Wizards Notes: Leonsis, Howard, Bench, Wall
At $5.337MM, Dwight Howard was too much of a bargain to pass up, Wizards owner Ted Leonsis tells Chase Hughes of NBC Sports Washington. That’s the figure Washington was able to sign Howard for after he was traded to the Nets this summer and agreed to a buyout.
“At that price, I think he was the greatest addition that we could add at that position,” Leonsis said. “Really, it all comes down to the salary cap. Dwight is paid like a max player. We are paying him the mid-level exception. … He’s at the time of his career where he’s been paid a lot of money. He’s still getting paid max money. With the buyout that [the Nets] are paying him, we’re paying him the mid-level exception.”
This marks the third straight offseason that Howard has changed teams, but Leonsis calls his perceived bad reputation a “media-generated issue.” Howard remains productive and durable at age 32, averaging 16.6 points and 12.5 rebounds in 81 games with the Hornets last season.
“He will be a great addition to the team,” Leonsis added. “He wants to be here. His skillset is what we needed; someone who can run, play defense and rebound.”
There’s more today out of the nation’s capital:
- Leonsis is thrilled about the offseason and gives team president Ernie Grunfeld an A for his performance in rebuilding the team, Hughes writes in a separate story. In addition to landing Howard, the Wizards added depth to their bench by trading for Austin Rivers, signing Jeff Green as a free agent and drafting Troy Brown. “I thought what Ernie did this offseason is exactly what we had planned,” Leonsis said. “I think when a season ends you sit down and see what you want to accomplish. For the Wizards, it was we need to have more balance and more depth and be more prepared for injuries.”
- Howard is responding to critics who contend his low-post style doesn’t fit in the modern NBA, Hughes notes in another story. Howard has posted Instagram videos of his offseason workout showing him shooting 3-pointers and jump shots off the dribble from the foul line.
- John Wall is upset about the lack of loyalty the Raptors showed to his friend DeMar DeRozan, Hughes relays in yet another article. DeRozan was shipped to San Antonio as the key piece in the Kawhi Leonard trade, allegedly after being promised by GM Masai Ujiri that he wouldn’t be dealt. “In my opinion, I don’t think there was loyalty shown on DeRozan’s part,” Wall said. “This is a business and you understand that. [But] if you talk to me man-to-man, then just be honest with me. We’re all grown men.”
Hollis-Jefferson Hurt In Exhibition Game
The Nets are “guardedly optimistic” about the condition of Rondae Hollis-Jefferson, who was injured in a charity game today in China, according to Anthony Puccio and Net Income of NetsDaily.
Hollis-Jefferson was playing in a “Hoop for Hope” event organized by former teammate Jeremy Lin when he felt pain while landing after a dunk. He spoke quickly to Lin, then went to the locker room. He didn’t return to the game or take part in a team photo afterward.
The event took place this morning and little has been communicated to the Nets about the severity of the injury. Hollis-Jefferson is headed home, tweets Brian Lewis of the New York Post, and more information should be available tomorrow. Joe Tsai, who purchased 49% of the Nets in April, attended the game.
Health has been a frequent issue for Hollis-Jefferson, who missed 53 games as a rookie with a fractured ankle and 14 more last season with a groin injury. The 23-year-old is coming off his best professional season, starting 59 of the 68 games he played and averaging 13.9 points per night.
Hawks Sign Alex Len
AUGUST 3: The Hawks have officially signed Len, the team announced today in a press release.
JULY 21: The Hawks are finalizing a deal with former Suns center Alex Len, according to Shams Charania of Yahoo Sports.
The new contract will pay Len $8.5MM over two years, sources tell Charania (Twitter link). Both seasons will be fully guaranteed, reports Chris Vivlamore of The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, who adds that the official announcement probably won’t come until a three-way trade with the Thunder and Sixers is finalized (Twitter link).
The Hawks are over the cap after a recent flurry of moves, but still have their $4.5MM room exception available. Several teams expressed interest in Len before he decided on Atlanta, Charania relays.
Len, 25, spent five seasons in Phoenix after being selected with the fifth pick in the 2013 draft, but never made the impact the Suns were hoping for. He accepted the team’s qualifying offer last summer after finding little interest as a restricted free agent. Phoenix renounced its rights to Len on July 2, shortly after the start of free agency.
Len averaged 8.5 PPG and 7.5 RPG last season as part of a crowded center rotation in Phoenix. He will enter the same type of situation in Atlanta, where he will compete for minutes with Dewayne Dedmon, John Collins, Miles Plumlee and Omari Spellman. The Hawks will have 13 players, all with guaranteed contracts, once the latest moves become official.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
Mavericks Face Roster Decisions
Today’s agreement with Donte Ingram on a training camp contract gives the Mavericks commitments to 22 players, two over the maximum allowed by NBA rules, tweets salary cap expert Albert Nahmad.
Only 17 of those players are officially under contract right now, so Dallas will have some flexibility with how it proceeds, but the team will have to be careful with the timing of its moves, Nahmad notes.
Still unsigned, in addition to Ingram, are Salah Mejri, who will re-sign for another year, Devin Harris, who will return for his third stint with the franchise, and Australian Ryan Broekhoff, who agreed to a two-year deal. The Mavericks also have a pending trade with the Rockets for Chinanu Onuaku.
Barring more trades, two players will eventually have to be released, and Nahmad speculates that Onuaku may be one of them (Twitter link). Dallas is using cap space to take on his $1,544,951 contract, but is reportedly receiving that amount in cash in the trade. The reporting on that trade hasn’t been clear on the exact terms, but if it’s Dallas – rather than Houston – getting the second-round pick swap in the deal, it makes sense that the Mavs could acquire Onuaku only to waive him.
[UPDATE: Mavericks to waive Chinanu Onuaku]
It’s also possible that two-way spots currently held by Kostas Antetokounmpo and Daryl Macon aren’t guaranteed (Twitter link). Ingram’s Exhibit 10 contract can be converted into a two-way deal if the Mavericks decide to go that route (Twitter link). Macon received an Exhibit 10 offer from the Heat, but opted for the two-way contract with Dallas.
NBA rules allow teams to bring up to 20 players into training camp. Rosters must be trimmed to a maximum of 15 players, plus a pair of two-way deals, by the start of the season.
David Stockton Will Play In Germany
David Stockton, who finished last season with the Jazz, has signed with Medi Bayreuth in Germany, tweets Emiliano Carchia of Sportando.
Stockton inked a pair of 10-day contracts with Utah in March, then signed for the rest of the season in early April. He appeared in three games and played nine total minutes, then saw brief action in two playoff contests.
Stockton, the son of Hall-of-Famer John Stockton, has previous overseas experience in Croatia and New Zealand. He also played three games for the Kings in 2015.
Oddly, despite the fact that Medi Bayreuth has already put out an announcement confirming its deal with Stockton, the veteran guard remains under contract with the Jazz, since his rest-of-season contract last year included a non-guaranteed salary for 2018/19. Presumably, Utah will soon waive Stockton, freeing him up to officially join his new German club.
Atlantic Notes: Embiid, Faried, Crabbe, Nurse
Sixers center Joel Embiid isn’t concerned that the team missed out on signing LeBron James and trading for Kawhi Leonard, according to Ian Begley of ESPN. Even though Philadelphia didn’t add much star power this summer, Embiid believes a deal that brought in Wilson Chandler and the expected improvement of Markelle Fultz will be enough.
“I don’t think it matters, big free agent or not. My goal going into the offseason was to get better,” Embiid said. “I want to win the MVP. I feel like at the end of the day it might be an individual award, but when I play better, the team also does. I feel like if I’m an MVP candidate or if I win the MVP, that means we are on another level.”
The Sixers were able to re-sign starting guard J.J. Redick and will bring back most of the team that won 52 games last year.
There’s more from the Atlantic Division:
- Kenneth Faried doesn’t think of himself as a salary dump after being traded from the Nuggets to the Nets, relays Brian Lewis of The New York Post. Faried played just 32 games in Denver last season, and his $13.7MM salary for 2018/19 was pushing the team well into luxury tax territory. “The Nuggets wanted to go in a different direction,” Faried said Wednesday at an introductory press conference. “Brooklyn decided, ‘Hey, let’s pick up a still-able, still-capable player who can go out and produce and lead a team and do the things he’s done before.’ … They believed in me, took this chance to trade for me, and I’m excited to be here and produce.”
- Sean Marks has made several shrewd moves since taking over as Nets GM, but the Allen Crabbe trade may have been a mistake, according to a story on NetsDaily. The Trail Blazers matched Brooklyn’s four-year, $75MM offer sheet for Crabbe in 2016, then dealt him to the Nets a year later because of luxury tax concerns. Marks traded Andrew Nicholson to Portland in exchange for Crabbe, but he may have been able to extract more from the Blazers considering their financial position.
- The Raptors are adjusting their roster to fit new coach Nick Nurse’s preference for the modern style of the NBA, notes Dave Zarum of SportsNet. Nurse places more emphasis on 3-point shooting, with Leonard and Danny Green adding to a dangerous group of long-distance shooters.
Erik McCree Will Play In Italy
Erik McCree, a two-way player with the Jazz last season, has signed with the Italian team Consultinvest VL Pesaro, tweets Keith Smith of Real GM.
After going undrafted out of Louisiana Tech, McCree joined the Heat for training camp but was waived before the season began. He agreed to a two-way deal with the Jazz in December and appeared in four NBA games, seeing just eight total minutes of playing time.
The 24-year-old small forward spent most of the season in the G League, splitting time between Sioux Falls and Salt Lake City.
Donte Ingram To Get Training Camp Deal With Mavericks
The Mavericks will sign Donte Ingram of Loyola Chicago to an Exhibit 10 contract, tweets Shams Charania of Yahoo Sports.
A four-year player with the Ramblers, Ingram gained national prominence in March during their unlikely run to the Final Four. He averaged 11.0 PPG and 6.4 RPG as a senior. After going undrafted, he joined the Bulls’ entry in the Las Vegas Summer League, posting a 6.0/4.8/1.4 line in five games.
The addition of Ingram will give Dallas 18 players in camp, two below the limit.
Jordan McLaughlin Has Exhibit 10 Deal With Nets
Former USC guard Jordan McLaughlin has signed an Exhibit 10 contract with the Nets and will join the team for training camp, according to a story on NetsDaily. McLaughlin, who played for Brooklyn’s entry in the Las Vegas Summer League, announced the agreement Wednesday in an Instagram post.
The 22-year-old was a four-year player with the Trojans with a reputation as a playmaker and outside shooter. He averaged 7.8 assists per game as a senior and shot .397 from 3-point range.
The addition of McLaughlin brings the Nets up to 19 players who are either signed or have agreements. Brooklyn has 15 guaranteed contracts and one more opening than can be filled before camp starts late next month.
L.A. Notes: Gallinari, Kalamian, Berry, Kobe
After being slowed by injuries throughout last season, Clippers forward Danilo Gallinari has proclaimed himself healthy as he prepares for this weekend’s NBA Africa Game, relays Brad Turner of The Los Angeles Times. Hand and glute issues limited Gallinari to 21 games in his first season with the Clippers after being acquired in an offseason trade. It’s a familiar story for Gallinari, who has only reached 70 games in a season twice in his career.
“Of course I will play. I got to show you some of the Gallo magic,” Gallinari joked in Wednesday’s conference call with reporters. “Yeah, yeah, everything is good. I’m very excited. I’m healthy now, body is good. So I can’t wait to start.”
Gallinari still has two years remaining on a three-year, $65MM deal he signed prior to a three-team trade that brought him from Denver to L.A. last summer. He will make $21,587,579 this season and $22,615,559 in 2019/20 with no team or player option on the final year. Gallinari fractured his right hand late in the season, but says it has fully healed.
There’s more this morning from Los Angeles:
- Former Raptors assistant Rex Kalamian has officially joined the Clippers‘ coaching staff, the team announced on its website. Kalamian, who broke into the NBA as a scout with the Clippers in 1992, worked under Dwane Casey in Toronto for the past three years. L.A. also promoted G League coach Casey Hill to an assistant role with the NBA team.
- Lakers guard Joel Berry has a huge goal for a player who wasn’t drafted. In an interview with Drew Ruiz of Hoops Hype, Berry said he hopes to be among the contenders for Rookie of the Year and talks about the feeling of being passed over on draft night. “It was pretty tough,” he recalled. “It’s always a dream to hear your name get called, but honestly, I’ve always taken the path where I was always overlooked and my game is not the flashiest – I just win – and that speaks more than being a flashy player.”
- Kobe Bryant‘s wife is quashing any speculation that he might be thinking of a comeback, according to Alysha Tsuji of USA Today. Shaquille O’Neal sparked rumors of a return in a TMZ interview over the weekend, but Vanessa Bryant made it clear that it won’t happen. “Kobe will not be coming out of retirement to play again,” she wrote on Instagram. “He doesn’t want to play again and frankly we really enjoy spending time together as a family without the crazy game schedule interfering with birthdays, holidays and special events.”