Washington Wizards Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Wizards Sign Jared Butler To Two-Way Deal

July 28th, 2023 at 12:42pm CST by Alex Kirschenbaum

JULY 28: The Wizards have officially signed Butler, according to a press release from the team. The club has one open two-way slot remaining.

JULY 24: The Wizards have agreed to sign free agent point guard Jared Butler to a two-way deal, his agent Mark Bartelstein at Priority Sports informs Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN (Twitter link).

Butler, 22, was selected with the No. 40 overall pick out of Baylor in 2021. He played out his rookie season with the Jazz, who waived him ahead of the 2022/23 season. He joined the Nuggets’ NBAGL affiliate, the Grand Rapids Gold, at the start of last season, before eventually latching on with the Thunder on a two-way deal this past March.

Across 48 total NBA contests in his two seasons of experience, Butler holds averages of 4.1 PPG on .415/.343/.688 shooting, along with 1.5 APG.

Last year in the NBAGL, he enjoyed significantly more run, and accordingly had more impressive stats. He posted averages of 16.7 PPG, 6.3 APG, 3.3 RPG, and 0.9 SPG in his 27 total games split between the Grand Rapids Gold and the Thunders’ G League affiliate, the Oklahoma City Blue.

Wizards Notes: Vukcevic, Dawkins, Coulibaly, Poole

July 27th, 2023 at 9:32am CST by Arthur Hill

Second-round pick Tristan Vukcevic is hoping to join the Wizards right away rather than spending more time overseas, according to Chase Hughes of NBC Sports Washington. Team officials haven’t decided how to handle Vukcevic yet, but the main roster is already crowded with 16 standard contracts. There’s a two-way opening if the Wizards opt to go that route.

The seven-footer out of Serbia played for Partizan Belgrade last season after spending the previous two years with Real Madrid. He doesn’t believe he needs any more international basketball to be ready for the NBA, and he expressed that to teams during the pre-draft process, according to Hughes.

Vukcevic was impressive during his brief Summer League appearance, posting 21 points in 17 minutes in the only game he played. He acknowledges that the NBA is played at a faster pace than what he’s used to and says he needs to make quicker decisions and become more aggressive in seeking his own offense.

After being drafted, Vukcevic got some tips from Marc Gasol about how to prepare for the NBA.

“He just called me, he said he loves my game and wanted to give me advice,” Vukcevic said. “He just told me the differences in the NBA and how life is in the NBA, like how to get adjusted. Whenever I’m wondering or have any specific questions, to feel free to always call him. I feel grateful for that. He’s a legend.”

There’s more on the Wizards:

In an interview posted on the NBC Sports Washington website (video link), general manager Will Dawkins explains why the organization opted not to pursue a full rebuild after trading Bradley Beal and Kristaps Porzingis last month. Instead, the Wizards re-signed free agent forward Kyle Kuzma and used Chris Paul, who was acquired in the Beal trade, to get Jordan Poole from the Warriors. “There were a lot of good players on the roster,” Dawkins said. “… For us, it’s about building habits. It’s about building a day-to-day mentality that you come in the gym, you compete and you do things the right way.”
The Wizards were “super happy” with what they saw from lottery pick Bilal Coulibaly, says Summer League coach Landon Tatum (video link). “We told him the first thing he got here to be a defensive type of guy first,” Tatum said. “And he’s taken that on, trying to defend everyone we put him on, whether it’s a guard, a big or a wing.”
In a separate story, Hughes takes an analytical look at the impact Poole can make during his first season in Washington. He notes that Poole was 34th in ESPN’s offensive real plus-minus ratings last season, which is higher than anyone who was on the Wizards’ roster.

Bradley Beal Hopes To Revive Career With Suns

July 26th, 2023 at 9:46pm CST by Arthur Hill

Bradley Beal was at his son’s baseball game when his agent broke the news that he was being traded to Phoenix, he says in an interview with Deyscha Smith of Slam Magazine. Beal stayed and watched the rest of the game while speculation ran wild on social media about the new super-team in Phoenix and how Beal can co-exist with Devin Booker, Kevin Durant and Deandre Ayton.

It’s been about a month since the trade became official, and Beal is well into the process of connecting with his new Suns teammates. They set up a group chat to keep in touch throughout the summer, and Beal said they’ve made him feel welcome in his new home.

“Everybody’s been unreal in this whole transition,” he said. “This is all new for me, but I’m embracing it, and these guys have all embraced me. It’s like, I’m ready to get to work, you know? This is definitely an awesome group of guys to be a part of. We’re still building on our team, but it’s been a joy so far.”

Beal describes Durant and Booker as “humble” and says he tries to approach the game the same way they do. He doesn’t expect any problems as three players who’ve been primary scorers throughout their careers try to blend their talents into a cohesive unit.

Beal was a three-time All-Star in Washington, but his reputation has taken a hit recently as a result of injuries and a decline in performance. After averaging 30.5 and 31.3 PPG in back-to-back seasons, Beal fell off to 23.2 in the last two years while playing 40 and 50 games.

He told Smith that he hasn’t set any individual goals for the upcoming season, but he hopes to prove he can still be one of NBA’s best players on both ends of the court.

“Showing that I can really compete at a high level and play a meaningful game. You know, playing in the playoffs, winning in the playoffs, advancing past rounds,” Beal said. “Granted, I wanna get back to my All-Star level of play. I really believe that that’s who I am: All-NBA guy, All-Star guy. And I have a good group that can push me to be that every single day. So I’m excited about that opportunity. I get to be around like-minded guys and guys who will push me to make sure that I’m the best version of myself every day.”

Beal is trying to savor the changes in his life after spending his first 11 seasons with the Wizards. He said it felt like he “got drafted all over again” when he put on a Suns uniform for the first time, but he hopes the legacy he built in Washington will endure now that he’s on the other side of the country.

“I had so many great memories and so many great moments in DC,” Beal said. “It’s really hard to pinpoint one. I think I’m just grateful for all the bonds and the relationships I’ve built. I think that’s what I’ll propel into my next chapter of life. I want this chapter to be more or less open and me not trying to control everything.

“I think we, as humans, sometimes try to control our lives a little too much. I want to just let this wave kind of take me where it wants to go and let God lead the way and enjoy it every step of the way.”

NBA Teams Facing Potential Fall Roster Crunches

July 26th, 2023 at 8:02am CST by Luke Adams

With two months to go until NBA teams report to training camps, there’s no need for a club to have its 21-man offseason roster – let alone its 15-man standard roster for the regular season – set in stone at this point.

Still, many rosters around the league are clearly taking shape, with several teams carrying 14 or 15 players on standard guaranteed contracts and seemingly unlikely to make any more major changes this offseason.

There are also a handful of teams carrying more than 15 standard contracts who will have to trade or waive at least one or two of those players before the regular season begins in order to adhere to the NBA’s regular season roster limit.

Here are some of the teams who will be facing possible roster crunches in the coming months:

Oklahoma City Thunder

(20 standard contracts)

The Thunder have been a willing trade partner for teams looking to dump unwanted contracts this offseason, and it has resulted in Oklahoma City becoming the first club to reach its full 21-man roster limit (its 21st player, Keyontae Johnson, is on a two-way contract).

Of the Thunder’s 20 players on standard deals, at least 17 have guaranteed salaries for 2023/24. That group doesn’t include Jack White, whose full contract details have yet to be reported, or Isaiah Joe and Aaron Wiggins, both of whom are on non-guaranteed contracts after playing well in rotation roles in ’22/23.

If the Thunder intend to keep White, Joe, and Wiggins into the regular season, they’ll have to trade or waive five players on guaranteed salaries. The players recently acquired in those salary-dump deals – including Victor Oladipo, Davis Bertans, TyTy Washington, and Usman Garuba – would probably be most at risk. Of the Thunder’s returning players, Tre Mann and Jeremiah Robinson-Earl are among those whose roster spots may not be fully secure.

Memphis Grizzlies

(17 standard contracts)

Like the Thunder, the Grizzlies took on some unwanted contracts in offseason trades in order to acquire other assets.

The two players Memphis received in those deals – Josh Christopher and Isaiah Todd – are the most likely odd men out for the 15-man regular season roster, since none of Memphis’ other 15 players are obvious trade or release candidates.

San Antonio Spurs

(17 standard contracts)

The Spurs actually only have 16 players on standard contracts for the time being, but are reportedly bringing back Sandro Mamukelashvili on a one-year deal. He has yet to officially re-sign and the exact details of his contract are unclear.

Assuming San Antonio plans to have Mamukelashvili on its 15-man regular season roster, the team will need to trade or waive two other players before opening night. That number could grow if the Spurs want to sign Dominick Barlow or Sidy Cissoko to a standard contract, but they do have two-way slots available for both.

Cameron Payne, Cedi Osman, Reggie Bullock, Devonte’ Graham, and Khem Birch are a few of the veterans on expiring or pseusdo-expiring contracts who probably aren’t in the Spurs’ long-term plans. But some of those guys would be useful contributors on the court this season and might have a little trade value, so San Antonio might not be done dealing.

Washington Wizards

(16 standard contracts)

The Wizards have a new front office in place for this season, so some of the reserves on expiring contracts who were brought in by the old regime could be candidates to be traded or waived. That group includes Delon Wright, whose name has come up in trade rumors this summer, Xavier Cooks, whose multiyear deal is only guaranteed for 2023/24, and Anthony Gill.

The new regime has also acquired a few players this offseason who may have been traded for financial or salary-matching reasons more than for how they fit into the Wizards’ plans going forward. Of those players, Danilo Gallinari and Mike Muscala are on expiring contracts, while Patrick Baldwin and Landry Shamet aren’t currently owed guaranteed money beyond 2023/24 (Ryan Rollins has a $600K partial guarantee in ’24/25).

It wouldn’t shock me if the Wizards end up moving off multiple players on the current roster and making another addition or two before the regular season begins.

Others to watch

The Hawks are currently carrying 16 players on standard contracts, but only 15 are guaranteed, making Vit Krejci and his non-guaranteed salary the probable odd man out. Atlanta also reportedly remains active in trade talks, which could further shake up the roster.

The Hornets only have 12 players on guaranteed salaries, but they also have a pair (JT Thor and Kobi Simmons) on non-guaranteed deals, plus a pair of restricted free agents (P.J. Washington and Theo Maledon) and a No. 31 overall pick (James Nnaji) who remain unsigned. Charlotte can comfortably manage the 15-man limit, especially if Nnaji spends the season overseas, but may have to deal with a minor roster crunch if Washington and Maledon both return.

The Clippers, like the Hawks, have 15 players on guaranteed salaries and a 16th (Jason Preston) on a non-guaranteed deal. Los Angeles pushed back Preston’s guarantee date, which suggests the team may be open to hanging onto him if a roster spot becomes available (perhaps in multi-player James Harden trade?).

The Trail Blazers and Sixers are worth monitoring, since they would likely take back more players than they send out in any trade involving Damian Lillard or Harden. For now though, both teams have plenty of roster space — Portland has 13 players on standard contracts (12 fully guaranteed), while Philadelphia has 14 (13 fully guaranteed).

Quenton Jackson Released By Wizards

July 24th, 2023 at 7:36pm CST by Alex Kirschenbaum

The Wizards have waived guard Quenton Jackson, according to the NBA’s official transactions log.

After going undrafted out of Texas A&M in 2022, the 6’5″ wing first joined Washington’s G League affiliate, the Capital City Go-Go, in the fall of the 2022/23 season. The Wizards then inked him to a two-way deal in February.

In nine games with the Wizards proper, Jackson averaged 6.2 PPG, 1.7 APG and 0.9 RPG. Across 29 contests off the bench for the Go-Go, the 24-year-old posted averages of 15.5 PPG, 4.2 APG, 3.8 RPG and 1.4 SPG, with a shooting line of .535/.395/.775 shooting.

With Jackson now off their books, the Wizards have just one player, forward Eugene Omoruyi, signed to an official two-way contract heading into 2023/24. Washington can sign up to three players to two-way deals and will reportedly fill one of its open slots with guard Jared Butler.

Southeast Notes: Ball, Highsmith, Muscala, Magic

July 20th, 2023 at 8:20pm CST by Alex Kirschenbaum

Hornets star guard LaMelo Ball signed a five-year, maximum-salary designated rookie extension, worth up to a projected $260MM, with Charlotte earlier this summer.

During a press conference with gathered reporters, Ball and team president and general manager Mitch Kupchak spoke about the new agreement, as Roderick Boone of The Charlotte Observer reports.

“The decision, it wasn’t really hard,” Ball, the third draft pick in 2020, said. “All my years here I’ve had a good time. Life wasn’t bad. The basketball aspect, that’s not really going well. You kind of want to live your life and just have fun and just be living well. So in Charlotte I was doing that, so it just all felt like a great choice.”

Ball was limited to just 36 contests with the Hornets in 2022/23 due to ankle injuries, but was prolific on offense when he did play. The 6’7″ guard averaged 23.3 PPG on .411/.376/.836 shooting splits, along with 8.4 APG and 6.4 RPG. Charlotte has yet to make the playoffs during Ball’s NBA career.

“To have a player of LaMelo’s caliber with his game, with his youth, we know he is going to get better as a player,” Kupchak said. “He’s here every day. He certainly had a setback last year, but in terms of healing, he’s been 100 percent healed and he’s been on the court working out every single day trying to get better.”

There’s more out of the Southeast Division:

Heat forward Haywood Highsmith recently saw his $1.9MM salary for the 2023/24 season become fully guaranteed, writes Anthony Chiang of The Miami Herald. “It’s a good step in the right direction for me,” Highsmith told Chiang. “Still developing, still trying to get better and big things coming for me, I hope. I’ve been working hard this offseason, so it’s definitely a good step in the right direction.” Former Miami teammate Udonis Haslem, now retired, unpacked how Highsmith approaches the game. “Undersized, not a guy who you’re going to run a lot of plays for, has to be efficient,” Haslem said. “His approach is a defensive-minded approach, so he takes the challenge every night. He’s just my guy.”
Despite a winless five-game 2023 Summer League run, the Magic were able to learn about their two rookie lottery selections, while in turn educating No. 6 pick Anthony Black and No. 11 pick Jett Howard about the team’s own approach to its internal dynamics, writes Jason Beede of The Orlando Sentinel. “From everybody in the front office to the coaching staff to the players, everybody’s locked in,” Howard said, “We just met each other but we still had the willingness to keep fighting and sticking together. “Even down the stretch when we’re losing, we’re still cognate for one another. We showed up and worked hard in training camp. All of those things just make a culture.”
On the cusp of his 11th NBA season, 32-year-old Wizards big man Mike Muscala isn’t taking his longevity for granted, writes Chip Scoggins of The Star Tribune. “As a young athlete, you’re always striving for something,” Muscala said. “It’s like, ‘I want to do this. I want to compete against this person.’ There’s still a lot of value in that. But once you kind of check those boxes, it’s like, now what? When you’re grateful for whatever situation you’re in and the opportunities you have, that’s been motivating me.”

Vanterpool To Join Unseld's Staff

July 16th, 2023 at 9:53pm CST by Dana Gauruder

The Wizards are hiring David Vanterpool as an assistant coach, ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski tweets. He’ll join Wes Unseld Jr.‘s staff after stops with Brooklyn, Minnesota and Portland. Vanterpool has also interviewed for a number of head coaching jobs in recent years. He didn’t coach in the league last season after he was let go by the Nets following the 2021/22 season.

Tristan Vukcevic, drafted in the second round by the Wizards, has another option for next season if he doesn’t play in the NBA, Eurohoops.net relays. The Serbian center could be loaned out to Greece’s Peristeri after playing for Partizan Belgrade last season. SDNA’s Sotiris Betakis first reported the news. Vukcevic has played the past week for Washington’s Summer League squad.

Wizards Hiring Brian Keefe As Assistant Coach

July 16th, 2023 at 8:14am CST by Luke Adams

Brian Keefe, who spent the past two seasons as an assistant coach in Brooklyn, is joining the Wizards‘ staff under Wes Unseld Jr., sources tell Wojnarowski (Twitter link). As our tracker shows, Keefe was among the candidates to interview for Detroit’s head coaching job this spring.

Scotto’s Latest: Suns, Pacers, Knicks, Wright, Hornets, More

July 15th, 2023 at 2:32pm CST by Rory Maher

The Suns, Pacers and Knicks recently had exploratory trade talks on a deal that would have sent Cameron Payne to New York, T.J. McConnell to Phoenix, and Evan Fournier and draft picks to Indiana, league sources tell Michael Scotto of HoopsHype. Other iterations of the deal included Jordan Nwora, according to Scotto, though it’s unclear where the Pacers forward would have ended up in that framework.

However, the talks on the three-team trade have stalled, Scotto reports. Jake Fischer of Yahoo Sports was first to report the Suns and Pacers discussed a deal involving Payne and McConnell, and suggested the Knicks may have been involved as well.

Here’s more from Scotto’s latest article for HoopsHype:

League sources tell Scotto that the Hornets are on the hunt for a backup point guard after Dennis Smith Jr. signed with the Nets in free agency. As Scotto previously reported, Charlotte had interest in Aaron Holiday, but he wound up signing with the Rockets. According to Scotto, one player on Charlotte’s radar is Wizards guard Delon Wright, who will make $8.2MM next season in the final year of his contract. The Wizards traded for Tyus Jones and Jordan Poole, and Wright was signed by the previous front office regime. The 31-year-old has already seen his name pop up in a few other trade rumors this offseason.
Scotto recently spoke to a handful of second-round picks at Summer League about their goals entering their rookie seasons. Those players are Nuggets guard Jalen Pickett, Celtics forward Jordan Walsh, and Mouhamed Gueye and Seth Lundy of the Hawks. Walsh, the No. 38 pick of the 2023 draft, has high expectations for himself, he told Scotto. “If I get a chance to play with these guys and help the team, I want to be on the All-Defensive First or Second Team or Defensive Player of the Year,” Walsh said. “My goals are defensively oriented and winning a championship, which is No. 1. If I’m able to accomplish any of those things, I’d feel my rookie year went pretty well.”
In case you missed it, we passed along some Raptors rumors and free agent rumors from Scotto as well.

Eight 2023 Draft Picks Have Yet To Sign NBA Contracts

July 15th, 2023 at 7:49am CST by Luke Adams

Of the 58 players who were selected in last month’s draft, 50 have signed their first NBA contracts during the first two weeks they’ve been permitted to do so.

As our tracker shows, the breakdown is as follows:

First-round picks signed using the rookie scale exception: 29
Second-round picks signed using the new second-round pick exception: 13
- Note: Of these 13 players, 12 received four-year contracts, while one (Rayan Rupert) signed a three-year deal.
Second-round picks signed to two-way contracts: 8

That leaves eight players from the 2023 draft class who have yet to sign with their respective NBA teams. Those players are as follows:

Olivier-Maxence Prosper, Mavericks
James Nnaji, Hornets
Tristan Vukcevic, Wizards
Sidy Cissoko, Spurs
G.G. Jackson, Grizzlies
Mojave King, Pacers
Jordan Miller, Clippers
Tarik Biberovic, Grizzlies

Not all of these players will sign an NBA contract in 2023/24. King and Biberovic are each expected to spend at least one season playing overseas before coming stateside. Vukcevic is another candidate to become a draft-and-stash prospect.

It’s also unclear whether the Hornets plan to sign Nnaji right away or let the 18-year-old big man continue developing his game in Europe. For now, Charlotte only has 12 players on guaranteed contracts for 2023/24, but depending on which restricted free agents (P.J. Washington, Theo Maledon) and players on non-guaranteed deals (JT Thor, Kobi Simmons) return, there might not be a spot for Nnaji, who remains under contract with FC Barcelona and – as a No. 31 overall pick who would require an international buyout – wouldn’t be a candidate for a two-way deal.

Prosper is the only unsigned first-rounder in this year’s class, but the delay doesn’t seem like anything to worry about. The Mavericks, who continued this past week to explore the trade market and consider how to fill out their roster, have taken their time getting around to signing a handful of players, with deals for free agents like Seth Curry and Dante Exum only becoming official on Friday. I’d expect Prosper’s contract to be finalized soon.

That leaves Cissoko, Jackson, and Miller, each of whom look like candidates to receive two-way contracts. Some of the other players drafted in their range, including No. 41 pick Amari Bailey and No. 46 pick Seth Lundy, have received two-way deals, and the Spurs, Grizzlies, and Clippers all have roster logjams, meaning there may not be room on their 15-man rosters for their unsigned second-rounders.

The Spurs will have 17 players on standard contracts once they officially re-sign Tre Jones and Sandro Mamukelashvili. The Grizzlies also have 17 players under contract and would have a full 15-man roster even if they trade or waive Josh Christopher and Isaiah Todd. The Clippers have 16 players on standard contracts (15 guaranteed). However, all three teams have at least one two-way slot available.