Washington Wizards Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Multiple Teams Interested In JaVale McGee

March 6th, 2015 at 10:06pm CST by Chuck Myron

10:06pm: Teams that are still interested in signing McGee also include the Rockets, Raptors, and Heat, Marc J. Spears of Yahoo! Sports tweets.

FRIDAY, 8:48pm: The Mavericks are still interested in McGee, but other teams that could offer the big man more playing time could be more appealing, Eddie Sefko of The Dallas Morning News writes. Dallas is unable to offer McGee more than a minimum salary contract for the remainder of the season, Sefko adds.

11:48am: There’s “no way” the Raptors would cross the $76.829MM tax line to sign McGee in spite of GM Masai Ujiri‘s affection for him, tweets Ryan Wolstat of the Toronto Sun. The Raptors have a team salary for tax purposes of $76.096MM, as I pointed out earlier. A prorated minimum-salary contract until season’s end for McGee would only cost the team $231,503 if he signed today, after he clears waivers at 4pm Central time, so presumably the club can still bring him in and avoid the tax. So it follows that the Raptors won’t engage in a bidding war, Wolstat adds (on Twitter). However, the Raptors may be closer to the tax line than it appears based on incentive clauses in player contracts, which aren’t always fully reported.

WEDNESDAY, 10:10am: The Raptors are thinking about pursuing McGee, Stein tweets.

5:27pm: The Warriors have expressed major interest in McGee, and view him as an insurance policy for Andrew Bogut, Chris Broussard of ESPN.com reports (Twitter link).

TUESDAY, 3:59pm: The Mavericks are “seriously interested” in JaVale McGee, sources tell Marc Stein of ESPN.com, but the sense is he won’t rush to choose a team should he clear waivers as expected on Wednesday, Stein adds (Twitter links). Plenty of other teams are interested, Stein notes, echoing a Monday report from Marc J. Spears of Yahoo! Sports indicating that no less than 10 teams are in the mix. It’s nonetheless somewhat surprising to see Dallas emerge as one of them, since the Mavs earlier today committed their final open roster spot to a contract through season’s end Bernard James.

The teams that are in the mix for McGee reportedly envision him as a third-string center and won’t offer the big man more than the league minimum to sign. The Heat are among those interested in the oft-injured veteran, Stein tweets. While the remainder of the teams considering making a run at McGee are not yet known, the Wizards are not one of them, Jorge Castillo of The Washington Post notes.

The 27-year-old appeared in just seven contests for the Sixers after being acquired from Denver, averaging 3.0 points and 2.2 rebounds in 10.2 minutes per contest. In 382 career games McGee has averaged 8.4 points, 5.5 rebounds and 1.8 blocks. His career slash line is .540/.200/.587.

Ray Allen Says He Won’t Play This Season

March 4th, 2015 at 1:46pm CST by Chuck Myron

Ray Allen will not play this season, as he says in a statement released through agent Jim Tanner and the Tandem Sports and Entertainment agency. He’s not ruling out a return for 2015/16 but adds that he’ll take rest of this season and the offseason ahead to decide about that, suggesting that it’ll again be a long wait before we know if, much less where, Allen will play again. The 39-year-old has languished as the most sought-after free agent since the start of training camp, though the Cavs, long the front-runner for the friend and former teammate of LeBron James, recently appeared to drop out of the running. They were one of of 14 teams who expressed serious interest, a source tells Marc J. Spears of Yahoo! Sports (Twitter link).

“Over the past several months, I have taken a lot of time to deliberate what is best for me,” Allen said in the statement. “I’ve ultimately decided that I will not play this NBA season. I’m going to take the remainder of this season, as well as the upcoming off-season, to reassess my situation, spend time with my family and determine if I will play in the 2015/16 season.”

The Grizzlies, too, appeared no longer to be in the Allen sweepstakes as of this weekend, not long after executives around the league reportedly began losing faith that he’d sign. The Warriors, Wizards, Spurs, Heat and Hawks were keeping in touch with Allen’s camp as of early February, and Clippers coach/executive Doc Rivers said at about that time that he’d recently spoken to him.

Just about every playoff-bound team reportedly reached out to Allen at some point this season. The Wizards were apparently the most aggressive suitor as of January, though LeBron visited Allen’s home in Miami to woo the sharpshooter while the four-time MVP was in town for rehabilitation.

The Bulls were another suitor, though a trip he made to Chicago earlier this season wasn’t basketball-related, Tanner said. Tanner batted down reports that indicated his intentions regarding one team or another all throughout the process that began when he became a free agent in July. Allen said over the summer that it would take a “perfect storm scenario” for him to play this season, and he pointed to a desire for a veteran coach and more than the minimum salary.

Allen was seemingly leaning toward retirement in late December, though he indicated during the middle of last season that he wasn’t planning to retire so soon. If he doesn’t return, he’ll walk away as the NBA’s all-time leader in three-pointers made and career earnings in excess of $184.356MM, according to Basketball-Reference.

Southeast Notes: Beasley, Webster, Mo Williams

March 4th, 2015 at 12:29pm CST by Chuck Myron

Michael Beasley has promised to reform in the past, but he knows there’s a decent chance his 10-day contract with the Heat represents his final opportunity in the NBA, observes Shandel Richardson of the Sun Sentinel. The former No. 2 overall pick’s deal expires at the end of Saturday.

“I’m still the same guy, but it’s desperation for me,” Beasley said. “This is my last chance, my last shot. It’s either play or sit down and I’m not ready to play at `The Y’, not ready for open gyms. I’m playing to eat right now, and I got kids. It adds that much more.”

While we wait to see if Beasley’s third career contract with the Heat will lead to a fourth, here’s more from the Southeast Division:

The Nets would have had to take Martell Webster if they’d traded Jarrett Jack to the Wizards at the deadline, and the deal would have involved the teams swapping future first-round picks, Grantland’s Zach Lowe tweets. Those Jack proposals appeared to be contingent on Brooklyn’s failed Reggie Jackson-for-Brook Lopez talks, as Lowe points out (on Twitter).
Mo Williams says he took his time on successful Cavs teams earlier in his career for granted and is grateful for last month’s trade that sent him from Minnesota to the Hornets and gave him a chance to compete for a playoff berth again, as he tells Jessica Camerato of Basketball Insiders. The soon-to-be free agent signed with the Wolves knowing they wouldn’t be contenders, but it seems his focus has changed. “I just want to win. It’s as simple as that — just win,” Williams said. “I’m at the point at my career where I’ve made a lot of money, been an All-Star, and one thing I haven’t experienced is playing at the highest level and that’s winning a championship. That’s everybody’s goal.”
Re-signing Trevor Ariza would have helped the Wizards better overcome their recent struggles, but that was a sacrifice the franchise was willing to make to save cap flexibility for a shot at Kevin Durant in the summer of 2016, as Ben Standig of CSNWashington.com examines.

Southeast Notes: Frye, Heat, Wizards

March 3rd, 2015 at 9:20pm CST by Eddie Scarito

Channing Frye has struggled to live up to the four-year, $32MM contract he inked with the Magic last July, Josh Robbins of The Orlando Sentinel writes. “I think the first half [of the season] was a little tough,” Frye said. “I put a lot of pressure on myself to just automatically get acclimated to what was going on.” In 60 appearances for Orlando this season Frye is averaging 7.7 points, 4.1 rebounds, and 1.3 assists in 26.9 minutes per game.

Here’s the latest from the Southeast Division:

Frye also acknowledges that he had some difficulty acclimating to former Magic coach Jacque Vaughn‘s system, Robbins adds. The veteran is finding things much improved for him under interim coach James Borrego, especially on the defensive end, the Sentinel scribe notes. “Overall, I love the city,” Frye said. “I love this opportunity to play with these guys. After the [coaching] change, I think it’s really for me, in my personal opinion, been a breath of fresh air with J.B. I’m not saying that it wasn’t awesome before. But I’m just saying the way his philosophy is a little different, it’s a little bit more my style.”
When discussing the Heat‘s D-League affiliate in Sioux Falls, Miami coach Erik Spoelstra said, “it was responsible of us to invest in the D-League,” Jason Lieser of The Palm Beach Post relays (Twitter links). Spoelstra acknowledged that the distance between South Beach and South Dakota doesn’t make for the most convenient arrangement, but the most important thing is that the ownership and culture was aligned, Lieser adds.
The Wizards are being patient about filling their lone remaining roster spot, which was created when the team waived Glen Rice Jr., Jorge Castillo of The Washington Post writes. Washington is currently considering various options including players from overseas and the NBA D-League, Castillo adds.

Eastern Notes: McGee, Pistons, Wittman

March 2nd, 2015 at 2:34pm CST by Chuck Myron

A third of the league is showing interest in JaVale McGee, whom the Sixers waived late Sunday, reports Marc J. Spears of Yahoo! Sports (Twitter link). Most of those 10 teams are playoff contenders, Spears adds, though their identities remain shrouded in mystery. The Clippers don’t appear to be one of them, as Ben Bolch of the Los Angeles Times hears they’re “not very” interested in the 27-year-old center (Twitter link). The teams that are in the mix for him envision him as a third-string center and wouldn’t shell out more than the minimum, a league source told John Gonzalez of CSNPhilly.com. There’s more from Gonzalez on McGee’s Sixers tenure amid the latest from around the Eastern Conference:

The Sixers were reluctant to waive McGee immediately after trading for him last month because they wanted to have a first-hand look to see if they would come away with a more positive impression of him than other teams have, a league source told Gonzalez for the same piece.
The Pistons recalled Quincy Miller from the D-League, the team announced (Twitter link). He averaged 11.5 points and 9.0 rebounds in just 19.7 minutes per contest during two games on his D-League stint, which began Friday. That was the day Pistons coach/executive Stan Van Gundy said he and his staff were leaning toward re-signing him to a second 10-day contract, notes Dave Pemberton of the Oakland Press (on Twitter). Today is the final day of his first 10-day pact.
There’s increasing pressure on Randy Wittman and others involved with the Wizards amid the team’s slump, as Marc Stein of ESPN.com writes in his weekly power rankings. Still, Wittman is in no immediate jeopardy, Stein cautions, and the team isn’t thinking about a coaching change, as J. Michael of CSNWashington.com wrote this weekend.
Lou Amundson hopes his stay with the Knicks will be “somewhat permanent,” in the words of Fred Kerber of the New York Post, who examines the positive effect the midseason addition has had. The pact he signed with New York after inking a pair of 10-day contracts runs only through the end of the season.

Southeast Notes: Wizards, Stephenson, Harkless

March 1st, 2015 at 9:25am CST by Arthur Hill

Despite having a roster spot open, the Wizards aren’t anticipating a move, according to J. Michael of CSNWashington.com. Washington hasn’t filled the opening it created by waiving Glen Rice two months ago, and the Wizards don’t seem intrigued by any of the available options. Today is the last day players can hit waivers and still be eligible for the playoffs with another team, although that deadline applies only to players who have appeared in the NBA this season. “Nobody is going to be added to the team. That’s the reality of it,” coach Randy Wittman said earlier this week.

There’s more from the Southeast Division:

Despite a post-All Star Game slump, the Wizards aren’t considering a coaching change, Michael writes in a separate story. Before Saturday’s win over the Pistons, Washington had dropped 11 of 13 games, causing some to question Wittman’s future with the team. Michael reports that Wittman still has the support of star player John Wall and there are no indications that he has “lost the locker room.”
Hornets coach Steve Clifford blames unreasonable expectations for Lance Stephenson‘s early struggles in Charlotte, according to Rick Bonnell of The Charlotte Observer. “A lot of this is totally off base among basketball people,” Clifford said of the hype that accompanied Stephenson. “He’s 23 years old. He’d played for one coach in one offense.” Many thought Stephenson would be the missing piece for the Hornets after signing as a free agent during the summer. Instead he has struggled to find his shot, connecting on just 36.6 percent from the field this season and 15.1 percent from 3-point range.
St. John’s basketball coach Steve Lavin said an extra year in college would have helped the Magic’s Maurice Harkless improve his draft status, tweets Josh Newman of Asbury Park Press. Lavin said NBA general managers told him that Harkless could have been a top three choice in the 2013 draft. Instead, he left St. John’s in 2012 and was selected 15th.

And-Ones: Jennings, Wizards, Jerebko

February 26th, 2015 at 10:12pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Brandon Jennings might not have been thrilled the Pistons traded for another point guard but after meeting with coach and president of basketball operations Stan Van Gundy, he understands why the move was made, according to David Mayo of MLive.com. Jennings, who suffered a season-ending torn left Achilles tendon January 24th at Milwaukee, could wind up sharing time with recently-acquired Reggie Jackson next season if Jackson signs with the club as a restricted free agent, Mayo continues. Jennings, who has one year and approximately $8.34MM remaining on his contract, will be tough to trade this summer as he tries to return from the injury, Mayo adds.

In other news around the league:

The Wizards indeed used part of their Trevor Ariza trade exception to absorb Ramon Sessions‘ salary in last week’s trade, allowing them to create a new $4.625MM trade exception equivalent to Andre Miller‘s salary, reports Eric Pincus of Basketball Insiders (Twitter link). There had been conflicting estimates about how the Wizards handled the exceptions, as I noted earlier this week. The Ariza exception is now worth $2,252,089.
The Pacers, Knicks and Lakers are eyeing 28-year-old Lithuanian shooting guard Mantas Kalnietis, with Indiana showing the most interest, agent Tadas Bulotas tells Lithuania’s Sport 1 (YouTube link; transcription via TalkBasket.net). Kalnietis went undrafted in 2008, so no NBA team holds his rights.
Jonas Jerebko, who is in the final year of a four-year, $18MM deal he signed with the Pistons in December 2011, believes his time with the Celtics is an opportunity to showcase his true potential, reports Chris Forsberg of ESPNBoston.com. After spending his first five-plus NBA seasons with the Pistons, Jerebko was traded with Luigi Datome to Boston last week in exchange for Tayshaun Prince.
Monty Williams is acting like a coach with his job on the line even though he has a year left on his contract, John Reid of the New Orleans Times-Picayune reveals. The Pelicans coach has been forced to deal with injuries to his star player, Anthony Davis, but he is still under heavy pressure to win because of a frustrated fan base, Reid adds.

Will Joseph and Chuck Myron contributed to this post.

Eastern Notes: Knight, Thibodeau, Antic

February 25th, 2015 at 6:27pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Brandon Knight‘s price tag as a restricted free agent was a good reason for the Bucks to trade him to the Suns, Nate Duncan of Basketball Insiders believes. Knight will likely receive offer sheets in the range of $13MM-$15.9MM annually this summer after he was unable to reach an agreement on a contract extension with the club last fall, Duncan adds. Michael Carter-Williams, who was acquired from Philadelphia to take Knight’s spot, is on a rookie contract through the 2016/17 season and has more upside, Duncan opines.

In other news around the Eastern Conference:

The acquisition of Carter-Williams could hurt the Bucks in the short run but improves their flexibility this summer, Charles F. Gardner of the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel writes. The move gives them a young core of Carter-Williams, Giannis Antetokounmpo and Jabari Parker, and they have approximately $15MM in salary cap space to make another major move, Gardiner adds.
Four-year NBA veteran Daniel Orton has turned down offers from overseas after returning from his stint in the Philippines and is holding out for an NBA deal, tweets Marc J. Spears of Yahoo! Sports. Orton was with the Wizards during preseason.
Derrick Rose‘s latest knee injury could lead to Bulls coach Tom Thibodeau’s departure, according to Nancy Armour of USA Today. Thibodeau’s relationship with Bulls management was already strained, Armour reveals, and Rose is one of his most fervent supporters. Losing Rose for perhaps the rest of the season could lead to Thibodeau, who has two years left on his contract, and the team cutting ties, Armour opines.
The Hawks will try to re-sign Pero Antic when he becomes an unrestricted free agent after the season, according to Chris Vivlamore of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Antic has struggled with his shooting in a reserve role this season, averaging 28.7% on three-point attempts, but that hasn’t changed the Hawks’ thinking, Vivlamore adds.
Magic COO Alex Martins says the team will not interview head coaching candidates until after season, Brian Schmitz of the Orlando Sentinel tweets. James Borrego is the interim coach for the remainder of the season after Jacque Vaughn was fired earlier this month.
Forest City Enterprises, the Ratner parent company, confirms it’s looking to sell its shares in Nets and Barclays Center, NetsDaily tweets. Bruce Ratner is a minority owner of the Nets after selling 80% of the club to Mikhail Prokhorov in 2010.

Chuck Myron contributed to this post.

Eastern Notes: Williams, Hawks, Garnett

February 24th, 2015 at 6:34pm CST by Eddie Scarito

The Pistons claimed Shawne Williams off waivers to offset the loss of Jonas Jerebko, who was traded to Boston last week, David Mayo of MLive.com writes. “We’re a little thin up front and Shawne played very well in Miami this year, got put in that trade to New Orleans, New Orleans waived him before they got everybody hurt, so we got some luck there,” Stan Van Gundy said. “So we got a little luck there. But we needed a little depth and he’s a guy that comes in, again, on a value contract, and he’s got a non-guaranteed contract for next year. So it gives us a lot of flexibility.”

Here’s more from the Eastern Conference:

The Wizards are sending $839K to the Kings as part of the Andre Miller for Ramon Sessions trade that occurred last week, Eric Pincus of Basketball Insiders notes (Twitter link).
There’s a decent chance the sale of the Hawks won’t be complete until May or June, a person familiar with the deal told Chris Vivlamore of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Today is the deadline for prospective owners to submit preliminary bids, Vivlamore reports.
Newly acquired Goran Dragic has become a fan of his new team already, Barry Jackson of The Miami Herald relays (Twitter link). Speaking about the Heat, Dragic said, “They take care of players. I feel I’m spoiled here. So much great stuff.“
Kevin Garnett said that it was difficult for him to leave the Nets mid-season because of his loyalty to the organization, but he believed that returning to Minnesota was a great opportunity, Mike Mazzeo of ESPN.com writes.
The Knicks are counting on oft-injured Andrea Bargnani to help make up for the scoring the team lost with Carmelo Anthony being out for the season, Justin Tasch of The New York Daily News writes. “Well, he has the skillset and the versatility to do those things,” coach Derek Fisher said. “Whether he can average the same amount of points [as Anthony], we’ll see. He’s capable of it. I think if he can stay healthy and just continue to get a comfort out on the floor again, playing basketball, competing hard every night, the physical and mental grind that exists in doing that – which is different when you haven’t done that for a year, which is basically what it’s been for him.“

Pacific Notes: Thomas, Warriors, Green, Karl

February 24th, 2015 at 12:15pm CST by Chuck Myron

Isaiah Thomas insists he didn’t verbally push the Suns to deal him to the Celtics last week, as Mark Murphy of the Boston Herald relays. Suns GM Ryan McDonough said Thomas’ desire to start was the catalyst for last week’s swap, notes Paul Coro of the Arizona Republic.

“They said that? I did want to start, who doesn’t?” Thomas said. “I don’t get that. I was a team player, didn’t complain about anything. The guys who complain, you see it in the media. I didn’t say anything. For the most part, it was good. When we did play together it was positive and it worked, but it’s tough to do when you have three talented point guards who need the ball to be effective. It’s three point guards that want the ball.”

Thomas qualified that remark, saying that he would have liked to have played more, according to Coro. He called the Phoenix backcourt “a tough situation” that’s “not what I expected” in November, but later made comments indicating he was pleased with the setup. Here’s more from around the Pacific Division:

Warriors co-owner Joe Lacob reiterated that he’s willing to pay the luxury tax next season, telling Sports Illustrated’s Chris Ballard that the team has no choice but to do so barring “some massive deal.” “[GM] Bob [Myers] keeps saying I must have the only owner in the NBA who says, ‘Stop worrying about the luxury tax,’” Lacob said. “Even today I said, ‘I don’t care about the luxury tax.’ I don’t want to make decisions based on the luxury tax. We want to get better. Our job is to get better. Secondarily, we’ll worry about the money.”
Lacob wouldn’t address soon-to-be restricted free agent Draymond Green directly but said to Ballard, “It would take a lot to not sign our core players. Does that answer your question?”
George Karl said he spoke with Kings GM Pete D’Alessandro about the idea of adding a point guard but added that he’d prefer not to make any more changes, observes Matt Kawahara of The Sacramento Bee. Darren Collison has missed the last six games with a right hip flexor strain and doesn’t appear on his way back anytime soon, so Karl has turned to Andre Miller and is giving him a much greater role than he had with the Wizards, as Kawahara examines.
Karl’s reps impressed upon the Kings during negotiations earlier this month that the coach would likely have other opportunities in the offseason, putting pressure on Sacramento to hire him as soon as possible, according to Scott Howard-Cooper of NBA.com.