Wizards Notes: Brown, Workouts, GM Search
Ben Standig of NBC Sports Washington sat down with Wizards rookie Troy Brown Jr. to discuss his first year in the NBA, which began with an overwhelming welcome at the combine and finished with Brown becoming a calmer, wiser, 19-year-old man.
“I wouldn’t say I was lost (in regard to the 2018 NBA Combine), but I didn’t know what to expect,” Brown said. “I was just kind of going about things, trying to do everything the best I could. …I knew I was going to get drafted, but it was more about the work that I put in. Is it going to happen? I want to go this number (in the draft). There’s a lot of stuff running through your brain.”
Immediate expectations for Brown’s rookie season were not very high, as Washington came into the season with playoff aspirations and more. But after a disappointing 2018/19 campaign, Brown may be the most important player on the roster long term after All-Star shooting guard Bradley Beal.
“It’s definitely weird not knowing who is going to be back and knowing our whole roster (might) be different… (but) (a)t the same time, you know it’s a business… I’m kind of use to it now. I had 24 teammates in one year.”
There’s more out of D.C. tonight:
- The Wizards hosted six players for workouts today, per a release from NBA.com. The players are Duke big man Marques Bolden, Houston guard Armoni Brooks, South Carolina guard Tre Campbell, South Sudanese forward Matur Maker, Buffalo forward Nick Perkins, and former Kansas guard Lagerald Vick.
- The Wizards will host six more prospects tomorrow, per NBA.com – LSU big man Kavell Bigby-Williams, Nevada forward Jordan Caroline, UCF guard Aubrey Dawkins, Australian guard William McDowell-White, Virginia Tech guard Justin Robinson, and Clemson big man Elijah Thomas.
- Candace Buckner of The Washington Post speculates that the delay in the search for the Wizards’ new head of basketball operations could be a sign that the team is focused on hiring someone who currently works for the Warriors or Raptors, perhaps even Toronto’s current lead man Masai Ujiri. We discussed the possibility of the Wizards targeting Ujiri on Wednesday.
Southeast Notes: Wizards, Hawks, Hornets
There have been no recent updates on the Wizards‘ search for a new head of basketball operations, leading to speculation that Washington is waiting to make a run at current Nuggets president of basketball ops Tim Connelly.
While Connelly’s Nuggets are still alive in the playoffs, David Aldridge of The Athletic argues that if Connelly is the Wizards’ man, they should go after him now. As Aldridge points out, active postseason runs didn’t stop the Timberwolves from hiring Gersson Rosas, or the Suns from naming Monty Williams their new head coach.
It’s not entirely clear if the Wizards are still targeting Connelly, but Aldridge hears from several sources that Denver’s head of basketball ops would be “delighted” to run the Wizards. A previous report referred to the Wizards’ open position as Connelly’s “dream job.” Connelly is still under contract with the Nuggets, but if the Wizards make an offer that significantly exceeds his current salary – which Aldridge says is “just north” of $2MM per year – then he could go to Denver’s ownership in good faith and ask for the opportunity to run his hometown team.
So far, the Wizards have interviewed Danny Ferry, Tommy Sheppard, Troy Weaver, and Rosas for the front office vacancy, Aldridge confirms.
As we wait to see what the Wizards do to replace Ernie Grunfeld, here’s more from around the Southeast…
- The first priority for the Wizards‘ next head of basketball operations will be establishing a culture of accountability, according to Candace Buckner of The Washington Post, who provides a detailed account on how such a culture has been lacking in D.C. for years.
- It has been a busy week of pre-draft workouts for the Hawks, who have brought in prospects like Duke forward Javin DeLaurier, Kansas guard Quentin Grimes, and Gonzaga guard Zach Norvell Jr. on Wednesday and Thursday, and plan to bring in several more on Friday. According to the team, the full list of prospects to work out during that three-day stretch for Atlanta also includes Phil Booth, Reggie Perry, Justin Simon, Max Strus, Lagerald Vick, Ahmed Hill, Skylar Mays, Markis McDuffie, Dylan Osetkowski, Tyler Cook, CJ Elleby, Terance Mann, Matt Mooney, Tanor Ngom, and Myles Powell.
- The Hornets‘ pre-draft workout schedule has also been full this week. Donta Hall (Alabama), Nick Perkins (Buffalo), Kerwin Roach Jr. (Texas), Kenny Williams (UNC), Ahmed Hill, and Markis McDuffie auditioned for the team on Wednesday, while Shaqquan Aaron (USC), Kyle Alexander (Tennessee), Kavell Bigby-Williams (LSU), and Caleb Martin (Nevada) were among those who did so on Thursday.
- In his latest mailbag, Rick Bonnell of The Charlotte Observer discusses Jeremy Lamb‘s free agent value, potential backup plans for the Hornets if Kemba Walker leaves, and much more.