Ford: Wizards Got Good Value In Morris Trade
ESPN draft guru Chad Ford believes the Wizards made the right move in dealing away the No. 13 overall pick in this year’s NBA Draft for mercurial forward Markieff Morris. Speaking on ESPN 980’s “Inside the Locker Room” with Brian Mitchell and Scott Jackson, Ford said, “You look at [everything] and probably say the Wizards made the right call here in that they got more value [with Morris] than they would have gotten with the 13th pick.” Ford noted that after the presumptive top two of Ben Simmons and Brandon Ingram the quality of players drops off significantly in the second-tier, adding, “I think all of those guys are solid players. They’ll probably be starters in the league and make a positive contribution. … Typically, you’re still drafting high-level starters in the 5-7 range. Instead I think you’re probably drafting average starters.”
Wizards Notes: Coaching Staff, Durant, Workouts
New Wizards head coach Scott Brooks is in the process of putting together his first coaching staff in Washington, and ESPN’s Marc Stein (Twitter link) has an update on some of Brooks’ targets. In addition to confirming the Wizards’ interest in Tony Brown, with whom the team is reportedly finalizing a deal, Stein reports that Brooks is targeting Chad Iske and Sidney Lowe for his bench.
Iske, a former Kings assistant who wasn’t retained when Dave Joerger took over in Sacramento last month, has also drawn interest from Memphis. As for Lowe, he most recently served as an assistant in Minnesota — before that, he was an assistant in Utah and a head coach at North Carolina State.
Here’s more out of D.C.:
- Don’t count Jared Dudley among those who expect to see Kevin Durant return home and sign with the Wizards this summer. Dudley, a free-agent-to-be who spent the 2015/16 season in Washington, told Kevin Sheehan on ESPN 980 that he doesn’t envision Durant leaving the Thunder for the Wizards. “I realistically don’t,” Dudley said, per Dan Steinberg of The Washington Post. “I hope for the fans they do, because he’s from there, and he would bring such excitement. They’d be right behind Cleveland, right there with them to be able to contend. I don’t see it though.”
- More from Dudley on why he doesn’t expect superstar free agents like Durant to land in Washington this offseason: “It’s the system the NBA built. In general, no star player’s leaving to go to another team. … The system’s built for these guys to stay. Guys like Kevin Durant, Al Horford — the Wizards most likely will be going after these players, as they should. Are they really going to leave that money on the table?”
- The Wizards are bringing in prospects D’Vauntes Smith-Rivera (Georgetown), James Webb III (Boise State), Tyler Harris (Auburn), and James Robinson (Pittsburgh) in for a pre-draft workout today, league sources tell Michael Scott of Sheridan Hoops (Twitter link).
- The Wizards are also keeping their eye on former Seton Hall and UConn guard Sterling Gibbs, according to Alex Kennedy of Basketball Insiders, who tweets that Washington is looking at Gibbs for a second time on Monday.
- We recently took a closer look at the Wizards’ salary cap situation for the coming offseason.
Bryn Forbes Worked Out For Wizards
- According to Jessica Camerato of CSNPhilly.com (Twitter link), Michigan State guard Bryn Forbes has also been busy in recent weeks, having worked out for the Celtics, Magic, Hawks, Bulls, Wizards, and Lakers in addition to four more teams that were previously reported. Forbes still has workouts with the Pistons and Spurs on his schedule.
Tony Brown To Be Scott Brooks' Lead Assistant
Former Nets interim coach Tony Brown will be Scott Brooks‘ lead assistant with the Wizards, tweets Adrian Wojnarowski of The Vertical. Sources tell Wojnarowski the deal is currently being finalized. Brown had an 11-34 record in Brooklyn after taking over for the fired Lionel Hollins in January. The Nets parted ways with him when they hired Kenny Atkinson shortly after the regular season ended. Brown started his coaching career as an as assistant with the Trail Blazers during the 1997/98 season and has also worked for the Pistons, Raptors, Celtics, Bucks, Clippers and Mavericks. Toronto assistant Rex Kalamian turned down an offer from the Wizards last week.
- Thomas Robinson, who opted out of his contract with the Nets this week, could be a nice fit with the Wizards, according to Ben Standig of CSNMidAtlantic. The 6’10” power forward, who has been with five teams in his four-year NBA career, was born in Washington, D.C., and could be a low-cost option for a team in need of size. Marcin Gortat and Markieff Morris are the only two Wizards’ big men with guaranteed contracts for 2016/17. Robinson averaged 4.3 points and 5.1 rebounds in 71 games last season. He will be a restricted free agent after opting out of a deal worth $1,050,961.
Latest Draft News
- Former Louisville small forward Damion Lee has participated in workouts for the Clippers, Celtics, Suns, Spurs, Wizards, Jazz and Raptors, plus, he has upcoming visits scheduled with the Mavericks and Thunder, Kennedy tweets.
Latest Draft News
Offseason Salary Cap Digest: Washington Wizards
With just $45MM in guaranteed salaries on the books for 2016/17, and no draft picks to account for, the Wizards could have the flexibility to add a pair of maximum-salary contracts. However, long-coveted hometown target Kevin Durant doesn’t appear too likely to land in D.C. this summer, and one of those max salaries will likely be earmarked for Bradley Beal, despite his injury history. That leaves the Wizards with a tough call on what to do with their remaining cap room. Making a run at a second max player would require renouncing all – or at least most – of their unrestricted free agents, some of whom could be worth keeping around. It would also mean filling out the roster with a ton of minimum-salary players. In other words, it might make more sense to spread that cap room around, assuming Durant is indeed off the table.
See how Washington’s cap situation looks for 2016/17 as Hoops Rumors continues its offseason salary cap digest series.
Guaranteed Salary
- John Wall ($16,957,900)
- Marcin Gortat ($12,000,000)
- Markieff Morris ($7,400,000)
- Otto Porter ($5,893,981)
- Kelly Oubre ($2,006,640)
- (Martell Webster $833,334) — Salary remaining from release via stretch provision
- Total: $45,091,855
Player Options
- None
Team Options
- None
Non-Guaranteed Salary
- Drew Gooden ($3,547,000)
- Jarell Eddie ($980,431)
- Total: $4,527,431
Restricted Free Agents (Qualifying Offers/Cap Holds)
- Bradley Beal ($7,471,412/$14,236,685)
- Totals: $7,471,412/$14,236,685
Unrestricted Free Agents (Cap Holds)
- Nene ($19,500,000)
- Jared Dudley ($8,312,500)
- Alan Anderson ($4,800,000)
- Ramon Sessions ($2,821,605)
- J.J. Hickson ($980,431)
- Garrett Temple ($980,431)
- Marcus Thornton ($980,431)
- Total: $38,375,398
Other Cap Holds
- Will Bynum ($980,431)
- Al Harrington ($980,431)
- Total: $1,960,862
Projected Salary Cap: $92,000,000
The Basketball Insiders salary pages were used in the creation of this post.
Latest Workout News
- The Knicks, Wizards and Suns have worked out former UConn guard Sterling Gibbs, Alex Kennedy of Basketball Insiders relays (on Twitter).
Wizards Pre-Draft Workouts
- The Wizards held workouts today for Dorian Finney-Smith (Florida), Tim Quarterman (LSU) and Mike Tobey (Virginia), J. Michael of CSNMid-Atlantic.com relays.
- Also working out for the Wizards today were Nathan Boothe (Toledo), David Walker (Northeastern) and Abdel Nader (Iowa State), Michael Scotto of Sheridan Hoops tweets.
Kalamian Will Remain In Toronto
Raptors assistant Rex Kalamian has turned down offers from the Rockets and Wizards and will remain in Toronto, tweets TNT’s David Aldridge. Kalamian just completed his first season with the Raptors after six years in Oklahoma City. A 20-year veteran, he has also been on the bench with the Clippers, Nuggets, Timberwolves and Kings.