Wizards Have Interest In Luc Mbah A Moute
According to Iko, Mbah a Moute is seeking more money and long-term security than he received from the Rockets in 2017/18, but the club is offering him another minimum-salary deal. Iko’s source suggests that the Spurs, Lakers, Clippers, Wizards, and Sixers have all expressed some level of interest in Mbah a Moute as well.
Nets Notes: Howard, Lin, Cap Room, Davis
Dwight Howard would have happily played for the Nets if the team hadn’t insisted on a buyout, according to Brian Lewis of The New York Post. Howard tried to force a trade to Brooklyn in 2012 before being shipped from the Magic to the Lakers, and he still likes the idea of living and playing in New York City, sources tell Lewis. However, Brooklyn’s front office had no interest in a long-term arrangement and was focused solely on creating cap space for next summer when it acquired Howard from the Hornets in exchange for Timofey Mozgov and two second-round picks.
“If you look at the way we’re trying to build a team and you look at going forward years out from now, this is something that helps us going forward for next year,” GM Sean Marks said. “Dwight’s a terrific player. He’s been a terrific player in this league for a long time. I think this is something that we mutually agreed on, to give him an opportunity elsewhere.”
There’s more tonight out of Brooklyn:
- The Nets have a large group of point guards on their roster, but Marks says there’s no urgency to do anything to resolve it now, including a trade of Jeremy Lin, Lewis writes in the same story. Injuries limited Lin to one game last season and 37 in his two years with the organization. “There’s absolutely no need for us to rush and go out there to do any particular deals to solve the so-called glut,” Marks said. “You look at the team now, that’s what we’ve got and that’s what we’re planning on. We’re planning on going into the season with that team.”
- Howard, who has already agreed to a two-year, $11MM deal in Washington once he clears waivers, gave back $5MM in his buyout with the Nets, tweets Tim Bontemps of The Washington Post. That leaves Brooklyn with about $11.6MM in remaining cap room, according to Lewis (Twitter link).
- Marks was ecstatic to add former Trail Blazers big man Ed Davis in free agency at the bargain price of $4.4MM, relays Tom Dowd of NBA.com. Brooklyn suffered from a lack of size on its roster last season and didn’t have an effective backup to starting center Jarrett Allen. “We need an enforcer type,” Marks said. “We need toughness, and Ed brings a lot of that to our group. He’s been around winning organizations, so for him to come in and bring some of that expertise and experience will be great for our group and our younger guys.”
Dwight Howard Finalizes Buyout, Headed To Wizards
The Nets have finalized their buyout of Dwight Howard‘s contract, paving the way for the veteran center to join the Wizards, Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN tweets. Howard will sign a two-year, $11MM contract that will include a player option for the second year, Wojnarowski adds.
Howard had one year and $23,819,725 remaining on his contract when he was dealt by the Hornets to the Nets, who had no intention of keeping him. The trade was agreed to last month but wasn’t officially announced until Friday.
By adding Howard, the Wizards now have 14 players with guaranteed contracts. Their projected luxury tax bill has increased from $11.5MM to $18.3MM, ESPN’s Bobby Marks tweets.
Howard will be worth any tax penalties if Washington can advance deeper in the postseason. The Wizards were bounced by the top-seeded Raptors in the first round of the Eastern Conference playoffs this past season.
The Wizards will make Howard their starting center after dealing Marcin Gortat to the Clippers for guard Austin Rivers. Howard averaged 16.6 PPG and 12.5 RPG in his lone season with the Hornets.
The buyout gives the Nets a projected $9-$11MM in cap space, Marks adds.
Wizards Sign First-Rounder Troy Brown
JULY 5: The Wizards have officially signed Brown to his rookie deal, per the NBA’s transactions log. He’ll have a first-year salary of about $2.75MM.
JUNE 25: The Wizards have agreed to terms on a rookie contract for first-round pick Troy Brown, according to Candace Buckner of The Washington Post (Twitter link). The deal can be made official once the new NBA league year begins on July 1.
Brown, a 6’7″ wing, is coming off a freshman year at Oregon in which he averaged 11.3 PPG, 6.2 RPG, and 3.2 APG. The youngster has strong upside as a versatile defender who is capable of guarding any position from one through four. He was drafted 15th overall by the Wizards last Thursday.
Brown will be subject to the NBA’s rookie scale, making negotiations with the Wizards a simple process. He’ll be in line for two guaranteed seasons, followed by third- and fourth-year team options.
Under the NBA’s new Collective Bargaining Agreement, the rookie scale is tied to the salary cap, so we won’t know the exact salary amounts for this year’s rookies until the cap is set for 2018/19. However, based on a $101MM cap projection, Brown should be in line for a first-year salary worth approximately $2.73MM.
Wizards Notes: Rivers, Howard, Green, Bryant
It was already common knowledge that the NBA’s Western Conference has long been stronger than the Eastern Conference. Critics continue to call for a conference realignment even when the odds of it happening are slim to none.
But now that the game’s best player has moved from the East to the West, the gap has widened even more, leaving many Eastern Conference players, including newly acquired Wizards’ guard Austin Rivers, more confident in their team’s chances to make a run at the NBA Finals, reports Chase Hughes of NBC Sports Washington.
“This training camp, this season is just gonna be a different type of mindset,” Rivers said. “[Before] you would play and you know you’re going to run into Golden State. Here, in the East, it’s really like everybody can get there. You can go to the Finals or the conference finals if you’re a playoff-caliber team, which this team is.
I think that puts a different confidence, focus and energy on a team. I think that will probably be a focal point in training camp, I’m sure the coaches and everyone will say this is something we need to take advantage of.”
Per Hughes, Rivers did acknowledge that the Celtics are probably the favorites now, having been Eastern Conference runners-up the last two seasons despite missing two of their best players during the 2017/18 playoffs. But, Rivers is excited to see what he and his new teammates are capable of after falling short in the playoffs in four of the last five seasons.
There’s more out of the D.C. area tonight:
- Jeremy Woo of Sports Illustrated takes a look at the Wizards’ reported free agent signings of veterans Jeff Green and Dwight Howard. Woo gives both signings a “B” grade, calling both moves thrifty and low-risk due in large part to the one-year length of both deals.
- In another piece for NBC Sports Washington, Hughes gives his own analysis of the Howard signing, agreeing that the move is low-risk, high-reward. Hughes writes that Howard gives Washington an upgrade from last season at center and that he should be at his best surrounded by three-point shooters like Otto Porter and Bradley Beal.
- In another, albeit more under-the-radar move we relayed earlier this week, the Wizards claimed promising young big man Thomas Bryant off waivers from the Lakers after he was cut to increase L.A.’s cap room.
Doc Rivers Predicts Son Will Do Well In Washington
- During an impromptu interview with TMZ, Doc Rivers explained the decision to trade his son, Austin Rivers, to the Wizards. The Clippers coach called it “the right thing for all of us” and predicts that Austin will excel in Washington.
Dwight Howard Finalizes Buyout Agreement, Will Sign With Wizards
4:34pm: Howard has finalized his buyout with the Nets and will sign a one-year deal with the Wizards for the MLE after he clears waivers, tweets Jared Weiss of The Athletic.
4:11pm: The Wizards plan to offer a contract to Dwight Howard once his expected buyout with the Nets is complete, according to Candace Buckner of The Washington Post.
Howard is technically still a member of the Hornets, but that will change once the moratorium is lifted on Friday. He will be sent to Brooklyn under a deal agreed to two weeks ago, then will hit the open market if buyout negotiations go as planned.
Washington still has its $5.3MM mini mid-level exception to offer, along with a starting job. The Wizards need help in the middle after trading Marcin Gortat to the Clippers for Austin Rivers .
Wizards Sign Jeff Green
JULY 10: The signing is now official, the club confirmed today in a press release.
JULY 3: The Wizards have agreed to a deal with free agent forward Jeff Green, reports TNT’s David Aldridge (Twitter link). A source tells Aldridge that Green is signing a one-year, minimum salary contract with Washington.
Green, 31, spent the 2017/18 season in Cleveland, averaging 10.8 PPG and 3.2 RPG in 78 games for the Cavaliers.
The Cavs reportedly had interest in retaining Green, but he’ll head to D.C., where the Wizards figure to slot him into a similar role to the one Mike Scott had last year off the bench. Scott agreed to a free agent deal with the Clippers on Monday.
Because he has at least 10 years of NBA experience, Green will qualify for the highest possible minimum salary, at $2,393,887. However, the former fifth overall pick will only against Washington’s cap for $1,512,601.
Even after agreeing to sign Green and claiming Thomas Bryant off waivers, the Wizards likely aren’t done addressing their frontcourt. Having sent Marcin Gortat to the Clippers last week, Washington only has Ian Mahinmi, Jason Smith, and Bryant at center.
The Wizards likely won’t have their full mid-level exception available, since they project to be over the tax line, but the team still has the taxpayer’s MLE ($5.337MM) if needed.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
Wizards Express Interest In Crawford, Mbah A Moute, Others
The Wizards lost one key member of their bench when Mike Scott reached an agreement with the Clippers on Monday, but the team has remained active in search of potential free agent additions.
According to Candace Buckner of The Washington Post (Twitter links), the Wizards have expressed interest in a number of veteran free agents, including Jamal Crawford, Luc Mbah a Moute, Dante Cunningham, and Willie Reed. Ty Lawson, who finished last season in D.C., also remains a possibility to return, Buckner adds.
The Wizards’ backcourt is getting pretty crowded, with Tomas Satoransky and newly-acquired Austin Rivers slotting in behind John Wall and Bradley Beal. Jodie Meeks and rookie Troy Brown could also see some time at the two, so it’s not clear whether Crawford, who will want a featured role off the bench, would be a good fit in Washington.
However, Mbah a Moute, Cunningham, and Reed make more sense as potential targets for the Wizards. Mbah a Moute and Cunningham are versatile forwards capable of knocking down three-pointers, while Reed is a big man who could add depth to a Wizards frontcourt that no longer features Marcin Gortat.
The Wizards have also been linked to Dwight Howard, Jeff Green, Treveon Graham, and Thomas Robinson, among other free agents.
Wizards Express Interest In Jeff Green, Thomas Robinson
- After losing Mike Scott to the Clippers, the Wizards are on the lookout for frontcourt help and have been in touch with free agent forward Jeff Green, reports TNT’s David Aldridge (Twitter link).
- Former fifth overall pick Thomas Robinson didn’t play in the NBA last season, but he’s receiving some interest from teams this offseason, per Alex Kennedy of HoopsHype. Kennedy tweets that the Bucks, Clippers, Wizards, and Suns have all expressed some level of interest in the veteran power forward.