Wizards Rumors

Offseason In Review: Washington Wizards

November 5th, 2013 at 6:15pm CST by Chuck Myron

Hoops Rumors is in the process of looking back at each team’s offseason, from the end of the playoffs in June right up until opening night. Trades, free agent signings, draft picks, contract extensions, option decisions, camp invitees, and more will be covered, as we examine the moves each franchise made over the last several months.

Signings

Martell Webster: Four years, $21.99MM. Signed via mid-level exception.
Eric Maynor: Two years, $4.12MM. Signed via bi-annual exception.
Al Harrington: One year, $1.4MM. Signed via minimum salary exception.
Garrett Temple: One year, $916K. Signed via minimum salary exception.

Extensions

John Wall: Five years, maximum salary.

Trades

Acquired the No. 35 pick in 2013 from the 76ers in exchange for the Nos. 38 and 54 picks in 2013.
Acquired Marcin Gortat, Shannon Brown, Kendall Marshall, and Malcolm Lee from the Suns in exchange for Emeka Okafor and a 2014 first-round pick (top-12 protected). Brown, Marshall, and Lee were subsequently waived.

Draft Picks

Otto Porter (Round 1, 3rd overall). Signed via rookie exception.
Glen Rice Jr. (Round 2, 35th overall). Signed via minimum salary exception for two years, $1.31MM. Second year is partially guaranteed for $400K.

Camp Invitees

Josh Childress
D’or Fischer
Pops Mensah-Bonsu
Xavier Silas

Departing Players

Leandro Barbosa
Jason Collins
Cartier Martin
Emeka Okafor
A.J. Price

Rookie Contract Option Decisions

Bradley Beal (3rd year, $4.51MM): Exercised
Kendall Marshall (3rd year, $2.09MM): Waived
Chris Singleton (4th year, $2.49MM): Declined
Jan Vesely (4th year, $4.24MM): Declined

The pressure’s on in Washington. GM Ernie Grunfeld, like coach Randy Wittman, is entering the final season of his contract, and owner Ted Leonsis says he expects the Wizards to be a “playoff-caliber team” this year. That’s not quite a playoffs-or-else declaration, but it’s about as close as it gets. It would be surprising to see either Grunfeld or Wittman still on the job if the Wizards miss the postseason, and that’s evident in the trade the team pulled off just before the regular season began.

The news that Emeka Okafor‘s neck injury threatens to keep him out all season broke shortly after the Wizards traded him to the Suns. The Wizards had no doubt known already that Okafor could miss significant time, so Grunfeld pulled the trigger on a deal he’d been working on for a few weeks. The acquisition of Marcin Gortat, a replacement at center for Okafor, came at the cost of a first-round pick, a precious commodity these days made even more so by the likelihood that the pick will go to Phoenix this coming year, meaning the Wizards will miss out on a heralded draft class. The selection is top-12 protected for 2014, meaning there’s a disaster scenario in which the Wizards miss out on the playoffs and lose their 2014 first-rounder. The trade had a negligible financial impact, and Gortat’s on an expiring contract, so there’s a chance that come July, the Wizards will have nothing to show for having done the deal. That’s why it served to tighten the screws on a postseason mandate.

Still, not all of Grunfeld’s offseason moves were made solely with the present in mind. The Wizards committed a five-year maximum-salary extension to John Wall, banking on the notion that a brilliant second half of the season in 2012/13 is a harbinger of the point guard’s future performance. The five-year deal makes Wall the team’s designated player, essentially meaning Grunfeld and company are confident they won’t draft a superior talent either of the next two years. That’s probably a safe assumption, but it was nonetheless a risky move to give max money to a player who hasn’t definitively proven he’s worth it. That’s doubly so since the Wizards could have waited until Wall hit restricted free agency next summer to either do the same deal or match another team’s offer sheet that would have locked Wall up for only four seasons.

Wall was the first player eligible for a rookie-scale extension this summer to sign one, and the Wizards wasted no time getting their other major deals done, reaching agreements with Eric Maynor and Martell Webster on the first and second days of free agency, respectively. The Wizards re-signed Webster to a four-year deal for the full value of the non-taxpayer’s mid-level exception. It’s another potential overpay, especially considering Webster’s not in the starting lineup, but the sixth overall pick from 2005 is still just 26 years old, so he should still be producing at his current rate when his contract expires in 2017.

Maynor lost out to Reggie Jackson for the backup job in Oklahoma City, but he recouped some of his value when he helped shore up Portland’s bench after a midseason trade. Using the biannual exception on him somewhat limits the team’s flexibility for next summer, since, as the name suggests, the biannual can only be used every other year, but few teams make use of it as frequently as that. Like Webster, Maynor is a bench player and doesn’t figure to see too much time at the point behind Wall, but perhaps Maynor will see significant minutes in small backcourts alongside Wall.

The Wizards were fortunate in the lottery this past May, moving up to the third spot, though that luck was tempered by the weakness of the draft field. Grunfeld went with the hometown choice in Georgetown’s Otto Porter, a small forward with polish but limited potential. The team’s high-profile draft failures of the past, and former No. 6 overall pick Jan Vesely in particular, might have made Grunfeld hesitate to go with a bolder choice. Porter’s selection and the speed with which the team came to a long-term agreement with Webster is an odd juxtaposition, since they primarily play the same position. The team’s desire to make a playoff run this season also likely factored into their decision to draft Porter, since the 20-year-old was supposed to be able to contribute immediately. Of course, an injury prior to training camp caused him to miss all of preseason and the start of the regular season, so there’s been no immediate return on the team’s investment.

It’s possible that minimum-salary addition Al Harrington makes a greater impact than Porter does this season. Harrington missed most of last season with a staph infection, but he’s only a year and a half removed from playing a key role on a Nuggets team that made some noise in the postseason. He’s a stretch power forward who duplicates some of the same skills that Martell Webster has, but he offers Wittman a chance to field an intriguing lineup of Harrington, Webster and Bradley Beal, all of whom offer the outside shooting that Wall and the team’s centers don’t.

The Wizards might have hoped they could pencil Vesely in at power forward this year, but they instead began the season by declining his 2014/15 team option. The Wizards also did the same for former 18th overall pick Chris Singleton, further underscoring the need for Porter to at least hit the relatively low ceiling most draft analysts predicted for his career.

Wittman is already drawing mention as perhaps the coach most likely to meet an end to his tenure at midseason, and while Grunfeld seems like a safer bet to at least finish the season, these are nervous times in the capital city. The Wizards are married to Wall and Webster for years to come, and Nene‘s contract doesn’t run out until 2016, but next summer represents a chance for Leonsis to green-light major changes to the roster. If the Wizards on the court look different this time next year, expect the Wizards in the executive suite to have new faces, too.

Luke Adams contributed to this post.

Odds & Ends: Osby, Nash, Perkins, Wittman

November 4th, 2013 at 2:49pm CST by Luke Adams

The Celtics‘ D-League affiliate in Maine has acquired a pair of players who were in NBA camps last month, according to a release from the team. 2013 Magic draftee Romero Osby and Bobcats camp invitee Abdul Gaddy are now on the Red Claws’ roster. While the deals ensure that Boston’s D-League team will get a first-hand look at the two young players, there’s nothing stopping either player from signing with an NBA team besides the Celtics.

Let’s round up a few more odds and ends as the NBA regular season enters its second week….

Doug Smith of the Toronto Star is the latest writer to dismiss a rumor connecting Steve Nash and the Raptors, tweeting that it took “about four minutes” to debunk.
While he quickly removed the tweet, Kendrick Perkins said last night after playing a season-low 16 minutes against the Suns that it “might be time for a change.” Royce Young of Daily Thunder passes along a screenshot of the deleted tweet.
Tom Ziller of SBNation.com predicts the Wizards‘ Randy Wittman will be the first head coach fired this season, and suggests three potential replacements for Washington. Sam Smith of Bulls.com also identifies Wittman’s seat as the hottest among NBA coaches.
Quincy Douby was drafted 19th overall in 2006, but only lasted three seasons in the NBA before bouncing around among several international teams over the last few years. Now, he’s back in America and will play for the Sioux Falls Skyforce to start the D-League season. As he tells Yannis Koutroupis of HoopsWorld, Douby is hoping the skills and maturity he has developed overseas will help him land an NBA job.
A subpar group of 2014 free agent point guards will ensure that Eric Bledsoe and Greivis Vasquez make out well on their next contracts, despite not inking extensions last week, writes Chris Bernucca of Sheridan Hoops.
Oliver Braun, the GM of the New Yorker Phantoms Braunschweig in Germany, spoke to a German outlet about the tumultuous negotiations with the Hawks over Dennis Schröder‘s buyout, and Emiliano Carchia of Sportando provides a translation of some of Braun’s comments.
Mark Porcaro of Secret Rival breaks down the offseason player movement among the NBA and the leagues considered to be the top European domestic leagues.

Rookie Scale Option Decision Recap

November 1st, 2013 at 10:01pm CST by Chuck Myron

A month ago, there were 57 players on rookie scale contracts eligible to have 2014/15 team options exercised ahead of Thursday’s deadline. Teams picked up all but seven of those options, once more affirming the bargain that the rookie scale provides to clubs. Five of the options were allowed to lapse, while two other eligible players were waived before the deadline. You can find our full, team-by-team breakdown of the option decisions via this link, but a few of the results are more surprising than others.

I examined the decisions teams faced on these options earlier this autumn, separating the likelihood that each option would be exercised into three categories: “no-brainers,” “probables” and “on the bubble.” All 15 of the “no-brainer” options were exercised, and only one of the 32 probables isn’t under contract for 2014/15: MarShon Brooks. The Celtics elected to decline their option on Brooks, and the team’s unfamiliarity with him after he came over from the Nets this summer was part of the reason, according to GM Danny Ainge.

There were 10 “bubble” cases, and only three of those options were picked up. Three of the options that were declined belonged to former lottery picks. The Wizards never formally announced that they’d turned down their fourth-year option on 2011 No. 6 overall pick Jan Vesely, nor did they announce their decision to decline Chris Singleton‘s option and pick up Bradley Beal‘s, but Michael Lee of The Washington Post confirms the moves. The Kings owned up to their mistake on Jimmer Fredette, declining the option of the former tenth overall pick. The Wizards also failed to exercise the option of another lottery selection, waiving 2012 13th pick Kendall Marshall shortly after acquiring him from the Suns in last week’s Marcin Gortat trade.

Royce White also hit free agency prematurely, as the Sixers released him a week before the option deadline. The Nuggets made no formal announcement about their decision to decline Jordan Hamilton‘s option, but he, too, will become a free agent at the end of the season. Jared Cunningham of the Hawks will also be a free agent in the summer, as his was the other option to be declined. Derrick Williams of the Timberwolves, Cory Joseph of the Spurs and Tony Wroten of the Sixers were the only “bubble” players to have their options exercised.

Eastern Notes: Sanders, C’s, Heat, Knicks

October 29th, 2013 at 2:46pm CST by Luke Adams

Back in August, prior to signing a long-term extension with the Bucks, Larry Sanders changed agents, moving from Andy Miller and ASM Sports to Dan Fegan and Relativity Sports. While the switch seemed fairly innocuous at the time, ASM has filed suit against Relativity, claiming that the agency stole Sanders away with “flights on private planes, expensive dinners, invites to pre-ESPY awards parties, acting classes and trips to Disneyland for his family.”

According to Dareh Gregorian of the New York Daily News, ASM Sports is seeking the commission on Sanders’ new $44MM contract with the Bucks, claiming that “even in the hypercompetitive world of sports agents there are rules and boundaries that must be followed.” Sanders’ earnings shouldn’t be affected by the suit, but it’s a peek at what goes on behind the scenes at sports agencies when a big-name player is about to cash in.

As Sanders and the Bucks prepare for tomorrow’s opener in New York, let’s round up a few more items from around the Eastern Conference….

Celtics GM Danny Ainge continues to discuss a possible extension with Avery Bradley‘s camp, but won’t extend Jordan Crawford, tweets Chris Forsberg of ESPNBoston.com. Ainge emphasized today that Bradley remains a big part of Boston’s future, according to A. Sherrod Blakely of CSNNE.com (via Twitter).
In his latest piece for Grantland, Zach Lowe explores the Heat‘s roster-building options going forward, concluding that, as creative as Pat Riley is, it will be tricky for the team to make significant upgrades around LeBron James in the next couple years.
Chris Smith believes he earned his spot on the Knicks with his play, but some rival agents believe he came as a package deal with older brother J.R. Smith, says Ian Begley of ESPNNewYork.com.
Responding to criticism from Charles Barkley, Carmelo Anthony said today that he thinks players would love to come play with him in New York, and that he has a “big rolodex” for when the time comes to recruit (Twitter links via Peter Botte of the New York Daily News).
According to Gigi Datome‘s agent (Twitter link via Emiliano Carchia of Sportando), the Pistons didn’t offer the most money to his client this offseason, but they did offer the best opportunity for the Italian sharpshooter.
While news of his trade to the Wizards initially caught him off guard, Marcin Gortat is excited to join a team with playoff aspirations, as he tells Michael Lee of the Washington Post.

Western Notes: Suns, Favors, Hayward, Kings

October 28th, 2013 at 7:18pm CST by Chuck Myron

Executives from around the league who spoke recently to Grantland’s Zach Lowe believed there might be only one solid veteran on a poor team capable of enticing another club to give up a first-round pick in a trade. That player was Marcin Gortat, and the Suns indeed extracted a first-rounder from the Wizards when they traded Gortat last week. GM Ryan McDonough acknowledges to Greg Esposito of Suns.com that his team has plenty of “valuable currency” with the potential for six first-round picks in the next two drafts, and that he could use them all or package some of them in a trade for a star. While we wait to see how teams pivot from opening night to the trade deadline, here’s more from the West:

Jazz GM Dennis Lindsey wants Derrick Favors to “increase his motor” this season, and Kurt Kragthorpe of The Salt Lake Tribune believes it’s critical for the team that Favors begin fulfilling his potential now that he has his long-term extension.
Gordon Hayward is also negotiating an extension with the Jazz, though the sides are far apart on a deal. Favors told Matthew Coles of The Associated Press that it’s a priority for him that Hayward stick around. “Me and Gordon, we’ve been together going on three years now and we went to USA Basketball camp together so we have a good chemistry going. It’s important to keep the core together for the future,” Favors said.
The NBA isn’t worried about a petition drive to put funding for a new arena for the Kings on the ballot in Sacramento, as Scott Howard-Cooper of NBA.com explains (on Sulia). The league is confident that voters would back the funding measure.
We rounded up more news from the Pacific and Southwest divisions earlier today.

Wizards Release Brown, Marshall, Lee

October 28th, 2013 at 5:17pm CST by Luke Adams

5:17pm: The moves are now official, as the Wizards confirm them via press release.

1:11pm: The Wizards are the last NBA team to make their roster cuts, but their plans haven’t changed over the weekend, according to J. Michael of CSNWashington.com. Michael reports that Washington will officially release three players acquired on Friday: Shannon Brown, Kendall Marshall, and Malcolm Lee.

While most NBA teams cut players on non-guaranteed or partially guaranteed contracts, the Wizards had been carrying 18 players on fully guaranteed deals following their acquisition of Marcin Gortat. As such, Washington will be on the hook for most or all of the salaries for Brown, Marshall, and Lee, unless they’re claimed on waivers by another team.

A waiver claim may not be likely, but Brown and Marshall are reportedly drawing some interest around the league, and if they sign with another club, the amount owed to them by the Wizards will be slightly reduced. Brown is said to be interested in the Lakers, though he has yet to make any decisions. The Sixers, meanwhile, could be a suitor for Marshall.

Pacific Notes: Bogut, Kobe, Tyler, Suns

October 28th, 2013 at 3:55pm CST by Luke Adams

Let’s round up a few Monday items out of the Pacific Division….

Grantland’s Zach Lowe examines last Friday’s two big deals, the Wizards‘ acquisition of Marcin Gortat and the Warriors‘ extension for Andrew Bogut. In Lowe’s view, the Suns made out very well in the Gortat swap, which looks like the result of a win-now mandate for Washington. Meanwhile, Lowe considers Bogut’s deal a risky one for Golden State, but hopes it works out, since the league is better off with the former first overall pick healthy.
Tim Kawakami of the San Jose Mercury News goes in-depth on Bogut’s new contract and the Warriors‘ long-term cap situation, reporting some new details on the agreement with Bogut. According to Kawakami, there is no trade kicker included in Bogut’s extension, which features up to 15% in unlikely bonuses in each season.
In his latest piece for SBNation.com, Tom Ziller examines Jim Buss’ comments on Kobe Bryant‘s contract situation and attempts to identify Buss’ motives.
After cutting him last week, the Knicks are trying to obtain Jeremy Tyler‘s D-League rights from Golden State’s D-League affiliate, the Santa Cruz Warriors, reports Marc Berman of the New York Post. Tyler, who is rehabbing a foot injury, is free to sign with any NBA team, but can’t join a D-League team besides Santa Cruz unless the Warriors agree to a deal to relinquish his rights.
Dionte Christmas, Ishmael Smith, and Viacheslav Kravtsov, who earned spots on the Suns‘ opening night roster, have learned not to take having an NBA job for granted, as Paul Coro of the Arizona Republic details.

Southeast Links: Wizards, LeBron, Hawks

October 28th, 2013 at 11:09am CST by Luke Adams

A pair of Southeast teams are set to participate in the NBA’s first two games of the regular season tomorrow night, with the Magic scheduled to tip off first in Indiana, followed by the Heat playing host to Chicago. As we look forward to the NBA’s opening night, let’s round up a few of today’s items out of the Southeast….

The acquisition of Marcin Gortat didn’t have an effect on the Wizards‘ long-term cap outlook, since all the players involved in the deal were on expiring contracts. As GM Ernie Grunfeld tells J. Michael of CSNWashington.com, the team should have some flexibility going forward to decide whether to keep some of their own players or pursue an outside trade or free agent.
The regular season may be around the corner, but Matt Moore, Royce Young, and Zach Harper of CBSSports.com already have an eye toward next July, providing an early primer for LeBron James‘ Decision 2.0. The Eye on Basketball trio discusses what the Heat, Lakers, and Cavs can offer the reigning MVP next summer, and debate the odds of LeBron actually leaving Miami.
In his weekly column at NBA.com, TNT’s David Aldridge avoids free agency talk in a Q&A with LeBron, and takes an extended look at the Hawks, including conversations with star big man Al Horford and head coach Mike Budenholzer.
Two Southeast players, Jameer Nelson of the Magic and Ben Gordon of the Bobcats, cracked Steve Kyler’s list of strong trade candidates at HoopsWorld. While they may not be going anywhere yet, expect rumors to heat up as the trade deadline nears, says Kyler. Evan Turner, Iman Shumpert, and Goran Dragic rounded out his list of candidates to be moved.

Southeast Notes: Wizards, Griffin, Dawson

October 26th, 2013 at 7:42pm CST by Luke Adams

It wasn’t exactly 2012’s James Harden blockbuster, but the Wizards‘ acquisition of Marcin Gortat last night, just days before the season gets underway, was a bold and surprising move by Washington. Our latest round of Southeast items has some more info on that deal, as well as other notes from around the division….

The Suns and Wizards had been talking about making a deal for a few weeks, and the major holdup involved wrangling over the amount of protection on the first-rounder going from Washington to Phoenix, according to Michael Lee of the Washington Post. J. Michael of CSNWashington.com adds that the swap was fast-tracked over the past few days when it became increasingly clear to the Wizards that Emeka Okafor would miss a significant portion of the season.
Wizards GM Ernie Grunfeld left the door open for his team to open a max player next summer, tweets Lee.
Amin Elhassan breaks down the Wizards/Suns trade in an Insider-only piece for ESPN.com.
After being cut by the Heat, Eric Griffin is considering playing in China, according to Joseph Goodman of the Miami Herald (Twitter link).
Eric Dawson, who was released by the Hawks today, will sign with the Austin Toros of the D-League, tweets Shams Charania of RealGM.com.
Mike Miller‘s attorney told Barry Jackson of the Miami Herald that his client is planning to sue the Heat after the club allegedly introduced him to a con man who pocketed his investment money. Meanwhile, Miller told Tim Reynolds of The Associated Press that he did not authorize his lawyer to give out that information and wrote, via text, that he is grateful for the way he and his family were treated by the club.

Update On NBA Roster Cuts

October 26th, 2013 at 6:25pm CST by Luke Adams

Just over two weeks ago, I wrote that we could expect in the neighborhood of 100 roster cuts by NBA teams before opening night. At that point, 538 players were on NBA rosters. Today, just 443 players remain under contract. If you’ve been following Hoops Rumors closely, you know which players are currently on the waiver wire and which new names on the free agent market. If not, you can browse through our transactions log for the highlights.

While most teams have made their cuts, there are still a couple clubs with moves on the way. As our roster count page shows, the Wizards and Rockets are still carrying 18 and 17 players, respectively, so those two teams will have to trim down to 15 (or less) by Monday at 4:00 pm central time.

It appears likely that the Wizards will release three players they acquired yesterday, in Shannon Brown, Kendall Marshall, and Malcolm Lee. All 18 players on Washington’s roster are on fully guaranteed contracts, so unless the team can find a creative trade in the next day or two, it will eat a good chunk of salary.

The Rockets, meanwhile, don’t have two obvious candidates to be released. Patrick Beverley and Greg Smith are on non-guaranteed deals, but both players figure to be part of Houston’s rotation this season. Perhaps Ronnie Brewer and Reggie Williams, who are both on partially guaranteed contracts, will be the odd men out, but we shouldn’t rule out a last-minute trade either. After all, it was on the Saturday night before the regular season a year ago that Daryl Morey landed James Harden.

Even after the Wizards and Rockets make their cuts, there will still be plenty of players around the league on non-guaranteed deals, as our complete list shows. Not all of those players will last the full season — the majority of their contracts will become fully guaranteed on January 10th, so many will be released before then, saving their teams some money. Our schedule of guarantee dates reveals the handful of players whose contracts are set to become guaranteed before January, including a few guys who will be in line for full guarantees after lasting until opening night.

Although nearly all of the players waived this week will clear waivers, it’s still worth keeping an eye on teams who may make claims. As Chuck Myron outlined earlier this month, waiver claims can be a part of preseason strategy, so it’s possible we’ll see one or two October standouts snatched up by a rival club. As we explain in our glossary, teams who have sufficient cap space or big enough trade exceptions can claim players. Players who were signed using the minimum salary exception can also be claimed by any team using that same minimum salary exception.

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