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Rockets Looking For Wing Help

November 27th, 2018 at 7:30pm CST by ChrisCrouse

The Rockets‘ primary focus is acquiring wing talent, sources tell Kelly Iko of The Athletic. Iko’s source described Houston’s intensity in searching for a trade as “not in emergency mode, but not sitting back either.”

The Rockets have spoken to the Wizards about potential, trades but no player has been involved in “deep discussions” yet. Iko speculates that Markieff Morris, Jeff Green, and Kelly Oubre would fit what Houston is looking for.

Houston is also keeping an eye on the Cavaliers‘ situation. Cleveland guard J.R. Smith is currently on the trade block and the Cavs could look to move other veterans before the trade deadline.

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Bradley Beal, Agent Deny That Beal Wants Trade

November 27th, 2018 at 9:44am CST by Luke Adams

After a report surfaced on Monday suggesting that Bradley Beal wants out of Washington, the shooting guard and his agent both came out and strongly denied that rumor.

“That is absolutely not true,” agent Mark Bartelstein said of the report that Beal wants to be traded, per Candace Buckner of The Washington Post (Twitter links). “The only sources that would know Brad thinking’s are Brad and myself. And Brad’s focus is 100% on helping the Wizards play consistent, winning basketball.”

Meanwhile, Beal himself addressed the subject after the Wizards’ win over the Rockets on Monday night, speaking to Dennis Scott of NBA TV (video link) in an on-court interview.

“That’s nonsense,” Beal said. “I heard it earlier before the game and I was like, ‘If it didn’t come from the horse’s mouth, it wasn’t me.’ I got this Washington jersey on, I come in and work every day, until otherwise. This is where I want to be. I’m going to continue to show up and continue to work and continue, continue to get wins for us.”

While it may be true that Beal hasn’t asked to be traded and isn’t looking to leave D.C. as soon as possible, there have been plenty of indications that he’s not entirely happy with the Wizards. According to reports on the contentious team practice that took place earlier this month, Beal went on a tirade that day about the team’s culture, telling team officials that he’d been dealing with it “for seven years.” He also reportedly criticized GM Ernie Grunfeld during that practice.

Former Wizards beat writer J. Michael, who now covers the Pacers for The Indianapolis Star, tweeted earlier this month that front offices around the league believe Beal isn’t interested in staying with the Wizards beyond his current contract. Michael didn’t go so far as to say that Beal wants to be traded, but after Monday’s report surfaced, he noted (via Twitter) that the 25-year-old has long been frustrated by the situation in Washington.

Regardless of how he feels about the Wizards, Beal remains under contract through 2021 and seems unlikely to go anywhere anytime soon. While Washington’s front office is reportedly willing to listen to inquiries on any of its players, the price tag for Beal would be astronomical, as he’s the club’s most valuable asset.

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NBA G League Assignments/Recalls: 11/26/18

November 26th, 2018 at 9:19pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Here are Monday’s G League assignments and recalls from across the NBA:

  • The Wizards recalled rookie swingman Troy Brown Jr. from the Capital City Go Go, the team’s PR department tweets. Brown Jr. recorded 19 points, seven rebounds, six assists and three steals in a victory over Canton on Sunday. Brown was the 15th overall pick in the draft.
  • The Clippers assigned second-year shooting guard Sindarius Thornwell to the Agua Caliente Clippers, the team’s PR department tweets. Thornwell averaged 17.5 PPG in two G League games this season and has also made six brief appearances with the NBA club. He started against the Santa Cruz Warriors on Monday.
  • The Pelicans recalled rookie forward Kenrich Williams from the Westchester Knicks, according to a team press release. Williams appeared in two games for the Knicks under the G League’s flex system, averaging 14.5 PPG, 14.5 RPG and 4.5 APG in 29.4 MPG. He’s also appeared in five games for New Orleans.
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Wizards Notes: Porter, Wall, Morris, Rivers

November 26th, 2018 at 1:09pm CST by Luke Adams

As the underachieving Wizards mull the possibility of making a trade or two to try to turn their season around, Sean Deveney of The Sporting News argues that the man entrusted with making those deals has worn out his welcome in D.C. The firing of GM Ernie Grunfeld is “past due” for the Wizards, according to Deveney, who suggests that the franchise has already kept Grunfeld for about a half-decade too long.

In addition to some questionable roster moves and contract decisions from Grunfeld, player development has also been an issue in Washington, Deveney opines. One rival front office executive suggested to Deveney that Bradley Beal has improved more because of the work he does on his own than his work with the team.

“Otto Porter does some nice things, good role player, but he has been the same player for the last three years, really. He could be better if he were somewhere else,” the executive said. “And [John] Wall, the game passed him by. He has had nine years to learn to shoot, and he still can’t shoot. I can’t go to my coach and tell him we are getting a starting point guard who can’t shoot. Not for $40MM a year.”

Here’s more on the Wizards from Deveney and others:

  • The Wizards have had a tough time finding value for their players on the trade market, according to Deveney. One executive told Deveney that – outside of Beal – Markieff Morris might be the club’s most interesting trade chip, since many contenders could use a tough, versatile big man. However, that exec was skeptical that any team would be willing to part with a first-round pick for Morris, who is on an expiring deal.
  • Speaking of Morris, his move to the bench has helped diversify the scoring ability of the Wizards’ second unit, says Chase Hughes of NBC Sports Washington. It’s also an opportunity to get Morris a few more shot attempts, since he’s more of a focal point on offense for the second team than he would be when Wall and Beal are on the court.
  • Offseason acquisition Austin Rivers believes he’s getting the hang of playing alongside Wall and Beal, as Hughes details in a separate story for NBC Sports Washington. “I have to be more aggressive,” Rivers said. “They actually like that, too, because it makes it easier for them because I will attack and then they get easy shots instead of having to work for every shot.”
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NBA G League Assignments/Recalls: 11/25/18

November 25th, 2018 at 8:10pm CST by Eric Spyropoulos

Here are Sunday’s G League assignments and recalls from across the NBA:

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NBA G League Assignments/Recalls: 11/23/18

November 23rd, 2018 at 6:49pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Here are Friday’s assignments and recalls from around the NBA:

  • The Pacers have recalled center Ike Anigbogu from the Fort Wayne Mad Ants, according to a team press release. Anigbogu is averaging 12.2 PPG, 10.0 RPG and 2.4 BPG in five games with the Mad Ants. The 2017 second-round pick has only seen the court once this season with the Pacers.
  • The Wizards assigned rookie forward Troy Brown Jr. to the Capital City Go Go prior to the G League team’s game against Canton, the team’s PR department tweets. The 15th overall pick in the June draft has averaged 2.5 PPG in 5.3 MPG over eight appearances with Washington.
  • The Magic assigned rookie shooting guard Melvin Frazier Jr. to Lakeland, the team’s PR department tweets. The second-round pick has appeared in two Orlando games but is still looking for his first NBA point. In four games with Lakeland, Frazier Jr. is averaging 8.8 PPG in 27.0 MPG.
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Wizards Sign Okaro White

November 23rd, 2018 at 1:27pm CST by Luke Adams

NOVEMBER 23: The Wizards have officially signed White, the team announced today in a press release.

NOVEMBER 21: The Wizards intend to sign free agent forward Okaro White to fill one of the open spots on their roster, reports Shams Charania of The Athletic (Twitter link). Details of the agreement aren’t yet known, but I’d expect a one-year, non-guaranteed contract.

A report earlier this week suggested that White was close to signing with Israeli team Maccabi Tel Aviv, but that deal wasn’t yet official, and the Wizards have apparently agreed to terms on their own deal with the 26-year-old before he headed overseas. White is traveling to Washington today to join his new team, according to Charania.

A former undrafted free agent out of Florida State, White appeared in 41 games for the Heat over two seasons after making his NBA debut in January of 2017. He played just 13.4 minutes per contest for Miami, averaging 2.9 PPG and 2.3 RPG. White also finished the 2017/18 season with the Cavaliers and spent training camp with the Spurs this fall, but was waived by both teams.

The Wizards had to add a player to their roster within the next few days after having waived Chasson Randle earlier in November. NBA rules require teams to carry at least 14 players on standard contracts, but clubs can dip below that figure for up to two weeks at a time. Washington had been carrying 13 players since releasing Randle on November 12.

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Heat Notes: 15th Man, Trade Options, Richardson

November 23rd, 2018 at 9:46am CST by Luke Adams

Even with Dwyane Wade back after his personal leave, the Heat find themselves a little short on backcourt playmakers, as Goran Dragic, Tyler Johnson, and Dion Waiters are all on the shelf due to various injuries. Miami has an open roster spot and could temporarily add a guard on a non-guaranteed contract to provide some depth, but has shown no interest in doing so for the time being.

While the luxury-tax penalties tied to any signing are surely a consideration for the Heat, Ira Winderman of The South Florida Sun Sentinel suggests the team’s preference to stick with a 14-man roster for now is more about finding minutes for players who might otherwise be buried in Miami’s deep rotation.

As Winderman points out, adding a veteran point guard could have a domino effect on the rest of the lineup, potentially costing players like Wayne Ellington or even Bam Adebayo some playing time. It remains unclear when the Heat’s guards will return to action, but lengthy absences for Dragic and Johnson seem unlikely, so the club is in no rush to add reinforcements.

Here’s more on the Heat:

  • The 6-11 Heat have dropped nine of their last 12 games and the need for a roster shakeup in Miami has “never been more obvious,” writes Barry Jackson of The Miami Herald. The Heat will likely contact the Wizards to check in on players like John Wall and Bradley Beal, according to Jackson, who hears that Miami holds Beal in particularly high regard. However, Jackson suggests it’s hard to imagine the Heat putting together an appealing enough package for Beal, and they’d probably only have interest in Wall if they could dump a couple of their own unwanted contracts.
  • In a pair of Ask Ira features this week, Winderman dug into the Heat’s decision to sit Kelly Olynyk on Tuesday and explored the likelihood of a trade involving Wayne Ellington.
  • Earlier this week, Josh Richardson was fined $25K by the NBA for throwing his shoe into the stands during a loss to the Lakers, according to a press release from the league.
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Celtics Notes: Stevens, Horford, Lineup Change, Morris

November 22nd, 2018 at 12:46pm CST by Arthur Hill

After watching his team fall to .500 with its third straight loss Wednesday, coach Brad Stevens wondered if maybe the Celtics were overrated all along, relays Chris Forsberg of NBC Sports Boston.

“I just don’t know that we’re that good. Maybe it’s not a wakeup call if you keep getting beat,” Stevens said after a home loss to the Knicks. “We have to play better. It’s not because we’re not capable of being good. It’s not because we weren’t good at one time in our lives. It’s you’re good if you play good and the results are speaking for themselves.”

The Celtics entered the season as the favorites in the East and were considered a legitimate threat to win the NBA title after reaching Game 7 of the conference finals last year without injured stars Kyrie Irving and Gordon Hayward. Instead, they have experienced struggles on both offense and defense as Stevens has tried to work out effective combinations of his veterans and younger players.

“It’s not one guy. It’s not two guys. It’s all of us,” Stevens said. “We’re not playing with the same personality we played with last year. That’s the easiest way to describe it. And then the 50,000 issues that are below that, we have to tackle one at a time.”

There’s more today out of Boston:

  • Al Horford said the team’s “effort” isn’t where it needs to be, relays A. Sherrod Blakely of NBC Sports Boston. However, he suggested that the early-season struggles could benefit the team down the road. “These are the times I feel like make teams stronger,” Horford said. “I feel last year, what made us stronger was that adversity that we faced with different injuries and things like that. Different situations make teams tougher. Right now, as much as I don’t like losing and going through this, I feel like this is what’s making us stronger as a unit.”
  • Hayward came off the bench for the second straight game Wednesday as center Aron Baynes remained in the starting lineup, Blakely notes in a separate story. In addition to improving the first-team defense, Stevens explained that the move puts players in their more natural positions. “There’s a comfort level to that,” he said. “As we continue to try and grow and get to the best version of ourselves, we’re going to have to be able to play both ways. We’re gonna have to be able to play small; we’re gonna have to be able to play big.”
  • With the Wizards contemplating a sell-off, Tom Keegan of The Boston Herald suggests that the Celtics might benefit from acquiring Markieff Morris to play alongside his brother, Marcus.
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