Washington Wizards Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Wizards Acquire Markieff Morris

February 18th, 2016 at 11:56pm CST by Chuck Myron

Mark J. Rebilas / USA TODAY Sports Images

7:20pm: The Suns have traded Markieff Morris to the Wizards for Kris Humphries, DeJuan Blair and Washington’s top-nine protected 2016 first-round pick, the teams announced. Phoenix is reportedly set to waive Blair. It’s a swap that ends a months-long saga involving Morris, who demanded a trade over the summer and recanted that stance, at least publicly, before the season, saying as late as Wednesday night that he wanted to stay in Phoenix.

Washington wasn’t prominent among the several teams linked to Morris since the summer, a group that included the Pelicans, Rockets, Pistons and Raptors. Instead, the Wizards were among the teams linked to Ryan Anderson and other, mostly reserve big man options, before coming away with one of the season’s most talked-about trade candidates.

“Markieff is a versatile, young power forward who brings athleticism and physicality along with a good shooting touch,” Wizards GM Ernie Grunfeld said in the team’s statement. “He will be a very good addition to our team as we make our playoff push and gives us a proven starter at that position for the next several years.”

Morris, who’s facing felony aggravated assault charges for his role in a January incident, is under contract for three more seasons after this one at an average of $8MM a year. Humphries is making $4.4MM this season with a non-guaranteed $4.63MM salary for next year. Blair has $2MM coming his way this season, but next year’s $2MM salary is non-guaranteed, just as with Humphries. So, this move compromises Washington’s cap flexibility for this summer, when D.C. native Kevin Durant will be a free agent. The Wizards nonetheless still project to have enough room to offer the max to Durant, according to Eric Pincus of Basketball Insiders (on Twitter).

The $7.4MM on the books for Morris next season brings Washington’s guaranteed salary commitments to about $45MM, and that, plus a roughly $14MM cap hold for Bradley Beal and at least about $3.3MM in other cap holds, leaves room for Durant’s projected $24.9MM max beneath the projected $89MM cap. A higher cap of $95MM, which some forecast, would lift Durant’s projected max somewhat higher too, but not by as much, giving the Wizards even more breathing room.

The Wizards will hope for a return to form for Morris, the 13th overall pick from the 2011 draft whose numbers are off sharply this season. His 3-point shooting is a career-worst 28.9%. Humphries added a 3-point shot to his game this year and made 34.3%, but injuries have limited him to only 28 games this season, and his appearance against the Knicks last week was his first since January 3rd. Blair was out of the rotation for most of his year and a half with Washington, averaging only 6.9 minutes per game combined between this season and last.

Phoenix moves on from a tumultuous relationship that seemed to come to a head in the wake of the offseason trade that sent his brother to the Pistons. I chronicled the back-and-forth between Morris and the Suns when I examined his trade candidacy last month.

Today’s swap adds $1.56MM to Washington’s payroll, bringing the Wizards to only about $1MM shy of the tax line. It also allows the Suns to create a trade exception for that $1.56MM amount.

Shams Charania of The Vertical on Yahoo Sports first reported the deal. TNT’s David Aldridge relayed that a first-round pick would go to Phoenix (Twitter link) and Paul Coro of The Arizona Republic had news of the details of the pick (on Twitter). Marc J. Spears of The Vertical on Yahoo Sports reported that Humphries and Blair were Suns-bound, while Jorge Castillo of The Washington Post added that one of them would be waived (Twitter link). RealGM confirms that the pick going to Phoenix is Washington’s own.

Cavaliers Interested In Ryan Anderson

February 17th, 2016 at 10:27pm CST by Arthur Hill

10:27pm: The Wizards have talked with the Pelicans about acquiring Anderson, but prefer to pursue Kevin Durant rather than pay Anderson in free agency, according to Adrian Wojnarowski of The Vertical on Yahoo Sports. Anderson is expected to attract a salary starting at $16MM-$18MM when he hits the market this summer, and Washington would rather chase Durant without having to worry about Anderson.

Wojnarowski also reports that the Pistons and Pelicans had “serious talks” about Anderson before Detroit opted to trade for Tobias Harris on Tuesday. Detroit was interested in a larger deal with the Magic that included Evan Fournier, but Orlando wanted to keep him.

3:39pm: The Cavaliers are talking to the Pelicans about power forward Ryan Anderson, tweets Frank Isola of The New York Daily News. He adds that a three-team deal that includes Kevin Love is still possible. Cleveland has “strong interest” in acquiring Anderson, tweets Marc J. Spears of Yahoo Sports.

The Pelicans are motivated to move Anderson because they aren’t sure if they can keep him once he enters free agency this summer. New Orleans expects Anderson to receive an offer with a starting salary in the neighborhood of $16MM-$18MM. The Heat, Kings, Wizards and Pistons are among the teams rumored to have interest in Anderson, although Detroit may have pulled out after Tuesday’s trade for Tobias Harris.

If Love is included in a deal, it will end a tumultuous season and a half with the Cavaliers. After being acquired from Minnesota in a 2014 trade, Love was supposed to be part of a new Big Three in Cleveland, but the fit was never as smooth as expected. He posted scoring and rebounding totals that were far behind his numbers with the Wolves.

Anderson, an eight-year veteran stretch forward, is averaging 16.7 points and 5.9 rebounds in 51 games with New Orleans. His salary is $8.5MM this season, while Love is making $19.5MM in the second season of a five-year max deal, so if they’re both involved in the same trade, some work will need to be done to match salaries.

Southeast Notes: Splitter, Batum, Jefferson, Frye

February 17th, 2016 at 5:29pm CST by Arthur Hill

The Hawks‘ Tiago Splitter may miss the start of next season after having surgery on his right hip, according to Chris Vivlamore of The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. The procedure will be performed Thursday, and Splitter estimates it will take “eight months, at least” to recover, which means he won’t be able to represent Brazil in the Summer Olympics. “I just got here this season and I wanted to help this team more” said Splitter, who was acquired from the Spurs in a July trade. “I wasn’t able to perform 100%, that’s for sure. I’ve been feeling this pain, you guys know, for some time. We tried several techniques and treatments. It ended up being I need the surgery. I hope it goes fast and I’m ready to play again.” Splitter will make $8.25MM next season on the final year of his contract.

There’s more from the Southeast Division on the eve of the trade deadline:

Trade rumors have swirled around the Hawks as much as any team during the past month, and coach/executive Mike Budenholzer isn’t offering any hints about whether a deal for Al Horford or Jeff Teague is in the works, as Vivlamore notes in a separate piece. “We are very happy with our group,” Budenholzer said. “We feel strongly about them. I’ve been protective of them and would expect to continue to be that. You never know what can happen.”
The Hornets will likely present Nicolas Batum with a full max offer on the first day of free agency, tweets Rick Bonnell of The Charlotte Observer, passing on a prediction from ESPN cap expert Tom Penn. It’s the only way Charlotte can keep him, Penn said (Twitter link).
The Hornets hope to welcome back center Al Jefferson this weekend, Bonnell tweets. Jefferson hasn’t played since undergoing arthroscopic surgery after suffering a tear in the lateral meniscus of his right knee in late December.
The Magic’s Channing Frye takes trade deadline talk in stride, tweets Josh Robbins of The Orlando Sentinel. The Clippers are reportedly close to a deal that would bring the veteran power forward to L.A. “It’s not my first time being on the trading block,” Frye said. “… I was supposed to get traded at the beginning of the season. I was supposed to get traded last year.”
Wizards center Marcin Gortat has officially chosen Todd Ramasar as his new agent, writes J. Michael of CSNMidAtlantic.

Southeast Notes: Jennings, Payton, Plumlee

February 17th, 2016 at 12:06pm CST by Chuck Myron

The acquisition of Brandon Jennings in Tuesday’s trade with the Pistons doesn’t mean the Magic have wavered in their belief in Elfrid Payton, GM Rob Hennigan said, though coach Scott Skiles has been looking for more lately from Orlando’s incumbent starting point guard, notes Brian Schmitz of the Orlando Sentinel. Still, the trade was about creating flexibility to chase stars in the summer, as Schmitz sees it, suggesting Jennings and Ilyasova will merely be rentals if the right marquee player comes calling. The deal reduced the Magic’s guaranteed salary commitments by $16.8MM for next season, bringing their total down to $44MM. See more from Orlando amid news out of the Southeast Division, where three teams have made trades within the last 24 hours:

It appears as though the Wizards had talks with the Bucks about Miles Plumlee, as Adrian Wojnarowski of The Vertical on Yahoo Sports, citing sources, writes that Washington could revisit discussions about the big man if Milwaukee isn’t hung up on other business.
The Wizards see the return of Alan Anderson as a de facto trade deadline acquisition, and a decent chance exists that he’ll be playing by week’s end, reports Jorge Castillo of The Washington Post. The Wizards signed him to a one-year, $4MM deal this past summer thinking he’d be ready for the start of the regular season following ankle surgery in May, but a follow-up procedure has kept the swingman on the shelf all season so far, as Castillo details.
Heat team president Pat Riley pointed to the importance of upgrading Miami’s point guard position in the wake of Tyler Johnson‘s injury as he addressed Tuesday’s trade to acquire Brian Roberts, according to his remarks in the team’s statement. Johnson has said there’s no guarantee he returns to play this season.
It’s likely that the Hornets will use the roster spot they opened in Wednesday’s Courtney Lee trade to sign a third point guard out of the D-League, GM Rich Cho said, according to Rick Bonnell of the Charlotte Observer (Twitter link).
The Magic are down to four cities in the running to play host to their one-to-one D-League affiliate in 2017/18, CEO Alex Martins told Josh Robbins of the Orlando Sentinel. All are in Florida: Jacksonville, Kissimmee, Lakeland and an Orlando location not far from where the NBA club plays, as Robbins details.

And-Ones: Horford, Anderson, Rondo

February 16th, 2016 at 11:24pm CST by Eddie Scarito

Many teams are estimating the salary cap will rise to $92MM next season, above the league’s $89MM projection, according to Zach Lowe of ESPN.com. Some around the league can envision the cap going as high as $95MM, reports Tim Bontemps of The Washington Post (Twitter link), echoing an October dispatch from Sean Deveney of The Sporting News, who heard from many league executives and agents who believed the cap would surge to that $95MM figure. A $95MM cap would produce maximum salaries worth approximately $22.3MM for players with six or fewer years of experience, $26.8M for players with between seven and nine years of experience, and $31.3M for veterans of 10 or more seasons, notes Amin Elhassan of ESPN.com (Twitter link). Those figures would be $21.6MM, $25.9MM and $30.3MM on a $92MM cap, Elhassan also tweets.

Here’s more from around the league:

Hawks GM Wes Wilcox is asking teams to “wow” him with their offers for Al Horford, sources also tell Lowe. People close to the Hawks big man tell Lowe that the ability of the team with his Bird rights in free agency to give him a fifth year in a new contract this summer will be more important to him than just about any other facet in negotiations. That would appear to mean the Hawks, who have those Bird rights, are in a strong position to retain him. Horford will nonetheless look around at other teams, and he likes the idea of playing in a larger market with more people who are from the Dominican Republic, as he is, several sources tell Lowe. However, he treasures the continuity of the Hawks, Lowe writes.
The Pelicans have been pushing to trade Ryan Anderson because the team doesn’t think it will be able to re-sign him this summer, Adrian Wojnarowski of The Vertical on Yahoo Sports relays. Teams trading for Anderson believe that he’ll command a starting salary of $16MM-$18MM per season on his next deal, Wojnarowski adds. New Orleans has been struggling trying to get equal value in return for the stretch-four and has spoken with the Wizards and the Pistons about the forward, though the conversations with Detroit occurred prior to the team landing Tobias Harris from the Magic, the Vertical scribe notes. Detroit had discussed a larger three-team trade involving the Pelicans and Magic that would have sent Anderson to Detroit and Harris to New Orleans, but Orlando was reluctant to part with Evan Fournier, Wojnarowski adds.
The Wizards are asking around in search of a reserve big man, league sources tell Lowe for the same piece.
It’s a “lock” that either Terrence Jones or Donatas Motiejunas will leave the Rockets as restricted free agents this summer, according to Lowe.
Rajon Rondo intends to keep an open mind about signing with the Knicks when he’s a free agent this coming summer, a league source tells Marc Berman of the New York Post. Recently fired coach Derek Fisher had some pointed comments after Rondo criticized the triangle offense, and Berman wonders if Fisher wasn’t aware of team president Phil Jackson‘s respect for Rondo’s game. Sources who spoke with Berman indicated that Fisher and Jackson didn’t talk as much during the coach’s time with the Knicks as Jackson thought they would.

Chuck Myron contributed to this post.

Wizards Notes: Trade Targets, Dudley, Temple

February 15th, 2016 at 8:46pm CST by Dana Gauruder

The Wizards shouldn’t regard taking on a long-term salary as a deal killer if they want to make noise in the playoffs, Ben Standig of CSN Mid-Atlantic opines. While Washington has diligently cleared cap space to make a run at Kevin Durant this offseason, it is only three games out of the eighth spot in the East and can’t pin all of its hopes on free agency, Standig continues. Power forwards such as Thaddeus Young, Markieff Morris, Tobias Harris, Ryan Anderson and even Blake Griffin are the type of players the Wizards should consider if they’re serious about a playoff push, instead of staking all their hopes on landing Durant, Standig adds.

In other notes regarding the Wizards:

Jared Dudley has exceeded all expectations as the team’s stretch four, Michael writes in his All-Star break evaluation. Dudley cost the Wizards virtually nothing in the offseason trade with the salary-dumping Bucks, Michael continues, but he’s emerged as Washington’s undersized power forward ahead of Nene and Kris Humphries. He’s also the quarterback of the defense, making the right rotations and trying to cover for other players’ mistakes while calling for adjustments when needed, Michael adds. Dudley, who is making $4.375MM, is one of many Washington players with expiring contracts.
Shooting guard Garrett Temple also gets a high mark from Michael, who notes that Temple is the only starter with a positive net rating. Michael doesn’t believe that’s a statistical quirk but rather speaks to Temple’s ability to finish in transition, hit open jumpers and keep the ball moving while also establishing himself as the club’s top one-on-one defender. Temple is providing all this while making $1.1MM on an expiring deal.

Southeast Rumors: Horford, Wizards, Heat

February 14th, 2016 at 3:00pm CST by Will Joseph

The Hawks are not actively shopping Al Horford despite his looming free agency, one league source told Sean Deveney of The Sporting News. Horford has not signaled to Atlanta that he wants out via trade nor has he indicated he would re-sign with the Hawks, Deveney also hears. It was recently reported that Atlanta is thinking “long and hard” about offering Horford a five-year max deal. Horford has said on multiple occasions that he is fond of playing for the Hawks.

Here’s more from around the Southeast Division:

Kevin Durant likely needs more of an incentive to join the Wizards this summer than simply Washington being his hometown team, J. Michael of CSNMidAtlantic.com opines. Durant has strong feelings toward his roots, but it seems like he cares more about winning, Michael writes. “I’m always going to be a part of that. That’s what made me who I am. I walked those straights. I took that subway back when it was MCI Center watched the Wizards play. And the Mystics,” Durant said regarding the Wizards. “I’m always going to be a part of that community no matter what because that’s where I grew up at. That’s where I honed my skills.That’s where I became a man so I’m always going to be part of that community and I always appreciate the support. They have a great team there with a lot of great young players and they’re right in front of you so don’t take nothing for granted.”
The Heat would likely only sign Hassan Whiteside to a lucrative long-term deal if he shows improved maturity and produces at an elite level while helping to lead Miami to a deep playoff run, Barry Jackson of the Miami Herald writes. It will also take the Heat missing on top free agents this summer for the team to lock up Whiteside, Jackson adds. Earlier today, we noted that there was an increased feeling within the Heat’s front office that moving Whiteside might be best for the franchise.

Wizards Ask About Anderson, Tucker, Booker

February 10th, 2016 at 1:59pm CST by Chuck Myron

The Wizards have inquired about Ryan Anderson, P.J. Tucker and Trevor Booker as they search for help at power forward, according to Steve Kyler of Basketball Insiders, who writes in his NBA AM piece. Washington hasn’t gained much traction in talks thus far, Kyler cautions, having heard that the team believes the serious talk will take place during the All-Star break. The Wizards have been disappointing this season, sitting one game in the loss column behind the eighth-place Pistons in the Eastern Conference, but they’re unlikely to break up their core, Kyler writes.

Multiple reports within the last month have indicated that the Pelicans are more willing to trade other players than they are with Anderson, and coach Alvin Gentry has said he’s unlikely to end up in a deal, even though NBA executives reportedly believed, at least as of January, that if the Pelicans were to make a trade this season, Anderson would be in it. Stretch fours appeal to Washington, according to Kyler, and Anderson, a career 38% 3-point shooter, fits that bill. New Orleans reportedly made Anderson available earlier this season, but the team wasn’t anxious to trade him, as Kyler reported, later noting that the Rockets “kicked the tires” on him. New Orleans apparently had talks with the Suns about Markieff Morris that involved Anderson. Reports conflict on whether New Orleans turned down an offer from the Kings of Rudy Gay for Anderson

Tucker has consistently been attracting interest on the trade market, with the Raptors among those eyeing him, multiple reports have said. The Suns were reportedly holding off on trade discussions involving him as of last month, waiting to gauge their postseason hopes, but Phoenix has fallen 12 games behind the eighth-place Rockets. He’d be an undersized option at the four, since he’s 6’6″ and primarily plays small forward, but Washington has used 6’7″ Jared Dudley extensively at power forward this season. Tucker, unlike Anderson and Booker, has one more year left on his contract, but it’s only partially guaranteed for $1.5MM, so it wouldn’t take a significant chunk out of Washington’s cap flexibility for the summer ahead.

Rumors about Booker have been sparse, even though he’s on an expiring contract with the Jazz that gives him $4.775MM this season. Washington’s interest in Booker is somewhat curious, even though he spent his first four NBA seasons there, since the Wizards elected not to tender a qualifying offer to him when he was eligible for restricted free agency in 2014.

What should the Wizards do at the deadline? Leave a comment to share your ideas.

Eastern Notes: Dudley, Joseph, Dellavedova

February 9th, 2016 at 9:36pm CST by Eddie Scarito

Jared Dudley has been with a new team each of the last three seasons and the combo forward believes that he needs continuity to be the best player he can be, Joel Brigham of Basketball Insiders relays. “I’m a rhythm player,” Dudley told Brigham. “My game revolves around system, team, unselfishness. Obviously I’ve had to be healthy, though, and continue to adjust to playing a new position at power forward this year and last year. I had a great situation in Milwaukee, but I had to go between being a starter and a bench player back and forth.” Dudley, an unrestricted free agent at season’s end, noted that he is happy being a member of the Wizards, but did acknowledge the uncertainty that the future brings for veteran players, Brigham adds. “I’ve now come to the realization that you’ve got to rent instead of buying a home,” Dudley continued. “I don’t know where I’ll be 15 years from now. I don’t know what my job is going to be, but I’ve got time, and I’m happy where I am for now.”

Dudley could be on the move once again as the Cavs are reportedly interested in his services. Here’s more from the East:

If the Heat look to make a deal in advance of the trade deadline, the expiring contract of Chris Andersen could be used to help the team pull off a deal, Bobby Marks of The Vertical on Yahoo Sports writes in his deadline primer for Miami. The Vertical scribe also notes that the franchise could save itself approximately $2.3MM in luxury tax penalties by dealing away rookie Jarnell Stokes, who has spent the bulk of the season in the D-League. Dana Gauruder of Hoops Rumors examined Andersen as a trade candidate before the season.
The Raptors‘ luxury tax situation will likely prevent the team from making any significant moves prior to next week’s trade deadline, Josh Lewenberg of TSN.ca opines. To obtain an impact player, Toronto would likely have to part with either Cory Joseph or Patrick Patterson, both of whom have been solid contributors this season, to make a deal work under the luxury tax threshold, Lewenberg writes. The TSN scribe argues that it wouldn’t improve the team enough to make it worthwhile to part with either player in a trade during the season.
Injured Cavaliers point guard Matthew Dellavedova is unlikely to return to action until after the All-Star break, Jason Lloyd of the Akron Beacon Journal relays. The long layoff may be a boon to the point guard, who is dealing with a hamstring injury, Lloyd notes. “I would like that,” coach Tyronn Lue said regarding Dellavedova having extra time to heal. “I’m not sure Delly would like that. That’s the smartest thing to do, just come back, get seven or eight days off, and then come back fresh. He should be healthy by then. That’s the smartest thing to do.”

Cavs Interested In Jared Dudley

February 5th, 2016 at 8:58am CST by Chuck Myron

The Cavaliers are interested in acquiring Jared Dudley and are one of the most active NBA teams on the trade market, as Brian Windhorst of ESPN.com said in an appearance on ESPN Cleveland radio with Tony Cartagena this morning (Twitter links; audio link). Dudley is making $4.375MM this season on the final year of his contract with the Wizards, who have lost five of their last six games to fall to 21-26.

It’s unclear whether Cleveland would target Dudley with part of its more than $10.5MM trade exception or look for an exchange of salaries instead. The Cavs have reportedly gauged the market for Timofey Mozgov, whose $4.95MM salary would be a close match with Dudley’s, but the Wizards already have two traditional big men in Marcin Gortat and Nene. In any case, Cleveland has reportedly sought a three-and-D wing player to back up Iman Shumpert, and Dudley is displaying a career-best 45.9% 3-point shooting stroke this season. He ranks 19th among all small forwards in ESPN’s Defensive Real Plus/Minus metric.

Dudley, 30, has assumed a leadership role for the Wizards in his first season with the team. He supported the trade that sent him from Milwaukee to Washington this past summer and expressed contentment last month with his situation in Washington. Still, he doesn’t have the power to veto a swap to Cleveland. Cavs GM David Griffin worked in the Suns front office when Phoenix traded for Dudley in 2008.

Would Dudley be the right fit for the Cavs? Leave a comment to share your thoughts.