Washington Wizards Rumors | Hoops Rumors

And-Ones: Kings, Felton, Knicks, Singleton, Oden

August 7th, 2014 at 2:00pm CST by Chuck Myron

Lost in the noise surrounding the agreement between the Cavs and Wolves to send Kevin Love to Cleveland is a trade that actually became official Wednesday. The Kings can create a pair of trade exceptions from their deal with the Knicks, one worth $915,243 for Quincy Acy‘s salary, and another worth $228,660 for the difference between the salaries of Travis Outlaw and Wayne Ellington. The Knicks, limited in part because they’re a taxpaying team, can only make a tiny trade exception worth $32,920 for the difference between the three-year veteran’s minimum that Jeremy Tyler makes and the two-year veteran’s minimum that’s coming to Acy. Here’s more on the Knicks and other teams and players from around the league:

Mavs point guard Raymond Felton will serve a four-game suspension at the start of the regular season for his guilty plea to gun-related charges stemming from a February incident, the league announced via press release.
Knicks GM Steve Mills didn’t rule out further moves, but he said Wednesday that the team is satisfied with its backcourt situation after alleviating a logjam with the trade, as Ian Begley of ESPNNewYork.com chronicles.
The Wizards no longer have free agent Chris Singleton in their plans, a source tells J. Michael of CSNWashington.com. Singleton nonetheless turned down an overseas offer in hopes of landing an NBA job, and has dropped agent Bill Duffy of BDA Sports in favor of Todd Ramasar from Stealth Sports, Michael also reports.
The Heat were unlikely to re-sign Greg Oden before his arrest this morning on misdemeanor battery charges, and the incident probably ends any chance he had of returning to the team, as Ira Winderman of the Sun Sentinel writes in a pair of tweets.
Mark Deeks of ShamSports clarifies an earlier report indicating that Jusuf Nurkic received less than the standard 120% of the rookie scale from the Nuggets. Denver is doling out the full 120%, but the team is using a portion of it to pay Nurkic’s buyout from his Croatian club, so while Nurkic is receiving less than 120% of the scale in actual salary, his cap figure will reflect that the Nuggets are paying 120%. The move is not unprecedented for a player picked as highly as Nurkic, who went 16th overall.

Cavs Sign James Jones

August 5th, 2014 at 5:53pm CST by Chuck Myron

AUGUST 5TH: The signing is official, the team announced via its website.

JULY 16TH: The Cavs have struck a one-year deal with James Jones for the minimum salary, a source tells Jason Lloyd of the Akron Beacon Journal (Twitter link). That means another ex-Heat teammate of LeBron James is headed to Cleveland. It’s unclear if the contract will be guaranteed.

Cleveland had been pursuing Jones, a favorite of LeBron’s, in conjunction with Mike Miller soon after it signed the four-time MVP. Cavs GM David Griffin also convinced Miller to take a discount to come to Cleveland, the same place he was reluctant to go last year, and now it seems the team will focus on its attempt to convince Ray Allen, also late of the Heat, to move north.

The Warriors, Wizards, Pelicans and Heat all made offers to the 33-year-old Jones, but LeBron’s recruiting effort led the Miami native to choose the Cavs instead, according to TNT’s David Aldridge (Twitter link). Jones spent the past six seasons with Miami, never averaging more than 19.1 minutes per game, but his 4.9 points per contest this past season represents his second-highest scoring average in a Heat uniform. The Joel Bell client also serves as the secretary/treasurer for the players union.

Western Notes: Cuban, Pleiss, Sterling

August 3rd, 2014 at 8:54am CST by Eddie Scarito

In the wake of Paul George‘s terrible injury Friday night, Mavericks owner Mark Cuban blasted the IOC, writes Eddie Sefko of the Dallas Morning News. Cuban hopes the injury will spur the NBA into creating its own international tournament where the league has more control as well as receives the benefits of holding such competitions. Cuban also said, “I think it’s a bigger issue than star players. We are being taken advantage of by the IOC (International Olympic Committee) and to a lesser extent FIBA (International Federal Basketball Association). We take on an inordinate amount of financial risk for little, if any, quantifiable gain. It’s like our guiding principle is to lose money on every game and make it up in volume. There is no logic to our position. (We) just hope we get value somewhere in the future.”

Here’s more from out west:

Thunder 2010 draft-and-stash pick Tibor Pleiss is expected to sign a two-year deal with Barcelona, reports Emiliano Carchia of Sportando. Oklahoma City had made an attempt to bring the German big man to the NBA this season but his buyout amount became an issue, but the team was still hoping to work out a deal for the 2015/16 campaign. Details of Pleiss’ potential deal with Barcelona and buyout amount haven’t yet been announced.
Sam Cassell is leaving the Wizards to join Doc Rivers‘ coaching staff with the Clippers, reports Michael Lee of The Washington Post. Los Angeles’ bench had recently lost Tyronn Lue to the Cavs and Alvin Gentry to the Warriors.
Donald Sterling built an empire but words were his undoing, write Nathan Fenno, Kim Christensen, and James Rainey of The Los Angeles Times. The trio profile the seemingly soon-to-be former Clippers owner’s rise and fall.

Southeast Rumors: Douglas, Wall, Scott, Bosh

August 2nd, 2014 at 4:56pm CST by Charlie Adams

Heat free agent Toney Douglas was receiving interest from the Bulls until they signed Aaron Brooks, notes Ira Winderman of the Sun Sentinel, who adds that re-signing Douglas might make sense for Miami, given the lack of depth the club currently has in the backcourt. Let’s have a look at more on the Heat and the Southeast..

Winderman passes along an excerpt from an interview John Wall had with the Washington Post. “[LeBron James‘ departure] helps us in our division, so we can get a top-three seed and homecourt advantage,” said Wall, confident the Wizards can surpass Miami next season. “We still got to battle it out with Charlotte, but we knew it was always going to be tough getting No. 1 in our division with Miami being at the top the whole time. We know they’re not the same team, but they’re still talented.”
Any rumors suggesting that CSKA Moscow extended a “lucrative” offer to Mike Scott are likely overstated, hears David Pick of Eurobasket.com (Twitter link). Scott agreed to re-sign with the Hawks last night.
Chris Bosh, who was close to leaving the Heat for Houston, thinks that James’ departure will only motivate Miami’s roster, as he tells 104.3 The Ticket (transcription via Matt Moore of CBSSports.com). “We’re still going to be competitive,” said Bosh. “It gives us an opportunity to play with a chip on our shoulder. It has revitalized my attitude towards basketball a little bit. And I’m really excited.”

Several NBA Teams Eyeing Dahntay Jones

August 1st, 2014 at 10:04am CST by Chuck Myron

AUGUST 1ST: The Wizards were indeed present at the workout, but they don’t have interest in signing Jones, reports Jorge Castillo of The Washington Post (Twitter link).

JULY 30TH: The Kings, Cavs, Spurs, Thunder and Wizards were all in attendance at a workout that Jones held today in Las Vegas, tweets Alex Kennedy of Basketball Insiders. Between 15 and 20 NBA clubs were set to take a look at him this week, as Kennedy reported earlier this month.

JULY 21ST: Ten-year NBA veteran Dahntay Jones is set to work out for the Knicks and Sixers this week, and in addition to a reported meeting with the Clippers earlier this month, he also worked out for that team, too, as Frank Isola of the New York Daily News reports. The shooting guard and Mark Bartelstein client is close with former Nuggets teammate Carmelo Anthony, though New York’s addition of Jones would only add to a logjam at the two-guard that Knicks GM Steve Mills has already publicly acknowledged.

The Knicks are apparently discussing trades involving J.R. Smith and Iman Shumpert to clear up that position, as we noted Sunday. New York also worked out Jones this past February, seemingly the closest brush that the now 33-year-old had with the NBA last season after the Bulls waived him early in the preseason. Still, that was before the arrival of Knicks team president Phil Jackson, and what attracts the team to Jones now is his competitiveness and leadership, according to Isola.

The Knicks, now as they were in February, are limited to the minimum salary, and the Clippers are similarly hamstrung. The Sixers have ample cap room to use on Jones, but it’s nonetheless unlikely that he’ll warrant any better than a guaranteed minimum-salary contract. He’s averaged 5.6 points in 16.3 minutes per game over his career, and put up 3.4 PPG in 13.0 MPG in 2012/13, his last NBA season.

Wizards Waive Melvin Ely

July 31st, 2014 at 7:42am CST by Chuck Myron

THURSDAY, 7:42am: There’s been no formal announcement from the team, but the move has indeed taken place, according to Eric Pincus of Basketball Insiders (on Twitter) and the RealGM transactions log.

WEDNESDAY, 4:26pm: The Wizards are waiving power forward Melvin Ely, tweets Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports. Ely came to Washington from the Pelicans as part of the three-team sign-and-trade that sent Trevor Ariza to the Rockets. His non-guaranteed minimum salary has been scheduled to become fully guaranteed at the end of Friday, but it appears the Wizards are releasing him before that happens.

New Orleans brought the 36-year-old back into the NBA after a three-year absence from the league with a contract signed with just two days to go in the season. The inclusion of the non-guaranteed 2014/15 salary made it plain that the Pelicans intended to use him as trade fodder, and his contract proved key in the team’s ability to acquire Omer Asik, as I explained earlier.

Washington has been less than $200K shy of the tax line, but dropping Ely will allow the team to open up more than $1.3MM of extra space beneath the threshold, room to add another minimum salary or two. The Wizards are also hard-capped, so even if they go over the tax line, they can’t go more than $4MM into the tax at any point this season.

Northwest Notes: Durant, Westbrook, Williams

July 30th, 2014 at 10:30am CST by Chuck Myron

Kevin Love has been the hottest name in rumors of late, but Tuesday, another Northwest Division star began to generate some buzz. Kevin Durant spoke openly of the possibility that he’ll sign with his hometown Wizards when he becomes a free agent in 2016. He also chalked up his decision not to negotiate an opt-out clause into his current five-year deal to a mixture of naivete and his love for Oklahoma City, as The Oklahoman’s Darnell Mayberry notes. Durant said it would “definitely be tough” to leave if the Thunder were to win a pair of championships in the two years remaining before he can hit free agency, as USA Today’s Sam Amick observes. With the onus on GM Sam Presti to put his team over the top, there’s more on the Thunder and their stars amid the latest from the Northwest:

The general assumption is that Russell Westbrook will look to leave the Thunder when he becomes a free agent in 2017, but that’s no certainty, as Durant impressed upon reporters Tuesday, including Amick, who shares the tidbit in the same piece.
John Wall is already expressing support for the idea of Durant joining the Wizards in two years, calling him “like an older brother” and saying, “It’d be great to have him back home,” as Amick notes.
Had the Trail Blazers wanted to re-sign Mo Williams this summer, “in all retrospect, they could have,” Williams said in a pair of tweets. The guard has instead agreed to a deal with the Timberwolves.

Durant On Gasol, LeBron, 2016 Free Agency

July 29th, 2014 at 8:53pm CST by Ryan Raroque

Following a Team USA training camp session earlier today, Kevin Durant answered a few notable questions from the media about the free agent movement this offseason as well as the summer of 2016, when he’ll be set to hit unrestricted free agency. The Thunder made a few ripples this summer after reeling in Sebastian Telfair and Anthony Morrow on the free agent market, but neither compare to the wave that would have resulted from netting Pau Gasol, who ultimately decided on joining the Bulls. When asked how close he thought Oklahoma City was to signing the two-time NBA champion, Durant told Ramona Shelburne of ESPNLosAngeles that the chances were slim.“Obviously (it wasn’t) that close, (but) I did my work. That was my first time recruiting.” (Twitter link).

You can read more of Durant’s answers below, courtesy of a separate piece from Shelburne.

On LeBron James‘ decision to return to Cleveland:

“I thought it was well-thought-out. It was classy. It was a great move to do it as a letter…That was pretty cool. It’s funny seeing guys think about more than just basketball for once. He thought about the city where he comes from, about Northeast Ohio and how he can affect so many of the kids just being there playing basketball. I love that. So many guys get criticized for making the decision that’s best for them instead of what’s best for everybody else.

On becoming a free agent in 2016 and possibly choosing to return to his hometown of Washington D.C. and play for the Wizards:

“I’m going to do what’s best for me…It’s hard to talk about that right now when I’ve got two years left in Oklahoma City. I’m just going to focus on that. I’m not going to make a decision based on what anybody else does.

On his ties to Washington D.C. and people asking him about a potential homecoming:

“I grew up watching the Bullets/Wizards. I grew up taking the train to that arena, all the time, to watch Georgetown, the Bullets, the Washington Mystics. That whole city is a part of me. It’s in my blood. I love going back home, seeing my family and playing there, but I love Oklahoma City, too.”

“(The idea of me coming home has) been talked about. Everybody’s asked me about it every time I go on Instagram or Twitter. All my friends ask me about it…So I’m not going to sit here and act like I’m naïve to the fact that people think about that stuff. But I just tell everybody that I’m here in Oklahoma City, I love it here. Who knows what will happen. I never close the door on anything. But I like where I’m at right now. So I can’t answer that question.”

Wizards Sign Garrett Temple

July 29th, 2014 at 10:17am CST by Chuck Myron

JULY 29TH: The deal is official, according to the RealGM transactions log and Eric Pincus of Basketball Insiders (Twitter link), though the team has yet to make an announcement.

JULY 18TH: The Wizards have struck a deal with Garrett Temple that will allow the free agent guard to return to Washington, reports J. Michael of CSNWashington (Twitter link). It’ll be a two-year contract for the minimum salary that includes a player option for the final season, Michael adds (on Twitter). The move had been expected, as Michael wrote earlier this week.

Still, there were other teams in the market for the 28-year-old client of John Hamilton, as the Heat, Magic and Bulls all appeared to show interest. One report indicated he was leaning toward signing with Miami, while another contended that the wasn’t considering any offer from the Heat. Temple said early this month that he’d look at other teams but that he’d “love” to sign a new deal with the Wizards.

Temple bounced around the fringes of the league at the beginning of his career, playing for three teams in each of the 2009/10 and 2010/11 seasons. He finally gained firm footing with the Wizards in 2012/13, starting 36 games, but Washington had less call for him this past season, and his 1.8 points and 8.5 minutes per game were the lowest of his career. The new deal nonetheless signals that the Wizards have trust that Temple would perform capably if pressed into more action this coming year.

Eastern Rumors: Harrington, Wiggins, Love

July 24th, 2014 at 6:33pm CST by Cray Allred

The Wizards would like to have Al Harrington back, and the matter of whether he plays for the team next year is essentially up to him, according to J. Michael of CSNWashington.com. The 34-year-old has decided to play in the NBA next season after contemplating retirement. More from the Eastern Conference:

Andrew Wiggins‘ name has come up in trade talks with the Wolves, but the Cavs haven’t offered him as part of any proposal for a Kevin Love trade, tweets Sam Amico of FOX Sports Ohio. That nuanced accounting of the discussions might illuminate some of the conflicting reports about Cleveland’s true willingness to part with the No. 1 pick.
Terry Pluto of The Plain Dealer thinks the Cavs shouldn’t trade for Love unless they receive full assurance that he will commit for at least two years to the team, considering how difficult it would be to transition from a young, sub-.500 club to a championship contender in just one season. Love is reportedly agreeable to remaining with Cleveland alongside LeBron James, but hasn’t indicated a willingness to opt in for next season’s player option in order to delay his free agency for another year.
The Celtics haven’t completely given up hope of landing Love, but they’re prepared to move on, a source tells A. Sherrod Blakely of CSNNE.com. That’s why Boston is among the teams trying to function as the third team in a swap that sends Love elsewhere.

Chuck Myron contributed to this post.