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Southeast Notes: Ball, Plumlee, Beal, Wizards, Hawks

September 26th, 2022 at 6:38pm CST by Dana Gauruder

The Hornets brought in LiAngelo Ball on a non-guaranteed contract and he enters training camp with the aim of joining his brother LaMelo Ball on the 15-man roster, he told Rod Boone of the Charlotte Observer.

“I feel like I can be a part of the team. I’m just going to play my hardest,” LiAngelo said. “But I feel like my game will carry itself and hopefully I can make the team and play with my brother.”

We have more from the Southeast Division:

  • Mason Plumlee started all 73 games in which appeared for the Hornets last season. Head coach Steve Clifford said the plan is for Plumlee to remain the starter with Nick Richards the favorite to back him up at center, Boone tweets.
  • Wizards star Bradley Beal, who signed a five-year max extension this summer, says there’s one more box to check off in his career — to show that he’s a “winner,” Chase Hughes of NBC Sports Washington writes. “I’ve shown I can score with the best of them, I’ve shown I can be an All-Star, I’ve shown I can be an All-NBA player,” he said. “I’ve checked every box. Now I have to win and be a winner. That’s my final box that I want to check and will check.”
  • Wizards president of basketball operations Tommy Sheppard said the team’s offseason additions should make the club tougher and more tenacious, according to Bijan Todd of NBC Sports Washington. “What happens is, one or two players can change the way your team is perceived by the other team,” Sheppard said. “You got one or two tough guys, all of a sudden people are like, ‘Hey, don’t mess with this guys.’…It brings it out of [other players] when you look to your left and your right and there’s a lot more fight next to you, it comes out in you too.”
  • Other than Bogdan Bogdanovic, who is still rehabbing from knee surgery performed in May, the members of the Hawks‘ roster came to camp in excellent shape and good health, Lauren Williams of the Atlanta Journal Constitution writes. “I expected them to pass the test if they did anything this summer, and we had some guys put up some good numbers,” coach Nate McMillan said. “But everybody passed the test, and we can move on. (We) came in today, I thought these guys would be a little sore. But they came out and had another good intense practice.”
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Eastern Notes: Beal, Morris, Nets, Mitchell, Claxton

August 28th, 2022 at 6:20pm CST by JD Shaw

For Bradley Beal, winning a championship with the Wizards would be more rewarding due to the adversity he has faced in recent years, he told Laura Schreffler of Forbes.com. Beal has opted to stay loyal to Washington, signing a five-year, $251MM deal with the team this summer.

“People always look at me like I’m crazy, but I have a huge desire to want to make it work here and win here,” Beal said. “This is the team that drafted me. They’re super loyal, I have a great relationship with ownership, and a great relationship with our front office.

“Plus, there’s not a lot of chances in the careers of NBA players to be notated as the franchise guy, you know? To be able to have that opportunity, to be able to be in a position to where I can write my own story, that’s everything.”

Beal has spent his entire 10-year career to date with the Wizards. Despite feeling pressure from some fans to request a trade, the 29-year-old has remained focused on winning a title with the Wizards.

“I feel like if I win a championship here in DC, the grind of it, with everything I’ve been through, all the adversity and ups and downs, that would make a win that much sweeter, makes me appreciate it that much more,” Beal explained. “And I do love the grind, and to sometimes go against the odds.”

There’s more from the Eastern Conference tonight:

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Southeast Notes: Herro, Ball, Harrell, Hornets, Beal

July 16th, 2022 at 3:46pm CST by JD Shaw

Heat guard Tyler Herro is eligible to sign a multi-year extension this offseason, which may cause a sense of urgency within the team to trade for Kevin Durant or Donovan Mitchell, Anthony Chiang of the Miami Herald writes.

Miami is known to covet Durant and Mitchell, both of whom would require giving up several assets in a trade. The main piece of any deal would likely be Herro, who averaged 20.7 points per game as the NBA’s Sixth Man of the Year last season.

The Heat and Herro have until mid-October to reach an extension, which could be worth as much as $188MM across five seasons. A more realistic ballpark for Herro would be somewhere in the four-year, $100MM+ range. That, coupled with the poison pill provision, would make it difficult to trade Herro next season, as Chiang explores.

Here are some other notes from the Southeast:

  • Hornets summer league player LiAngelo Ball remains hopeful for a true shot with the team, Roderick Boone of the Charlotte Observer writes. Ball is playing summer league with Charlotte for the second straight year. “Every little chance I get, I’ve got to come in and do everything right and play hard,” Ball said as part of a larger quote. His brothers, LaMelo and Lonzo, currently start for the Hornets and Bulls, respectively.
  • Montrezl Harrell‘s court date has been pushed back until August, according to Sara Coello of the Charlotte Observer. Harrell was caught driving with three pounds of marijuana in Kentucky back in May. As Coello notes, Harrell’s offense could result in getting one-to-five years in prison, plus receiving a fine of up to $10K. Harrell finished last season with the Hornets and is now an unrestricted free agent.
  • Despite receiving interest from the Warriors last summer, Bradley Beal had no interest in being traded to Golden State, ESPN’s Brian Windhorst said on The Dan Patrick Show (hat tip to RealGM). The Warriors ultimately won the championship, while Beal re-signed with the Wizards on a five-year, $251MM deal.
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And-Ones: In-Season Tournament, Lillard, Beal, Williams, Ferrell

July 16th, 2022 at 11:53am CST by Dana Gauruder

Earlier this week, the NBA’s Board of Governors decided to make the play-in tournament a regularly scheduled event. At the same meeting, the Board also discussed the possibility of an in-season tournament, Shams Charania of The Athletic tweets.

According to Charania, the format would have all 30 teams competing, with eight teams advancing to a single-elimination round to determine the winner. The NBA’s “Final Four” would be held at a neutral site. However, the in-season tournament won’t happen until at least the 2023/24 season.

We have more from around the basketball world:

  • It’s inevitable the extensions given by the Trail Blazers to Damian Lillard and by the Wizards to Bradley Beal will come back to haunt those franchises, John Hollinger of The Athletic opines. Lillard is projected to make a cap-killing $63MM in 2026/27 when he’s 36, Hollinger notes. The Wizards gave Beal a five-year deal that pays him $70MM more than he could have gotten elsewhere and they added a no-trade clause, both of which could doom the franchise to mediocrity.
  • Former NBA forward Derrick Williams has agreed to a one-year deal with Panathinaikos Athens, according to Sportando. Williams played for Maccabi Tel Aviv last season. The No. 2 overall pick of the 2011 draft hasn’t played an NBA game since the 2017/18 season.
  • Former NBA guard Yogi Ferrell is re-signing with Cedevita Olimpija Ljubljana, according to Sportando. He averaged 12.6 PPG in ABA Liga games, 15.3 PPG in EuroCup and 13.8 PPG in domestic league contests for the Slovenian team last season. Ferrell played for the Clippers in the 2020/21 regular season and playoffs before going overseas.
  • From stars sitting out regular-season games to high draft picks getting shut down in the Summer League, the league has a major problem with its recognizable players simply not playing enough, argues Joe Vardon of The Athletic.
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Wizards Notes: Leonsis, Beal, No-Trade Clause, Morris

July 8th, 2022 at 8:29pm CST by Rory Maher

As ESPN’s Bobby Marks previously relayed, Bradley Beal‘s new five-year, maximum-salary contract with the Wizards contains a no-trade clause — making him just the 10th player in league history to receive one. In addition to featuring a no-trade clause, Beal’s $251MM deal includes a 15% trade kicker and a fifth-year player option, according to Marks.

At a press conference to announce the signing, owner Ted Leonsis defended the provisions that were added to Beal’s contract, writes Ava Wallace of The Washington Post.

“If you can show the industry, show the world that you can draft, develop, keep great players, that’s how you start to make your way to become a destination,” Leonsis said.

“There’s a lot of movement, a lot of non-partnership that you see around the league. And for there to be a public statement that essentially says, ‘We have a player that wants to be here and serve out his contract, as do we,’ that allows your general manager to plan, to be able to have the confidence that your best player, your bedrock player, is a part of the process. So that was something that we did, and when the player brings that to you — we’re not naive. I read the press on occasion, and I see what people are thinking. I didn’t take it as a point of leverage; I took it more as a point of partnership. All we can do is show you that we’re in this together.”

Beal’s ability to veto any trade over the span of his deal could make it extremely difficult for Washington to pivot if things go south, Wallace notes.

Here’s more on the Wizards:

  • Josh Robbins of The Athletic examines the team’s decision to give Beal a no-trade clause. Robbins says it shows how much the Wizards value — and likely overvalue — Beal, as well as Leonsis’ desperation to re-sign Beal and remain competitive, noting that the owner has been adamantly opposed to tanking in the past. As Robbins writes, if Beal decides to asks out at some point, he will have full power to veto a trade if it’s not to his preferred destination — even if the Wizards were hypothetically getting better value from another team.
  • In considering Beal’s new contract, Daniel Levitt of FiveThirtyEight.com comes to the conclusion that it leaves the Wizards stuck in mediocrity going forward. Beal’s loyalty to the Wizards is commendable, says Levitt, but his on-court production doesn’t match his large salary, per FiveThirtyEight’s RAPTOR wins above replacement statistic. As such, it’s hard to envision how the Wizards can become a legitimate contender with so much money tied up in Beal and Kristaps Porzingis the next couple of seasons, when neither player has shown the capability of being the best — or second-best — player on a championship-caliber team, according to Levitt.
  • Point guard Monte Morris, whom the Wizards recently acquired in a trade with Denver, is looking forward to teaming up with Beal, Robbins relays in another story for The Athletic. “I’ve always thought Brad was the best two-guard in the league,” Morris said. “I would tell our players he’s amazing, just how quick he is and can get off any shot. (He’s) athletic, and (with) his energy out there and will to win, I’m excited to play alongside him. I hope it’s the same (feeling) on his side. We’re going to get out in transition. I’m going to get him the ball where it needs to go, and that’s my job: to put us in the right situations and positions to be successful and play at a high level.”
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Bradley Beal Has No-Trade Clause In New Contract

July 6th, 2022 at 3:58pm CST by Luke Adams

Bradley Beal‘s new five-year, maximum-salary contract with the Wizards includes a no-trade clause, reports Bobby Marks of ESPN (Twitter link). That will give Beal the right to block any trade during the next several seasons.

There are several different scenarios in which a player can earn the right to veto a trade during a single league year. A player who re-signs with his previous team on a one-year contract – or a two-year deal with an option year – is given no-trade protection. So is a player who signs an offer sheet and has that offer matched by his previous team. Players who accept one-year qualifying offers after their rookie contracts expire also receive veto power.

However, an actual no-trade clause that spans the life of a contract can only be negotiated by a player who has been in the NBA for at least eight years and has spent at least four years with his current team — Beal qualifies, having spent all 10 of his NBA seasons in D.C.

Even for players who meet the criteria, no-trade clauses are extremely rare — Beal is just the 10th player in NBA history to receive one, Marks notes (via Twitter). Carmelo Anthony, LeBron James, and Dirk Nowitzki had no-trade clauses in their respective deals as recently as 2017/18, but no player has had one since — until now.

In addition to featuring a no-trade clause, Beal’s new $251MM contract includes a 15% trade kicker and a fifth-year player option, according to Marks (Twitter link).

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Wizards, Bradley Beal Complete Five-Year Max Deal

July 6th, 2022 at 2:48pm CST by Rory Maher

JULY 6: The Wizards have officially announced Beal’s new contract, putting out a press release to confirm the deal.

“I have been blessed to call the city of Washington my home and the Wizards organization and our fans my family for the last 10 years, growing as a player, a leader, a husband and a father along the way,” Beal said in a statement. “Today represents such a special moment in my life.

“I could not be more grateful to have the opportunity to continue to partner with (Wizards owner) Ted (Leonsis), (president of basketball operations) Tommy (Sheppard), (head coach) Wes (Unseld Jr.) and the entire organization in moving forward to achieve our dream of bringing championships to D.C. and, just as importantly, to help our community continue to accomplish amazing things together.”

JUNE 30: The Wizards and Bradley Beal have agreed to a five-year, maximum-salary contract that will keep the star guard in D.C., agent Mark Bartelstein tells Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN (Twitter link).

Beal’s new contract will pay him a $251,019,650 over the five years. The most a rival team could have offered would have been $186,100,778 over four years.

Beal declined his $36.4MM player option for 2022/23 in order to become an unrestricted free agent and maximize his earnings. He indicated in both March and May that he was leaning toward re-signing with the Wizards, so the news is expected.

The 29-year-old missed the final 33 games of the season because of an injured left wrist. He recently said the recovery process is going well and estimates that 80-90% of his range of motion has returned.

A three-time All-Star, Beal has been the subject of trade rumors for years but has remained loyal to Washington. Now that loyalty has paid off in a major way. He’ll get a chance to play a full season with Kristaps Porzingis, who was acquired at the February trade deadline, for the first time next season.

Beal finished second in the NBA in scoring in both ’19/20 and ’20/21, averaging more than 30 PPG in each season, but slumped a bit last year by his lofty standards, averaging 23.2, 4.7 RPG and 6.6 APG in 40 games (36 MPG). One potentially alarming statistic is that Beal’s three-point percentage has declined each of the past three seasons, with a career-low 30% in ’21/22, although his 6.6 assists per game represented a career-high.

Beal’s contract will pay him through his age 33 season, at which point he’ll become a free agent. Given his mediocre defense, it’s fair to question whether he’s worth more than $57MM in ’26/27, but there was never any doubt that he’d receive a max contract this summer.

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Southeast Notes: Hawks, Beal, Wizards, Magic, Hornets

July 2nd, 2022 at 4:34pm CST by JD Shaw

Dejounte Murray is excited to team up with Trae Young and had been talking to his new partner in the Hawks‘ backcourt about the possibility for the past two to three weeks, according to Chris Kirschner of The Athletic. Speaking at press conference Friday, Murray said Atlanta was the only team he wanted to join and told reporters that he probably would still be with the Spurs if it hadn’t been for the opportunity with the Hawks.

Atlanta paid a premium price to acquire Murray, sending Danilo Gallinari and a sizable package of draft assets to San Antonio. General manager Landry Fields said the Hawks took time to assess the risks before committing to the trade.

“This wasn’t one of those that came about in a day,” Fields said. “Looking at what we were going to part with up front was one thing and then once we started to engage with San Antonio, it turned into another thing. We took time between talks to sit and think about how this was going to impact us in the future, how was this going to impact our current team, projection-wise what we are going to look like in several years, after factoring all of that in, we got to a place we were comfortable with.”

Here are some other notes from the Southeast Division:

  • Justin Holiday and Maurice Harkless, who are being acquired from the Kings in the Kevin Huerter trade, are both expected to be on the Hawks’ opening night roster. Kirschner adds. He also states that Atlanta continues to listen to offers for John Collins.
  • The Wizards were able to retain star free agent Bradley Beal in free agency, but questions remain about whether it was the right move for the team, Josh Robbins of The Athletic writes. Washington agreed to a five-year, $251MM deal with the three-time All-Star, prompting Robbins to explore whether keeping Beal at that price will keep the Wizards stuck in mediocrity due to their limited cap flexibility.
  • The Magic‘s free agency moves further prove the team believes in its young core, Khobi Price of the Orlando Sentinel opines. Orlando reached agreements with Mohamed Bamba, Gary Harris and Bol Bol, and guaranteed Moritz Wagner‘s salary. The team appears ready to run it back and continue developing its own players rather than adding outside help.
  • The Hornets are expected to hire Tyrone Corbin and Bob Beyer to Steve Clifford‘s coaching staff, Jake Fischer of Bleacher Report tweets. Corbin worked for Clifford in Orlando, while Beyer coached under Clifford in Charlotte. Corbin and Beyer hold over 30 years of combined NBA coaching experience.

Arthur Hill contributed to this post.

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Southeast Notes: Wizards, Jovic, Heat, Tucker, Magic

June 28th, 2022 at 4:08pm CST by Rory Maher

The Wizards have two primary objectives entering free agency, writes Josh Robbins of The Athletic: Re-signing Bradley Beal, and finding a starting-caliber point guard. Beal is expected to decline his $36.4MM player option to become an unrestricted free agent, and he indicated in both March and May that he was leaning toward re-signing with Washington.

The Wizards can offer Beal a five-year contract worth a projected $247MM+, while the most a rival team could offer him in free agency would be a projected $183.6MM over four years.

On the point guard front, Robbins notes that Washington won’t have any cap space entering free agency, so the team will be limited to the mid-level exception, projected to be worth $44.5MM over four years, and the bi-annual exception, projected to be worth $8.3MM over two years. Given the relatively modest tools at the Wizards’ disposal, Robbins believes finding a trade or a sign-and-trade (Tyus Jones?) might be the only viable pathways to finding a legitimate starter at point guard.

Some trade options that Robbins mentions include Monte Morris and Malcolm Brogdon, among others. He also says the Wizards could try to pry away a member of Orlando’s crowded backcourt, listing Markelle Fultz, Cole Anthony and Jalen Suggs as players worth calling about.

Here’s more from the Southeast:

  • The Heat selected Serbian forward Nikola Jovic with the No. 27 pick of the draft, and Pat Riley, the team’s president of basketball operations, said he views Jovic as a well-rounded offensive player with room for growth. “I think the overall skillset. When you talk about a player being a complete player, that’s what we’re talking about. How good is that completeness will come with development. What is a complete player, someone who can pass, who can dribble, someone who can run pick-and-rolls and shoot the ball. He’s a long-range shooter, a mid-range shooter. He scores well with the layup. He’ll take the ball and dunk it over somebody. He has those kinds of offensive skills that he can get better at. And then he’ll found out some new things that he’ll be taught where he’ll say, ‘Wow, I can do these things.’ That comes with development,” Riley said, per Heat.com.
  • Anthony Chiang of The Miami Herald explores the options the Heat have to try and re-sign P.J. Tucker. Riley and head coach Erik Spoelstra spoke glowingly of Tucker after the season ended, so clearly the Heat value Tucker, but he just turned 37 and the Sixers are considered the frontrunner to sign him in free agency, according to Marc Stein. Chiang writes that if Miami offers Tucker the full mid-level exception, as the Sixers are rumored to be offering, the Heat would be hard-capped at the tax apron of $155MM, and they’d be limited in what they could offer restricted free agent Caleb Martin. Chiang says trying to sell Tucker on his starting role and the success he had with the team might be one route to take, mentioning a slight discount using his Non-Bird Rights (about $26.5MM over three years). However, Tucker has shown an inclination to earn the most he possibly could previously in free agency, so that seems unlikely to work.
  • The Magic‘s draft secrecy could provide long-term benefits, according to Terry Gilliam Jr. of The Orlando Sentinel. The Magic kept their intention to draft Paolo Banchero hidden until right before he was selected No. 1 last Thursday, which was all according to plan. “It helps you do business better,” president of basketball operations Jeff Weltman told Gilliam. “Whatever partners you’re trying to engage with — whether it’s an agent, another team or whomever — they trust you more if they know you can be discreet with managing your information. It’s a smart way to do business. It’s a part of our strategy of success.”
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Wizards Notes: Dunn, Davis, Beal, Henry

June 24th, 2022 at 3:35pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Former lottery pick and free agent guard Kris Dunn will participate in a Wizards mini-camp this weekend, Josh Robbins of The Athletic tweets. Dunn was the fifth pick of the 2017 draft

Dunn spent one season with the Timberwolves and three with the Bulls before joining the Hawks during the 2020/21 season, where he only saw action for four games due to an ankle injury. He struggled to get another NBA job last season until March, when he received a 10-day contract with Portland. He finished last season with the Trail Blazers, averaging 7.6 PPG and 5.6 APG in 24 MPG over 14 games.

We have more on the Wizards:

  • President of basketball operations Tommy Sheppard said lottery pick Johnny Davis not only fills a need in the backcourt, he’s also a high-character individual, Ava Wallace of the Washington Post writes. “Out on the floor, he understands the game very well. He’s a quick learner — we couldn’t find a coach who could compliment him enough about his basketball IQ, his character, his athleticism,” Sheppard said. “I think he’s an underrated passer — I’m going to continue to say he’s a great passer. He didn’t pass a whole lot in college, so I’m trying to encourage him subliminally to pass a little bit more.”
  • Sheppard said he’ll meet with franchise player Bradley Beal when free agency begins June 30, Robbins tweets. Beal is reportedly declining his $36.4MM option in order to enter the free agent but he’s widely expected to re-sign with Washington. He is eligible for a new five-year contract with the Wizards worth a projected $247MM+. The most a rival team could offer him in free agency would be a projected $183.6MM over four years.
  • Pierriá Henry will also attend the team’s mini-camp this week, according to Robbins (Twitter links). The 29-year-old Henry, a 6-foot-4 point guard who led Fenerbahçe to the 2021/22 Turkish Super League title, finished fourth in the EuroLeague Best Defender voting. Devon Dotson and Tahjere McCall will be among the other participants. Dotson played 22 games with the Bulls over the past two seasons.
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