Washington Wizards Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Eastern Notes: MWP, Rondo, Ariza, Jennings

July 15th, 2013 at 11:39am CST by Luke Adams

As the third week of NBA free agency gets underway, let's round up a few items related to Eastern Conference teams….

Agent Marc Cornstein confirms to Marc Berman of the New York Post that there's mutual interest between the Knicks and his client, Metta World Peace. World Peace and his reps are expected to weigh several options before making a decision.
Celtics fans shouldn't have to worry about Rajon Rondo pulling a Ray Allen anytime soon. At his summer camp in Kentucky, Rondo declared that he "would never play for the Miami Heat" (link via WEEI.com).
The players the Celtics acquired from the Nets in their blockbuster trade aren't as valuable as the draft picks involved, but MarShon Brooks could end up being a hidden gem, writes Chris Forsberg of ESPNBoston.com.
With his free agency a year away, Wizards forward Trevor Ariza has signed with agent Rob Pelinka of Landmark Sports, tweets Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports. Ariza had previously been represented by David Lee.
Tom Ziller of SBNation.com examines a few potential outcomes for Brandon Jennings' free agency, including accepting the Bucks' qualifying offer.

Southeast Updates: Wall, Harrington, Bobcats

July 13th, 2013 at 9:36pm CST by Spencer Lund

Michael Lee of the Washington Post spoke with John Wall today about his expectations for this upcoming season, which will be Wall's fourth in the league. Wall was matter-of-fact about his focus for next season tell Lee (via Twitter):

"My whole goal is, this is my 4th year & I need to be in the playoffs. Nothing more & nothing else needs to be said about that.”

Wall will make $7.259MM this season with the Wiz and if he and the team don't reach a deal on an extension by October 31st this year, the Wizards have the option to extend him a QO of $9.698MM in the spring.

Here are some more notes from around the Southeast division…

Lee also writes at the Washington Post that third pick Otto Porter's versatility will be put to the test.
Heat President Pat Riley says the team will try to find young veterans who can supplant the team's stars when they move on, as Ira Winderman of the South Florida Sun Sentinel notes.
The Magic will likely buy-out Al Harrington tweets Alex Kennedy of HoopsWorld.
Louis Williams missed a large part of last season after he tore his right ACL, but as Lang Green at HoopsWorld finds out he's still a big part of the Hawks' plans after talking to coaches and executives. If the Hawks were to trade Williams to free up cap space, Mark Deeks of Shamsports.com says they would have no problem doing so.
The Bobcats finally made a splashy free agency signing by getting Al Jefferson with a three-year $41MM deal earlier this summer. Rick Bonnell of the Charlotte Observer writes that Jefferson has special skills as one of the last dominant low-post big men in the game today.
Bonnell's colleague, Charlotte Observer columnist Scott Fowler sounds off on the hysteria over the Bobcats/Hornets name change.

Nuggets Among Teams Eyeing Nate Robinson

July 13th, 2013 at 4:21pm CST by Chuck Myron

4:21pm: The Wizards, Bucks, Mavericks and Lakers have also shown interest in Robinson, HoopsWorld's Alex Kennedy tweets. The Lakers and Mavs have signed a few other guards in recent days, prompting Kennedy to wonder if they're still in on Robinson (Twitter link).

2:33pm: The Nuggets are letting it be known that they have "certifiable interest" in Nate Robinson, tweets Marc Stein of ESPN.com. Robinson, who spent last season on a minimum-salary contract with the Bulls, has been linked to the Knicks, Wolves, Pacers at various points this month. The Bulls, under financial constraints, offered him another minimum-salary deal to return, but it seems clear that won't be happening. Coach Tom Thibodeau would have reservations about bringing him back anyway, as Stein notes in a second tweet.

The explosive 5'9" guard had moments of brilliance in the postseason, scoring 34 points in a game against the Nets, but showed his inconsistency as well, delivering a scoreless, 0-for-12 performance in Game Four of Chicago's series with the Heat. Still, when I examined his free agent stock, I thought the Aaron Goodwin client would merit an annual salary in the range of the the $3.183MM taxpayer's mid-level exception.

Denver let go of Andre Iguodala this summer, but with J.J. Hickson and Randy Foye coming aboard, the team still figures to be capped out. That means the team could offer Robinson a part of the larger non-taxpayer's mid-level, though with the Bulls, Knicks and Pacers probably out of the running and limited chatter about the Wolves or other suitors, it could be that the Nuggets wind up with Robinson for little more than the minimum salary. They'd still need to use either the mid-level or the biannual exception to give him that, but they'd preserve flexibility for another addition.

Robinson, a 40.5% three-point shooter last season, would add long-distance shooting to a Denver team that missed that element in 2012/13. He can play either guard position, but his lack of height could be a problem against taller shooting guards, so the team's interest in him lends further credence to the idea that backup point guard Andre Miller is on the trading block.

Wizards Interested In DeJuan Blair

July 13th, 2013 at 9:41am CST by Zachary Links

The Wizards have interest in free agent forward DeJuan Blair, sources tell Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo Sports (on Twitter). A sign-and-trade deal remains a consideration, but the Spurs may be unmoved by the choices they have in a swap with Washington.

For his last couple of years in San Antonio, Blair hasn't had a clearly defined role and the big man has spoken openly about his desire for more playing time, whether it be with the Spurs or another club. Blair's gripe first started last season when, despite playing 21+ minutes per contest in the regular season, he was barely featured in the playoffs. This season, he played a career low 14 minutes per contest and saw just 6.3 minutes of burn in the club's Finals run.

In four seasons for the 24-year-old, Blair has averaged 7.8 points with 5.8 rebounds per contest.

Southeast Notes: Jones, Magic, Harrington

July 13th, 2013 at 8:53am CST by Zachary Links

When the Magic declined to tender a qualifying offer to DeQuan Jones last month, that left open the possibility that the team could re-sign him as unrestricted free agent. However, Jones spoke with Josh Robbins of the Orlando Sentinel, who says that the Magic told him that won't happen. In 12.7 minutes per contest last season, the University of Miami product averaged 3.7 PPG and 1.7 RPG. Here's more out of the Southeast Division..

The Magic's deals with Al Harrington and Hedo Turkoglu are only partially guaranteed, and neither veteran expects the team to keep them, writes Josh Robbins of the Orlando Sentinel, noting that both of them hope the front office decides their futures soon.
Wizards coach Randy Wittman would like the team to add a stretch four, but team president Ernie Grunfeld is content to leave the roster alone for now, as Michael Lee of the Washington Post observes.
The NBA's Board of Governors will vote this week to formally approve the Bobcats' plan to change their nickname to Hornets for 2014/15, HoopsWorld's Alex Kennedy tweets.

Chuck Myron contributed to this post.

Odds & Ends: Jenkins, Wizards, Warriors, Amnesty

July 11th, 2013 at 10:30pm CST by Alex Lee

It’s already been a busy night, as news broke of Andrei Kirilenko‘s deal with the Nets followed shortly after by word that the Lakers would amnesty Metta World Peace. Here are some other odds and ends from around the NBA on Thursday night:

The Hawks have named Taylor Jenkins as an assistant coach, the team announced
today in a press release. Jenkins had most recently been the head coach of the D-League’s Austin Toros.
The Wizards are in no rush to fill their final roster spot,
since they want to have flexibility for when the right player comes along,
according to GM Ernie Grunfeld (Twitter link). Grunfeld sounded optimistic about the team’s offseason today, as the Wiz wrapped us their summer minicamp, writes Gene Wang of the Washington Post.
The Wiz cut ties with roster longshots Josh Boone, Kevin Dillard and James Harris today, tweets Michael Lee of the Washington Post.
Tim Kawakami of the San Jose Mercury News outlines how the Warriors front office has changed the way the team is viewed around the NBA, to the point where he says Golden State has “switched places” with the Lakers. Kawakami also provides a transcript of Andre Iguodala‘s introductory press conference.
Now that the Lakers have amnestied World Peace, only 12 teams remain that haven’t utilized the provision and within those teams, only 30 players are left that fit the criteria for amnesty eligibility. Here is the list, courtesy of Marc Stein of ESPN.

Wizards Sign Martell Webster To Four-Year Deal

July 10th, 2013 at 4:18pm CST by Luke Adams

JULY 10TH, 4:18pm: The Wizards have officially announced Webster's signing in a press release.

JULY 2ND, 1:57pm: The fourth year of Webster's deal will be partially guaranteed, tweets Wojnarowski.

1:42pm: Wojnarowski reports (via Twitter) that Webster's deal with the Wizards will be worth $22MM over four years. So my prediction that the four-year agreement would probably mean a lower annual salary was way off.

Webster's contract will almost certainly use up Washington's entire mid-level exception, since, as we noted in an earlier post, a four-year deal worth the full MLE this summer will work out to $21,990,500. That means that the Wiz have already committed to using both their mid-level exception and their bi-annual exception (on Eric Maynor), so if the team hopes to add more free agents, it will have to be via sign-and-trade or the veteran's minimum.

1:35pm: The Wizards and Martell Webster have reached an agreement on a four-year deal, reports Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports (via Twitter). Multiple reports suggested yesterday that even after the Wizards drafted Otto Porter and Glen Rice Jr. last week, re-signing Webster was the team's top priority in free agency.

TNT's David Aldridge had indicated that Washington would likely use part, but not all, of its mid-level exception to bring back Webster. Considering the 26-year-old is receiving a four-year deal, I would guess the annual salary will be a little lower than if Webster had re-signed for just one or two years, though the terms of the agreement haven't been reported yet.

Webster signed a one-year contract worth $1.75MM with the Wizards last summer and enjoyed the most productive season of his eight-year career. In 76 games for Washington, the Relativity Sports client established new career-highs in PPG (11.4), 3PT% (.422), and PER (13.9), among other categories.

Wizards Re-Sign Garrett Temple

July 10th, 2013 at 12:08pm CST by Luke Adams

JULY 10TH, 12:08pm: Temple's signing has been finalized, according to the team (Twitter link).

JULY 3RD, 3:30pm: Lee confirms that Temple will indeed sign for the minimum salary ($916,099), as I speculated below.

11:21am: The Wizards and Garrett Temple have reached an agreement on a one-year deal, reports Michael Lee of the Washington Post (via Twitter). According to J. Michael of CSNWashington.com, Temple's contract will be worth a little less than $1MM.

Temple, 27, appeared in 51 contests for the Wizards last season, starting 36 of them. The John Hamilton client averaged 5.1 PPG and 2.3 APG in part-time duty for Washington, and figures to be the third-string point guard next season, behind John Wall and Eric Maynor.

As our free agent tracker shows, the Wizards have already been busy this week, agreeing to sign Maynor to a deal likely worth the bi-annual exception and bringing back Martell Webster using their mid-level exception. Having used those exceptions, the Wizards likely will sign Temple to a minimum-salary deal, which would be worth about $916K for a player with his experience.

Wizards Sign Eric Maynor

July 10th, 2013 at 11:58am CST by Chuck Myron

JULY 10TH, 11:58am: The Wizards have officially signed Maynor, according to the team (Twitter link).

JULY 1ST, 7:15pm: The deal will likely be a two-year pact for the bi-annual exception, with a player option in the final season, TNT's David Aldridge tweets. That would entail a starting salary of $2.016MM if Maynor gets the full value of the exception.

7:00pm: Eric Maynor and the Wizards have agreed to a multiyear deal, tweets Michael Lee of The Washington Post. The Wizards had been reaching out to reserve point guards, sources told HoopsWorld's Alex Kennedy earlier today (Twitter link), and they had interest in Beno Udrih, Darren Collison and John Lucas III in addition to Maynor, according to Lee. They contacted the representatives for Maynor, Collison and Lucas, according to Lee's sources, and they've also reached out to Garrett Temple while keeping A.J. Price on their radar.

The Andy Miller client hit the unrestricted free agent market when the Blazers decided against making him a qualifying offer, but over the course of the spring both Maynor and Portland had expressed interest in a return. It was the drafting of C.J. McCollum seemed to signal the end for Maynor with the Blazers, The Oregonian's Joe Freeman noted.

Maynor's best days were as a backup to Russell Westbrook in Oklahoma City, but he had trouble getting back on track after a torn ACL caused him to miss much of 2011/12. The Thunder shipped him to the Blazers at the deadline this past season, and now Maynor will serve as a backup for John Wall in Washington.

Lowe On Howard, Wizards, Teague, Pelicans

July 8th, 2013 at 6:28pm CST by Zachary Links

The surprise of the summer might not have been Dwight Howard's departure from the Lakers, but the quickness with which he decided to join up with the Rockets. We're just a week into the free agency period, but executives are already taking the time to survey the entire landscape outside of their own milieu. Zach Lowe of Grantland checked in with basketball people to get their take on things and unearthed some very interesting tidbits..

Lowe wonders why more clubs didn't put their toe in the water for Dwight Howard. His educated guess after poking around is that the Wizards gave it a go while the Bulls, who were once a rumored trade destination, did not. The Bulls have a stern culture, very good talent already on hand, and a tax complication, so Howard would have been a longshot and maybe not the best idea anyway.
The Jazz could have used their cap space this summer to sign Jeff Teague, who sources say is nearly unwanted in the Hawks organization. We've heard previously that the point guard was upset with the lack of communication he's had with Atlanta this summer.
Pelicans owner Tom Benson has told the front office that the team needs to take a significant step forward this season, according to several sources around the league. That would help to explain their sizable commitment to Tyreke Evans this summer.
Other execs have pointed out that the Rockets tend to be sort of annoying, especially around draft day. Daryl Morey & Co. make many, many phone calls, poking the market and chasing tiny deals that move them two spots up in the draft or add an extra second-round pick. People knocked Morey for burning up the phone lines to chase the No. 9 seed a year ago and didn't seem long for Houston, but he has turned a roster with zero top-50 talent into a roster with two top-15 players.
As much as Houston says they want to hang on to center Omer Asik, Lowe would be surprised to see him finish the year with the Rockets.