Community Shootaround: NBA’s Winless Teams
On Wednesday, we examined the NBA’s five remaining undefeated teams, asking which clubs will be legit contenders this season and which ones will fall off after a hot start. Since then, four of those teams have lost a game, leaving the 5-0 Cavaliers as the league’s final undefeated club. However, there are still four teams that have yet to record a win.
The 0-5 Pelicans have gone winless despite the Herculean efforts of Anthony Davis, who has averaged 31.6 PPG, 11.8 RPG, and 3.0 BPG, posting games of 45 and 50 points. The 0-4 Mavericks have lost one game in overtime and another by a single point. The 0-4 Sixers have now lost 41 consecutive games in the months of October or November since 2013. And the 0-3 Wizards haven’t seen the floor much yet, but will have a few chances to pick up their first win soon, with three games in the next four nights.
While there was some excitement surrounding the 76ers coming into this season, buoyed by Joel Embiid‘s impressive showing so far, Philadelphia was never viewed as a serious contender this season, particularly after Ben Simmons went down with a broken foot. However, New Orleans, Dallas, and Washington all had playoff aspirations. Have we misjudged those teams, are will it just take them a few games to get going this season?
What do you think? Which of the NBA’s four remaining winless teams will turn things around, and which ones are well on their way to landing in the lottery? Do you expect to see any of these four clubs in the postseason next spring? Weigh in below in our comments section with your thoughts and opinions!
Burke May Have Already Lost Rotation Spot
- Wizards rookie point guard Tomas Satoransky may have already moved ahead of Trey Burke in the rotation behind starter John Wall, according to Candace Buckner of the Washington Post. Satoransky played 10 second-half minutes against the Raptors on Wednesday in place of Burke, who was acquired in a trade with the Jazz this offseason, Buckner adds. “It’s definitely something that’s going to be considered,” new coach Scott Brooks told Buckner. “Tomas brings a lot of energy and brings some toughness and has good size and athleticism. He’s played that position his entire life.”
Tomas Satoransky's Role To Expand Eventually?
Earlier today, we passed along a report detailing the Wizards‘ interest in locking up Otto Porter to a long-term deal, despite the fact that the two sides didn’t work anything out before this week’s rookie scale extension deadline. We have several more items out of the Southeast to round up, including a couple other Wizards-related notes, so let’s dive in…
- After signing one of the more lucrative deals this offseason for a draft-and-stash prospect, Wizards guard Tomas Satoransky hasn’t seen much action out of the gate for his new team. As J. Michael of CSNMidAtlantic.com details though, head coach Scott Brooks‘ tone suggests it’s a matter of when – not if – Satoransky gets a longer look.
- After being selected in the first round of the 2012 draft by the Magic, Andrew Nicholson never developed into a core piece in Orlando, but he’s gotten a fresh start with the Wizards and is enjoying the fit in D.C., writes Mike Ganter of The Toronto Sun.
Wizards Hope To Lock Up Otto Porter In 2017
Otto Porter, the third overall pick in the 2013 draft, wasn’t one of the eight members of his draft class to sign a rookie scale extension this year, but that doesn’t mean that his days in Washington are numbered. Wizards general manager Ernie Grunfeld tells J. Michael of CSNMidAtlantic.com that the club still wants to re-sign Porter when he becomes eligible for restricted free agency next summer.
“We had conversations, but we want Otto here long-term,” Grunfeld said. “We like Otto. We really like what he brings to the table. He’s a really good player that meshes well with John [Wall] and Brad[ley Beal], who like to have the ball in their hands. Otto cuts and spots up and he does a lot of little things. He makes a lot of winning plays that don’t show up in the box score. Our intention is in the offseason is to have Otto signed and have him here long-term.
“We like everything about him. Great character, very hard worker, very low key, does everything behind the scenes,” Grunfeld added. “I talked to Otto and let him know that he’s very important to us and we expect him to continue to work hard, continue to improve and continue to contribute to what we’re trying to do.”
Porter, 23, has gradually assumed a larger role in the Wizards’ rotation since averaging just 8.6 minutes per contest in his rookie season back in 2013/14. The sample size for this season is small so far, but in his first three games, Porter is averaging a career-high 15.3 PPG and 7.7 RPG, while making an impressive 62.9% of his shots from the field.
Although the Georgetown product didn’t sign an extension with the Wizards by October 31’s deadline, the team will still hold the right of first refusal on Porter next July, provided he receives a qualifying offer making him a restricted free agent. At that point, rival teams would be able to recruit the 6’8″ forward with potential offer sheets, but Washington would have the right to match any offer.
For his part, Porter says he’s not worried about his contract situation at this point, preferring to let agent David Falk handle that side of the business, as Michael writes in a separate CSNMidAtlantic.com piece. “I’m just focused on basketball. I let my agent deal with all that,” Porter said. “He’s going to make it easy on me.”
John Wall Discusses Speedy Recovery From Surgeries
- Wizards point guard John Wall recently spoke to J. Michael of CSNMidAtlantic.com about making a speedy recovery from offseason knee surgeries and getting back on the court to start the 2016/17 season.
Wizards Haven’t Discussed Extension With Burke
The Washington Wizards haven’t talked about a rookie-scale extension with reserve point guard Trey Burke, tweets Chris Haynes of ESPN.com. Haynes termed it “highly unlikely” that an extension agreement gets worked out by Monday’s deadline.
Burke, who came to Washington in an offseason trade with the Jazz, will become a restricted free agent next summer if no extension is reached. He is making nearly $3.4MM this season.
Burke saw his minutes decline each season he was in Utah, but he is expected to have a larger role as John Wall‘s backup with the Wizards. Burke averaged 10.6 points and 2.3 assists per night in 64 games last year.
Morris Twins Face Civil Suit
- Wizards forward Markieff Morris and his twin brother, Marcus Morris, who is a member of the Pistons, are the subjects of a civil lawsuit in Arizona stemming from an alleged assault last year that has also garnered the pair criminal charges, Candace Buckner of The Washington Post reports. The criminal case is ongoing, with the next hearing scheduled for November 4th, Buckner notes.
John Wall, Bradley Beal Discuss Relationship
When John Wall admitted earlier this year that he and Bradley Beal had “a tendency to dislike each other on the court,” it led to a series of reports and columns suggesting that perhaps the Wizards wouldn’t be able to keep both players for the long term. But with Beal beginning a new five-year contract and Wall not going anywhere anytime soon, the duo is looking forward to a productive future, as Michael Lee of The Vertical writes.
“This is my brother at the end of the day,” Beal said of Wall. “Nothing is going to change. If I didn’t want to be here, if we did beef, I wouldn’t have signed my contract. That’s what it ultimately comes down to.”
Wall agreed with Beal’s assessment of the situation, pointing out that he “wouldn’t have begged him to come back” if he wasn’t optimistic about the long-term outlook in D.C. The Wizards’ point guard also believes his comments about the duo’s on-court growing pains were somewhat misconstrued.
“I think everybody blew it out of proportion for no reason,” Wall said. “I mean, if you look at any two great teammates, and two young, great guys, that’s talented and want to be great, you’re going to have ups and downs. Everything is not going to be perfect.”
Beal’s new five-year contract with Washington is a maximum-salary deal that will pay him nearly $128MM, an enormous sum for a player who has been plagued by injury issues and hasn’t had a true breakout season yet. But Wall is hoping that Wizards fans will be patient with Beal and allow him to continue to improve.
“He had injuries the last couple of years and they’re like, ‘He don’t deserve it.’ Let him get a chance to earn it,” Wall said. “Let him be an All-Star. Let him see if he can be healthy for a whole season and see what he can do. … I want him to be an All-Star, just like I am. It’s no fun when it’s just one guy. If another guy is there, it makes it more fun.”
Wizards Notes: Wall, Beal, Nicholson
- There were offseason rumblings about a potentially contentious on-court relationship between Wizards guards John Wall and Bradley Beal, but the backcourt duo is on the same page to open the season, per The Associated Press.
- Andrew Nicholson could turn out to be one of the major free agent bargains of the summer for the Wizards, writes J. Michael of CSNMidAtlantic.com.
Offseason In Review: Washington Wizards
Over the next several weeks, Hoops Rumors will be breaking down the 2016 offseason for all 30 NBA teams, revisiting the summer’s free agent signings, trades, draft picks, departures, and more. We’ll evaluate each team’s moves from the last several months and look ahead to what the 2016/17 season holds for all 30 franchises. Today, we’re focusing on the Washington Wizards.
Free agent signings:
- Bradley Beal: Five years, $127.171MM. Maximum salary contract.
- Ian Mahinmi: Four years, $64MM.
- Andrew Nicholson: Four years, $26MM. Fourth year player option.
- Jason Smith: Three years, $15.675MM. Third year player option.
- Marcus Thornton: One year, minimum salary.
Draft-and-stash signings:
- Tomas Satoransky: Three years, $9MM.
Camp invitees:
- Danuel House: Two years, minimum salary ($100K guaranteed)
- Sheldon McClellan: Two years, minimum salary ($50K guaranteed)
- Johnny O’Bryant: One year, minimum salary (summer contract). Waived.
- Daniel Ochefu: Three years, minimum salary ($50K guaranteed).
- Casper Ware: One year, minimum salary (summer contract). Waived.
Trades:
- Acquired Trey Burke from the Jazz in exchange for the Wizards’ own 2021 second-round pick.
Draft picks:
- None
Departing players:
- Alan Anderson
- Jared Dudley
- Jarell Eddie (waived)
- Drew Gooden (waived)
- J.J. Hickson
- Nene
- Ramon Sessions
- Garrett Temple
Other offseason news:
- Hired Scott Brooks as head coach to replace Randy Wittman.
- Seriously pursued Al Horford in free agency.
- Exercised 2017/18 option on Kelly Oubre.
- Otto Porter and Trey Burke eligible for rookie-scale contract extension until October 31. John Wall eligible for veteran contract extension.
- Reports questioned the on- and off-court chemistry between Wall and Bradley Beal.
- Wall recovering from multiple knee surgeries.
Check out our salary cap snapshot for the Washington Wizards right here.
The Wizards spent the last few years preparing for the summer of 2016. Every transaction was scrupulously completed with future flexibility in mind, as the team had an eye toward offering Maryland native Kevin Durant a maximum salary deal. Durant didn’t even take a meeting with Washington, opting to join forces with the Warriors instead. In addition to striking out on Durant, Washington also missed out on other major targets, such as Al Horford and Ryan Anderson. The franchise quickly pivoted to other options and ultimately ended up exhausting its cap space on ancillary parts.
Ian Mahinmi, who signed a four year, $64MM deal with the team, was brought in to be a force in the paint. Mahinmi has always been known for his defense — he was the third-best center on that end of the floor, according to ESPN’s Real Plus/Minus — but he’s been quietly improving his offensive game as well. He allowed Indiana to play a pace-and-space type offense because of his understanding of the game and his ability to quickly make the right reads and deliver crisp, clean passes. New coach Scott Brooks, who signed a five year, $35MM contract with the team this offseason, should be able to employ a similar game plan with pick-and-rolls mixed in.
Mahinmi’s arrival brought speculation that Marcin Gortat could be on his way out, though a torn meniscus suffered by Mahinmi has temporarily quieted that talk. The two centers shouldn’t see too much court time together because of their overlapping skill-set, including a relative lack of shooting range. Playing the duo together would severely clog the lane, and with only 48 minutes available for the five spot, it’s logical to conclude that a trade may be forthcoming. Gortat has proven to be the better player thus far, but he’s on a team-friendly contract that will pay him $36MM over the next three years. He would fetch more for Washington in a trade should the team decide to make a move.
The Wizards’ other offseason moves also suggest they may be gearing up for a Gortat trade. In addition to Mahinmi, the team signed Jason Smith and Andrew Nicholson. In today’s NBA, Smith and Nicholson are best suited to play the five as well, though both players can handle minutes at the power forward position.
Nicholson is an especially intriguing addition — he’s a bruiser down in the paint with an arsenal of post moves, whose game fits nicely with both Mahinmi and Gortat. I envision him getting some playing time alongside Markieff Morris as well. Washington’s frontcourt is crowded, especially with Otto Porter splitting time at the four with Morris. The Wizards’ depth affords them the ability to deal Gortat for a guard or wing, but the league is jam-packed with non-shooting big men, so finding a suitor will be tricky.
Depth in the backcourt is another story. The team signed Tomas Satoransky and traded for Trey Burke, yet neither option is proven. Burke didn’t live up to expectations in Utah, so the Wizards will be banking on an improvement from the 23-year-old. His development, along with Satoransky’s transition to the league, could be key to the team’s success this season.
Washington also brought in Marcus Thornton to round out the guard rotation and he should see significant minutes off the bench. The lack of quality perimeter options on the second unit is alarming for a team that has injury concerns with both of its starting guards.
Bradley Beal is fresh off landing a five-year, maximum salary contract, and the Wizards will need him to stay on the court if they’re going to climb the standings in the Eastern Conference. Beal has missed 81 regular season games over the first four years of his career and prior to him signing his lucrative new deal, there was talk that he could be under minute restrictions for the rest of his career due to health concerns. Meanwhile, John Wall underwent multiple knee surgeries over the summer, though he looked sharp in limited minutes during the preseason. If either player misses significant time this season, Washington will struggle to stay in the playoff race.
The Wizards underperformed last season, failing to make the playoffs and notching only 41 wins. This year, they’ll have an opportunity to steal the division crown, since every team in the Southeast is undergoing some degree of transformation: Miami will begin the season without any member of The Heatles for the first time since the 2002/03 campaign; the Hawks will attempt to shoehorn Dwight Howard into their pace-and-space system; the Magic bolstered their frontcourt, but it remains to be seen how the new arrivals will mesh; and the Hornets enjoyed career years from several key players last season, which resulted in them losing a few of their valuable reserves in free agency.
The Southeast division will be up for grabs and while the Wizards didn’t land a top free agent during the offseason, a top seed in the Eastern Conference standings is within their reach.
Salary information from Basketball Insiders used in the creation of this post. Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.