Washington Wizards Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Jazz, Wolves, Others Reach Out To Luol Deng

July 1st, 2016 at 12:28am CST by Luke Adams

Several teams have reached out to Luol Deng during the opening hours of free agency, according to multiple reports. Darren Wolfson of 5 Eyewitness News (Twitter links) says the Timberwolves, Celtics, Heat, and Wizards all called on Deng tonight, while Adrian Wojnarowski of The Vertical adds the Jazz and Clippers to that list (Twitter link via Barry Jackson of The Miami Herald).

Utah is expected to be “very aggressive” in its pursuit of Deng, per Wojnarowski. Meanwhile, Wolfson notes that Timberwolves head coach Tom Thibodeau, who coached Deng in Chicago, is expected to talk to the veteran free agent during the day tomorrow.

We heard back in May that Deng was expected to receive a two-year deal that paid at least $12MM annually, but I wouldn’t be surprised if his price has increased since then, with free-agent estimates around the league having been consistently creeping higher.

Wizards Interested In Maurice Harkless

June 30th, 2016 at 10:27pm CST by Eddie Scarito

The Pistons, Wizards, Bulls, Lakers and Mavericks are among the teams interested in Trail Blazers restricted free agent Maurice Harkless, Alex Kennedy of Basketball Insiders reports (via Twitter).The 23-year-old appeared in 78 games this season and averaged 6.4 points, 3.6 rebounds and 0.9 assists in 18.7 minutes per contest.

Wall Wants Wizards To Be Aggressive In Free Agency

June 30th, 2016 at 10:13pm CST by Arthur Hill

John Wall wants to see the Wizards adopt an aggressive attitude toward free agency, tweets Dan Steinberg of The Washington Post. “The organization’s got to be willing to step up to the plate and get what needs to be done, done,” Wall said.

Latest Free Agency News

June 30th, 2016 at 6:10pm CST by Eddie Scarito

Unrestricted free agent swingman Nicolas Batum has scheduled face-to-face meetings with the Hornets and Mavericks in Dallas and will talk to the Knicks, Lakers and Wizards via phone, MacMahon tweets.

Latest Free Agency News

June 29th, 2016 at 8:02pm CST by Eddie Scarito

The Wizards want to re-sign unrestricted free agent Jared Dudley, but the Jazz are expected to make a run at the forward this summer as well, Darren Wolfson of 1500 ESPN tweets.

Wizards Add Chad Iske To Coaching Staff

June 29th, 2016 at 4:15pm CST by Eddie Scarito

The Wizards will be adding former Kings assistant Chad Iske to Scott Brooks‘ coaching staff in Washington, Tim Bontemps of The Washington Post relays (on Twitter).
Former Wizards assistant coach Roy Rogers has reached an agreement to join Mike D’Antoni‘s staff with the Rockets, Wojnarowski tweets.

Wizards Rumors: Anderson, Horford, Batum, Beal

June 29th, 2016 at 10:31am CST by Luke Adams

As we heard on Tuesday, the Wizards – having conceded that they’re not in the mix for Kevin Durant – have shifted their focus to Ryan Anderson, viewing him as a top free target. ESPN’s Marc Stein follows up on that report today by suggesting that Anderson isn’t the only name near the top of Washington’s wish list. According to Stein (via Twitter), the names that keep coming up as prime targets for the Wizards this offseason are Anderson, Al Horford, and Nicolas Batum.

Stein also adds (in a second tweet) that that the Wizards are expected to “quickly” enter negotiations with Bradley Beal on a new contract, after extending him a qualifying offer to make him a restricted free agent. That echoes a May report, which indicated the Wizards won’t waste time in offering Beal a long-term, maximum-salary contract when the new league year opens.

Kyler’s Latest: Durant, Conley, Whiteside, Rondo

June 28th, 2016 at 11:00pm CST by Luke Adams

The prevailing wisdom heading into free agency has suggested that Kevin Durant is likely to sign a two-year contract with a second-year player option this summer. After all, opting out a year from now and signing a long-term deal at that point figures to be the best way for the star forward to maximize his earnings.

Still, we’ve heard whispers that Durant may prefer to simply sign a long-term pact now to avoid having free agency looming over him for another year, and Steve Kyler of Basketball Insiders cites sources close to the former MVP who echo that sentiment. According to Kyler, Oklahoma City remains the frontrunner for Durant, but the free-agent-to-be will hear out and consider all his suitors, and could make a long-term commitment to the team he signs with, whether that’s the Thunder or another club.

Here’s more from Kyler on a few of this summer’s top free agents:

Mike Conley is expected to listen to some free agent pitches, but will likely give the Grizzlies the last word, writes Kyler. Conley would like to see Memphis be aggressive about adding talent to fortify the roster if he’s going to return. If the veteran point guard decides to go elsewhere, the Mavericks, Rockets, Spurs, and even the Nets are among his potential landing spots, per Kyler.
The Lakers, Mavericks, Celtics, and Hornets are some of the teams expected to make a push for Hassan Whiteside if the Heat waver on offering him a max contract, says Kyler.
Kyler identifies the Heat as a potential dark horse in the Al Horford sweepstakes, if Whiteside does leave Miami. Horford is believed to be the next target on the team’s wish list, and that interest may be mutual, Kyler writes.
There’s mutual interest between Rajon Rondo and the Nets, who could be the favorites to land the point guard. However, according to Kyler, Rondo wouldn’t want to be Brooklyn’s only high-profile addition this summer, so the Nets might have to make a commitment to another notable free agent if they hope to lure Rondo.
Dwight Howard could end up being a primary target this offseason for teams like the Bucks, Trail Blazers, and Hornets, who aren’t necessarily expected to get involved with many top-tier free agents, per Kyler. Sources close to Howard and the Magic indicate to Kyler that the odds of D12 returning to Orlando are slim, despite the fact that the team expects to be active on the open market.
Kyler adds the Lakers and Grizzlies to the list of teams with interest in Ryan Anderson, and notes that there’s mutual interest between Anderson and the Wizards. Sources also tell Kyler that Anderson would prefer to land with a playoff team.

Qualifying Offers: Drummond, Beal, Powell

June 28th, 2016 at 9:42pm CST by Eddie Scarito

Players eligible for restricted free agency don’t become restricted free agents by default. In order to make a player a restricted free agent, a team must extend a qualifying offer to him. The qualifying offer, which is essentially just a one-year contract offer, varies in amount depending on a player’s service time and previous contract status. A qualifying offer is designed to give a player’s team the right of first refusal. Because the qualifying offer acts as the first formal contract offer a free agent receives, his team then receives the option to match any offer sheet the player signs with another club. You can read more about qualifying offers here.

Teams don’t always formally announce when they submit qualifying offers, which is the case with a number of players who have already been extended these offers by their respective clubs. The procedural moves listed below have been posted to the RealGM Transactions page, with more sure to follow in the next few days:

Bradley Beal [Wizards] — $7,471,412
Andre Drummond [Pistons] — $4,433,683
Boban Marjanovic [Spurs] — $1,500,000
Dwight Powell [Mavericks] — $1,180,431

Also receiving a qualifying offer is Magic center Dewayne Dedmon, with Orlando submitting the $1,215,696 required to make him a restricted free agent earlier today, per Josh Robbins of The Orlando Sentinel.

Hawks Want In On Kevin Durant Sweepstakes

June 28th, 2016 at 11:20am CST by Luke Adams

Six teams – including the Thunder – have lined up free agent meetings with Kevin Durant so far, but there are still a handful of other clubs vying for the opportunity to sit down with the star forward. According to ESPN.com’s Marc Stein, one of those clubs is the Hawks, who are trying to “wedge their way” into the KD sweepstakes.

As July approaches, Atlanta’s top free agent priorities involve re-signing Al Horford and Kent Bazemore, but the Hawks are also working to convince Durant and his representatives to allow them to make a face-to-face pitch. According to Stein, the chances of such a meeting occurring appear dim for now, but Grant Hill – a member of the Hawks’ ownership group – is expected to lead the club’s lobbying efforts, giving Atlanta a glimmer of hope.

Atlanta’s pursuit of Durant may be a long shot, but if the team falls short in its pursuit of its top target, it has at least one more big-name free agent on its list of possible alternatives. Stein reports that the Hawks are strongly considering pursuing Atlanta native Dwight Howard, who will also hit the open market this week.

According to Stein, the Hawks would go after Howard with the idea of playing him alongside Horford in their frontcourt. However, Howard could also represent a viable alternative at center if Horford ultimately signs elsewhere. While Atlanta is optimistic about retaining the All-Star center, Horford is expected to draw interest from the Lakers, Rockets, Magic, Pistons, Wizards, Celtics, and Nets, among other teams, Stein writes.

The Hawks are currently projected to have about $47MM in guaranteed salary on their books for 2016/17, which includes cap holds for their two first-round picks, but not Jeff Teague‘s $8MM salary. Even if the team re-signs Horford, there could still be room for another max or near-max salary.