Washington Wizards Blog – Page 29 – NBA Blog

Bucks trade Jared Dudley to Wizards

Washington Wizards President Ernie Grunfeld announced yesterday that the team has acquired forward Jared Dudley from Milwaukee in exchange for a protected future second round pick.

“Jared’s versatility and shooting ability will give us depth at both forward positions and allow us to use him in a variety of lineups,” said Grunfeld. “We are also looking forward to the leadership and veteran presence that he will bring both on the court.”

Dudley (6-7, 225) holds career averages of 8.5 points and 3.4 rebounds while shooting .468 from the field and .396 from three-point range over eight-plus seasons with Charlotte, Phoenix, the Los Angeles Clippers, and Milwaukee. He has appeared in 595 career games while earning 212 starts. The 22nd overall pick in the 2007 NBA Draft averaged 7.2 points and 3.1 rebounds with the Bucks last season.

During the 2014-15 campaign, Dudley shot .468 from the field and .385 from downtown in 72 games, including 22 starts, and hit .571 (8-14) from three-point range over six games in Milwaukee’s first round series with Chicago during the 2015 NBA Playoffs. His best season came in 2011-12 when he averaged 12.7 points and 4.6 rebounds while shooting a career-high .485 from the floor in 65 games with Phoenix. Dudley was teammates with current Wizards center Marcin Gortat for two-plus seasons in Phoenix. In 29 career playoff games, he has averaged 5.9 points and 2.7 rebounds while shooting .449 from the floor and .456 from three-point range.

Wizards sign guard Gary Neal

Washington Wizards President Ernie Grunfeld announced today that the team has signed guard Gary Neal.

“Gary is a proven veteran who will bring us perimeter shooting and experience,” said Grunfeld. “Adding him to our rotation makes our backcourt rotation deeper and more versatile.”

Neal (6-4, 210) holds career averages of 9.9 points, 2.2 rebounds and 1.7 assists while shooting .381 from three-point range over 310 career games (including 29 starts), with San Antonio, Milwaukee, Charlotte and Minnesota. In 54 games with the Hornets and Timberwolves last season, he averaged 10.1 points, 2.4 rebounds and 1.9 assists while shooting .305 from downtown. After being traded to Minnesota, Neal averaged 11.8 points and 3.2 rebounds while shooting .355 from long distance. The Baltimore native has shot .355 or better from three-point range in four of his five NBA seasons.

After going undrafted out of Towson, Neal played internationally in Spain, Italy and Turkey before making his NBA debut with San Antonio in 2010. He was named to the NBA All-Rookie First Team in 2011 after averaging 9.8 points, 2.5 rebounds and 1.2 assists while shooting .419 from three-point range in 80 games with the Spurs. In 45 career playoff games with San Antonio and Charlotte, he has averaged 7.5 points and 2.0 rebounds while shooting .345 from behind the arc. During San Antonio’s 2013 NBA Finals run, Neal averaged 6.8 points and 2.1 rebounds while shooting .348 from downtown in 21 games.

Clippers, Paul Pierce agree to deal

Now this is the kind of signing that is worth paying attention to. A move where a really good team that has a realistic eye on the NBA championship adds a key veteran who could mean the difference in a tightly-contested playoff battle against another really good team. Paul Pierce to the Clippers. Here’s the Los Angeles Times reporting:

The Clippers gained a giant lure in their pursuit of DeAndre Jordan on Wednesday, agreeing to terms with Paul Pierce on a three-year, $10.5-million contract that will reunite the veteran small forward with Coach Doc Rivers.

Pierce and Rivers won an NBA title together with the Boston Celtics in 2008 and will almost surely try to pitch Jordan on their collective potential with the Clippers, who will get the last word in the bidding for the free-agent center Thursday.

The Clippers will sign the former Inglewood High star with their so-called mini-midlevel exception, their primary financial tool in free agency, and will likely slot him into the starting small forward spot vacated by Matt Barnes, who was traded last month.

Pierce, who turns 38 in October, is a 10-time All-Star who gives the Clippers some championship experience in their starting lineup and a clutch presence who hit a game-winning shot in the Eastern Conference semifinals last season for the Washington Wizards.

I support pretty much any free agent move that shakes things up in an interesting way. This gives us one more thing to look forward to next season.

Paul Pierce to enter free agency

It’s very possible that Paul Pierce is gone from DC

Free agent negotiations begin Wednesday, and the Washington Wizards must deal with possibly losing veteran forward Paul Pierce. Here’s CSN Washington reporting:

With the Wizards now knowing for certain that Paul Pierce will opt out of the second year of his contract, they’ll proceed as if he’s not returning and secure a replacement (It may be a longshot but he still could re-sign here and get 120% of last season’s $5.5 million salary).

They don’t have any room under the salary cap so free agents such as DeMarre Carroll or Khris Middleton, blossoming, younger small forwards on the market who are in line for career paydays, are out of the question. The Wizards would have to acquire players of that caliber through a sign-and-trade but don’t have the assets to facilitate such a deal.

They have to make it work with two salary-cap exceptions at their disposal: Mid-level of just more than $5 million (used to sign Pierce) and the bi-annual exception of just more than $2 million (used two seasons ago to sign Eric Maynor).

In regular game situations, Pierce, well past his prime at this point, is replaceable. But as he showed in the playoffs, when clutch shots need to be hit, Pierce is as good as anyone in the league.

Paul Pierce may enter free agency

Paul Pierce may enter free agency

Here’s the Washington Post blog reporting on Wizards forward Paul Pierce — and this is still unofficial but he will reportedly test the free agent market:

Washington Wizards forward Paul Pierce has decided to play next season but is expected to bypass his $5.5 million player option, according to two people with knowledge of the situation. The decision, which is due by the end of the month, would make Pierce a free agent for the second straight year.

Opting out opens the possibility of Pierce playing his 18th NBA season elsewhere but does not completely eliminate the prospect of Pierce returning to Washington. Pierce could choose to re-sign.

The most probable destination outside of the District would be to go back home to play for the Los Angeles Clippers and reunite with Doc Rivers, his coach for nine seasons with the Boston Celtics. Los Angeles has limited salary cap flexibility and will likely only be able to offer Pierce, who celebrates his 38th birthday in October, the taxpayer mid-level exception of $3.37 million for next season, but are closer to winning a championship than the Wizards even in the loaded Western Conference.

DeJuan Blair got few minutes from Wizards this season

DeJuan Blair spent most of this season watching from the bench

Here’s the Washington Post blog reporting on Wizards backup forward/center DeJuan Blair, who played a very small role on the team this season:

DeJuan Blair got few minutes from Wizards this season

Logging just 29 game appearances, he averaged 1.9 points, 1.9 rebounds and 45.6 percent shooting in 6.2 minutes. Now entering the second portion of his three-year deal, Blair’s days as a Wizard appear to be numbered as the team has made clear its intentions of playing faster and smaller.

The high point for Blair came during a Feb. 5 loss in Charlotte, when Seraphin and Gooden were inactive and the bench was depleted. Blair played a season-high 15 minutes, scoring four points, grabbing five rebounds and setting a vicious screen on an unsuspecting Hornets player.

“I just try to bring physicality to the team, to the game, and I think I did my part,” Blair said at the time.

He also saw time against his former team, Dallas, in a Dec. 30 blowout loss, recording nine points on 4-for-6 shooting and five rebounds. But across the final 31 regular-season games, Blair was “DNP-Coach’s Decision” in 17 contests. What’s more, the 26-year-old did not see action in the playoffs.

Marcin Gortat says personal issues distracted him this season

Marcin Gortat says personal issues distracted him this season

Here’s the Washington Post blog reporting on Wizards center Marcin Gortat, who made some partially-revealing comments about his play this season:

marcin gortat was dealing with personal issues

Sometime around the all-star break, the gregarious Marcin Gortat who had captivated the District vanished. After several months of humorous, insightful and candid takes, he politely rushed through interviews if he did them at all. When asked twice over the final weeks of the season to assess his individual campaign, Gortat said he would address his personal situation during his exit interview. That came Monday.

“I would say in the eight years of my career, the eighth year was pretty much the toughest one from a personal standpoint,” said Gortat, who completed the first of a five-year, $60 million contract. “I had some issues during the season and that definitely didn’t help me to focus on basketball. That part is on me, definitely on me. I can’t blame anybody for that. I’m not going to talk about those issues. That’s why we call this personal business.”

Kevin Seraphin wants a starting role, somewhere

Kevin Seraphin wants a starting role, somewhere

Here’s CSN Washington reporting on 6-10, 278-pound Wizards backup center Kevin Seraphin, who feels ready to step up into a starting role, whether it’s with his current squad or someplace else:

Barring a major roster overhaul that creates room for Kevin Seraphin and a bump in salary, his time with the Wizards, who acquired him in a trade five years ago on draft night, will end.

In his most significant playoff duty of his four-year career, Seraphin came in for an ill Marcin Gortat on Friday and scored 13 points and grabbed eight rebounds in 28 minutes in a series-closing 94-91 loss to the Atlanta Hawks in Game 6 of the East semifinals.

Seraphin, who signed a one-year qualifying offer last summer for $3.9 million to remain in Washington, is eager to spread his wings.

“I definitely want a chance to be a starter,” Seraphin, who matched his career high with 79 regular-season appearances but didn’t start a game for the 46-win Wizards, told CSNwashington.com. “I definitely want to be somewhere I have a chance to be a starter.”

Wizards put up fight but are eliminated by Hawks

Wizards put up fight but fall to Hawks

Here’s CSN Washington reporting on the Wizards, whose offseason has begun:

Yes, the Eastern Conference semifinals with the Atlanta Hawks, was super duper close, painfully so for the Washington Wizards. Historically so at that. The last four games were decided by five points or less. That hadn’t happened in an NBA playoff series since 2006. The Wizards lost the last three of those games en route to dropping the series 4-2.

John Wall’s fractured left hand and wrist stands out as the obvious “What if” question of the series. Even with the All-Star point guard missing three games and playing the last two with those five fractures, Washington took Atlanta, a team that ran away with the Eastern Conference regular season title, to the brink.

Get past Wall and the question is what differences led to the Wizards thinking about summer vacations instead of meeting LeBron James and the Cleveland Cavaliers in the Eastern Conference finals.

“I guess little details,” center Marcin Gortat said after revealing details of food poisoning that kept him on the bench for most of the series finale. “Little details in our game. Scrappy little details and that’s why we get punished for I guess.”

John Wall returns in Wizards Game 5 loss to Hawks

John Wall returns in Wizards Game 5 loss to Hawks

Nobody expected injured Washington Wizards guard John Wall to return during these playoffs. But yesterday it happened, and he gave it his all, though the Wizards fell slightly short to the Atlanta Hawks. Here’s CSN Washington reporting:

John Wall threw himself on the floor with 32.6 seconds left, and the score tied at 78, for a loose ball, corralled it and called a timeout. He slapped the floor repeatedly with his good hand, the right one, as he sensed a Game 5 victory was near Wednesday.

But a 3-2 series lead for the Wizards is oh-so-far away. Wall blocked Dennis Schroder’s shot on the final play as he drove to the basket, but Al Horford darted in like a bowling ball to send bodies scattering to grab the loose ball for the putback with two seconds left and an 82-81 victory for the Atlanta Hawks at Phillips Arena.

“It felt great. I didn’t have any problems with my hand,” Wall said after having 15 points, seven assists, four rebounds and four steals. “I was able to play aggressive and make plays so I was fine.”