Wizards Notes: Sheppard, Wall, Roster, Brooks
New GM Tommy Sheppard indicated in a press conference this week that the Wizards will be giving a lot more minutes to younger players this year, relays Fred Katz of The Athletic. Sheppard stated that the organization wants to have each rookie play at least 1,500 minutes between the NBA and the G League. That represents a significant change from last season, when Bradley Beal led the league in minutes played and coach Scott Brooks relied heavily on his veterans.
Washington has a pair of rookies with guaranteed contracts in Rui Hachimura and Admiral Schofield, so they should see plenty of time with the Wizards. Garrison Mathews, who has a two-way deal, and Justin Robinson, who wasn’t drafted but has a chance to make the final roster, could both wind up at Capital City. Troy Brown, Moritz Wagner, Isaac Bonga and Jemerrio Jones, all second-year players who didn’t see much time last season, may spend time there as well.
“We gotta show them why and how it’s good for them,” Sheppard said about selling the approach to veterans. “But I think they’re active participants in it, and I think everybody appreciates that we’re trying to prolong careers. You make a bad decision on a player — they go out, and they pop a hamstring, or something happens which could’ve been avoided because of fatigue factor we didn’t recognize — that’s on us.”
There’s more from D.C., all courtesy of Katz:
- John Wall is serving as a virtual assistant coach while he waits to return from a ruptured Achilles that may sideline him for the entire season. Sheppard said Wall is helping to teach the younger players, and the team won’t pressure him to try to return. “We’re not waiting on a calendar. There’s not a clock when he comes back,” he said. “He comes back when he’s 100 percent.”
- The Wizards have 13 players with guaranteed contracts and may opt to go with a 14-player roster rather than the maximum of 15. “If you have 15 players and one gets hurt, (using a two-way player) is the only way you can plug it,” Sheppard said. “You have 14 players; you can sign somebody and bring them in that’s not in the G League. It gives you optionality … My vision, putting rosters together, it doesn’t make a lot of sense not to hold back a roster spot for the competition, for the inevitable injury, something.” Jordan McRae, who has a $400K guarantee, is considered likely to earn a roster spot, according to Katz, but injuries to Wall and Isaiah Thomas increase the need for another point guard.
- Brooks, who is entering the fourth year of his five-year contract, will be judged on building a positive culture rather than wins and losses, Sheppard adds.
Wolves Notes: Saunders, Teague, Free Agents, Towns
While the Timberwolves would like to return to the playoffs this season, the focus will be on building long-term success, head coach Ryan Saunders tells Chris Hine of The Star Tribune. Last year’s 36-46 disappointment began with a chaotic training camp that opened amid a trade demand from Jimmy Butler and a public war with ownership and coach Tom Thibodeau. Saunders, who took over the team at midseason, says the road toward rebuilding will start with a much calmer camp.
“I think you need to look at it in different scopes and see where you are at certain points of the season,” he said. “We’re not looking to just get into the playoffs for one year. That’s not our goal. And we understand that. So with that, you want to make sure you’re building for sustainable success. You want to make sure you’re doing the right things each day.”
There’s more from Minnesota:
- This will be a pivotal season for Jeff Teague after he opted in for another year at $19MM, writes Britt Robson of The Athletic. Teague was a favorite of Thibodeau, who saw the point guard as a stabilizing presence on a team of veterans. However, he’s coming off the worst season of his 10-year career and doesn’t seem to be in the plans for the new management team, which tried to sign D’Angelo Russell in free agency and wanted to land Darius Garland in the draft. Teague hopes to be healthier after missing 40 games last season with a variety of injuries and undergoing ankle surgery in April.
- The Wolves will have limited options to find a point guard on the free agent market next summer, observes Jon Krawczynski of The Athletic. Kyle Lowry will be the top name on the list, but he’ll be 34 and won’t fit in with the team’s youth movement. Dejounte Murray could be a restricted free agent if he doesn’t reach an extension with the Spurs, but San Antonio is likely to match any offer sheet. Fred VanVleet could be available, but the Wolves would face a competitive market for him. Krawczynski adds that Minnesota may take another shot at Russell, trying to swing a deal with the Warriors in February if Klay Thompson is close to returning to action.
- In a separate story, Krawczynski examines the questions surrounding every player on the Wolves’ roster heading into camp, including the importance of Karl-Anthony Towns becoming the team leader, whether Andrew Wiggins can fix his game and what newcomers Jake Layman, Shabazz Napier, Noah Vonleh and Jordan Bell will bring.
Knicks Notes: Fizdale, Point Guards, Wooten, L. Thomas
The short-term deals the Knicks handed out after missing their top targets in free agency could lead to another disastrous season in New York, writes Marc Berman of The New York Post. Once the elite free agents were all off the board, the Knicks’ front office signed six players in a 24-hour span, mostly to one-year contracts. Coach David Fizdale has nine new players on his roster, creating a challenging environment to keep everyone invested in the team.
“The worry is chemistry issues and clashing as well as a rotation that will be tough to keep all happy,’’ a rival executive told Berman. “It could turn into every-man-for-himself – self preservation on full display.’’
The Knicks’ best hope to improve lies in their young core, Berman adds. Newly signed Julius Randle, who committed for three years at $63MM, is only 24, while Kevin Knox, Mitchell Robinson, Dennis Smith Jr. and rookie RJ Barrett all have the potential to improve. But if none of them can make the leap this year and Kristaps Porzingis revives his career in Dallas, Berman speculates that another front office shakeup could be on the way.
There’s more this morning from New York:
- The starting point guard job is wide open again this year, Berman notes in a separate story. Smith will compete with Frank Ntilikina and newly signed Elfrid Payton in what Berman calls the best position battle in camp. The Knicks seemed to make a commitment to Smith after acquiring him in the Porzingis deal, but may have signaled a new direction by giving $8MM to Payton.
- Kenny Wooten will be among the most intriguing players to watch in camp, Berman adds. All 15 roster spots appear set, but New York has an open two-way slot that Wooten will have a chance to claim. He is an athletic shot-blocker on an Exhibit 10 deal who could set himself up for a standard contract down the line.
- Lance Thomas has moved across town to the Nets, but he would have been happy to remain a Knick, relays Stefan Bondy of The New York Daily News. “It was a dream come true for me,” Thomas said. “My family is Knicks fans their whole lives. The opportunity I had to wear that uniform, to play in an arena of that magnitude — I had goosebumps every day I wore that uniform.”
Five Key Stories: 9/21/19 – 9/28/19
If you missed any of this past week’s biggest headlines from around the NBA, we’ve got you covered with our Week in Review. Here are some of the most noteworthy stories from the last seven days:
Nets GM Sean Marks quashed speculation that Kevin Durant may try to return before the end of the season. There had been talk around the league that Durant could recover from a torn Achilles in time to help Brooklyn late in the season and into the playoffs. “The expectation now is that he’ll be out for the year,” Marks told reporters. “We’re not going to plan on him playing.”
Andre Iguodala reached an agreement with the Grizzlies that won’t require him to report to training camp. Iguodala, who played an important role on the Warriors‘ five straight trips to the NBA Finals, was traded to Memphis over the offseason to open up cap room. He will remain apart from his new team as it tries to work out a trade.
The NBA fined the Bucks $50K for publicly discussing their desire to give Giannis Antetokounmpo a super-max contract. At a televised fan event, GM Jon Horst talked about giving the reigning MVP that new deal, which violates league rules because Antetokounmpo isn’t eligible yet.
It appears the Celtics won’t reach a rookie scale extension agreement with Jaylen Brown before the October 21 deadline. A source called the chances “pretty slim,” which means Brown would become a restricted free agent next summer.
Markelle Fultz received full medical clearance to participate in Orlando’s training camp. The No. 1 pick in the 2017 draft was traded to the Magic last winter, but hasn’t played for them because of thoracic outlet syndrome.
Here are 10 more noteworthy headlines from the past week:
- Joakim Noah‘s scheduled workout for the Clippers was canceled. The veteran center remains unsigned as training camps around the league will be open by Tuesday.
- The Grizzlies won’t bring newly acquired forward Josh Jackson to camp and will have him begin the season in the G League. The Suns picked Jackson fourth overall in 2017, but a series of off-court incidents combined with disappointing performance have caused his stock to drop. He was shipped to Memphis this summer in a salary dump.
- The Lakers announced that Kyle Kuzma will be out of action for a while because of a stress reaction in his left foot. Kuzma will undergo an MRI, but not until mid-October after the team returns from China.
- Troy Brown will miss all of Wizards camp with a left calf strain. His prognosis has him returning around October 22, the night before the team’s season opener.
- The Cavaliers won’t have first-round pick Dylan Windler when the season opens because of a left tibial stress reaction. He will undergo treatment for four to six weeks before trying to play again.
- The Pelicans were awarded a Disabled Player Exception in the wake of Darius Miller‘s torn Achilles. New Orleans will have $3.625MM to work with, which is half of Miller’s salary for this season.
- The Mavericks picked up third-year options for 2020/21 on Luka Doncic and Justin Jackson. Doncic won Rookie of the Year honors last season, while Jackson played well after being acquired from the Kings in February.
- The Trail Blazers exercised options for Zach Collins and Anfernee Simons.
- Zach Randolph declared that he’s not ready to leave the NBA at age 38. Randolph spent last season with the Kings and Mavericks, but didn’t play a game for either team.
- LaMelo Ball is moving up draft boards and may be considered for the top pick in 2020.
Heat, Erik Spoelstra Agree To Four-Year Extension
3:56pm: The extension will cover four years, according to Ira Winderman of The Sun Sentinel (Twitter link)
3:25pm: Heat coach Erik Spoelstra will sign a long-term extension with the team, tweets ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski. Spoelstra, who had one year left on his current deal, has been negotiating an extension behind the scenes.
Spoelstra, 48, is about to begin his 12th season in Miami, ranking him second to the Spurs‘ Gregg Popovich for the longest current tenure with one organization. He has a 523-363 coaching record and a pair of NBA titles.
[RELATED: Longest-Tenured NBA Head Coaches]
As Wojnarowski notes, Spoelstra has spent his entire career with the Heat, starting as a video coordinator in 1995. He was later promoted to assistant coach, then replaced Pat Riley as head coach in 2008.
Thunder To Sign DeVaughn Akoon-Purcell
DeVaughn Akoon-Purcell, who spent part of last season on a two-way contract with the Nuggets, will join the Thunder for training camp, tweets JD Shaw of Hoops Rumors. League sources tell Shaw that the free agent shooting guard has agreed to a partially guaranteed contract.
Akoon-Purcell, 26, signed with Denver last summer and saw limited action in seven NBA games before being waived in December. He spent time with Hapoel Tel Aviv in Israel and finished the season with ESSM Le Portel in France.
The addition leaves Oklahoma City with two open roster spots ahead of the start of training camp on Tuesday. Once the Thunder make it official with Akoon-Purcell, they’ll have 15 players signed to standard contracts (13 fully guaranteed), along with both two-way slots filled and a reported agreement with Eric Moreland.
Hoops Rumors Originals: 9/21/19 – 9/28/19
Every week, the Hoops Rumors writing team creates original content to complement our news feed. Here are our original segments and features from the past seven days:
- In a poll, we asked readers if the Pelicans‘ Zion Williamson is a lock for Rookie of the Year.
- Our Offseason in Review series continued as we looked back at the summer moves made by the Chicago Bulls.
- In this week’s Community Shootarounds, we asked:
Michael Jordan Sells Part Of Hornets
SEPTEMBER 27: The transaction has been approved by the NBA and is effective immediately, according to a team press release.
SEPTEMBER 14: Hornets owner Michael Jordan has reached an agreement to sell a portion of the franchise to two investors from New York, but he will retain control of the team, reports Rick Bonnell of The Charlotte Observer.
The buyers are Gabe Plotkin, a founder of Melvin Captal, and Daniel Sundheim, a founder of DI Capital. They must receive league approval, but a source tells Bonnell that process is already under way and the sale is expected to be finalized in about two weeks.
The percentage that Plotkin and Sundheim will acquire and the price they will pay were not revealed. Jordan presently controls roughly 97% of the team. Another source indicates that he plans to run the organization for “a good, long time.”
“I’m excited to welcome Gabe and Dan as my partners,” Jordan said in a statement tweeted by Marc J. Spears of The Undefeated. “While I continue to run the Charlotte Hornets, make all decisions related to the team and organization, Gabe and Dan’s investment in the franchise is invaluable as we continue to modernize, add new technology and strive to compete with the best in the NBA.”
A source tells Bonnell that Jordan wanted to find investors who could help guide the team with technological advances. The Hornets also have a few smaller investors who owned part of the team before Jordan purchased it.
Rockets Sign Ryan Anderson To Partially Guaranteed Contract
SEPTEMBER 27: The Rockets have officially signed Anderson, according to NBA.com’s transactions log.
SEPTEMBER 25: Ryan Anderson is returning to Houston, according to Shams Charania of The Athletic, who reports (via Twitter) that the free agent forward has agreed to a new contract with the Rockets. The deal will feature a significant partial guarantee, per Charania.
Anderson is still collecting on the four-year, $80MM deal that Houston gave him in the summer of 2016. He spent two years with the team before being traded to Phoenix last August in a salary dump. In February, the Suns shipped him to Miami, which waived him in July under the stretch provision.
Anderson will earn more from the Heat ($5,214,584) than the Rockets this season, tweets Ira Winderman of The Sun-Sentinel. That number will be slightly reduced once Anderson’s new contract becomes official, providing a measure of relief to the Miami, which is up against a hard salary cap.
Anderson will be given a chance to earn back-up minutes at power forward, adds Alykhan Bijani of The Athletic (via Twitter). He states that Houston reached out to both Anderson and fellow free agent Luc Mbah a Moute this month about possible returns (Twitter link). Anderson averaged 11.6 points and 4.8 rebounds in 138 games during his first stint in Houston.
The Rockets are at the 20-man limit after reaching a deal yesterday with Jaron Blossomgame, so a move will have to created before he and Anderson can both be added to the roster.
Hornets Notes: Salary, Zeller, Bridges, Bacon
Several high-priced veterans appear destined to remain on the Hornets‘ roster, writes Rick Bonnell of The Charlotte Observer. Charlotte has been trying for some time to find a taker for Nicolas Batum ($25.565MM this year with a $27.13MM player option for 2020/21), Marvin Williams ($15MM expiring deal) and Michael Kidd-Gilchrist ($13MM expiring), but other teams have been reluctant to take on any of those salaries.
Bonnell expects that to continue for another year as GM Mitch Kupchak said he doesn’t foresee any significant roster changes. The team tried to move Williams during the offseason, and Bonnell sees him as the most marketable of the three. He speculates that Kidd-Gilchrist might be open to a buyout if he can’t be traded before the February deadline.
There’s more tonight from Charlotte:
- Cody Zeller, who is owed nearly a combined $30MM over the next two seasons, is a good bet to finish that contract in Charlotte, Bonnell states in the same story. Zeller has been the Hornets‘ best center when he is healthy, but injuries have limited him to 33 and 49 games over the last two years. Bonnell notes that Willy Hernangomez hasn’t done enough to convince the front office that he could handle the starter’s role if Zeller were to be traded.
- Among the team’s young core, Miles Bridges and Dwayne Bacon are most likely to have long-term futures in Charlotte, Bonnell adds. He identifies PJ Washington and Devonte’ Graham as two other prospects the organization may decide to hold onto, while Hernangomez and Malik Monk both have something to prove.
- The Hornets will hire an assistant coach with responsibilities in both the NBA and the G League, Bonnell tweets. The new addition will be in charge of player development and will split time between Charlotte and Greensboro.