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Southeast Notes: Whitmore, Hornets, NBA Cup Money, Bane

December 8th, 2025 at 10:01am CST by Arthur Hill

Poor practice habits are the reason Wizards coach Brian Keefe decided to bench Cam Whitmore, sources tell Grant Afseth of RG. Keefe stated over the weekend that Whitmore wasn’t living up to “certain standards,” but added that any further details would be kept internal. Afseth hears that the decision is in line with Keefe’s focus on accountability, consistency and building strong daily habits.

Washington was hoping Whitmore would blossom in his third NBA season after acquiring him from Houston, where he struggled to earn playing time on a talented roster. However, his numbers have been in line with his first two years as he’s averaging 9.2 points and 2.8 rebounds in 16.9 minutes per night while shooting 45.6% from the field and a career-worst 28.6% from three-point range.

Afseth notes that Will Riley has been the biggest beneficiary of Whitmore’s reduced minutes and is earning a consistent spot in the rotation. The rookie forward has been delivering the energy that Keefe demands while averaging 11.7 points, 3.0 rebounds and 1.0 assist in his last three games.

Afseth adds that the door isn’t closed on Whitmore’s future in Washington, but he’ll have to meet the benchmarks that Keefe has established. The organization is evaluating all its young players based on their daily habits and long-term development, and Whitmore has to improve in those areas to reclaim regular minutes.

There’s more from the Southeast Division:

  • A five-day break comes at a good time for the Hornets, who were down to 11 healthy players in Sunday’s loss to Denver, writes Roderick Boone of The Charlotte Observer (subscription required). LaMelo Ball, Collin Sexton, Tre Mann and Moussa Diabate were all sidelined by injuries, along with Grant Williams and Josh Green, who haven’t played yet this season. “It’s going to be great for us,” Miles Bridges said of the time off. “Some guys are hurt right now. They should be back by that time hopefully. But if not, we’re going to have a next-up-mentality, next man.”
  • Money is a huge motivator for the Heat and Magic as they prepare to square off Tuesday in the NBA Cup quarterfinals, per Anthony Chiang of The Miami Herald (subscription required). Players with standard contracts on the eight teams that have advanced to the knockout round have already earned an additional $53,093, and the rewards rise to $106,187 for reaching the semifinals, $212,373 for the finals and $530,933 for winning the tournament. “I think that’s kind of why they did it, for us to just buy into it a little bit more,” Miami guard Dru Smith said. “But also I think anytime you have a chance early in the season to really go and compete for something, even though it’s just a one-game series, basically, win or go home. Just to really have a chance to get a playoff feel this early, with the team, we were looking forward to that, coming into the season. I think it’s just something that will be really beneficial.”
  • Knicks players were upset after Magic guard Desmond Bane fired the ball at OG Anunoby, who had fallen out of bounds, in the fourth quarter of Sunday’s game (YouTube link), relays Jared Schwartz of The New York Post. Bane received a technical foul and was subsequently booed by New York fans every time he touched the ball. Anunoby shoved Bane after the incident, but he decided not to escalate the situation. “I was confused at first, then it was funny,” he said. “I like Desmond. … He’s a good dude.”
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Wizards’ Kispert To Miss Time With Thumb Fracture

November 27th, 2025 at 10:24am CST by Luke Adams

Wizards sharpshooter Corey Kispert has been diagnosed with a fracture to the tip of his right thumb, the team announced today (via Twitter). Kispert will be treated “conservatively” and his recovery timeline will be updated as appropriate, the Wizards added.

Kispert won’t require surgery to repair the fracture, according to Josh Robbins of The Athletic (Twitter link), who notes that this type of injury typically requires about three weeks of recovery time.

Kispert sustained the injury in the third quarter of the Wizards’ 132-113 win over Atlanta on Tuesday. It appeared to occur when Hawks defender Nickeil Alexander-Walker attempted to knock the ball away from Kispert as he was making a pass to Khris Middleton. Kispert immediately reacted by shaking out his right hand (video link via NBA.com) and checked out of the game shortly after that.

After coming off the bench in all 61 of his outings last season, Kispert has started two of 17 games for the Wizards this season, but he’s is averaging a career-low 19.9 minutes per contest. The 26-year-old continues to shoot the ball well in his limited role, averaging 8.9 points per game with a 50.5% field goal percentage and a 40.3% mark on three-point tries.

With both Kispert and rookie guard Tre Johnson (left hip flexor strain) sidelined, third-year swingman Cam Whitmore and rookie Will Riley are among the top candidates for increased roles on the wing, tweets Robbins.

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Wizards Notes: Sarr, Vukcevic, McCollum, Watkins

October 11th, 2025 at 2:02pm CST by Luke Adams

Five talent evaluators from around the NBA spoke to Josh Robbins of The Athletic about what to expect from Wizards big man Alex Sarr and none of those sources expect the former No. 2 overall pick to develop into the best or second-best player on a contender, according to Robbins.

One scout questioned whether Sarr will become a reliable enough outside shooter to qualify as a stretch big man, while another suggested the seven-footer will have to bulk up and become more imposing physically in order to maximize his potential as a rim protector. “He weighs less than some of the bigger wings and forwards that are starting in the NBA,” that scout said.

Still, multiple sources who talked to Robbins are optimistic about Sarr’s ability to build on what he showed during his rookie season and to continue making strides toward becoming a reliable starting center.

“I would be surprised if he doesn’t take a big leap this year, and that big leap will be being effective on the floor and trying to impact the team outcome as opposed to impacting his individual outcome,” one evaluator told Robbins. “There’s still a lot (of untapped potential) as to what he could be. It was probably a slower start than maybe the general fan would hope for. But I think by the end of (last) season, he had been put in a position to succeed, and we’re going to see more of that built on this season. We’re going to see it start to pay dividends this season.”

Here’s more on Sarr and the Wizards:

  • Sarr, who sustained a left calf injury during the EuroBasket tournament, told reporters on Saturday that he expects to be available to play in Washington’ preseason opener on Sunday after spending the past week ramping up, tweets Robbins. The Wizards will be taking on the Raptors, who have Alex’s brother Olivier Sarr on their roster on an Exhibit 10 deal. It will be the first time the brothers play one another in an organized game, according to the Wizards center (Twitter video link via Chase Hughes of Monumental Sports Network).
  • Representing Serbia at EuroBasket, Wizards big man Tristan Vukcevic got the chance to team up with three-time NBA MVP Nikola Jokic. As Hughes writes for Monumental Sports Network, Vukcevic said he was inspired by how hard the Nuggets star practices and paid close attention to specific aspects of Jokic’s game that he hopes to emulate. “Just seeing him in the short roll and how he reads – is he going to finish or pass to the corner – with those reads it helped me a lot being with him,” Vukcevic said. “Hopefully I can translate.”
  • In a conversation with Hughes, Wizards guard CJ McCollum shared his early impressions on Wizards rookies Tre Johnson, Will Riley, and Jamir Watkins. While he shared positive feedback on all three players, McCollum notably spoke at length about Watkins, describing the second-round pick as a potential “lock-down” defender capable of guarding positions one through five. “He asks questions about defense. He was in the cold tub yesterday asking me about Herb Jones and what makes him such a good defender,” McCollum said. “He was asking me how he got to that point. I was telling him that he cares. He watches film, he makes the extra effort, and the body type matches. He’s got a good body – 6-foot-5, 6-foot-6 with long arms, quick enough to guard ones, strong enough to guard threes and fours. He can probably switch onto some fives and then it’s 3-and-D. The league loves that.”
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Wizards Notes: McCollum, Carrington, Whitmore, Kispert

October 1st, 2025 at 5:02pm CST by Arthur Hill

CJ McCollum found a unique way to express the age difference between himself and his new Wizards teammates, writes Bijan Todd of Monumental Sports Network. The 34-year-old guard, who runs a successful winery, noted that many of them aren’t old enough to legally partake of his product.

The list includes second-year players Bub Carrington and AJ Johnson, who are both 20, along with this year’s first-round picks, Tre Johnson and Will Riley, who are 19. McCollum was acquired from New Orleans this summer to serve as a mentor to the young talent, and he said the process started early.

“The guys are asking questions. Obviously they’re able to see how I work and how I got to where I’m at within this league in terms of the respect I have, but also I how I play,” McCollum told reporters at media day. “I think they’ll learn a lot from me just by osmosis, by being around, but also me being able to help out and explain why I do things the way I do, why I prepare the way I do, why I get in at the times that I do.”

McCollum identified Carrington as being especially inquisitive and complimented him for “asking the right questions.” Carrington is expected to be the team’s starting point guard this season, and McCollum has many years of experience in that role.

“It’s super exciting. It’s crazy that I’m even on the same team as him because CJ McCollum was someone that my whole life I’ve been compared to, and my whole life I’ve actually looked up to,” Carrington said. “And I’ve actually kind of had a cheat sheet on CJ McCollum because he went to Lehigh and my brother went to Lehigh as well, so I already knew of him and watched him even when he was in college. … He’s here until 3 p.m., I’m here until 3 p.m. talking to him. I think he loves it though. I’m starting to realize he likes to talk too. It’s kind of helping both of us, I guess.”

There’s more from Washington:

  • General manager Will Dawkins was fond enough of Cam Whitmore heading into the 2023 draft that he asked the D.C. native if he would be comfortable playing for his hometown team, per Chase Hughes of Monumental Sports Network. Whitmore will finally get that chance after being acquired from Rockets following two years of inconsistent playing time. “He obviously didn’t get as much of an opportunity in Houston for whatever reason, but he understands that he’s going to have opportunity here but it’s gotta be earned,” Dawkins said. “I don’t know when that’s going to come, but he’s excited. He’s a powerful, explosive, dynamic athlete who can compete on both ends. We’ve gotta get him to be consistent.”
  • Corey Kispert underwent thumb surgery in March, but he said at media day that it didn’t affect his offseason workouts, tweets Josh Robbins of The Athletic.
  • Varun Shankar of The Washington Post (subscription required) previews the training camp battles for playing time, especially on the wing, where there will be an opportunity while Bilal Coulibaly recovers from thumb ligament surgery.
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Wizards’ Will Riley Signs Rookie Scale Contract

July 6th, 2025 at 5:23pm CST by Eli Cohen

Will Riley has signed his rookie scale contract with the Wizards, according to NBA.com’s transaction log.

Riley was selected 21st in the 2025 draft by the Jazz as part of a deal that sent him to the Wizards along with the second-round pick that became Jamir Watkins and two future second-rounders.

A 6’8″ forward, Riley averaged 12.6 points, 4.1 rebounds, and 2.2 assists while posting .432/.326/.724 shooting splits to claim the honor of Big Ten Sixth Man of the Year for Illinois.

After impressing out of the gate, Riley slowed down in the middle of the season before putting together a strong close to the year. He averaged 16.3 points, 4.9 rebounds, and 3.3 assists in his final 13 games, including conference tournaments, before posting 22 points and four rebounds in Illinois’ March Madness opening win against Xavier, though he struggled in the Round of 32 loss to Kentucky.

Tre Johnson, the team’s No. 6 overall pick, also signed his rookie scale contract earlier this weekend, so this deal locks up both of the Wizards’ first-round picks ahead of Summer League.

As our breakdown of this year’s rookie scale shows, Riley is expected to earn $3.5MM in the first year of his deal and $17.2MM total over the course of his rookie deal.

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Wizards Notes: Whitmore, Gill, Centers, Outlaw

July 5th, 2025 at 7:16pm CST by Arthur Hill

The Wizards‘ acquisition of Cam Whitmore from the Rockets will be folded into a four-player trade with the Pelicans that was reported last month, a source tells Varun Shankar of The Washington Post (subscriber link). That deal sends Jordan Poole, Saddiq Bey and the 40th pick in this year’s draft (Micah Peavy) to New Orleans in exchange for CJ McCollum, Kelly Olynyk and a future second-round selection.

Combining the two trades into one will allow the Wizards to acquire Whitmore without using a separate trade exception or a portion of their mid-level or bi-annual exception.

Houston is trading Whitmore to a rebuilding team to give him a shot at increased playing time, but Shankar points out that it might be just as difficult for Whitmore to get on the court in Washington as it was during his two seasons with the Rockets. He views Bilal Coulibaly, Alex Sarr, Bub Carrington, Kyshawn George and lottery pick Tre Johnson as locks to be in the rotation.

Whitmore will have to compete with young prospects Will Riley, AJ Johnson, Justin Champagnie and Dillon Jones, along with McCollum and fellow veterans Khris Middleton, Marcus Smart, Corey Kispert and Richaun Holmes.

Shankar also points out that Whitmore and Coulibaly were part of the same draft class in 2023, which means they’ll both be eligible for rookie scale extensions next summer.

There’s more from Washington:

  • The Wizards waived Anthony Gill last weekend to avoid paying his $2.5MM salary for the upcoming season, but he’s likely to be brought back as the team’s 15th man, Josh Robbins of The Athletic states in a mailbag column. A new deal will be a win for both sides, Robbins explains, as the 32-year-old forward will earn about $121K more on a veteran’s minimum contract and the league’s reimbursement policy will cause Gill to have a smaller salary cap hit. Washington has a minor roster crunch as a result of its moves so far, so the team would have to make additional trades or cuts to make room on the regular season roster for Gill.
  • The Wizards aren’t likely to pursue another center to join Sarr, Olynyk and Holmes, Robbins states in the same piece. Even though Washington ranked near the bottom of the league in defensive rebounding percentage, Robbins notes that there’s not a strong incentive to win this season because the team’s first-round draft pick will convey to New York if it falls out of the top eight. Robbins adds that the Wizards didn’t try to sign any big men when free agency began, and he doesn’t expect that stance to change unless Olynyk or Holmes gets traded.
  • Assistant J.J. Outlaw will serve as the Wizards’ Summer League coach, team sources tell Robbins (Twitter link). Outlaw joined Brian Keefe’s coaching staff last July after five seasons in Cleveland.
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Southeast Notes: Mann, Johnson, Riley, Newell, Martins, DeVos

June 26th, 2025 at 8:37pm CST by Dana Gauruder

The Hornets fully expect to retain restricted free agent Tre Mann, executive VP of basketball operations Jeff Peterson said during a press conference, per Roderick Boone of the Charlotte Observer (Twitter link).

“He’s a priority … I don’t see any reason why he’s not back,” Peterson said.

The Hornets, who hold Mann’s Bird rights, must make a $6.96MM qualifying offer in the coming days in order to make him a restricted free agent. If Charlotte passes on that QO, the point guard would reach unrestricted free agency and could sign with any team without the Hornets getting the opportunity to match. Peterson’s comments strongly suggest the Hornets will extend the QO.

Earlier in the week, it was reported that Mann had fully recovered from his back disc herniation. He has participated in all of Charlotte’s offseason activity and 5-on-5 scrimmages after playing in just 13 games last season.

We have more from the Southeast Division:

  • The Wizards selected Texas guard Tre Johnson (No. 6) and Illinois wing Will Riley (No. 21) in the first round. General manager Will Dawkins expects Johnson to have an immediate offensive impact, according to Candace Buckner of the Washington Post. “Pound for pound, if he’s not the best shooter, [Johnson] is one of the best shooters in the draft,” Dawkins said. “But that’s not his only skill. He’s someone that can make plays … for others and averaged 19 points a game in the SEC, led the whole conference in scoring as a freshman, like in conference play. That’s hard to do.” According to Varun Shankar of the Post, the team’s brass was impressed by Riley’s competitiveness during 3-on-3 workouts when he visited the Wizards. The front office also believes Riley has more skills than he was allowed to show with the Illini. “We think there’s more there to unlock,” Dawkins said. “That’s why we had him as high as we did, and we’re happy to have him.”
  • The Hawks traded down from the No. 13 pick on Wednesday to No. 23 and received an unprotected first-rounder next year from the Pelicans. They still got a quality talent in Georgia’s Asa Newell, according to Rod Beard of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. “You don’t ever know if somebody’s going to be available when you move down that far,” Hawks general manager Onsi Saleh said. “We felt good about a bucket of players if we did get there, and it just was the right thing to do for us. It just made sense for us and where we’re at, and I think it just helped our future a little bit. So, yeah, it’s a good trade.” 
  • Alex Martins is stepping down as CEO of the Magic after 14 years and taking on a new role as the vice chair of the organization, Jason Beede of the Orlando Sentinel reports. Martins will still serve as a senior advisor to the Magic board of directors to advance long-term strategic initiatives and as a resource to team executives. The Magic don’t have plans to hire a new CEO. The succession plan also includes the third generation of the DeVos family ownership. Magic vice president of shareholder engagement Ryan DeVos will take the role of managing director while Cole DeVos will relocate to Orlando at the beginning of the 2025/26 season to work more closely with the franchise in a full-time management development program. It shows that the DeVos family has no plans to sell the franchise, Beede notes.
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Wizards Pick Will Riley At No. 21

June 25th, 2025 at 9:37pm CST by Arthur Hill

After trading down from No. 18 to No. 21, the Wizards have made Illinois guard/forward Will Riley their second pick of the night. Washington drafted Tre Johnson at No. 6.

The Big Ten’s Sixth Man of the Year as a freshman in 2024/25, Riley scored 12.6 points per game on .432/.326/.724 shooting while also contributing 4.1 rebounds and 2.2 assists in 25.7 minutes per contest.

Riley, a native of Kitchener, Ontario in Canada, has a relatively thin frame and “lacks a degree of burst and physicality,” writes Jonathan Givony of ESPN. However, he has good height (6’8″) for a wing and has shown legitimate potential as a scorer and play-maker.

Riley was selected one spot after his former Fighting Illini teammate Kasparas Jakucionis, who went to Miami at No. 20.

Washington was able to get assets in the deal with Utah and still land a player who is high on their draft board. Jake Fischer of The Stein Line hears there was “plenty of buzz” about the Wizards taking Riley at No. 18 if they had stayed there (Twitter link).

Washington is parting with small forward Saddiq Bey in a trade with New Orleans, and Khris Middleton isn’t guaranteed to stay on the roster after exercising his player option, which gives him a $33.3MM expiring contract. There could be a chance for Riley to earn regular minutes right away.

With two first-round picks tonight, plus three last year and a mid-season trade for AJ Johnson, Washington has put together a roster that’s very heavy on first- and second-year players. Although they were disappointed to fall to sixth in the lottery after an 18-64 season, the Wizards still wound up with a decent draft haul.

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Wizards Trade No. 18 Pick Walter Clayton Jr. To Jazz

June 25th, 2025 at 9:17pm CST by Luke Adams

11:46 pm: The trade is official, according to a press release from the Jazz.

9:17 pm: After drafting Ace Bailey fifth overall earlier in the evening, the Jazz have traded up to No. 18 and used their second first-round pick of the night on Florida’s Walter Clayton Jr., reports Michael Scotto of HoopsHype (Twitter link).

Washington is acquiring the Nos. 21 and 43 picks in the 2025 draft and a pair of future second-rounders in the deal, tweets Jake Fischer of The Stein Line. Those future second-rounders are picks in 2031 and 2032, per Shams Charania of ESPN (Twitter link).

The Wizards used the 21st pick to select Illinois wing Will Riley.

Clayton, a 6’3″ guard, is coming off a memorable senior season. He was a consensus first-team All-American, earned a spot on the All-SEC first team, and led the Gators to a No. 1 seed in the NCAA tournament and then a national title.

Clayton had a handful of big games in the NCAA tournament, racking up 30 points against Texas Tech in the Elite Eight and 34 against Auburn in the Final Four. He was named the Most Outstanding Player of the Final Four after registering 11 points, seven assists, and five rebounds in the championship game against Houston.

A Florida native, Clayton averaged 18.3 points, 4.2 assists, 3.7 rebounds, and 1.2 steals per game on the season, with a strong .448/.386/.875 shooting line.

This will be the third consecutive year in which the Jazz have used a first-round pick on a guard. Clayton will join a backcourt that features 2023’s 16th overall pick Keyonte George and 2024’s 29th overall pick Isaiah Collier, along with veterans Collin Sexton and Jordan Clarkson, though there’s no guarantee all of those players will still be on the roster by the time the season begins this October.

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Heat Draft Notes: Workouts, Positional Fits

June 20th, 2025 at 5:01pm CST by Eli Cohen

With the Heat still very much in the mix as a Kevin Durant trade partner with the Suns, there’s no guarantee they’ll be selecting at their allotted spot of the 20th pick in the 2025 draft. However, that hasn’t deterred them from approaching their first-round draft preparation as usual, writes Ira Winderman of the South Florida Sun Sentinel.

Winderman adds that there’s a lot of potential volatility in the Heat’s draft range. The 16th pick has already moved from Orlando to Memphis, while Minnesota, at 17, is also firmly in the Durant mix, and the 18th and 19th picks, belonging to Washington and Brooklyn, respectively, will likely be involved in trade discussions too, since both teams have multiple first-rounders and are rumored to be exploring trade-up scenarios.

The Heat have declined to make their pre-draft workouts public, unlike many teams, which has led to speculation that they’re focusing more on Durant. But Winderman writes that just because the sessions aren’t being announced doesn’t mean there isn’t due diligence happening behind the scenes.

We have more on the Heat’s draft outlook:

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