Washington Wizards Blog – Page 52 – NBA Blog

Despite slow start, Wizards coach Flip Saunders safe for now

Despite the Wizards being off to a franchise-worst 0-8 start, the organization does not have any intention of firing Coach Flip Saunders at this time, according to two sources with knowledge of the situation.

In more than two seasons with the team, Saunders is just 49-123 and the Wizards have set franchise records for consecutive road losses (25) and consecutive losses overall (16). After the Wizards suffered a humiliating 21-point home loss to Minnesota on Sunday, Saunders was asked if he felt that he was running out of chances to get through to his players.

“No I don’t fear that,” Saunders said. “I think I know the process that we’re going through, and I know it’s a painful process.”

Saunders is in the third year of a four-year, $18 million contract that he signed in April 2009.

— Reported by Michael Lee of the Washington Post Blog

John Wall gets tech for staring after dunk

The Wizards were collecting technical fouls as if there was a shortage in the first quarter. Flip Saunders picked up two and got ejected after arguing with referee Eli Roe for a non-call and then grabbing his arm for an explanation. JaVale McGee was responsible for another two, because he didn’t move out of the lane quickly enough as the team was called for defensive three seconds.

John Wall got the other technical for taunting after he drove in the lane, threw down a hard left-handed dunk on Boston Celtics center Greg Stiemsma, then glared at him. If a 6-foot-4 guy dunks all over a near 7-footer, you’d figure he had earned the right to do whatever he wanted.

“I think I had the right to stare at him,” Wall said with a grin after the Wizards lost, 100-92, on Monday night. “I guess you can’t stare at people when stuff happen. I just stared at him at got a tech. It was the same thing when other people make plays, and the players say something to you and they don’t get nothing. I just had to keep my head the rest of the game because I didn’t want to get ejected and cost my teammates.”

— Reported by Michael Lee of the Washington Post Blog

Wizards assign Hamady Ndiaye to D-League

The Washington Wizards announced today that they have assigned center Hamady Ndiaye to the Iowa Energy, the team’s affiliate in the NBA Development League.

Ndiaye has not appeared in a game for the Wizards this season. He appeared in 16 games with the team in 2010-11 and spent 11 games with the Dakota Wizards (the team’s NBADL affiliate at the time), averaging 4.0 points, 4.2 rebounds and 2.6 blocks in 18.4 minutes per game. The 7-0 native of Senegal was originally selected by Minnesota with the 56th overall pick in the 2010 NBA Draft before his rights were traded along with the rights to Trevor Booker in exchange for the rights to Lazar Hayward and Nemanja Bjelica on Draft Night 2010. He was re-signed by the Wizards on Dec. 11, 2011.

Heckler recommends burger to Andray Blatche

Andray Blatche approached the scorers’ table to check in the second quarter of the Wizards’ 101-83 defeat at Philips Arena, when a heckler seated nearby decided to give him a hard time. The man shouted, “Have another burger, Dray!”

Blatche looked up, spotted the heckler and replied, “Got one?”

Blatche may have had a decent retort to a detractor, but he and the Wizards didn’t have any such response to the Atlanta Hawks on a night when the Wizards didn’t bother jumping out to an early lead only to get disappointed as they did in the season opener. They simply got down early, came back against the Hawks’ reserves, then went down for good.

Since jumping out to a 21-point lead in the second quarter against the New Jersey Nets in their first game, the Wizards have been outscored by 45 points over their past 79 minutes.

— Via Michael Lee of the Washington Wizards Blog

Andray Blatche unhappy with role in loss to Nets

Washington starting forward Andray Blatche was among the most distraught players in the locker room following a 90-84 loss to New Jersey, and it wasn’t only because the Wizards wasted a 21-point lead in their season opener at Verizon Center.

Blatche finished with 11 points on 5-for-13 shooting, taking mostly jumpers. That didn’t sit well with the team captain who addressed the announced crowd of 17,102 before tip-off.

A reporter asked Blatche to address Coach Flip Saunders’ comments that players were relying too much on individual production once the Wizards went comfortably ahead early in the second quarter, 37-17.

“He probably was talking about me for the simple fact that I said I need the ball in the paint to be effective,” Blatche said. “You can’t keep having me pick and pop and shooting jumpshots. Gimme the ball in the paint. That’s where I’m most effiective at. I’ve been saying that since training camp. I need the ball in the paint. I don’t wand to be the pick-and-pop guy I used to be because it’s not working for me.”

— Via Gene Wang of the Washington Post Blog

Wizards re-sign guard Nick Young

The Washington Wizards announced today that they have re-signed guard Nick Young. According to the Washington Post, the deal a one-year, $3.7 million qualifying offer, and “by signing his qualifying offer, Young will become an unrestricted free agent next season, when the market is expected to be better. Several teams are expected to have considerable salary cap room and few young guards will be available.”

“Nick is a very good scorer who has continually developed and shown steady improvement over his four years with us,” said Wizards President Ernie Grunfeld. “His size, shooting ability and athleticism allow him to get his own shot and compliment our other backcourt players, making him a valuable part of our young core.”

Young led the Wizards in scoring last season with a career-high 17.4 points over 64 games. He scored a career-high 43 points on Jan. 11 vs. Sacramento and posted the second-highest scoring increase in the NBA from 2009-10 to 2010-11 (8.6 ppg – 17.4 ppg) behind Golden State’s Dorell Wright.

Young holds career averages of 10.9 points and 1.8 rebounds with career marks of .437 from the field, .383 from three-point range and .822 from the free throw line in 295 games with the Wizards. He was originally selected by the team with the 16th overall pick of the 2007 NBA Draft.

Washington Wizards re-sign Maurice Evans

The Washington Wizards announced today that they have re-signed guard/forward Maurice Evans.

“Mo was a very good midseason addition to the team last season and we are excited to have him back with us,” said Wizards President Ernie Grunfeld. “In addition to the versatility and athleticism he brings to the lineup, he gives us another solid veteran presence along with Rashard Lewis, Roger Mason and Ronny Turiaf that balances nicely with our core of young players.”

Evans averaged 9.7 points and 2.8 rebounds in 26 games for the Wizards last season. He was originally acquired along with Jordan Crawford, Mike Bibby and a first round pick from Atlanta in exchange for Kirk Hinrich and Hilton Armstrong on Feb. 23, 2011. Evans holds career averages of 6.7 points and 2.5 rebounds in eight seasons with Minnesota, Sacramento, Detroit, L.A. Lakers, Orlando, Atlanta and Washington.

Wizards re-sign center Hamady Ndiaye

The Washington Wizards announced today that they have re-signed center Hamady Ndiaye.

“Hamady gained valuable experience when he received more playing time at the end of last season and worked hard this summer to continue to improve,” said Wizards President Ernie Grunfeld. “His tremendous attitude and work ethic make him a valuable piece of the team’s chemistry.”

Ndiaye returns to the Wizards after appearing in 16 games for the team last season. The 7-0 native of Senegal was originally selected by Minnesota with the 56th overall pick in the 2010 NBA Draft before his rights were traded along with the rights to Trevor Booker in exchange for the rights to Lazar Hayward and Nemanja Bjelica on Draft Night and was the Big East Defensive Player of the Year at Rutgers in 2010.

The training camp roster now stands at 17 players.

Three-team trade brings center Tyson Chandler to Knicks

New York Knickerbockers Senior Vice President, Basketball Operations and Interim General Manager Glen Grunwald announced today that the team has acquired center Tyson Chandler via sign-and-trade as part of a three-team trade. Ronny Turiaf, cash considerations and a 2013 second-round draft choice has been sent to the Washington Wizards and Andy Rautins has been sent to Dallas; Dallas sent a 2012 second-round draft choice to Washington and the draft rights to Ahmad Nivins and Giorgos Printezis to New York; Washington sent a conditional future second-round draft choice to Dallas.

“This is an important day for the New York Knicks,” Grunwald said. “Signing a player of Tyson’s caliber, with championship experience, to this roster, is an opportunity we could not pass up. His stellar play last season earned him league-wide recognition and helped lead his team to an NBA Championship.”

Chandler, 7-1, 225-pounds, holds career averages of 8.3 points, 8.8 rebounds, 1.35 blocks and 27.6 minutes in 662 games (465 starts) over 10 NBA seasons with Chicago, New Orleans, Charlotte and Dallas. He played a pivotal role in leading the Mavericks to the franchise’s first ever NBA title last season, averaging 8.0 points, 9.2 rebounds and 0.90 blocks in 21 postseason contests. In 74 regular season games (all starts), he averaged 10.1 points, 9.4 rebounds and 1.08 blocks over 74 games (74 starts) en route to NBA All-Defensive Second Team honors.

“Tyson will be the anchor to our defense,” Head Coach Mike D’Antoni said. “The trio of Amar’e Stoudemire, Carmelo Anthony and Tyson makes one of the most formidable frontlines in the entire league.”

The Hanford, CA-native was originally selected by the Los Angeles Clippers in the first round (second overall) of the 2001 NBA Draft prior to having his draft rights traded to Chicago with Brian Skinner in exchange for Elton Brand. He appeared in 53 postseason games (37 starts) and holds averages of 7.0 points, 8.1 rebounds and 1.10 blocks over 28.7 minutes. He also represented Team USA in both the 2007 and 2010 FIBA World Championships, winning Gold medals with both squads.

Rautins, 6-4, 205-pounds, averaged 1.6 points 4.8 minutes in five games during his rookie campaign. He was selected by New York in the second round (38th overall) of 2010 NBA Draft.

Nivins, 6-9, 242-pounds, was selected by Dallas out of Saint Joseph’s University in the second round (56th overall) of 2009 NBA Draft. He spent the past three seasons playing overseas with Assignia Manresa (Spain) and Dexia Mons-Hainaut (Belgium).

Printezis, 6-7, 202-pounds, was selected by San Antonio in the second round (58th overall) of 2007 NBA Draft. His draft rights were traded to Toronto before he was sent to Dallas in exchange for Alexis Ajinca, a second-round draft pick and cash considerations on Jan. 24, 2011.

“Ronny brings us a tough, inside presence and we’re looking forward to adding his defense and tenacity to our frontline,” said Wizards President Ernie Grunfeld. “This trade brings another solid veteran to our team along with additional assets in the form of draft picks and allows us to maintain our financial flexibility moving forward.”

Turiaf comes to the Wizards with career averages of 5.3 points, 3.8 rebounds and 1.4 blocks while shooting .528 from the floor over 358 games in six seasons with the Lakers, Warriors and Knicks. Originally selected by the Lakers with the 37th overall pick in the 2005 NBA Draft, Turiaf had his best overall statistical season when he averaged 5.9 points, 4.6 rebounds and 2.1 blocks (ranking him fourth in the NBA) for the Warriors in 2008-09. He has finished in the top 30 in the NBA in blocked shots in three of the last four seasons. The 6-10 native of Martinique finished his collegiate career at Gonzaga as the school’s fourth all-time leading scorer and rebounder.

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Wizards sign guard Roger Mason

The Washington Wizards announced today that they have signed free agent guard Roger Mason.

“Roger is a solid veteran presence who can give us quality production and shooting on the court and valuable leadership in the locker room and in the community,” said Wizards President Ernie Grunfeld. “We are obviously very familiar with him from his previous two seasons here and are thrilled to have him return to his hometown.”

Mason has appeared in 372 games over seven NBA seasons in stints with Chicago, Toronto, Washington, San Antonio and New York, compiling career averages of 6.9 points and 1.8 rebounds while shooting .380 from the three-point line. The D.C. native averaged 6.3 points, 1.2 rebounds and 1.2 assists in 142 games for the Wizards during the 2006-07 and 2007-08 seasons. Mason, originally a second round (31st overall) draft selection by the Chicago Bulls in 2002, averaged career highs of 11.8 points, 3.1 rebounds and 2.1 assists while posting a career-high .421 mark from three-point range with the Spurs during the 2008-09 season.