Washington Wizards Blog – Page 42 – NBA Blog

Wizards re-sign guard Garrett Temple

Washington Wizards President Ernie Grunfeld announced today that the team has re-signed guard Garrett Temple.

“Garrett was a good addition to our backcourt rotation last season and we are happy to have him back to give us depth at both guard positions,” said Grunfeld. “His defensive ability, toughness and team-first attitude make him an excellent fit in our system and provide a great example of the culture we are building.”

Temple averaged career-highs of 5.1 points, 2.4 rebounds and 2.3 assists in 51 games, including 36 starts, for the Wizards last season. The undrafted LSU product played 22.7 minutes per game while shooting .407 from the field and .703 from the line. He recorded nine games of 10+ points, including four consecutive double-digit outings from March 13-18. Temple tallied a career-high tying 17 points March 18 at Charlotte and posted eight points, a career-high 11 assists and seven rebounds January 4 vs. Brooklyn. He was originally signed by the Wizards as a free agent on December 25, 2012.

In 102 games (40 starts) with Houston, Sacramento, San Antonio, Milwaukee, Charlotte and Washington, Temple holds career averages of 4.5 points, 1.7 rebounds and 1.6 assists in 16.9 minutes. He has shot .396 from the field and .654 from the line.

Wizards sign guard Eric Maynor

Washington Wizards President Ernie Grunfeld announced today that the team has signed guard Eric Maynor. He is backup material and should come off the bench to play behind John Wall.

“Eric is a solid player who has thrived playing behind some of the league’s best point guards,” said Grunfeld. “He will bring stability and experience in that role and add leadership and character off the floor.”

Maynor averaged 4.5 points and 2.8 assists in 64 overall games with Oklahoma City and Portland last season, including 6.9 points and 4.0 assists in 27 game after being traded to the Trail Blazers. The former VCU standout shot .377 from the field, .354 from behind the arc and .726 from the line in 15.0 minutes per contest. Maynor scored in double figures 10 times, including a season-high 20 points on March 8 at San Antonio and he dished out a season-high 12 assists on March 2 vs. Minnesota. The 6-3 guard was traded from Oklahoma City to Portland on February 21 in exchange for the rights to Georgios Printezis and a trade exception.

In four seasons with Utah, Oklahoma City and Portland, Maynor holds career averages of 4.5 points and 3.0 assists in 15.1 minutes per contest. While playing in 236 career games, he has shot .400 from the field, .354 from behind the arc and .731 from the line. Maynor was originally drafted by Utah with the 20th overall pick in the 2009 NBA Draft. On December 22, 2009, he was traded from Utah, along with Matt Harpring, to Oklahoma City for the rights to Peter Fehse.

Wizards select Otto Porter with 3rd pick in NBA Draft

The Washington Wizards have selected Georgetown sophomore Otto Porter, Jr. with the third pick in the NBA draft.

The 6-foot-8 Porter provides the Wizards a small forward to go with a backcourt of former first-round picks John Wall and Bradley Beal.

Porter – the Big East Player of the Year – is very familiar with the Wizards’ home floor because he played on it the past two seasons with the Hoyas.

The pick came after Cleveland took UNLV forward Anthony Bennett with the first overall pick and Orlando selected center Victor Oladipo of Indiana.

Reported by the Associated Press

NBA Draft: Wizards look at point guard Korie Lucious

The Wizards latest workout session with NBA Draft hopefuls doubled as a nightmarish trip down memory lane for fans of the Maryland and Georgetown men’s basketball programs. If former Michigan State guard Korie Lucious or Ohio’s all-time assists leader D.J. Cooper start their pro careers in Washington, perhaps they can make it up to those crossover supporters by serving key backup minutes behind John Wall.

The engaging Lucious, who played his senior season at Iowa State, extended a playful olive branch after the lengthy workout and speaking with Wizards president Ernie Grunfeld and head coach Randy Wittman. Told that some locals might not be happy with him, the solidly built 5-foot-11 senior immediately knew the cause.

“Ah, the Maryland shot,” said Lucious, his smile expanding while thinking back to March 21, 2010. As a sophomore, his buzzer-beating 3-pointer from the top of the key pushed Michigan State past the Terps and into the round of 16.

Reported by Ben Standing of CSN Washington

Wizards inspired by Randy Wittman crying

On Nov. 26, the Wizards lost a home game to San Antonio, 118-92. It was the 12th straight loss to start the season, and the postgame locker room for the Wizards was an emotional scene. On Thursday, a tale told by Martell Webster revealed for the first time just how emotional it was.

“After we lost that 12th game and he came into the locker room – I don’t even know if he wants me to share this, but I don’t care – and he was crying, man, after that game,” Webster said. “And he told us that he cared about us. And for me, that was a point in the season where I was just like, I’m in. I’m totally in. I bought into the system. And when I did that, that’s when my season began to turn to a positive light, and I started to succeed after that point.

“That meant a lot because it showed that he really cared. He didn’t care about his job. He didn’t. He just cared about the guys that he was coaching. And that was amazing. That was touching for me. But that’s when I realized that I really wanted to buy into this system.”

A.J. Price said he also committed to the system after that night.

“I definitely remember that,” he said. “That showed me how passionate he was as a coach.

— Reported by Sarah Kogod of the Washington Post DC Sports Bog

Nene to sit out final two Wizards games

Tired of maintaining a mummified look as plantar fasciitis in his left foot never fully healed and as soreness in his right knee worsened, Nene has decided to sit out the Wizards’ final two games, Monday in Brooklyn and Wednesday in Chicago. For Nene, making it through 61 games was no small feat after being tested physically and mentally in his 11th season.

“How tough? Tough enough to think about the end of my career? Yeah, that’s how tough it was,” he said. “It was so hard to play the way I did it. I thought to end my career because it’s so painful, my body can’t support. I’m glad I finished the season, but the way I suffer, I hope, never again.”

Nene, who is owed $39 million for the next three seasons, said conversations with his wife, Lauren, and business manager, Alex Santos, persuaded him to keep going. The 6-foot-11 Brazilian said he remains motivated to play because of faith in God and his young son, Mateos, but that he needs to rest and focus on being healthy for next season.

— Reported by Michael Lee of the Washington Post

Jordan Crawford pretends to not remember playing for Wizards

Jordan Crawford will face his former team, the Wizards, for the first time since being traded in February.

“Who?” Crawford asked before practice Saturday when the issue was broached.

Washington, he was told. You’ll be playing Washington. Your old team.

“I don’t recall playing for Washington,” Crawford responded, and he repeated himself.

Crawford, who was acquired by the Celtics at the Feb. 21 trade deadline, didn’t enjoy his time in Washington, as one might infer from his comments.

— Reported by Baxter Holmes of the Boston Globe

John Wall scores 37 in Wizards win over Pacers

On a night when the Washington Wizards celebrated the 35th anniversary of the franchise’s only championship, John Wall played like someone who might someday carry on that legacy, scoring 37 points in a display of speed and flair Saturday to lead the Washington Wizards to a 104-85 victory over the Indiana Pacers.

Wall made 16 of 25 shots, throwing his palms up after making an improbable 14-foot sideways runner and flexing his muscles to the fans on the first row after banking in a fast-break layup. He even blocked a layup attempt by Roy Hibbert, the 6-foot-4 point guard rising to swat the ball away from the 7-foot-2 Pacers center.

Wall also had five assists, four rebounds and two blocks for the lottery-bound Wizards, who have won nine straight at home and are 18-4 at the Verizon Center this season when he’s on the floor.

They were especially motivated to put on a good show Saturday night, with Wes Unseld, Elvin Hayes and the other members of the 1978 team on hand for a halftime celebration in which a new, larger banner was raised and the franchise, at least one more time, was again known as the Bullets…

Hibbert had 25 points and 10 rebounds for the Pacers, who went cold at the start of the second half. The Wizards took a 51-48 halftime lead and turned it into 63-48, with Wall scoring half of the points in the 12-0 run while Indiana was going 4:15 without a point. The Pacers didn’t get closer than seven the rest of the game.

— Reported by Joseph White of the Associated Press

Javaris Crittenton returns to jail on murder charges

Former NBA and Georgia Tech hoops star Javaris Crittenton is now back in jail.

The former Atlanta Journal-Constitution Mr. Georgia Basketball surrendered to officials at the Fulton County Jail late Thursday afternoon on murder charges.

Crittenton, 25, was indicted Tuesday on murder, attempted murder and criminal gang activity charges, among other offenses, for allegedly shooting and killing Julian Jones with an assault rifle in August 2011 and trying to kill another man from a rival gang.

Prosecutors claimed Tuesday that Crittenton had joined the Los Angeles-based Mansfield Gangster Crips soon after being drafted by the L.A. Lakers and inking a multi-million-dollar deal.

— Reported by Marcus K. Garner of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution

Wizards guard Bradley Beal to miss rest of season

The Washington Wizards announced today that guard Bradley Beal will miss the remainder of the season with a stress injury in his right fibula. He is expected to resume basketball-related activities in approximately six weeks.

Beal, who was selected with the third overall pick in the 2012 NBA Draft, has averaged 13.9 points, 3.8 assists and 2.4 rebounds while shooting .386 from three-point range in 56 games (46 starts) this season and currently ranks third among all rookies in scoring and three-point percentage and second in minutes per game (31.2 mpg). He was named Eastern Conference Rookie of the Month for December and January and set the Wizards rookie franchise record for three-pointers made in a season with 91.

Beal previously missed a total of 18 games on the season (11 due to a sprained left ankle, five due to a sprained right wrist and two due to a sore back).