Wizards Rumors

Eastern Notes: Gortat, Budenholzer, Zeller, Hoiberg

November 14th, 2015 at 7:36pm CST by Arthur Hill

The Wizards‘ Marcin Gortat is upset about being singled out by coach Randy Wittman following Tuesday’s 24-point loss to the Thunder, writes Jorge Castillo of The Washington Post. Wittman angrily said that even he could get one defensive rebound in 27 minutes, as Gortat did in the blowout. “I don’t think it was necessary to call me out in the media like that,” Gortat said. “But it happened. I heard a different story in training camp, that stuff like that won’t happen. But it happened. So I disagree with what he did.” Gortat still has four seasons left on a five-year, $60MM deal he signed in 2014.

There’s more from the Eastern Conference:

The Hawks released a statement this evening from coach/executive Mike Budenholzer explaining his absence from Friday’s game. “On Friday morning, I returned to Atlanta from Boston to be with my family due to an emergency medical situation involving my wife,” Budenholzer wrote. “We are encouraged by her progress to this point and remain cautiously optimistic.” He promised to return to the team “as soon as possible.” Assistant Kenny Atkinson will continue to coach the team until Budenholzer returns, writes Chris Vivlamore of The Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
The Celtics‘ Tyler Zeller, who was passed over for an extension earlier this month, is dealing with severely reduced playing time, according to Chris Forsberg of ESPN.com. Zeller has become the odd man out in Boston’s crowded frontcourt, getting just 14 minutes of court time over five games before his role was expanded in Friday’s victory over Atlanta. “Tyler’s a really good player. We just have a lot of bigs,” said coach Brad Stevens. “I don’t know how else to say it. We haven’t shot it great, so you want to play some guys that can stretch the floor and be guarded when the floor is stretched. And that leaves at least one person out.”
Despite a couple of disappointing losses to the Hornets and Wolves, Bulls president Michael Reinsdorf tells K.C. Johnson of the Chicago Tribune he is completely happy with the performance of new coach Fred Hoiberg. “Fred connects with the players,” Reinsdorf said. “He connects with everyone he talks to because of his experience as a player, executive and coach at the college level.” This is Hoiberg’s first NBA coaching job after spending five years at Iowa State.

Offseason In Review: Washington Wizards

November 13th, 2015 at 6:40pm CST by Eddie Scarito

Hoops Rumors is in the process of looking back at each team’s offseason, from the end of the playoffs in June right up until opening night. Trades, free agent signings, draft picks, contract extensions, option decisions, camp invitees and more will be covered as we examine the moves each franchise made over the last several months.

Signings

Alan Anderson: One year, $4MM. Signed via mid-level exception.
Drew Gooden: Two years, $6.847MM. Signed via Early Bird rights. Second year is non-guaranteed.
Gary Neal: One year, $2.1MM. Signed via biannual exception.
Jaleel Roberts: One year, $525K. Signed via minimum-salary exception. Partially guaranteed for $10K. Waived.

Extensions

None

Trades

Acquired the draft rights to Kelly Oubre Jr. (No. 15 overall) from the Hawks in exchange for the draft rights to Jerian Grant (No. 19 overall) and Washington’s 2016 and 2019 second round picks.
Acquired Jared Dudley from the Bucks in exchange for Washington’s 2020 second round pick (top-55 protected).

Waiver Claims

None

Draft Picks

Kelly Oubre (Round 1, 15th overall). Signed via rookie exception to rookie scale contract.
Aaron White (Round 2, 49th overall). Signed overseas.

Camp Invitees

Departing Players

Rookie Contract Option Decisions

Otto Porter (fourth year, $5,893,981) — exercised

Courtesy of USA Today Sports Images

The last two seasons for the Wizards have ended with the team ousted in the second round of the playoffs, which raises legitimate concerns about the current state of their roster as well as the overall direction of the franchise. The window of contention can be fleeting in the NBA, and Washington is in danger of remaining stuck in the difficult position of being good enough to make the playoffs, but not necessarily talented enough to advance to the Conference Finals and beyond.

After what was a rather low-key offseason, the team returns the bulk of its core from 2014/15, with the most significant change being the departure of Paul Pierce, who opted to sign a three year deal worth approximately $10MM with the Clippers. While Pierce is no longer the player that he was in his heyday with Boston, he certainly provided the team with a strong veteran presence, and he was a reliable clutch performer. For that, he will surely be missed. But now that Pierce has departed, it opens the door for Otto Porter, the No. 3 overall selection in the 2013 NBA draft, to step up and prove his value to the club. The Wizards predictably exercised Porter’s fourth-year rookie option, giving him two seasons to establish himself as a player in the league, and as a part of the Wizards’ rotation, in advance of his next contract.

The franchise spent the bulk of the summer looking ahead, not to the 2015/16 season, but rather the summer of 2016, which is when Washington, D.C., native Kevin Durant is eligible to become an unrestricted free agent. While this tactic may end up making this season seem like a bit of an afterthought for the team, it will certainly be looked back on as an extremely wise plan if Durant does indeed end up with the Wizards. A trio of John Wall, Bradley Beal, and Durant would instantly become one of the most electric offensive units in the league, and that dream is certainly worth chasing for the team and its fans.

A key facet of the Wizards’ plan to snare Durant is the timing of when the team inks Beal to a new contract. The 22-year-old was eligible to sign a rookie scale extension prior to this year’s November 2nd deadline, but no deal was worked out, and the franchise opted for cap flexibility rather than the security of knowing the up-and-coming shooting guard was locked down for the long-term. The shooting guard believes he is worth the maximum salary, and Washington fully intends to re-sign Beal for the max next summer, as Sean Deveney of The Sporting News wrote.

With Beal not signing an extension, the Mark Bartelstein client will be able to negotiate with other teams next summer when he becomes a restricted free agent, but the Wizards can match any offer sheet he might agree to. Beal could also take the drastic, and unlikely, step of signing his qualifying offer, which would be worth approximately $7.471MM, but that would represent a significant discount from his projected maximum salary of $20.4MM. Beal had gone on record saying that he was confident about working out a deal with the Wizards before the extension deadline but would be OK with either outcome, and he has no desire to play for another team, as he told Michael Lee of Yahoo Sports.

The Wizards are apparently using the same strategy that the Spurs employed with Kawhi Leonard that allowed them to sign LaMarcus Aldridge this past offseason, and one that the Pistons and Andre Drummond are also pursuing. Both franchises had decided against extensions for their young stars in an effort to preserve cap flexibility for next summer. Beal’s cap hold for the coming offseason will be $14.2MM, and that number will remain on the team’s books until the two sides sign a new contract. If the team had signed Beal to a max extension prior to the deadline, it would have added roughly an additional $6MM to Washington’s cap figure, a significant impediment if the team hopes to land Durant and supplement its roster with a respectable supporting cast. Now, thanks to Beal remaining unsigned, the Wizards could sign other free agents next summer via cap space and then use Bird rights to re-sign Beal or to match an offer sheet for him.

The franchise didn’t completely ignore this year’s squad, signing combo guard Gary Neal and swingman Alan Anderson to one-year, team friendly deals. While both players are solid veterans who provide the team with depth, neither are game-changers for the Wizards. Anderson has yet to play during the regular season, thanks to undergoing a procedure late in training camp to address a nagging issue in his left ankle. The swingman is expected to be out until December and may have already lost his expected spot in the rotation thanks to the strong early play of Porter, though Jorge Castillo of The Washington Post told us that it’s more likely Anderson takes over the minutes that Garrett Temple and Kelly Oubre Jr. are seeing.

Washington also attempted to compensate for the loss of Pierce with the acquisition of Jared Dudley from the Bucks in exchange for a heavily protected 2020 second-round pick, and with Oubre, the No. 15 overall pick in this year’s NBA draft. Dudley was a wise addition, with the veteran certainly capable of providing solid minutes if he can remain healthy. Wizards GM Ernie Grunfeld also made a solid move in acquiring Oubre’s draft rights from the Hawks in exchange for two future second-rounders and the No. 19 overall pick. Oubre is a project who will take some time to develop, but he also possesses lottery-level talent, and he could evolve into a two-way force if the front office and the coaching staff show proper patience.

Washington is a franchise with enough talent to be a factor in the Eastern Conference this season, though the team likely doesn’t have enough firepower to beat the Cavaliers without a generous amount of good fortune coming its way. That’s a major reason why the franchise is anxiously awaiting its shot at luring Durant, whose presence alongside Wall and Beal would instantly make the Wizards a force to be reckoned with. The danger is in focusing too much on Durant, who isn’t necessarily going to depart Oklahoma City, and not doing all that it can to upgrade the roster this season.

The Basketball Insiders salary pages were used in the creation of this post.

Southeast Notes: Riley, Anderson, Patterson

November 13th, 2015 at 9:59am CST by Chuck Myron

Heat team president Pat Riley tried to convince LaMarcus Aldridge to take Miami’s mid-level exception on a one-year deal this summer with the idea of re-signing him for the maximum salary using cap space in 2016, according to Ira Winderman of the Sun Sentinel (Twitter links). That conflicts with an earlier report from Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo Sports, who heard that Riley was selling Aldridge on the idea of signing a one-year deal with the Trail Blazers so that he could be available in 2016. The mid-level plan would have been a tough sell, especially since the Heat are limited to just the $3.376MM taxpayer’s mid-level instead of the full $5.464MM. Aldridge ultimately wound up signing with the Spurs on a max deal that pays him $19.689MM this season. Next year’s maximum salary for Aldridge would be a projected $29.3MM, thanks to the rising salary cap and the fact that Aldridge would be a 10-year veteran and eligible for the highest maximum-salary bracket. Still, he ultimately decided against trying to recoup the losses of a financial sacrifice this season with a more lucrative max deal in 2016. See more from the Southeast Division:

The Wizards have struggled on defense, ranking just 24th in defensive efficiency according to NBA.com, but coach Randy Wittman thinks the team’s newcomers are better defenders than those they replaced, notes J. Michael of CSNMidAtlantic.com. Alan Anderson, one of the team’s offseason signees and a key part of the team’s defensive upgrade, is out until December, though John Wall credits him for his voice in the locker room that’s helped keep the team from panicking amid its disappointing 3-4 start, as Michael details.
The physicality of the NBA caught Hawks rookie Lamar Patterson by surprise, but he’s already had his moments, as Alex Kennedy of Basketball Insiders examines. Patterson has been in and out of the rotation already this season for Atlanta, though he hasn’t played in the past three games. The Hawks inked the 2014 No. 48 overall pick this past summer as a draft-and-stash signee.
Hawks coach/executive Mike Budenholzer won’t be coaching tonight in the team’s game against the Celtics in Boston, since he’s returned to Atlanta to attend to a family matter, the team announced via press release. It’s unclear how long he’ll be away. Assistant coach Kenny Atkinson will be in charge for tonight’s game, the team says.

Eastern Notes: Porzingis, Whiteside, Durant

November 12th, 2015 at 5:31pm CST by Eddie Scarito

Knicks rookie Kristaps Porzingis arrived in the NBA with questions regarding whether or not his thin frame could endure the nightly beatings administered by the league’s other big men, but the Latvian has shown that he can hold his own thus far, Ian Begley of ESPNNewYork.com writes. “As you can see, I’m still skinny, I’m still light. But I fight hard and I can’t back down to anybody,” said Porzingis. “So that’s been my game; a lot of people didn’t know my game. So that’s why they thought, ‘Skinny white guy, he’s not going to be physical.’ But I still fight for those rebounds and try to do my job on the court.”

While the 20-year-old has gotten off to a solid start, averaging 11.6 points and 9.0 rebounds per contest, the coaching staff cautions against placing too high an expectation on what Porzingis will be able to accomplish this season, Begley relays. “I don’t think we could anticipate that he’d be as good as he’s been. There probably will be a stretch for two weeks where he looks bad and everybody is questioning whether we should have drafted him and all the stuff that comes with that,” coach Derek Fisher said. “He’s a rookie and there’s a lot to learn. His ceiling is a long way from wherever he is now.”

Here’s more from out of the Eastern Conference:

The Celtics have once again assigned swingman James Young and power forward Jordan Mickey to the Maine Red Claws, their D-League affiliate, the team announced. This will mark Young’s fourth jaunt to Maine of the young season, and Mickey’s third, as our tracker shows.
One executive who spoke with Chris Mannix of SI.com said he wouldn’t sign 2016 free agent Hassan Whiteside for more than $10MM a year, which Mannix connects to the Heat big man’s track record of maturity issues.
Kevin Durant‘s relationship with the Wizards and their fanbase will never quite be the same after making what could be his last appearance at the Verizon Center as a visiting player on Tuesday night, writes Dan Steinberg of The Washington Post. If Durant signs with Washington next offseason when he becomes an unrestricted free agent, he will arrive with a massive set of expectations attached. But if he instead elects not to play for his hometown squad, there will be a palpable sense of disappointment present every time he plays in D.C., Steinberg opines.
Bucks point guard Tyler Ennis credits his time spent with the Suns during the early half of the 2014/15 season for helping his development as a player along, Charles F. Gardner of The Journal-Sentinel writes. “In the long run, it helped me a lot,” Ennis said of his time in Phoenix. “Competing against those guys [Goran Dragic, Eric Bledsoe and Isaiah Thomas] in practice is not something every rookie gets to do. I learned a lot from them.” The second year player has been forced into a starting role for Milwaukee thanks to an injury to Michael Carter-Williams.

The Beat: Jorge Castillo On The Wizards

November 12th, 2015 at 10:58am CST by Chuck Myron

Jorge Castillo

Nobody knows NBA teams better than beat writers, save for those who draw paychecks with an NBA owner’s signature on them. The reporters who are with the teams they cover every day gain an intimate knowledge of the players, coaches and executives they write about and develop sources who help them break news and stay on top of rumors.

We at Hoops Rumors will be chatting with beat writers from around the league and sharing their responses to give you a better perspective on how and why teams make some of their most significant moves. Last time, we spoke with Candace Buckner of The Indianapolis Star about the Pacers. Click here to see all the previous editions of this series.

Today, we gain insight on the Wizards from Jorge Castillo of The Washington Post. You can follow Jorge on Twitter at @jorgeccastillo, and check out his stories right here.

Hoops Rumors: Kevin Durant‘s visit to Washington this week has reignited all the talk about the potential that he’ll sign with the Wizards in the summer. Durant is guarding against the rumors becoming a distraction for him, but what, if anything, are the Wizards doing to make sure their plans for the future don’t detract from what they’re doing this season?

Jorge Castillo: Every personnel decision the Wizards have made over the last two years was to improve the roster in the short-term while ensuring they’ll have the salary cap space to make a run at Durant in 2016. The strategy included not offering Paul Pierce a multi-year deal; adding Jared Dudley, Alan Anderson and Gary Neal on one-year commitments; resigning Drew Gooden III on one-year deal; and waiting to give Bradley Beal a max contract until July. With a core of Beal, John Wall, and Marcin Gortat, the Wizards believe they are a top Eastern Conference contender and would become a championship favorite with Durant.

Hoops Rumors: Are the Wizards at all worried that Beal will seek a short-term offer sheet or sign his qualifying offer, or are they fully confident that he’ll be willing to re-sign with them on a long-term max deal next summer?

Jorge Castillo: No, they’re not [worried]. The two sides mutually agreed to table contract discussions until next summer because a max contract signed next summer makes sense for both sides: The Wizards will have roughly an additional $7MM in cap space because Beal’s cap hold will be $14MM instead of $20.9 million and Beal will be able to sign a five-year deal instead of a four-year extension of his rookie contract because he’ll become a restricted free agent.

Hoops Rumors: Nene‘s name surfaced in trade rumors during the offseason, and the Wizards have removed him from the starting lineup in favor of Kris Humphries. How is Nene approaching this season, the last on his contract?

Jorge Castillo: It’s been a transition for Nene. He’s been a starter for most of his career and the Wizards as late as early last season were very dependent on him. But he accepted the decision and the Wizards hope he will be an anchor for the second unit as the backup center.

Hoops Rumors: How well has the rest of the team taken to coach Randy Wittman‘s new, more perimeter-oriented attack? Has the adjustment been fairly seamless, or have some trouble spots emerged?

Jorge Castillo: Most of the players love the idea and understand why they’re doing it: Wall and Beal are their best players and the style suits their skill sets. But the adjustment has been bumpy. They’ve turned over the ball at a drastically higher rate than last season — they combined for 50 turnovers in losses to the Celtics and Hawks — and the defense, which ranked in the top 10 each of the last seasons, has declined. It’s early in the season, though, and the team believes the operation will improve with time.

Hoops Rumors: Otto Porter is the team’s third leading scorer so far, and it seems like he keeps getting better. How good do the Wizards think he’ll eventually become?

Jorge Castillo: The Wizards believe Porter can become a very good player and the perfect complement to the team’s stars because he’s a versatile defender who doesn’t need the basketball in his hands to be a factor at the other end. He has become an effective spot-up 3-point shooter and his cutting ability is maximized in the new spacial offense. He’s only 22 so there’s plenty of room to grow.

Hoops Rumors: The Wizards spent most of their mid-level exception on Alan Anderson, who’s still yet to play for them as he continues to recover from a pair of surgeries on his left ankle. How close is he to returning, and with plenty of other rotation-caliber wing players on the roster, what role does the team envision for him when he gets back?

Jorge Castillo: Anderson likely won’t be back until December. He’ll fit into the rotation at the two and three, likely taking the minutes that are being allocated to Garrett Temple and rookie Kelly Oubre Jr. Wing depth was one of the Wizards’ weaknesses last season so they stockpiled on them during the offseason to maximize versatility in preparation for the new offense. And his defensive ability will be a welcomed addition.

And-Ones: Durant, Green, Aldridge

November 12th, 2015 at 8:45am CST by Chuck Myron

Sean Deveney of The Sporting News mentions the Lakers, Bulls and Knicks as major-market suitors for Kevin Durant, and the Warriors as a team that could catch his eye, but people around the league have long felt as though Durant will either sign with the Thunder or the Wizards, Deveney writes. It’s a sentiment one Eastern Conference GM who spoke with Deveney confirms. Still, Washington doesn’t plan an extravagant pitch, a source tells Deveney, in keeping with the former MVP’s low-key personality. That said, neither the Warriors nor the Heat should be ruled out as potential Durant destinations, according to Frank Isola of the New York Daily News. See more from around the NBA:

Gerald Green punched a man who was trying to restrain him from going from the lobby of his condo building to his unit, according to a police report that Manny Navarro and Charles Rabin of the Miami Herald obtained. The man, who elected not to press charges, was attempting to keep Green in the lobby so that he would be there when rescue officials arrived, the report states, according to Navarro and Rabin. Green had earlier approached the front desk of the lobby with bloody hands and asked for a call to paramedics, then proceeded to the valet area in front of the building and collapsed, the report continues, as Navarro and Rabin detail. Green, who was handcuffed but not arrested, was hospitalized and later released and is serving a two-game suspension from the Heat. Team president Pat Riley said the team still believes it can count on Green, who issued an apology as part of a team statement, Navarro and Rabin add.
The Mavericks weren’t the favorites for LaMarcus Aldridge, but they still had a chance to sign him when they abandoned their pursuit to instead nail down the more certain acquisition of Wesley Matthews, as Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo Sports details in an inside look at Aldridge’s free agency. Aldridge liked Kobe Bryant‘s basketball chat but little else about the Lakers presentation, while Aldridge was reluctant to share the marquee with James Harden despite an intriguing Rockets pitch and found Raptors GM Masai Ujiri appealing but not convincing enough to sway him to Toronto, according to Wojnarowski.
The Spurs wooed Aldridge with a casual, face-to-face approach from Gregg Popovich and other San Antonio principals, Wojnarowski explains in the same piece. Popovich’s decision to fly in for a second visit, prompted by Aldridge’s second Lakers meeting, helped sealed the deal for the Spurs, thanks in part to a last-minute appeal from Riley that the Heat president intended to use to sell Aldridge on a secondary role in Miami, Wojnarowski writes. Instead, Aldridge took Riley’s message to heart as he embraced the idea of sacrificing some of his impressive offensive numbers in San Antonio’s egalitarian offense, as the Yahoo scribe details.

Eastern Notes: Drummond, Prokhorov, Green

November 10th, 2015 at 6:29pm CST by Eddie Scarito

With Nets owner Mikhail Prokhorov making a series of moves recently that expanded the Russian’s holdings in New York’s sports and entertainment market, some concern exists that these real estate moves may diminish his interest, as well as financial commitment, to the team, according to NetsDaily. Dmitry Razumov, Prokhorov’s CEO and chairman of the Nets, disputed any notion that team ownership is losing interest in the franchise or the NBA, NetsDaily adds. “Without doubt ownership is focused on team performance,” said Razumov. “Our new projects will contribute to the team’s ultimate success by providing a best-in-class practice facility and a D-League team as a resource for players and coaching staff.”

The team has made a series of roster moves that have reduced the team’s payroll since Paul Pierce departed as a free agent prior to the 2014/15 season, but Razumov suggests these decisions were not just about the money, and added that fans should give the rebuilding process a chance to bear fruit, the NetsDaily scribe relays. “We also understand that a team of largely new, younger players needs time to come together and we have to give the coach and the players a chance to do their work without breathing down their necks,” Razumov continued. “The many devoted fans who have been with us through thick and thin will recall we have been through this before, and have managed to get to the playoffs three times in the last three seasons. We have every hope that the same thing is possible this season.”

Here’s more from the Eastern Conference:

The Heat have suspended swingman Gerald Green for two games, Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo Sports reports (Twitter links), and the team confirmed. The suspension is for what the team is referring to as “detrimental conduct,” Wojnarowski adds. Green has been away from the team following an incident last week that apparently left him bleeding and unconscious.
Pistons center Andre Drummond is off to a spectacular start to the 2015/16 campaign, and much of his success is due to the departure of Greg Monroe, who signed with the Bucks this offseason, Adam Woodard of For the Win writes. Drummond, who is eligible to become a restricted free agent next summer, could see offer sheets for deals worth approximately $100MM come his way, Woodard opines.
Drew Gooden has played for 10 different teams during his 13-year NBA career, and he now finds himself an important rotation piece on the Wizards, a longevity that the player attributes to his versatility, Chris Mannix of SI.com relays. “I’m like a tunnel rat,” Gooden told Mannix. “Every situation I’m in I have to reinvent myself, have to do what I can do to fit in. I came [to Washington] on a 10-day contract and I made the best of it. But the league has changed, in a good way for me. When I came in the league, the biggest knock was that I was a tweener, that I couldn’t play the three or the four. Now there is value in that. It’s made its way full circle.”

Southeast Notes: Durant, Wittman, Dedmon, Payne

November 10th, 2015 at 11:34am CST by Chuck Myron

Kevin Durant didn’t give the media much to go on as he spoke this morning in Washington, where the Thunder will play the Wizards tonight, but he elaborated on the remark in which he called the attention he received the last time he played in Washington “disrespectful,” as The Oklahoman’s Anthony Slater relays. The Wizards showed a photo of Durant edited to depict him in a Wizards jersey on their scoreboard when the Thunder visited Washington last season, but Durant doesn’t pin any blame on the adulation from Washington fans.

“Nah, I’m not saying there’s anything wrong with what the fans do,” Durant said. “Me, I’m just thinking as a player on the other side. Fans gonna do what they gonna do. I appreciate all the support going our way. But I’m just looking at it as an opposing player and if I was on that team and they came in here and did that, I wouldn’t like it. But the fans, hey, they support us. Throughout the whole league, they make it what it is.”

See more on the Wizards and other news from the Southeast Division:

Several people around the league wonder if the Wizards would let Durant decide the fate of coach Randy Wittman if the former MVP wants to sign with the team next summer, according to Chris Mannix of SI.com. Wittman’s contract is partially guaranteed for 2016/17.
Magic center Dewayne Dedmon is seeing a more clearly defined role under new coach Scott Skiles, including spot starts while Nikola Vucevic deals with a bruised right knee, as Cody Taylor of Basketball Insiders examines. Dedmon is entering the final season of his contract.
The Hawks drafted Adreian Payne 15th overall last year but traded him midway through his rookie season to the Timberwolves, a move that caught him off guard, he admits to Chris Vivlamore of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. He wasn’t in Atlanta long, and D-League assignments took him away from the team for much of his time on the Hawks roster, but he said he still learned plenty from the veterans on the Hawks, Vivlamore notes.

Eastern Notes: Nets, Beal, Durant, Young

November 9th, 2015 at 3:29pm CST by Chuck Myron

Nets GM Billy King has made exploratory trade calls in response to the team’s 0-7 start, as he told reporters today, including Newsday’s Roderick Boone (Twitter link). It would be tough for Brooklyn to engineer a deal before December 15th, the date most of the players signed this past offseason become eligible to be traded, but the GM isn’t hiding from the blame even as he conceded a quick fix is unlikely, Mike Mazzeo of ESPNNewYork.com relays (ESPN Now link).

“I’m not sitting in here shirking accountability,” King said. “… It stops at me. I’m the GM. You make decisions along the way, and it’s my job now to figure it out and turn it around. … It doesn’t happen overnight. We knew when we traded [the first-round] picks and went down this road that if it doesn’t go well you have to dig yourself out of it, and that’s what we’re doing now.”

See more from the Eastern Conference:

Kevin Durant called the less-than-subtle affection that surrounded him during the Thunder’s game at the Wizards last season “disrespectful,” and Bradley Beal concurs, notes J. Michael of CSNMidAtlantic.com. “It is disrespectful because he plays for Oklahoma City,” Beal said. “He doesn’t play for Washington.” The Wizards have made no secret of their desire to attract Durant, a D.C. native, to Washington, and, for what it’s worth, Durant’s friend John Wall said he and the former MVP worked out together over the summer, notes Jorge Castillo of The Washington Post (on Twitter).
Beal echoed many of the sentiments of Joakim Noah in praising Billy Donovan, their former college coach who’s now the bench boss for the Thunder, as The Oklahoman’s Anthony Slater observes. “He’s always been like a second Dad to me,” Beal said of Donovan. “He’s a family first guy and granted me a lot of freedom. We talk a lot.” Noah and Beal are both poised for free agency in the summer, but the Wizards can match offers for Beal, who’s said he has no desire to leave Washington.
The Celtics have recalled James Young from the D-League, the team announced (Twitter link). Young’s assignment, already his second on the season, lasted just one day. Rookie Jordan Mickey, whom the team sent to Maine with Young, remains with the D-League club.

Northwest Notes: Durant, Barton, Ingles

November 9th, 2015 at 8:59am CST by Chuck Myron

Kevin Durant feels uncomfortable with the attention his upcoming free agency is generating, but the volume of the talk about it figures to go up a few notches in the next couple of days with the Thunder‘s annual visit to Washington for a game against the Wizards coming Tuesday, as USA Today’s Sam Amick examines. The former MVP wasn’t a fan of what the Wizards did in January the last time Oklahoma City went to Washington, when they showed a photo of Durant on scoreboard with a Wizards jersey edited onto his chest, among other homages to the D.C. native, as Michael Lee of Yahoo Sports relays:

“It was crazy. It was crazy,” Durant said. “It was kind of disrespectful in my opinion, because you’ve got a great team there already, that deserves your full, 100% support. And I wouldn’t like that if I was on that team. And I didn’t like that. But it comes with nowadays. It’s a part of it.

Durant said he’s learning to embrace the hoopla, as Amick notes, and that could be key as the season goes on and the noise grows louder. Here’s more from the Northwest Division:

Nuggets coach Michael Malone is a fan of Will Barton‘s versatility and motor, traits that are paying dividends for the team, observes Christopher Dempsey of The Denver Post. Barton re-signed with the Nuggets this summer on three-year, $10.6MM deal after originally having joined the team via the Arron Afflalo trade. “I’m starting fresh,” Barton said, according to Dempsey. “And they embraced me when I came here in the trade. So it was like I wanted to come back and get a full year under my belt and show the fans really, really what I can do. I think I teased them last year and it’s just a great feeling, a great vibe from the front office to the players. Everybody wanted me back. So it was just like ‘Let’s get it done.'”
Versatility is also helping Joe Ingles impress Jazz coach Quin Snyder, notes Jody Genessy of the Deseret News. Snyder wants him to improve defensively, but he’s otherwise pleased with the 28-year-old who re-signed on a two-year, $4.5MM deal in the offseason.
The Thunder carried an underlying anxiety during their three-game losing streak, with a new coach, new players and Durant’s free agency in their thoughts, but a win Sunday that highlighted their deep bench showed what can happen if Billy Donovan continues to experiment, observes Royce Young of ESPN.com.

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