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Wizards Sign Makur Maker To Exhibit 10 Contract

August 10th, 2022 at 10:50am CST by Luke Adams

The Wizards have signed center Makur Maker to an Exhibit 10 deal, according to Josh Robbins and Shams Charania of The Athletic (Twitter link). The Athletic’s report followed up on a tweet from Edward Smith that showed Maker putting pen to paper.

Maker, the cousin of former NBA lottery pick Thon Maker, attended Howard University during the 2020/21 season, then played for the Sydney Kings in ’21/22, winning an NBL title with the Australian club. He averaged 7.8 PPG and 6.0 RPG on .429/.361/.769 shooting in 16 games (16.8 MPG) for the Kings.

Maker also suited up for the Bulls in last month’s Las Vegas Summer League, registering 7.2 PPG and 3.4 RPG in five contests (12.0 MPG).

Robbins’ report suggests that Maker will likely end up playing for the Capital City Go-Go, the Wizards’ G League team. Maker’s Exhibit 10 contract puts him in line for a bonus worth up to $50K if he’s waived during the preseason and then spends at least 60 days as an affiliate player for the Go-Go.

Washington has also reportedly agreed to Exhibit 10 deals with undrafted rookie free agents Quenton Jackson and Davion Mintz.

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Southeast Notes: Wizards, Surenkamp, Herro

August 9th, 2022 at 3:47pm CST by Alex Kirschenbaum

The Wizards were among the worst three-point shooting clubs in the NBA in 2021/22, ranking dead last in attempts, 26th in makes, and 23rd in conversion rate. Chase Hughes of NBC Sports Washington examines to what extent the team may have addressed its long-range woes via its summer personnel moves, and how reasonable it is to expect incumbent players to boost their output going forward.

New additions Monte Morris and Will Barton are both solid three-point shooters on volume. Hughes speculates that development from young former lottery selections Rui Hachimura and Deni Avdija could help the Wizards in 2022/23. Second-year small forward Corey Kispert nailed 38.6% of his long-range looks following the All-Star break last season following a slow start. Should that trend continue, the 6’7″ wing could help improve Washington’s collective triple tally.

Hughes notes that star shooting guard Bradley Beal slumped during an injury-plagued season last year, connecting on a career-low 30% of his 5.3 attempts from deep. Across 51 games split between the Mavericks and Wizards, sharpshooting center Kristaps Porzingis also had a career-worst three-point conversion rate of 31%. If either former All-Star can inch closer to his prior three-point level, the team would benefit.

There’s more out of the Southeast Division:

  • The Hornets have a familiar face – Jordan Surenkamp – sticking around for a second season as the head coach for their NBA G League affiliate, the Greensboro Swarm, per Rod Boone of the Charlotte Observer. “From an organizational standpoint, I’m very clear understanding the goals that the organization has for Greensboro,” Surenkamp said. “I’ve developed really strong relationships with the front office even going back to my days as video coordinator. So the lines of communication, clarity, all of that is there.”
  • Assuming the Heat are unwilling to part with All-Defensive center Bam Adebayo, 2022 Sixth Man of the Year Tyler Herro could be the most appealing piece the team considers movable, writes Ira Winderman of the South Florida Sun Sentinel. All-Stars Kevin Durant and Donovan Mitchell, plus big men like Myles Turner, John Collins, Harrison Barnes and Jae Crowder, are still among Miami’s potential trade targets.
  • In case you missed it, JD Shaw discussed the Heat‘s 2022/23 season prospects in a recent Community Shootaround.
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NBA Schedule Not Expected For At Least Another Week

August 6th, 2022 at 8:12pm CST by Arthur Hill

Everyone eagerly anticipating the release of the schedule for the 2022/23 season will have to wait a little longer, according to NBA insider Marc Stein (Twitter link). Sources tell Stein that the schedule isn’t expected to be revealed until after next week, which puts the date sometime in mid-August.

The league typically releases its schedule during the second week of August, although that has been affected over the past two years by shortened offseasons caused by the pandemic. Last year’s schedule was announced on August 20.

Possible trades involving Kevin Durant, Kyrie Irving and Donovan Mitchell may be slowing the process this summer as the schedule makers wait to see if any of those situations get resolved before locking in prime TV dates.

A few things are known about the upcoming season, including league-wide media days on September 26, followed by the start of training camps a day later. The Pistons and Bulls will travel to France for the January 19 NBA Paris Game, according to the league’s website, and All-Star Weekend is set for February 17-19 in Salt Lake City.

The preseason schedule is virtually set and will begin with the defending champion Warriors facing the Wizards in Tokyo for a pair of games September 30 and October 2. The Raptors and Jazz will meet October 2 in Edmonton, the Bucks and Hawks will square off October 6 and 8 in Abu Dhabi, and the Raptors and Celtics will play Oct. 15 in Montreal.

Based on past schedules, the 2022/23 regular season will likely tip off on October 18.

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NBA Teams With Open Two-Way Contract Slots

August 5th, 2022 at 2:31pm CST by Luke Adams

A total of 18 NBA teams currently have both of their two-way contract slots filled, as our tracker shows.

That doesn’t mean those players will be locked into those slots for the rest of the 2022/23 season, or even until opening night, since two-way deals are low-cost contracts that don’t count against the salary cap, making them easy to replace. But it means those spots are unavailable for the time being.

That leaves 12 teams with at least one two-way slot available. Those teams are as follows:

  • Atlanta Hawks
  • Brooklyn Nets
  • Charlotte Hornets
  • Chicago Bulls
  • Dallas Mavericks
  • Houston Rockets
  • Indiana Pacers
  • Los Angeles Clippers
  • New Orleans Pelicans
  • Portland Trail Blazers
  • San Antonio Spurs
  • Washington Wizards

The Hawks, Hornets, Mavericks, Rockets, Clippers, the Trail Blazers, and Wizards have fairly straightforward two-way situations at the moment — they’ve each filled one slot and have one open, with no reports indicating that any of those teams has reached an agreement on a two-way deal with a free agent or draftee.

The Nets and Bulls also have one two-way spot filled and one open, but each of them has a two-way qualifying offer out to a restricted free agent — David Duke for Brooklyn and Malcolm Hill for Chicago. If those players simply accept their QOs, neither the Nets nor the Bulls will have a two-way opening.

The Spurs also have one two-way player signed and one spot open, though a Shams Charania report last month indicated that undrafted rookie Jordan Hall will sign a two-way contract with San Antonio. If and when that happens, the Spurs will join the list of teams with both of their two-way slots occupied.

The Pacers and Pelicans are currently the only two teams that don’t have a single player on a two-way contract. A Charania report way back in June suggested that Dereon Seabron would sign a two-way deal with New Orleans, but it hasn’t officially happened yet.

The best candidate for a two-way contract with Indiana, meanwhile, could be 48th overall pick Kendall Brown, who is one of a handful of 2022 draftees still unsigned. Even if Seabron and Brown sign two-way pacts, the Pacers and Pelicans would still each have one slot available.

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Projecting Wizards' Rotation, Depth Chart, Position Battles

August 4th, 2022 at 1:40pm CST by JD Shaw
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Rui Hachimura, Deni Avdija Quietly Giving Wizards Hope

July 31st, 2022 at 7:36pm CST by JD Shaw
  • Wizards forwards Rui Hachimura and Deni Avdija are quietly giving the team hope, Ethan Fuller of BasketballNews.com writes. Washington finished 35-47 last season and missed the playoffs, but if the club fails to make the postseason again, it’ll still have Hachimura and Avdija for the future. Hachimura (24) was the No. 9 pick in 2019, while Avdija (21) was drafted ninth overall in 2020.
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Trade Rumors: Mitchell, Barrett, Collins, Heat, Stalled Market

July 29th, 2022 at 6:32pm CST by Rory Maher

Appearing on The Rally (video link), Shams Charania of The Athletic reports that trade talks between the Jazz and Knicks centered on Donovan Mitchell have “stalled out” and the two teams haven’t had contact for about two weeks.

According to Charania, Utah is continuing to discuss moving Mitchell, just not with New York. The Jazz have engaged with the Hornets and Wizards recently, Charania adds, but it doesn’t sound like a potential deal is imminent with either of those clubs.

As Charania observes, many around the league still peg the Knicks as the favorites to land the three-time All-Star guard due to their combination of draft capital and young players. However, with the caveat that things can change at any time, it appears as though nothing is happening on that front right now.

Here are a few more trade rumors from around the NBA:

  • On his Please Don’t Aggregate This podcast (hat tip to HoopsHype), Jake Fischer of Bleacher Report said he continues to hear that the Jazz don’t have much interest in trading for — and paying — Knicks wing RJ Barrett as part of a Mitchell package. Barrett is eligible for a rookie scale extension up until the start of the 2022/23 regular season, and if he’s unable to come to terms on an extension, he’d be a restricted free agent in 2023.
  • Ian Begley of SNY.tv pushes back on the notion that the Jazz aren’t interested in Barrett, noting his report earlier this month that Utah actually initiated talks with New York with Barrett as part of the return package. Sources tell Begley the Jazz were trying to project what Barrett’s extension value might be at the time of those early discussions, which is only natural. It’s worth pointing out that these two reports aren’t mutually exclusive — the Jazz may indeed have interest in Barrett, but perhaps got a sense of what he’s looking for in an extension and then decided they didn’t want to pay him a large contract in the future. For what it’s worth, Begley says he would refuse to put Barrett in a possible Mitchell deal if he were the Knicks, as he believes that he’s worth more than extra first-round picks.
  • On the latest Lowe Post podcast, ESPN’s Zach Lowe said he doesn’t believe the Heat ever seriously pursued Hawks big man John Collins, but wonders if they might revisit that possibility before the season starts. “There has been some Miami, John Collins chatter,” Lowe said, per RealGM. “It’s old. It might be months old. I don’t think it was ever really serious at all. They might revisit that.”
  • Fred Katz of The Athletic suggests that the return the Jazz received from the Timberwolves for Rudy Gobert may have stalled the trade market for stars like Mitchell and Kevin Durant. According to Katz, the Jazz are seeking a bigger package for Mitchell than they received for Gobert, and the Nets are certainly looking for a massive haul for Durant. That might be having a trickle-down effect not only on the teams that are interested in the two stars, but other teams who could be looking to make lesser deals, Katz writes.
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Analyzing Strengths And Weaknesses Of Roster

July 28th, 2022 at 4:06pm CST by Rory Maher
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Northwest Notes: Beverley, Mitchell, Lillard, Thunder

July 27th, 2022 at 8:50pm CST by Arthur Hill

After working to create a culture change in Minnesota last season, Patrick Beverley was looking forward to helping the Timberwolves take the next step. Although he was caught off guard by the team’s decision to send him to the Jazz in the Rudy Gobert trade, Beverley told Mark Berman of Fox 26 in Houston he wouldn’t call the move a surprise (video link).

“Surprised, no not in this business,” Beverley said. “Understood it. Never personal, always business. We did some great things in Minnesota. We kind of revamped the environment there. Gave the fans something to be happy about.”

Beverley brought a veteran presence to a young Wolves team that reached the playoffs for just the second time in the past 18 seasons. He hopes to fill a similar role for Utah, but admits that things are unpredictable in the midst of Donovan Mitchell trade rumors.

“We’ll see what happens in the next couple of weeks. It’s a lot going on right now,” Beverley said (video link). “We’ll see where the dust clears. Hopefully Donovan Mitchell stays and the team is competitive. If that’s the case we’re very excited.”

There’s more from the Northwest Division:

  • The Knicks are still in position to make the best offer for Mitchell, but Jazz CEO Danny Ainge has the advantage of being able to wait until someone meets his price, notes Andy Larsen of The Salt Lake Tribune. Larsen examines the trade assets from the Hawks, Hornets, Heat, Kings, Raptors and Wizards – all rumored Mitchell suitors – to see what they could potentially offer.
  • Trail Blazers guard Damian Lillard considers himself fully recovered from abdominal surgery in January, according to Sean Highkin of Rose Garden Report. Lillard played 29 games last season before deciding to have the operation, but he admits that the pain had been bothering him for nearly five years. “I feel 100 percent healthy,” Lillard said. “I got a break from playing and going out there knowing I didn’t feel good, and the burden of, ‘We have to win. I have to perform well.’ That’s a little bit stressful. So the last seven-and-a-half, almost eight months without having to think about none of those things, it kind of cleared my mind. Physically, I feel great.”
  • Longtime Sixers executive Vince Rozman will join the Thunder as vice president of identification and intelligence, tweets ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski.
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Wizards Hire James Posey As Assistant Coach

July 26th, 2022 at 2:06pm CST by Luke Adams

JULY 26: The Wizards have officially hired Posey as an assistant coach, the team announced today in a press release.

“We are excited to add James to our staff, as he brings championship experience both as a player and coach,” Unseld Jr. said in a statement. “As one of the toughest defenders in the league and a clutch shooter during his NBA tenure, we will be able to lean on his playing and coaching experiences to help the development of our players.”

JULY 22: The Wizards and James Posey are finalizing an agreement that will make the former NBA forward an assistant coach on Wes Unseld Jr.‘s staff, reports ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski (Twitter link).

Posey played in the NBA from 1999-2011, winning titles in 2006 with the Heat and 2008 with the Celtics. Following his retirement, he joined the coaching staff of Cleveland’s G League team in Canton, then became an assistant on the Cavaliers’ staff from 2014-19. He won another championship with the Cavs in 2016.

Most recently, Posey was an assistant coach in 2021/22 for the women’s basketball program at the University of Virginia.

According to Josh Robbins of The Athletic (Twitter link), while Posey’s job title hasn’t been finalized yet, he’ll essentially fill the opening on the staff that was created when assistant coach and player development manager Mike Batiste left D.C. to take a job on Stephen Silas‘ staff in Houston.

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