Category: Washington Wizards Blog

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Wizards sign J.J. Hickson

Wizards sign J.J. Hickson

The Washington Wizards have signed forward J.J. Hickson.

“Signing J.J. for the remainder of the season gives us another solid veteran who will bring more depth to our frontcourt,” said Wizards President Ernie Grunfeld. “His experience, athletic ability and physical presence will be solid additions to our team as we continue our playoff push.“

Hickson (6-9, 242) has appeared in 519 career regular season games (307 starts) in seven-plus seasons with Cleveland, Sacramento, Portland and Denver. He has averaged 9.7 points and 6.9 rebounds while shooting .505 from the field. The former 19th overall selection in the 2008 NBA Draft averaged a double-double of 12.7 points and 10.4 rebounds in 80 games (all starts) during the 2012-13 season with Portland and posted 11.8 points and 9.2 rebounds in 69 games (52 starts) with Denver in 2013-14 . Hickson appeared in 20 games (nine starts), with Denver this season, averaging 6.9 points and 4.4 rebounds before being waived on February 19.

Suns trade Markieff Morris to Wizards

Suns trade Markieff Morris to Wizards

Washington Wizards President Ernie Grunfeld announced today that the team has acquired forward Markieff Morris from Phoenix in exchange for forwards DeJuan Blair and Kris Humphries and a 2016 protected first round draft pick.

“Markieff is a versatile, young power forward who brings athleticism and physicality along with a good shooting touch,” said Grunfeld. “He will be a very good addition to our team as we make our playoff push and gives us a proven starter at that position for the next several years.”

Morris (6-10, 245) holds career averages of 11.4 points, 5.4 rebounds and 2.3 assists in 345 career games (145 starts) while shooting .443 from the field, .324 from three-point range and .759 from the line in four-plus years with Phoenix. The 13th overall pick in the 2011 NBA Draft averaged 15.3 points, 6.2 rebounds and 2.3 assists while shooting .465 from the field and .318 from three-point range in 82 games (all starts) with the Suns last season. He posted career-highs with 65 games of 10+ points, 19 games of 20+ points, seven games with 25+ points and three games of 30+ points along with 12 games of 10+ rebounds and 12 double-doubles in 2014-15. Morris also led the NBA by shooting 54.3 FG% (19-35 FG) in the final two minutes of one-possession games.

Morris has averaged 11.6 points and 5.2 rebounds in 37 games (24 starts) with the Suns this season. In those 24 starts, he has averaged 13.6 points and 5.9 rebounds. Morris was named Western Conference Player of the Week for games from Nov. 4-10, 2013, and finished fourth in the voting for the NBA’s Sixth Man of the Year Award in 2013-14. He was teammates with current Wizards Marcin Gortat and Jared Dudley for two seasons with the Suns (2011-13).

“We thank Kris and DeJuan for their professionalism and their contributions to our team,” said Grunfeld. “We wish them the best moving forward in their careers.”

“Today we added another first-round pick to our collection of picks while keeping our young core intact,” said Suns General Manager Ryan McDonough. “We are excited to watch this group of players continue to develop and grow together.”

The Suns received Washington’s 2016 first-round pick (protected to nine) as part of the deal and now own three 2016 first-round picks with their own, Washington’s and Cleveland’s (protected to 10), as well as their own second-round pick.

Blair is in his seventh NBA season and has averaged 2.1 points and 2.0 rebounds in 7.5 minutes in 29 games with the Wizards this season. The 26-year-old holds career averages of 6.8 points on 52.4 percent shooting and 5.1 rebounds in 424 games (179 starts) with San Antonio (2009-13), Dallas (2013-14) and Washington (2014-16). Blair, a 6-7, 270-pound post player, was named to the NBA All-Rookie Second Team following his first professional season with the Spurs in 2009-10.

Humphries, in his 12th NBA season, has averaged 6.4 points and 4.1 rebounds in 16.6 minutes in 28 games with the Wizards in 2015-16. The 6-9, 235-pound forward has played in 719 career games (196 starts) and posted averages of 6.9 points and 5.6 rebounds with Utah (2004-06), Toronto (2006-09), Dallas (2009-10), New Jersey/Brooklyn (2010-13), Boston (2013-14) and Washington (2014-16). The 31-year-old averaged a double-double in consecutive seasons with the Nets from 2010-12, including career-bests of 13.8 points and 11.0 rebounds in 2011-12.

Markieff Morris traded from Suns to Wizards

Report: Markieff Morris traded from Suns to Wizards

The Phoenix Suns (14-40) have reportedly granted forward Markieff Morris his wish and traded him.

According to The Vertical/Yahoo Sports, Morris is being sent to the Washington Wizards.

And according to CBS Sports, the Wizards send Kris Humphries, DaJuan Blair and a future first to Phoenix for Morris.

The NBA trade deadline is today at 3 p.m. ET, though deals are often announced after the deadline.

Morris this season averaged 11.6 points (39.7% FG) and 5.2 rebounds in 24.8 minutes per game for the Suns, though ever since Earl Watson took over as head coach Morris had been playing a leading role on the team and putting up impressive stats.

Randy Wittman to miss two games

The Washington Wizards announced today that Head Coach Randy Wittman will miss the team’s next two games (Feb. 1 at Oklahoma City and Feb. 3 vs. Golden State) due to the passing of his brother.

Assistant Coach Don Newman will assume head coaching duties for the next two games. Wittman is expected to return to the sidelines for the team’s game on Feb. 5 vs. Philadelphia.

Wizards will be known as Baltimore Bullets for their January 28 game

For one night only, the Washington Wizards will be known as the Baltimore Bullets when they host the Denver Nuggets on Jan. 28 at 7:00 p.m. for Throwback Night presented by CSN.

The team will wear their Baltimore Pride uniforms for Throwback Night, which pay homage to the uniform worn by the Baltimore Bullets from 1969-73 while updating the color scheme to the Wizards’ current red, white and blue. They will also be referred to as the Baltimore Bullets for all in-game entertainment, television graphics and the team’s social media platforms throughout the night.

The following alumni are scheduled to be recognized during the game: Terry Dischinger, Earl Monroe, Bernard King, and Bob Dandridge.

A special throwback performance will take place at halftime featuring DJ Kool of “Let Me Clear My Throat” fame and recording artist Sugar Bear, who will perform his chart-topping hit “Da Butt.” In addition, game entertainment elements for that night will feature graphics reminiscent to the eras when many of the alumni in attendance played.

The concourse will feature various activities such as face painting, poster making, throwback music and a photo booth station.

Fans can also view the organization’s proud past with the team’s franchise history display, which is located on the concourse outside of section 112. The display, which was added earlier this season, features examples of all of the uniforms in franchise history as well as a narrative highlighting historical facts and photos.

The Wizards franchise called Charm City home beginning in 1963, playing as the Bullets at the Baltimore Civic Center and featuring future Hall of Famers Walt Bellamy and Gus Johnson. Fellow Hall of Famers Earl Monroe (1967-71), Wes Unseld (1968-73) and Elvin Hayes (1972-73) also were part of the Baltimore franchise before the team relocated to Landover, Md., prior to the 1973-74 season.

Bradley Beal suffers broken nose, concussion

Bradley Beal suffers broken nose, concussion

Wizards guard Bradley Beal has been diagnosed with a broken nose and concussion by the Wizards medical staff after being hit in the face at the 8:22 mark of the second quarter during Monday night’s game vs. Boston. He is out for tonight’s game at Toronto and his status moving forward will be listed as day-to-day.

Per the NBA’s Concussion Policy, Beal will now begin the NBA-mandated “Return-to-Participation Exertion Protocol” and will be cleared to play once he has remained symptom-free during each step of the process.

Wizards have below .500 record at home

Here’s CSN MidAtlantic reporting on the Wizards, who are 10-8 on the road this season yet a disappointing 9-13 at home:

Six teams have a sub-41 winning percentage at home: Wizards, Nuggets, Nets, Lakers, Timberwolves and 76ers. Overall, the Wizards are 19-21 this season, having reached .500 last week before losing two straight. Those other five teams are a combined 54-156 (.346).

Portland’s 3-point shooting barrage highlighted a major difference for Washington at home over the last two season.

Opponents are shooting an NBA-best 40.1 percent from beyond the arc (on 23.4 attempts per game) at Verizon Center this season. That’s a steep fall from last season’s 32.1 clip.

Overall visiting teams are sinking 47.3 percent of their field goal tries in Washington. That’s also the worst in the NBA. Last season, opponents made 42.2 percent.

John Wall, Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook all named NBA Players of Month for December, 2015

john wall

Washington Wizards guard John Wall and Oklahoma City Thunder forward Kevin Durant and Thunder guard Russell Westbrook today were named the NBA Eastern and Western Conference Players of the Month, respectively, for games played in December.

Wall averaged 22.6 points, 11.7 assists, 4.8 rebounds and 2.3 steals to lead the Wizards to an 8-8 record, despite the absence of several key players to injury. He is the first player to average at least 22.0 points, 11.0 assists, 4.0 rebounds and 2.0 steals in a month since Chris Paul in April 2009. Wall scored 20 or more points 11 times, his career high for a month, and recorded 10 games with at least 20 points and 10 assists, the most in team history for a month. The guard also became the first player to post three straight games with at least 26 points, 12 assists and five rebounds since Dwyane Wade in November 2006. Wall shot 46.0 percent from the field and 83.6 percent from the free throw line.

kevin durant

Durant (24.9 ppg) and Westbrook (23.8 ppg), co-winners in the West, ranked sixth and seventh in the NBA in scoring, respectively, as the Thunder went 12-3 in December. Durant added 7.2 rebounds and 5.7 assists while shooting 50.8 percent from the field. He reached the 20-point mark in all 15 games and shot 87.3 percent from the free throw line. Westbrook led the league in steals (2.73 ppg) and contributed 8.9 assists (fourth in the West) and 5.9 rebounds. He had three 30-point games, handed out at least 10 assists seven times and posted his third triple-double of the season.

russell westbrook

Other nominees for NBA Eastern and Western Conference Players of the Month were Atlanta’s Paul Millsap, Detroit’s Reggie Jackson, Golden State’s Stephen Curry, the Los Angeles Clippers’ J.J. Redick, Orlando’s Nikola Vucevic, Portland’s CJ McCollum and San Antonio’s Kawhi Leonard.

Wizards eye return of Bradley Beal

The Wizards (14-14) have gotten a team-high 19.8 ppg from shooting guard Bradley Beal this season. But Beal has played in just half of the team’s 28 games so far this season. Here’s CSN MidAtlantic reporting the latest:

Wizards eye return of Bradley Beal

If all goes according to plan with Bradley Beal, the Wizards are “hopeful” that the shooting guard will begin non-basketball activities this week.

Beal was diagnosed Dec. 11 with what the Wizards called “the beginnings of a stress reaction” in his lower right leg for the fourth time in his fourth NBA season.

“Everything looks good,” coach Randy Wittman said Sunday. “He feels good. … Maybe he’ll start doing something. Obviously, nothing on the court.”