Wizards Sign Chris Chiozza To Training Camp Deal
Guard Chris Chiozza will join the Wizards for training camp, tweets Keith Smith of Real GM. Chiozza, who went undrafted out of Florida, played with Washington’s entry in the Las Vegas Summer League, averaging 4.8 points and 7.4 assists in five games.
He was a first-team All-SEC selection as a senior with the Gators. He averaged 11.1 points, 6.1 assists and 4.6 rebounds per game last season and broke the school record for career assists.
The addition of Chiozza gives the Wizards 18 players for camp, two under the league limit. Washington has 14 players with guaranteed contracts, with Chasson Randle expected to sign and both two-way slots filled.
Howard, Rivers Among Underrated Acquisitions
- A pair of Wizards top the list of the list of the most underrated offseason acquisitions compiled by Kevin O’Connor of The Ringer. Howard occupies the No. 1 spot, signing a two-year deal in Washington after being traded by the Hornets and bought out by the Nets. He provides a huge defensive upgrade from Marcin Gortat, O’Connor notes, and could develop into an effective pick-and-roll partner with John Wall. Austin Rivers, who was acquired from the Clippers in the Gortat deal, ranks second on the list and should provide backcourt depth the Wizards have needed behind Wall and Bradley Beal.
- Wizards rookie Troy Brown has signed a multi-year shoe deal with Nike, tweets Nick DePaula of ESPN.
Porter Jr. Needs To Be More Assertive
- Wizards forward Otto Porter Jr. could get lost in the offensive shuffle with the addition of Dwight Howard and a healthier John Wall, Chase Hughes of NBC Sports Washington speculates. The team has urged Porter the past two years to shoot more often, attack the basket with greater zeal and become a more vocal presence, Hughes continues. That becomes more complicated with Wall, Bradley Beal and Howard carrying more extensive resumes on the starting unit, Hughes adds.
Southeast Notes: Hornets, Winslow, Waiters, Howard
Hornets coach James Borrego is seeking to give his team a fresh identity this season, labeling pace and ball movement as two important factors that can help the team, Rick Bonnell of the Charlotte Observer relays. Borrego was hired by the Hornets in May after spending the last three years under Gregg Popovich with the Spurs, plus a stint with San Antonio from 2003 to 2010.
“When the ball is just being pounded and one guy has it in his hands for five or six seconds – when we’re just seeing him dance with the ball – the rest of the defense just gets to relax and load up,” Borrego said. “You’re not going to be perfect all the time, but let’s put pressure on the defense constantly. … We demanded it in San Antonio. My job is to sell that to the players to do what’s best for the team.”
The Spurs are known for picking apart defenses with crisp passing, spacing and off-ball movement, and that’s exactly what Borrego hopes to bring to the Hornets this season. Charlotte helped alleviate this issue by allowing Dwight Howard, a paint-oriented player, to depart for the Wizards this summer.
There’s more from the Southeast Division:
- Although Heat forward Justise Winslow is eligible for a contract extension, it remains unclear how the team plans to use the 22-year-old, as Ira Winderman of the Sun Sentinel notes in an “Ask Ira” mailbag. The Heat signed Winslow’s teammate and starting forward Josh Richardson to an extension last summer.
- Heat guard Dion Waiters continues to work his way back from an ankle injury that sidelined him for most of the 2017/18 season, but the Syracuse product has yet to be cleared by a doctor for full-contact play. “Once I’m cleared from the doc it’s on,” he posted on social media, according to the Sun Sentinel.
- Dwight Howard could be the missing piece the Wizards have been seeking for quite some time, Chase Hughes of NBC Sports Washington contests. Should he buy in, Howard’s ability to defend the rim, set effective screens and play in the pick-and-roll could pay dividends for Washington.
Satoransky Hopes To Make Impact In Czech Republic
- As the only Czech-born player currently in the NBA, Tomas Satoransky has become a household name in his home country, according to Chase Hughes of NBC Sports Washington, who writes that Satoransky wants to find ways to give back to those in the Czech Republic. A key part of the Wizards‘ backcourt, Satoransky is entering a contract year in 2018/19 and will be eligible for restricted free agency next summer.
Wall Has Much To Prove This Season
- This is a pivotal season for Wizards point guard John Wall, Chase Hughes of NBC Sports Washington points out. Following the upcoming season, Wall’s four-year, $170MM-plus extension kicks in and it’s time for him to show he can lead a major contender, Hughes continues. He must improve his field-goal efficiency and mesh well with incoming center Dwight Howard, Hughes adds.
Kyle Singler Among This Week’s Stretch Candidates
As we detailed on Friday, NBA teams have until August 31 to waive players and stretch their 2018/19 cap hits over multiple years. If a player is released after August 31, his current cap hit will remain unchanged, and only the subsequent years of his contract can be stretched.
With just a few more days for teams to stretch 2018/19 salaries, Thunder swingman Kyle Singler looks like the top candidate to be waived this week, as ESPN’s Bobby Marks notes (via Twitter).
Three factors are working against Singler and making him a prime release candidate. For one, he fell out of Oklahoma City’s rotation entirely in 2017/18, appearing in just 12 games and playing only 59 total minutes for the season. Secondly, he’s essentially on an expiring contract, since his $5.3MM+ salary for 2019/20 is non-guaranteed. And finally, the Thunder currently have the largest projected tax bill in the NBA, meaning waiving Singler could create substantial immediate savings for the franchise.
Currently, the Thunder have a total team salary of $149.58MM, with a projected tax bill of $93.19MM. If they were to waive Singler, who has a $4,996,000 salary, they could stretch his cap hit across five seasons due to his non-guaranteed second year, reducing this season’s cap charge to just $999,200. That would bring the Thunder’s team salary down to $145.58MM and their projected tax bill to about $73.79MM, creating $23MM+ in total savings.
Outside of Singler, there aren’t many obvious stretch candidates around the NBA. Other projected taxpayers could consider similar moves to save some money, but many of those clubs don’t have players on expiring contracts that they’d want to release. The Wizards, with Jason Smith and his expiring $5.45MM salary, may be one team to watch.
Another motive for a team to stretch a player’s 2018/19 salary would be to open up more cap room. However, there aren’t many clubs that can create meaningful cap space at this point in the offseason, and there’s little incentive to do so anyway, given the lack of players worth spending it on. The Kings (Iman Shumpert or others) and Suns (Darrell Arthur or Tyson Chandler) could open up a chunk of cap room by stretching well-paid veterans, but I’d be surprised if they cut into their projected space for 2019 and/or 2020 by doing so.
Lawson, Wallace Work Out For Pelicans
Point guard Ty Lawson and shooting guard Tyrone Wallace worked out for the Pelicans this week, Alex Kennedy of HoopsHype tweets.
New Orleans already has a fairly crowded roster with 12 players on guaranteed contracts and six others with partially- or non-guaranteed deals.
Lawson spent most of the 2017/18 season in China playing for the Shandong Golden Stars. In 46 Chinese League contests, he averaged 25.5 PPG, 6.5 APG, and 2.2 SPG, shooting 40.1% on 3-point attempts.
He then signed with the Wizards on the last day of the regular season, making him eligible for the postseason. He appeared in five playoff games this spring, averaging 5.8 PPG and 3.0 APG in 19.2 MPG.
New Orleans has Jrue Holiday, Elfrid Payton and Frank Jackson as point guard options, though Jackson has yet to appear in an NBA game due to injuries.
Wallace, 24, appeared in 30 games, including 19 starts, for the Clippers on a two-way contract last season. He averaged 9.7 PPG, 3.5 RPG and 2.4 APG in 28.4 MPG. He’s a restricted free agent, since the Clippers extended a qualifying offer to him in late June.
The Pelicans have numerous shooting guards on the roster, including E’Twaun Moore, Ian Clark, Kenrich Williams and two-way player Trevon Bluiett.
Van Gundy Laments Dwight Howard's Downfall
- Stan Van Gundy, who coached Dwight Howard during his rise to stardom with the Magic, says it has been difficult to witness what has happened to him in recent years. Howard, who signed with the Wizards after being traded by the Hornets and bought out by the Nets this summer, will start his third consecutive season with a new team. “It changed on Dwight quickly and it’s been not a lot of fun to watch from the outside because this guy was the best centers in the game for a long time,” Van Gundy said in a video posted by The Orlando Sentinel.
Atlantic Rumors: Fizdale, Leonard, Dukan, Kurucs
New Knicks coach David Fizdale has told Kristaps Porzingis to set lofty goals for himself and the franchise player appreciates getting pushed. In a WNBC TV interview that was relayed by Kurt Helin of NBC Sports, Fizdale said that he wants Porzingis, who is rehabbing from a torn ACL, to embrace the status that comes with being the team’s star. “He likes the challenge of me saying ‘I want him to be the MVP’ and ‘I want him to be the Defensive Player of the Year.’ That’s real competitors they want that and I’m going right at it with him. I want him to look at himself that way,” Fizdale said.
We have more from the Atlantic Division:
- The Celtics made the right decision by holding onto Jayson Tatum rather than dealing him to the Spurs to Kawhi Leonard, A. Sherrod Blakely of NBC Sports Boston opines. Boston would likely have needed to give up Tatum to land Leonard with no assurances that Leonard would stay beyond the upcoming season, Blakely continues. With Leonard’s questionable health and the Celtics already considered the Eastern Conference favorite, it didn’t make sense for Boston to roll the dice, Blakely adds.
- New York’s G League affiliate, the Westchester Knicks, has acquired former Kings forward Duje Dukan, Ian Begley of ESPN tweets. Dukan was chosen by the Wizards’ new G League team, the Capital City Go-Go, in the expansion draft on Wednesday. Dukan has also played for the G League affiliates of the Kings, Bulls and Pacers.
- Buyout issues caused Nets forward Rodions Kurucs to slide in the draft, according to a NetsDaily.com post. Kurucs’ Euro team, FC Barcelona, reportedly priced his buyout at $5MM until late last season and NBA teams can’t pay more than $700K toward an international player’s buyout. Buyout talks also prevented Kurucs from playing in the summer league. Kurucs, the 40th overall pick, signed a four-year, $7MM contract with Brooklyn.