Late Saturday night, the Washington Wizards waived forward Johnathan Williams, who had reached the 10-day limit on the team’s injury hardship exception.
Williams appeared in six games for the Wizards (four starts), averaging 5.5 points and 6.3 rebounds.
There are now 16 players on the Wizards roster, plus two-way players Garrison Mathews and Anzejs Pasecniks.
The Wizards are 11-24 this season. They’re being led in scoring by shooting guard Bradley Beal at 27.8 points per game, and have seven other players averaging double-digit points. And have one of the league’s most efficient offenses, despite playing without point guard John Wall this season. But their defense is one of the league’s worst.
The Wizards injury train continues to plow through the station (I don’t actually know what that means, but it does leave you, the reader, with a correct impression, that the Wizards have a lot of injuries, so for the fun of it let’s go with that), as talented rookie forward Rui Hachimura isn’t close to returning to action just yet. Here’s NBC Sports Washington reporting:
When Wizards rookie Rui Hachimura first went down with a groin injury and underwent a minor procedure, the team said he would miss at least five games before getting re-evaluated. He has since missed seven and now several more weeks can be tacked on to his return timeline.
Head coach Scott Brooks revealed that after the team’s practice on Tuesday, suggesting Hachimura would again be re-evaluated sometime in early- to mid-January. Hachimura, 21, has not only been held out games, he hasn’t been with the team.
Injuries have plagued the Wizards this season and it appears the start of the new year will not usher in good health.
Before the season started, the Wizards set into motion a cautious approach with injured players and applied for a disabled player exception for John Wall, who suffered an Achilles’ injury in February 2019. Only teams with a player who is expected to miss the season, as determined by a league-appointed doctor, can qualify for the exception. The NBA did not grant the exception. Still, almost 11 months after his surgery, Wall remains out and could sit the entire season.
Along with Bradley Beal scoring big and forward Davis Bertans showing big-time shooting ability, Hachimura turning out to be a talented rookie has been a bright spot for the Wizards this season. Hopefully he does return to action fairly soon.
After being outscored by 10 points in the first quarter, an incredibly short-handed Washington Wizards stepped up at home, outscored the Miami Heat 42-29 in the second quarter, and controlled the 4th quarter for a 123-105 win.
Inactive for the Wizards today were John Wall, Bradley Beal, Rui Hachimura, Thomas Bryant, Moritz Wagner, CJ Miles and Davis Bertans. Their starting lineup was Isaiah Thomas and Gary Payton II at guard, Troy Brown Jr. and Johnathan Williams at forward, and Ian Mahinmi at center.
Although seven players were inactive Monday night as one of the top teams in the Eastern Conference came to play, the Wizards rolled past the Miami Heat, 123-105. And the final score doesn’t begin to tell the story of a bizarre yet delightful night.
The Wizards’ trio of Ian Mahinmi, Jordan McRae and rookie Garrison Mathews — the least likely Big Three — played like stars. Mahinmi made his first seven shots and scored a career-high 25 points. Mathews poured in 28 points — including a remarkable 20 in the second quarter alone — on 6-for-9 shooting overall and 4-for-7 shooting from beyond the three-point arc, by far the best night of his young professional career. And McRae finished with a season-high 29 points and eight assists, the most he has ever had.
Although Miami (24-9) had a healthy team led by Jimmy Butler, who finished with 27 points, and a large contingent of fans who periodically started “Let’s Go Heat!” chants, the Wizards (10-22) closed the decade with one of their most shocking wins of the season.
Mahinmi shot 10 for 11. And McRae shot 9 for 14, including 6 of 8 three-pointers, for his 29 points in 35 minutes off the bench.
After the game, Mahinmi had this to say: “It’s huge, it’s huge. This is part of building character. When you’re down and you have a lot of injuries and stuff going on and not going your way… To have the toughness of a young player to come out and step up, make big plays, be aggressive, make the right read, play good defense and give everything you have is huge. All of our young guys are taking tremendous advantage of their opportunity, so it’s good. There’s a lot of stuff not going our way, but I’m very proud of what everyone is doing: Isaac Bonga, Scho [Admiral Schofield], Gary [Gary Payton II], obviously Garrison [Mathews] tonight, Johnathan [Williams] and Troy [Brown Jr.]. It’s great.”
It was a magical day for D.C. If you’re a Wizards fan and don’t have New Year’s Eve plans, staying home and watching a replay of this game isn’t the worst way to bring in the new year.
The Washington Wizards signed forward Johnathan Williams today.
Williams (6-9, 228) appeared in 18 games (12 starts) for Maccabi Rishon Lezion in Israel (I-BSL) this season, averaging 11.8 points and 9.1 rebounds per game. The second-year forward totaled eight double-doubles and reached double-figures in 13 games for Rishon, most recently posting 18 points, eight rebounds and five assists vs. Nahariya on December 22.
After going undrafted in the 2018 NBA Draft, Williams signed a two-way contract with the Los Angeles Lakers, averaging 6.5 points and 4.1 rebounds in 24 games off the bench. The Gonzaga product also appeared in 26 games for the South Bay Lakers, posting averages of 15.2 points, 8.7 rebounds and 1.7 assists.
The Wizards’ roster now stands at 17, not including two-way players Garrison Mathews and Anzejs Pasecniks.
The Washington Wizards signed guard Gary Payton II today.
Payton (6-3, 190) has played in 16 games (15 starts) this season for the South Bay Lakers, averaging 21.4 points, 9.5 rebounds, 6.8 assists and a NBA G League-leading 3.2 steals per game. Payton has tallied 14 double-doubles this season (nine point-rebound and five point-assist). The fourth-year pro was recently named NBA G League Player of the Week for the week of Dec. 16 after averaging 30.7 points, 7.7 rebounds, 10.0 assists, 1.7 steals and 1.3 blocks while shooting 58.7 percent from the field.
Payton signed a 10-Day contract with the Wizards in January 2019, appearing in three games and averaging 3.7 points per game off the bench. After completing his 10-Day contract, Payton returned to the Rio Grande Valley Vipers, helping lead them to the NBA G League championship. In his four year career, Payton has played in 32 total games with the Milwaukee Bucks, Los Angeles Lakers and Wizards.
Per the Washington Post, “Washington recently applied for and received a hardship exception, which allowed the team to bring in another player even while having the league maximum amount of 15 players and a pair of two-way players.”
The Wizards’ roster now stands at 16, not including two-way players Garrison Mathews and Anzejs Pasecniks.
Wizards forward Rui Hachimura suffered a groin injury late in the first half of last night’s 133-119 win at Detroit. He is out for the next five games and will be re-evaluated when the team returns from their upcoming road stretch.
According to the Washington Post, “Hachimura, who has averaged 13.9 points and 5.8 rebounds through 25 games, sustained the injury in the closing seconds of Monday night’s win over the Pistons. As Hachimura attempted to secure a defensive rebound, teammate Isaac Bonga accidentally made contact, kicking Hachimura between his legs.”
Hachimura, a 6-foot-8, 230-pound rookie from Japan, was drafted 9th overall by the Wizards in 2019, and has started all 25 games he’s played in.
The Washington Wizards signed center Anzejs Pasecniks to a two-way contract today.
And in a related move, the team waived guard Chris Chiozza.
Pasecniks, a 7-1 center from Latvia, has played in 12 games (two starts) with the Capital City Go-Go this season, averaging 10.5 points and 5.0 rebounds per game, while shooting .604 from the field. Pasecniks had scored at least 10 points in each of the Go-Go’s last four games, most recently posting 16 points and four rebounds in a win over the Lakeland Magic on December 13.
Pasecniks was a member of the Wizards’ 2019 Summer League team, where he appeared in four games (two starts) and averaged 4.0 points and 5.3 rebounds per game. He also appeared in one preseason game with the Wizards this season, scoring four points and grabbing three rebounds in a win over the 76ers. He was originally selected with the 25th overall pick in the 2017 NBA Draft by the Orlando Magic before being traded to the Philadelphia 76ers on draft night.
Chris Chiozza played in 10 games with the Wizards this season, averaging 2.7 points and 2.8 assists per game. The second-year pro also started in seven games for the Go-Go this season, where he averaged 12.1 points, 4.1 rebounds and 7.3 assists per game.
The Wizards are 7-16 so far this season, playing without John Wall, and have some changes to make if they want to head in a playoff-contending direction.
But there have been some early-season bright spots, especially one by the name of Davis Bertans.
The highlight of the Wizards’ season so far is definitely the emergence of Davis Bertans, whom the Wizards acquired over the summer in the NBA trade equivalent of a casino heist. Somehow, after only giving up the Euro-stashed Aaron White, they brought in what has so far been the best three-point shooter in the league this season. General manager Tommy Sheppard hadn’t even had the interim tag taken away when he made the move in July, which should be a very good sign of things to come.
Bertans is their second-leading scorer with 15.7 points per game and is shooting an absurd 46.5 percent from three. He has doubled his attempts from last season with the Spurs, from 4.4 to 8.6 per game, and somehow his percentage has gone up. That’s unheard of.
Bertans has been so good that it is inevitable the Wizards will field calls leading up to the Feb. trade deadline from contenders looking to add a shooter. But should they part ways with a guy who can shoot this well at 6-foot-10? Maybe if they were undergoing a long-term rebuild it would make sense, but team chairman Ted Leonsis doesn’t want it to take long and neither does Bradley Beal. Bertans is the type of guy you keep if you plan to compete for the playoffs sooner than later.
Davis is listed at 6-foot-10, 225 pounds, and is reportely making $7 million this season. And is doing big things despite coming off the bench for 22 of the 23 games he’s played in.
The Washington Wizards will be without starting center Thomas Bryant while he recovers from a stress reaction in his right foot.
Bryant started experiencing pain in his foot after the team’s December 1 road game against the Clippers.
The team says Bryant will be re-evaluated in three weeks.
With point guard John Wall out with a long-term injury, the Wizards are 6-12 this season and don’t look like a contender to make the playoffs. They’re getting an impressive 28.0 points per game from shooting guard Bradley Beal, with Bryant second at 12.8 PPG. But what’s interesting is, as a group the team’s offense has been one of the most efficient in the NBA. The issue is defense, and the Wizards are last in the entire NBA in that department.
Losing Bryant also means the team loses their only strong rebounder. He’s first on the squad at 8.5 RPG, while no other Wizards players are even grabbing 6 RPG.
It’s possible that rookie forward Rui Hachimura, who really does belong at the forward spot, will see some minutes at center while Bryant is out.
The Washington Wizards have signed free agent guard Ron Baker.
“Ron is a tough and physical defender who can give us added depth in the backcourt,” said Wizards President Ernie Grunfeld. “He is a hard-nosed player who will have the chance to earn minutes with his competitiveness and intensity.”
Baker (6-4, 220) has averaged 3.3 points, 1.8 assists and 1.5 rebounds over 92 NBA career games (14 starts), all with New York. He was released by the Knicks on Dec. 13 after averaging 1.3 points and 1.2 assists in 11 games on the season. As an undrafted rookie out of Wichita State, Baker averaged 4.1 points, 2.1 assists and 1.9 rebounds for New York during the 2016-17 season. He averaged 13.2 points over his four years as a Shocker, earning All-Missouri Valley Conference First Team honors three times and All-Defensive First Team honors once.
The Wizards have waived forward Okaro White. White, who was originally signed as a free agent on Nov. 21, appeared in three games for Washington this season.