.5 games back of the Eastern Conference’s eighth seed and will hope Ariza’s 3-and-D ability can narrow the gap.

For the NBA-worst Suns, they acquired a pair of useful assets that could possibly be used as trade chips later in the season. Rivers, 26, has been a mainstay off the Wizards’ bench, averaging 7.2 PPG and 2.4 RPG for Washington. Rivers’ shooting has taken a hit this season as his field-goal percentage (39.2%) and three-point shooting (31.1%) are his worst in several seasons.

As for Oubre, 23, he averaged a career-high 12.9 PPG in 29 games (seven starts) for the Wizards. By trading Oubre, the Wizards will create a traded player exception worth his salary ($3,208,630). Washington already had four trade exceptions, including one worth $5.45MM, as our list of outstanding TPEs shows.

Oubre is set to hit restricted free agency this upcoming summer, at which point the Suns could tender him a $4.5MM qualifying offer, ESPN’s Bobby Marks notes. Phoenix could flip Oubre before the trade deadline but cannot aggregate him with another player for salary-matching purposes.

Once the deal is completed, the Wizards’ roster will dip below the requirement of 14. Washington will need to sign another player within two weeks to get their roster count back up to the minimum.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.