Blake Wesley Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Trail Blazers Sign Blake Wesley To One-Year Contract

July 22nd, 2025 at 11:15am CST by Luke Adams

11:15 am: Wesley has officially signed with the Blazers, the team confirmed today in a press release.

10:11 am: Shortly after being bought out by the Wizards, shooting guard Blake Wesley has agreed to a one-year deal with the Trail Blazers, reports Michael Scotto of HoopsHype (Twitter link). It’ll be a fully guaranteed contract, per Sean Highkin of Rose Garden Report (Twitter link).

The 25th overall pick in the 2022 draft out of Notre Dame, Wesley spent his first three professional seasons in San Antonio, where he appeared in 156 total regular season games. He played a limited role for the Spurs, averaging just 4.3 points and 2.4 assists in 14.3 minutes per night, with a .409/.297/.634 shooting line.

While Wesley’s contributions at the NBA level have been modest, he’s still just 22 years old and is considered a strong on-ball defender. He has also shot the ball better in the G League than he has in the NBA, making 45.6% of his field goal tries and 35.9% of his three-point attempts for the Austin Spurs.

Wesley was traded to Washington earlier this month as part of a deal that sent Kelly Olynyk to San Antonio. However, he was only a Wizard for about a week-and-a-half before agreeing to give up roughly $1.38MM of his $4.73MM salary for 2025/26 in order to secure his release.

The exact financial terms of Wesley’s deal with Portland haven’t been reported, but it figures to be a minimum-salary contract, which would pay him roughly $2.38MM. In other words, he’ll more than make up the money he forfeited in his buyout with Washington.

Adding Wesley will give the Blazers 15 players on standard contracts, including 14 with guaranteed salaries. Duop Reath‘s salary guarantee date is coming up on August 1.

Wizards Save $8MM+ With Smart, Wesley Buyouts

July 22nd, 2025 at 8:25am CST by Luke Adams

The Wizards‘ recent buyout agreements with guards Marcus Smart and Blake Wesley have reduced the team’s salary by more than $8MM.

As Keith Smith of Spotrac tweets, Smart gave up $6.8MM of his $21.59MM salary as part of his buyout with Washington, while Wesley forfeited roughly $1.38MM of his $4.73MM salary. In total, the two players now count toward the Wizards’ cap for $18,134,313 instead of $26,313,184.

Smart is set to sign a two-year, $10.5MM deal with the Lakers once he clears waivers. It’s unclear where Wesley will land next, but he likely wouldn’t have given up a portion of his salary unless he was confident about having another opportunity lined up.

[UPDATE: Trail Blazers, Blake Wesley Agree To One-Year Deal]

The Wizards won’t technically create any cap room as a result of the moves, since they’re still operating as an over-the-cap team. But their salary for cap purposes is now down to approximately $153.8MM, which is more than $34MM below the luxury tax line ($187.9MM). They also have nearly $39MM in flexibility below the first tax apron ($195.95MM) after accounting for Khris Middleton‘s $3.22MM in unlikely incentives.

The cap savings created by the Smart and Wesley buyouts will put the Wizards in an even better position to become a facilitator in trades during the rest of the 2025 offseason and into the 2025/26 regular season.

Clubs around the NBA who are looking to shed salary or who need a third team to take on a contract to make a trade work will likely make the Wizards’ front office one of their first calls. Washington would presumably be willing to accommodate that sort of deal if sweeteners such as draft assets or a promising young prospect are attached.

The Wizards still have their full non-taxpayer mid-level exception ($14.1MM), along with two trade exceptions worth $13.45MM and $9.9MM. While they wouldn’t be able to combine those exceptions to acquire a player earning more than $14.1MM, they could use all three separately to trade for players whose salaries fit within the limits.

Blake Wesley Agrees To Buyout With Wizards

July 19th, 2025 at 5:36pm CST by Arthur Hill

Newly acquired Blake Wesley will become a free agent after agreeing to a contract buyout with the Wizards, sources tell Michael Scotto of HoopsHype (Twitter link). The team has confirmed (via Twitter) that the buyout has been finalized.

The 22-year-old shooting guard came to Washington earlier this month along with Malaki Branham in a deal that sent Kelly Olynyk to San Antonio. However, he faced a difficult road to earn regular minutes on a roster filled with young players. There’s no word yet on how money he gave back on his $4,726,328 contract for the upcoming season.

Wesley expects to sign with another team, adds Scotto, who notes that the former first-rounder is an effective perimeter defender and shot 37% from three-point range in the second half of the season.

Wesley was selected with the 25th pick in the 2022 draft and spent his first three years with the Spurs. He appeared in 58 games last season, averaging 3.7 points, 1.1 rebounds and 2.0 assists in 11.8 minutes per night with .435/.293/.623 shooting splits.

The agreement with Wesley, along with the buyout of Marcus Smart and the release of Richaun Holmes, have helped to clear up a roster crunch that the Wizards were experiencing. Once the moves become official, they’ll be down to 14 fully guaranteed contracts, plus Justin Champagnie, who has a $2.4MM non-guaranteed deal and Anthony Gill, who is expected to re-sign.

Wizards Trade Kelly Olynyk To Spurs

July 9th, 2025 at 10:49am CST by Luke Adams

July 9: The trade is official, according to announcements from the Spurs and Wizards (Twitter link).

July 8: The Wizards and Spurs have agreed to a trade that will send big man Kelly Olynyk to San Antonio, sources tell Shams Charania of ESPN (Twitter link).

According to Charania, in return for Olynyk, Washington will acquire former first-rounders Malaki Branham and Blake Wesley, along with a 2026 second-round pick. That pick will be the last favorable of Dallas’, Philadelphia’s, and Oklahoma City’s second-rounders.

Olynyk, 34, spent last season with the Raptors and Pelicans. He was limited to 44 games (22 starts) for health reasons, but was solid when he played, averaging 8.7 points, 4.7 rebounds, and 2.9 assists in 20.3 minutes per game, with a strong shooting line of .500/.418/.769.

A forward/center who can stretch the floor (.371 career 3PT%), Olynyk will become part of a Spurs frontcourt led by Victor Wembanyama. San Antonio will also be incorporating another new center, Luke Kornet, who finalized a four-year, $40.7MM deal with the team earlier this week.

Olynyk was just traded two days ago from New Orleans to Washington in the three-team deal that included CJ McCollum and Jordan Poole, but he clearly wasn’t part of the Wizards’ long-term plans. He can be flipped immediately because his salary isn’t being aggregated with another player’s salary as part of this trade.

Branham and Wesley – who were drafted 20th and 25th, respectively, in 2022 – didn’t establish themselves as reliable rotation players during their three years in San Antonio, as their playing time declined each season. Still, they’re both just 22 years old, and Branham has shown some promise as a shooter (.405 3PT% last season), while Wesley has shown he’s a stout on-ball defender.

It’s unclear whether the duo will get a shot to make the team and earn rotation spots in Washington or whether the Wizards made the deal primarily for the second-round pick and the cap savings.

Olynyk is on an expiring $13.45MM contract in 2025/26, while Branham ($4.96MM) and Wesley ($4.72MM) will earn less than $10MM total in the final year of their rookie deals. By taking Branham and Wesley into an existing trade exception, Washington will also be able to create a trade exception worth Olynyk’s $13.45MM salary.

The Wizards have a growing roster crunch they’ll have to address at some point in the coming weeks or months. As a result of this trade, they’ll have 15 players on guaranteed salaries, and that total doesn’t include Richaun Holmes (small partial guarantee), Justin Champagnie (non-guaranteed), or Anthony Gill, who is considered a strong candidate to re-sign with the club.

The Spurs, conversely, will have just 12 players under contract once the trade is official and will have plenty of flexibility below the luxury tax line to fill out the three openings on the standard 15-man roster.

Southwest Notes: Grizzlies/Nets Talks, Green, Wesley, Sengun

December 29th, 2024 at 3:24pm CST by Rory Maher

Before Brooklyn accepted the Lakers’ package, the Grizzlies offered Luke Kennard, John Konchar and a 2025 first-round pick (top-15 protected) to the Nets in exchange for Dorian Finney-Smith and “second-round considerations,” reports Michael Scotto of HoopsHype (Twitter link).

Marc Stein, who first reported Memphis’ interest and subsequent active negotiations with Brooklyn regarding Finney-Smith, stated on Sunday afternoon (Twitter links) that the first-round pick was protected past the lottery. Stein also reported multiple times that Memphis was seeking unspecified second-round compensation in return.

If the 2024/25 season ended today, the Grizzlies’ 2025 first-round pick would land at either No. 26 or No. 27, per Tankathon, as they have the same record (22-10) as New York.

Here’s more from around the Southwest:

The injury-ravaged Pelicans continue to struggle mightily this season, currently holding an abysmal 5-27 record. Fair or not, head coach Willie Green will almost certainly be under pressure if and when the roster is healthy, but he says head of basketball operations David Griffin has been supportive to this point in ’24/25, according to Rod Walker of NOLA.com (subscription required). “He’s been great,” Green said of Griffin. “Just staying consistent with hoping our guys continue to get better. We understand the uphill battle that we face as a group with the amount of injuries that we’ve faced this season. Trying to have different lineups, shuffling guys in and out of the lineup. That’s what we are facing this year. Griff’s been great and been supportive. We’ll continue on that path as we progress.”
Third-year guard Blake Wesley has been one of the players squeezed out of playing time with acting Spurs head coach Mitch Johnson choosing to play nine players instead of 10, writes Jeff McDonald of The San Antonio Express-News (subscriber link). Wesley got some sporadic minutes with Tre Jones and other regulars injured, but now that Jones is back and the rotation has been shortened, the former first-round pick says he’s going to “stay ready” for when his name is called again. “I’m staying encouraged, staying positive, cheering on the guys,” Wesley said. “Because when my time comes, I want the guys cheering on me too.”
Rockets center Alperen Sengun has been regularly double- and even triple-teamed this season, and he showed why when Minnesota tried to stop him one-on-one on Friday, per Danielle Lerner of The Houston Chronicle (subscriber link). Despite Houston losing the game by one point, Sengun was largely excellent, recording 38 points on 16-of-25 shooting and grabbing 12 rebounds in 41 minutes. “We just go game by game,” Sengun said. “When they’re doubling me, I’m just reading the right game, passing. And today they were just letting me play one-on-one so it was my day to go. And then I was aggressive start of the game. I kept that in all game.”

Spurs Pick Up 2025/26 Options On Wembanyama, Three Others

October 18th, 2024 at 6:36pm CST by Luke Adams

The Spurs have exercised their rookie scale team options for the 2025/26 season on four players, including last year’s No. 1 overall pick and reigning Rookie of the Year Victor Wembanyama, the team announced today in a press release. Here are the four options picked up by San Antonio:

Wembanyama (third year, $13,376,880)
Jeremy Sochan (fourth year, $7,096,231)
Malaki Branham (fourth year, $4,962,033)
Blake Wesley (fourth year, $4,726,328)

All four players already had guaranteed salaries for the 2024/25 season. Now they’re locked up for at least the next two seasons, with the salary figures above applying to the ’25/26 cap.

Wembanyama’s option decision was a no-brainer coming off a rookie campaign in which he averaged 21.4 points, 10.6 rebounds, 3.9 assists, and 3.6 blocks in 29.7 minutes per game, earning All-Defensive First Team honors and finishing as the Defensive Player of the Year runner-up. It seems pretty safe to assume the Spurs will also pick up his 2026/27 team option next fall and then offer him a maximum-salary extension in the summer of 2026.

The other option decisions weren’t quite as obvious, though Sochan and Branham played regular rotation roles in their age-20 seasons in 2023/24 and took steps forward in their development. Sochan looked more comfortable after being moved out of the point guard position midway through the season, while Branham improved his three-point percentage to 34.7%.

Wesley has played the most limited role of any of these four Spurs during the early stages of his NBA career, averaging just 14.4 minutes per game in 61 outings last season. He also hasn’t proven to be a reliable option on offense, with a career shooting line of .398/.299/.639. But he’s one of the team’s strongest defenders and earned praise from veteran forward Harrison Barnes during training camp for his play on that side of the ball.

Sochan, Branham, and Wesley will all be eligible for rookie scale extensions during the 2025 offseason.

We’re tracking all of the 2025/26 rookie scale team option decisions right here. They’re due by October 31.

Southwest Notes: Doncic, Spurs, Kennard, Rockets, Ingram, Zion

October 16th, 2024 at 3:02pm CST by Luke Adams

Mavericks star Luka Doncic likely won’t play in the team’s preseason finale vs. Milwaukee on Thursday, head coach Jason Kidd told reporters today. However, Doncic went through a full practice on Wednesday and did “really, really well,” Kidd said, per Grant Afseth of Dallas Hoops Journal (Twitter link).

Doncic was diagnosed with a left calf contusion during the early days of training camp. At the time, it was deemed a minor injury that wasn’t expected to affect his availability for the team’s regular season opener on October 24.

Despite the fact that Doncic may not end up playing a single minute this preseason, it still doesn’t sound as if his ability to return for next Thursday’s game vs. San Antonio is in any doubt, given that he’s fully participating in practice more than a week out from opening night.

Here’s more from around the Southwest:

Based on the way Gregg Popovich has managed his rotation this preseason, it appears likely the Spurs will open the season with a starting five of Chris Paul, Julian Champagnie, Jeremy Sochan, Harrison Barnes, and Victor Wembanyama, with Keldon Johnson, Stephon Castle, Zach Collins, and Blake Wesley also getting regular minutes, writes Tom Orsborn of The San Antonio Express-News (subscription required). However, Popovich said his rotation isn’t set in stone yet, and obviously it’s subject to change once Devin Vassell is ready to return from his foot injury, Orsborn notes.
The Spurs received $2MM in cash from the Kings in the Jalen McDaniels trade, tweets ESPN’s Bobby Marks. Marks also fills in the cash details from a couple of the Spurs’ offseason trades, confirming that San Antonio received $1MM from the Pacers for moving from No. 35 to No. 36 in the draft and $110K from the Hornets in the Devonte’ Graham salary dump.
Grizzlies sharpshooter Luke Kennard was feeling some soreness in his foot after Monday’s game in Indiana, according to head coach Taylor Jenkins, who said that Kennard may have to miss some time as a result of the ailment (Twitter link via Damichael Cole of The Memphis Commercial Appeal).
The Rockets‘ preseason win over New Orleans on Tuesday showed how they can benefit this fall from offseason continuity after making significant roster changes in 2023, says Jonathan Feigen of The Houston Chronicle (subscription required). “We’ve been playing with each other since last year,” veteran forward Jeff Green said. “We know what we want to do. We know what the goal is out there.” As Christian Clark of NOLA.com observes, Tuesday’s game was the first of the preseason for Pelicans forward Brandon Ingram, while Zion Williamson sat out for what head coach Willie Green called a “rest day.”

Southwest Notes: Edey, Rockets, Branham, Wesley, Williamson

October 6th, 2024 at 5:30pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Zach Edey, three-point shooter? The former Purdue big man only attempted two shots beyond the arc during his illustrious college career and made one. But the Grizzlies don’t want their lottery pick to feel like he’s restricted to the paint as a pro. He participated in a three-point shooting contest during an open practice on Sunday and showed a good stroke.

“When it’s opportunities to be out on the perimeter, whether it’s trailing the play or he just so happens to kind of move himself out there, I want him to feel like he’s got the green light,” said coach Taylor Jenkins, per Damichael Cole of the Memphis Commercial Appeal. “I don’t want to restrict him by any means. I want to see what he’s capable of.”

We have more from the Southwest Division:

The Rockets will play two preseason games in three days, facing the Jazz on Monday and Thunder on Wednesday. They’re viewing those contests as a measuring stick to see how much progress they’ve made during training camp, according to Jonathan Feigen of the Houston Chronicle. “I just want to go out, play hard, win, win the preseason games and get good momentum going into the season,” Jalen Green said. “The same way we’re playing here, we have to go out and play there.”
The Spurs have an Oct. 31 deadline to pick up the contract options on guards Malaki Branham and Blake Wesley for the 2025/26 season. Wesley admits the pressure is on to perform well in training camp — if those options aren’t picked up, he and Branham will be looking at free agency next offseaason. “Everybody knows it’s a contract year,” Wesley told Jeff McDonald of the San Antonio Express-News. “We’re trying to win, trying to get better. There’s a lot of pressure.”
After losing starting center Jonas Valanciunas in free agency, the Pelicans didn’t bring in an obvious replacement. New Orleans will employ smaller lineups, mainly with Zion Williamson as the de facto center, quite often this season, Christian Clark of the New Orleans Times-Picayune writes. “The fact of the matter is we are going to have a ton of games where we don’t have a traditional center on the floor,” coach Willie Green said. “That’s going to happen. We have to get accustomed to playing that way for a good bulk of the game.”

Spurs Notes: Paul, Wembanyama, Vassell, Wesley

October 1st, 2024 at 10:31am CST by Luke Adams

Chris Paul has spent the first 19 years of his NBA career playing for many of the Spurs‘ top rivals in the Western Conference, prompting head coach Gregg Popovich to joke on Monday that he has “despised Chris for many years” and Paul to respond with a smile that the feeling is mutual, writes Jeff McDonald of The San Antonio Express-News.

However, there’s also plenty of mutual admiration between one of the NBA’s all-time great point guards and one of the league’s most accomplished head coaches. While Paul told reporters that he’s looking forward to learning from Popovich, the Spurs’ coach lauded the veteran guard’s basketball IQ and downplayed the idea that he’ll have much to teach CP3.

“I said, ‘Be Chris Paul.’ I probably won’t coach him a lick,” Popovich said, per Kelly Iko of The Athletic. “I’ll just try to infuse what our strategy is, how we play, what we’re looking to do. Give him information but he’s gonna play and be Chris Paul.”

After starting all 1,214 of his regular season NBA games prior to last season, Paul came off the bench in 40 of his 58 appearances for the Warriors and averaged a career-low 26.4 minutes per game. As Iko writes, it sounds like San Antonio envisions a bigger role for the 39-year-old, which was one reason why he chose to sign with the Spurs as a free agent after being waived by Golden State.

“The opportunity to play. That was a big part of it,” Paul said. “I think for me, especially since signing in San Antonio, a couple things I’ve been focused on have been making sure I’m ready to play. Totally different role than I was in last season.”

Here’s more on the Spurs:

Reigning Rookie of the Year Victor Wembanyama didn’t get to experience much playoff intensity during his first NBA season as the Spurs posted a 22-60 record, so he appreciated the opportunity to compete in the Olympics with the French national team over the summer, as Michael C. Wright of ESPN writes. “It was maybe the most intense sports experience in my life,” said Wembanyama, who came away with a silver medal. “I felt really lucky to have the chance to live those experiences. I felt proud as well. During all elimination games, for 40 minutes we were locked in thinking about one thing: the next play. As a team, it builds something to have this level of concentration, all of us towards the same goal. The emotion is just too much to contain. You have to scream or cry a little bit. It’s too much to contain.”
Besides competing in the Olympics, Wembanyama spent his offseason focused on gaining core strength and improving his fundamentals, according to Wright, who notes that the big man worked on his dribble moves with three-time Sixth Man of the Year Jamal Crawford. “The game is slowing down for him,” teammate Devin Vassell said of Wembanyama. “He’s seeing everything, the reads, what shots he wants to get to, finishing. Every step of his game is growing. (With) the numbers he was putting up last year, the runs he was going on, for him to be (still) improving, it’s going to be scary for the league this year. I can tell you that.”
Vassell, who is still recovering from foot surgery that will sideline him for the start of the season, told reporters on Monday that he feels good about the progress he’s made, according to Tom Orsborn of The San Antonio Express-News. Vassell explained that he had hoped to let the injury heal naturally, but it kept “nagging” him and he eventually went under the knife in late June. “I feel more healthy than I’ve been in a long time,” Vassell said, adding that he believes the Spurs can be a playoff team in 2024/25.
While Blake Wesley‘s stats through two seasons with the Spurs are underwhelming (4.6 PPG, 2.7 APG, .398/.299/.639 shooting), the 21-year-old wing has shown real promise as a defender and earned praise from veteran forward Harrison Barnes on Monday for his play during recent scrimmages. “I thought he’s done an unbelievable job of just picking up guys defensively full court, getting active, getting steals,” Barnes said, per Orsborn. “He’s had a great two weeks.” San Antonio has until October 31 to decide whether to exercise Wesley’s $4.73MM team option for 2025/26.

Southwest Notes: Jackson, Hawkins, Paul, Rockets

July 21st, 2024 at 3:01pm CST by Alex Kirschenbaum

Grizzlies forward GG Jackson is already making strides as a rebounder in Summer League play, writes Damichael Cole of The Memphis Commercial Appeal. Jackson notched two straight double-doubles in scoring and rebounding during his first four Summer League contests. Cole notes that Memphis is frequently tasking the second-year forward with some of the team’s toughest defensive assignments.

On Thursday, Jackson helped the Grizzlies stay undefeated, showing off his improved play-making skills with a six-assist performance, adds Cole in another story. Memphis beat the Clippers in their Summer League semifinal matchup Sunday, and on Monday will square off against the winner of an ongoing Heat-Warriors playoff semifinal.

Jackson was selected with the No. 45 pick out of South Carolina in last year’s draft. The 6’9″ forward quickly emerged as one of the most impressive players in the 2023 class, earning an All-Rookie Team berth for his efforts. Across 48 games (18 starts), Jackson averaged 14.6 points on a .428/.357/.752 shooting line while also chipping in 4.1 rebounds, 1.2 assists, 0.6 steals and 0.5 blocks per night.

There’s more out of the Southwest Division:

Second-year Pelicans shooting guard Jordan Hawkins departed his last game of Summer League with an ankle injury, but X-rays on the ailment were negative, reports Christian Clark of NOLA.com (Twitter link). The No. 14 pick out of UConn, Hawkins averaged 7.8 points, 2.2 rebounds, and 1.0 assists during his 2023/24 rookie season.
In a new interview with Cyro Asseo de Choch of HoopsHype, third-year Spurs guard Blake Wesley reflected on the club’s decision to add 12-time All-Star veteran Chris Paul in free agency over the summer. “He’s a great dude,” Wesley said. “We just worked out with him not too long ago at Summer League. Yeah. So it’s good. He’s a great dude. He’s talking to me, coaching me, telling me to go handle the ball. So I’m enjoying it so far, and I can’t wait to learn and get the knowledge. Really take what he has. So I’m excited.” One of the great facilitators and shooters in the history of the game, Paul has shown an ability to help develop younger guards, so his addition could greatly abet Wesley.
The Rockets enjoyed an active Summer League run, writes Jonathan Feigen of The Houston Chronicle in a piece unpacking his takeaways from the event. No. 3 draft pick Reed Sheppard has already impressed as a scorer, averaging 20 points per game, though he has struggled with protecting the ball.