Washington Wizards Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Paul Pierce Opts Out From Wizards

June 29th, 2015 at 3:29pm CST by Eddie Scarito

JUNE 29TH, 3:29pm: Pierce has officially opted out, according to Eric Pincus of Basketball Insiders (on Twitter).

JUNE 27TH, 2:43pm: Pierce has confirmed his decision via The Players’ Tribune (Twitter link).

JUNE 20TH, 5:07pm: Wizards forward Paul Pierce plans to opt out of his deal with the team for the 2015/16 campaign, Marc Stein of ESPN.com reports, though he intends to continue to play in the NBA next season, a source told Jorge Castillo of The Washington Post. The veteran has a player option worth $5,543,725 that he’s poised to bypass, and doing so would make him an unrestricted free agent come July 1st. Pierce was non-committal regarding whether or not he would return for an 18th season in the wake of Washington’s elimination from the NBA playoffs.

“I haven’t really thought about it,” Pierce said at the time. “I don’t even know if I am going to play basketball anymore. These seasons get harder and harder every year, every day. Summers get even harder when you start getting back in shape. I’m 37 years old. I’m top two or three oldest in the league.” Pierce had indicated that he would take some time and discuss the matter with his family before making his call on next season. “I have been playing this game [for] like 32 years. Since I was a little kid. Probably going to be the hardest thing to do is put the game down. But I know that time is coming one day. I am not sure if it is this year or next year. I will sit down with my family and figure things out,” Pierce said.

The question now is which team Pierce will suit up for in 2015/16, with Castillo writing that he’ll either re-sign with the Wizards or join his former coach Doc Rivers in Los Angeles with the Clippers. The Clippers can offer Pierce the taxpayer mid-level exception worth slightly less than $3.4MM, while Washington could offer Pierce a new deal starting in excess of $6MM once he opts out, Stein notes. The interest is mutual between the Clippers and Pierce, a league source told Robert Morales of the Long Beach Press-Telegram earlier this month.

The link between the Clippers and Pierce dates back to last year, as Pierce informed TNT’s David Aldridge this past fall that he saw the Clippers as his favored alternative to re-signing with the Nets before sign-and-trade talks between the Clips and Brooklyn broke down. Pierce has also said that he feels a connection with the younger players on the Wizards and with the city of Washington.

Pierce appeared in 73 contests for the Wizards this past season, averaging 11.9 points, 4.0 rebounds, and 2.0 assists in 26.2 minutes per night. His career numbers through 1,250 games are 20.7 PPG, 5.8 RPG, and 3.74 APG. The 37-year-old’s shooting numbers are .447/.371/.806.

Southeast Notes: Deng, Oubre, White, Eriksson

June 29th, 2015 at 8:59am CST by Chuck Myron

It’s still unclear what Luol Deng will do with his player option, worth nearly $10.152MM, with tonight’s deadline to decide looming, but the Heat absolutely wants him back, as team president Pat Riley made clear after the draft, notes Jason Lieser of The Palm Beach Post (Twitter link). That’s in spite of Miami’s selection of small forward Justise Winslow at No. 10. While we wait to see just what Deng will do, here’s more from around the Southeast:

GM Ernie Grunfeld didn’t think the Wizards would have the chance to trade up and nab Kelly Oubre until a day before the draft, and in so doing, Washington landed a player who has a relationship with D.C. native and 2016 free agent Kevin Durant, as Benjamin Standig of The Associated Press examines.
J. Michael of CSNWashington.com looks at the options the Wizards have if Paul Pierce, who’s opting out, doesn’t re-sign.
Forward Aaron White, whom the Wizards drafted 49th overall out of Iowa, will “definitely” play overseas this coming season, as Michael hears, but Jorge Castillo of The Washington Post writes that a decision has not yet been made. “Aaron will play Summer League with the Wizards and then we will evaluate if it is best to go overseas or not this season,” White’s agent, Chris Emens, wrote in an e-mail to Castillo. “Aaron is open to doing whatever the Wizards think is best for his development.”
The pair of players the Hawks drafted in the second-round Thursday will stay overseas, tweets Chris Vivlamore of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Swedish shooting guard Marcus Eriksson, the 50th pick, and Greek forward Dimitrios Agravanis, pick No. 59, remain under contract with Barcelona of Spain and Olympiacos of Greece, respectively, according to Vivlamore.
Josh Robbins of the Orlando Sentinel breaks down the new Magic assistant coaches whose hires the team officially announced Friday: former Bulls assistant Adrian Griffin, former Mavs assistant Monte Mathis, Mario Elie, who last was an NBA assistant with the Nets in 2012/13, and former Lakers D-League coach Conner Henry.

Southeast Rumors: Hornets, Booker, Wizards

June 25th, 2015 at 2:41pm CST by Zachary Links

Here’s a quick look at the Southeast Division..

After taking care of the small forward void with Nicolas Batum and adding Jeremy Lamb, the Hornets are said to be targeting guard Devin Booker at No. 9, sources tell Ken Berger of CBSSports.com (on Twitter).
The Hornets are able to create a pair of small trade exceptions from two trades they completed today. The exchange of Matt Barnes and his $3,396,250 salary for Luke Ridnour‘s $2,750,000 would produce a $646,250 exception, while flipping Ridnour in the deal that netted Lamb and his $2,202,000 salary allows for an exception worth precisely $548K.
Jonathan Givony of DraftExpress (on Twitter) cautions fans not to be surprised if the Hawks decide to cash in on one of the many offers they have for the No. 15 pick in the draft. Many execs feel that this draft only goes 15 deep.
As of this afternoon, the Wizards don’t expect to move up or down from No. 19, Jorge Castillo of The Washington Post tweets.

Chuck Myron contributed to this post.

Hawks, Wizards Swapping Picks

June 25th, 2015 at 10:22am CST by Chuck Myron

10:22pm: The deal is official, the Wizards and Hawks announced. The second-rounders going to Atlanta are for 2016 and 2019, according to the Wizards.

8:24pm: The Wizards have a deal to acquire the rights to 15th pick Kelly Oubre from the Hawks, reports Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports (on Twitter), with the 19th pick going to Atlanta. Two future second-round picks will go to the Hawks, too, Wojnarowski adds (Twitter link).

Oubre was a highly touted prospect coming out of high school who endured a tough season at Kansas, averaging fewer than 10 points per game. Still, Washington is banking on the upside that Eddie Scarito of Hoops Rumors examined in a Prospect Profile. He’ll represent a cap hold of $1,600,200 on Washington’s books.

Atlanta is reportedly flipping the rights to the 19th pick, Jerian Grant, into Tim Hardaway Jr. in a deal with the Knicks.

Celtics To Pursue Paul Pierce, Robin Lopez

June 24th, 2015 at 3:45pm CST by Chuck Myron

3:45pm: The Celtics consider a frontcourt tandem of Love and Lopez a “dream scenario,” but it’s not one they expect to happen as of right now, Michael Scotto of SheridanHoops tweets.

1:45pm: The Celtics plan to pursue Paul Pierce and Robin Lopez as complementary players to sell Kevin Love on the idea of signing with Boston, reports Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports (Twitter link). The Celtics have about $40MM on the books against a projected $67.1MM cap already, and if they sign Love to a deal starting at an estimated max of $18.96MM, they’d be hard-pressed to find room for both Pierce and Lopez without making salary-clearing trades. They also face a stiff challenge from the Clippers for Pierce, as the Clips seek to offload bench players in deals that could net them trade exceptions to allow them to sign-and-trade for the 37-year-old small forward, but Pierce is “in play” for the C’s if they can get Love, Wojnarowski adds (on Twitter).

Pierce told Steve Bulpett of the Boston Herald in December that he would probably speak with president of basketball operations Danny Ainge and co-owner Wyc Grousbeck about a role with the Celtics for after his playing days. Pierce would like to become a GM someday, according to Gary Washburn of the Boston Globe (on Twitter). It appears that Boston has a different sort of return planned for him if the circumstances are right. Pierce intends to play next season, as Jorge Castillo of The Washington Post reported, and he’s turning down a player option worth nearly $5.544MM on the contract he signed last summer with the Wizards, according to Marc Stein of ESPN.com.

The Clippers will have only the $3.376MM taxpayer’s mid-level to spend on outside free agents if they re-sign DeAndre Jordan for the max. They could aggregate bench players to create a trade exception for larger than that amount, as Wojnarowski suggests, though doing so would require the team to find willing trade partners, and they’d also have to convince the Wizards to go along with the plan if they want to sign-and-trade for Pierce. The Nets reportedly resisted the Clips’ efforts to construct sign-and-trade scenarios involving Pierce last year.

Lopez has said he’d prefer to re-sign with the Blazers, though Portland is in flux. Many executives around the league expect LaMarcus Aldridge, for whom Lopez has been a strong complement, to leave the Blazers, as Marc Stein of ESPN.com wrote today.

And-Ones: Thunder, Grizzlies, Antic

June 22nd, 2015 at 11:44pm CST by Dana Gauruder

The Thunder have been shopping Perry Jones, Jeremy Lamb and Steve Novak, Chris Mannix of Sports Illustrated tweets. Oklahoma City, which has $78.26MM in guaranteed salary commitments for next season, is seeking financial relief but it is also seeking a draft pick, Mannix adds. The Thunder already have picks at No. 14 and No. 48.

In other news around the league:

The Knicks, Kings and Hornets are the teams most likely to trade out of the Top 10 in the draft, Mannix reports in a separate tweet.
Guards Andre Hollins and Deville Smith and forwards Nino Johnson and Aaron White worked out for the Grizzlies on Monday, completing the team’s predraft workouts, according to Grizzlies.com.
R.J. Hunter, Anthony Brown, Olivier Hanlan, Christian Wood, Sir’Dominic Porter and Mouhammadou Jaiteh will work out for the Wizards on Tuesday, according to J. Michael of CSNWashington.com. (Twitter link).
Fenerbahce of the Turkish League is interested in signing Hawks free agent center Pero Antic, according to Sportando’s Emiliano Carchia.

Clippers Explore Potential Jamal Crawford Trades

June 22nd, 2015 at 4:33pm CST by Chuck Myron

MONDAY, 4:33pm: Chandler is indeed an object of the Clippers’ interest, Markazi clarifies via Twitter. He’s on a lengthy list of Clippers small forward targets that includes soon-to-be free agents Pierce, Mike Dunleavy and Al-Farouq Aminu, according to Dan Woike of the Orange County Register (Twitter link).

THURSDAY, 12:10pm: The Clippers are investigating the possibility of trading Jamal Crawford, sources tell Arash Markazi of ESPNLosAngeles.com, who writes amid a story about the impact of Monday trade acquisition Lance Stephenson. One option would be to trade Crawford and C.J. Wilcox to the Nuggets for Wilson Chandler, according to Markazi, though it’s unclear from the report which side, if either, has interest in such a deal.

Crawford’s salary of $5.675MM is only guaranteed for $1.5MM if he’s waived by the end of June 30th, though he remains a productive player who doesn’t seem like a candidate for a purely salary-clearing move. Still, the arrival of Stephenson, who plays Crawford’s positions, would appear to give L.A. less of a need for the two-time Sixth Man of the Year award winner.

Clippers coach/executive Doc Rivers told Fred Roggin of The Beat 980 this week that he’s looking for a starting small forward to replace Matt Barnes, whom the team sent out in the Stephenson trade, as Ben Bolch of the Los Angeles Times relayed via Twitter. The team is reportedly interested in Paul Pierce should he opt out from the Wizards. Chandler, who’ll make nearly $7.172MM on an expiring contract next season after the Nuggets let his partial guarantee date pass this spring, would probably fit that bill, too, though this past season was only the second in his eight-year NBA career in which he started at least 70 games.

Crawford switched agents recently, joining the Wasserman Media Group, and while his contract runs through next season, it’s perhaps a sign that he anticipated change in the nearer future. Wilcox, last year’s 28th overall pick, saw only 101 total minutes this past season, and while he has a guaranteed salary of nearly $1.16MM coming his way for 2015/16, a decision is due by October 31st on the $1.2MM-plus third-year team option attached to his rookie scale contract.

Eastern Notes: Pierce, Gibson, Draft

June 19th, 2015 at 9:20pm CST by Eddie Scarito

The Wizards want Paul Pierce to return for the 2015/16 season, but could face competition from the Clippers if the veteran returns for his 18th season. Jorge Castillo of The Washington Post examines what Washington could do to replace the 37-year-old if he does not re-sign with the franchise. The team’s free agent options include Mike Dunleavy, Mirza Teletovic, and Tayshaun Prince, Castillo opines. The Wizards could also look to fill the void with their first round pick, and potential draftees include Rondae Hollis-Jefferson, Sam Dekker, and Justin Anderson, Castillo notes.

Here’s the latest out of the Eastern Conference:

The Nets have pre-draft workouts scheduled Monday for Olivier Hanlan (Boston College), Andrew Harrison (Kentucky), Sam Thompson (Ohio State), Pat Connaughton (Notre Dame), Branden Dawson (Michigan State), and Cliff Alexander (Kansas), the team announced.
Working out for the Pistons today were Treveon Graham (VCU), Hanlan, Trevor Lacey (NC State), Kelly Oubre (Kansas), Karrington Ward (Eastern Michigan), and Dez Wells (Maryland), the team announced (on Twitter).
Bulls forward Taj Gibson underwent an arthroscopic surgery on his left ankle on Tuesday, the team announced. The estimated recovery time before the forward can return to action is approximately four months, which could cost Gibson the bulk of the preseason.
The Hawks reached a summer league commitment with former Iowa State guard DeAndre Kane, and the team plans to discuss a free agent deal with the 26-year-old, Shams Charania of RealGM tweets. Kane spent last season with the Antwerp Giants of Belgium.
Atlanta brought in Penn State guard D.J. Newbill for a workout today Michael Scotto of RealGM relays (Twitter link).

Southeast Notes: Pierce, Hornets, Grant

June 18th, 2015 at 11:27am CST by Chuck Myron

Kemba Walker and Gerald Henderson benefit from Monday’s trade because Lance Stephenson isn’t there any more to take away touches and minutes and challenge the team’s chemistry, opines Rick Bonnell of the Charlotte Observer. Henderson decided Wednesday to pick up his $6MM player option, though whether Stephenson’s departure played into that decision remains unclear. There’s more on the Hornets amid the latest from the Southeast Division:

Wizards owner Ted Leonsis affirmed the notion that the Wizards want to retain Paul Pierce, who faces a decision on a $5.544MM player option for next season as rumors connect him to the Clippers, as Leonsis said on the team website (video link; transcription via Dan Steinberg of The Washington Post). The owner said that the organization “loves” the 37-year-old who’d be “welcomed with open arms” if he decides to stay in Washington.
Hornets GM Rich Cho said he’d “love” to trade up in the draft, though whether that happens will depend on how much Charlotte would have to relinquish to do so, Cho added, as Bonnell relays (Twitter links). “We’ve been talking to a lot of teams about moving up, moving backward, moving the pick all-together,” Cho said.
Notre Dame point guard Jerian Grant will work out for the Hawks, reports Chris Vivlamore of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Grant spoke recently with Zach Links of Hoops Rumors, and our Chris Crouse looked at what makes him an intriguing prospect.

Eastern Notes: Williams, Knicks, Celtics

June 17th, 2015 at 5:50pm CST by Eddie Scarito

There have been reports that the Knicks intend to trade down in the NBA Draft if Karl-Anthony Towns, Jahlil Okafor, and D’Angelo Russell are off the board when New York is set to pick at No. 4 overall. As for what team president Phil Jackson is seeking in return for the fourth pick, in his weekly chat Chad Ford of ESPN.com (Insider subscription required) relays that the Knicks want a young veteran player and a pick in the 8 to 14 range. One player who New York has been linked to in that draft range is fast-rising playmaker Cameron Payne of Murray State, who would fill a glaring need for the franchise at the point guard spot.

Here’s the latest out of the Eastern Conference:

Reigning Sixth Man of the Year Lou Williams is expected to receive strong interest from teams that include the Kings, Lakers, Knicks, and Nets, providing a clear competition for the Raptors to retain his services, Shams Charania of RealGM writes. Williams is expected to seek a three-year deal in the range of $27MM or four years for $35MM, Charania adds.
The Celtics held workouts today for Kevon Looney (UCLA), Brandon Ashley (Arizona), JayVaughn Pinkston (Villanova), and Maurice NDour (Ohio), Chris Forsberg of ESPNBoston.com relays (Twitter link).
The Wizards will hold workouts on Thursday for Justin Anderson (Virginia), Rondae Hollis-Jefferson (Arizona), Jordan Mickey (LSU), Aaron White (Iowa), Derek Cooke Jr. (Wyoming), and Maxie Esho (UMass), Alex Kennedy of Basketball Insiders tweets.
Working out for the Cavaliers today were Josh Richardson (Tennessee) and Olivier Hanlan (Boston College), Michael Scotto of SheridanHoops notes (on Twitter).
The Hornets are hoping that newly acquired Spencer Hawes can help replace the outside shooting the team lost when Josh McRoberts signed with the Heat last offseason, Rick Bonnell of The Charlotte Observer writes. “In the offseason you try to make your team fit better together, and I think that’s what this trade does. Our defense is more than good enough to win and our offense isn’t,” Clifford said. “If you look more specifically into the numbers [the flaw] is our [long] range shooting. What Spencer will do is improve our range shooting and he’s also a very good passer.”