Washington Wizards Rumors & News

Washington Post "Following a dinner Wednesday night with members of the Washington Wizards organization, Anthony Bennett made his way back to a downtown hotel. After taking a few steps up the building stairs, the forward out of UNLV heard someone call his name. A shocked Bennett glanced over to see a fan..." June 13

USA Today "Gearing up for the 2014 FIBA World Cup in Spain, USA Basketball selected a wide-ranging mix of experience, youth, size, speed and shooters for its 27-man roster that will train in July 22-25 in Las Vegas. The past two NBA rookies of the year — guards Kyrie Irving of the Cleveland Cavaliers and..." June 12

Washington Post "Kentucky freshman center Nerlens Noel, the projected favorite to go No. 1 in the NBA draft, will meet with the Wizards on Saturday, according to a person with knowledge of the situation. The Wizards have the third selection in the June 27 draft but are expected to be the second team to host Noel,..." June 11

ESPN.com "The NBA will allow advertising on the court for the first time next season. The league sent a memo to its teams saying they will be permitted to sell space on what is referred to as the apron. The space covers the out-of-bounds area on the sideline between the baselines and the coaches' box..." June 11

CSN Washington "The Wizards will host six more draft prospects on Thursday. Like the previous three days this week, the expected group does not contain a likely first round pick. However, the session will comprise players that made a significant impact on the 2012-13 college basketball season,..." June 06

Bleacher Report "The Portland Trailblazers selected Sam Bowie with the No. 2 pick in the 1984 NBA Draft over Michael Jordan because they already had Clyde Drexler. This was quite possibly the biggest mistake in the history of sports. The Washington Wizards held the No. 3 pick in the 2012 NBA Draft and selected..." June 03

CSN Washington "This probably isn't a coincidence, but Indiana Pacers center Roy Hibbert reached out to an NBA cohort after making a “no homo” remark after a Game 6 victory in the Eastern Conference finals. That player was another center, Jason Collins who finished his 12th season with the Wizards. Collins,..." June 03

CSN Washington "At Bucknell, Mike Muscala didn't play in an offense in which he was able to maximize his potential. At least, that’s his story and he's sticking to it. “The system we played in was a half-court oriented offense. We valued really good shots and we didn't run in transition much,” said Muscala,..." May 30

Washington Post "For the second time in three years, the Wizards’ front office has been raided for a Connelly. A source with knowledge of the situation confirmed that Wizards director of player personnel Pat Connelly is moving to Phoenix to take an unspecified front office position with the Suns. Connelly has..." May 28

CSN Washington "The Wizards’ backcourt of John Wall and Bradley Beal will be among about 24 players who’ll compete at USA Basketball’s offeseason mini-camp in Las Vegas. Wall confirmed via text message to CSN Washington on Thursday night that he received and accepted the invitation. Beal, who has yet to..." May 24

Washington Post "Wizards Coach Randy Wittman called Bradley Beal from the golf course about an hour before Tuesday’s NBA draft lottery and had one simple message: “Don’t screw it up.” Beal delivered, as the Wizards hurdled five teams to enter a more hopeful draft position at No. 3. Wizards president Ernie..." May 24

CSN Washington "At one point, the best available for the Wizards could've been combo guard C.J. McCollum from Lehigh. They interviewed the four-year college player at the combine last week, but that’s when the Wizards were projected to pick at eighth place in the June 27 draft. Because of the draft..." May 23

Washington Times "The choice, really, should be Otto-matic. Fortunes of an NBA franchise can turn on the bounce of a few ping-pong balls. Late Tuesday, those balls, under the watchful eye of the usual Ernst and Young representative, provided a moment for the Wizards rarer than the once-in-17-years appearance by..." May 23

Washington Post "Wizards Coach Randy Wittman called Bradley Beal from the golf course about an hour before Tuesday’s NBA draft lottery and had one simple message: “Don’t screw it up.” Beal delivered, as the Wizards hurdled five teams to enter a more hopeful draft position at No. 3. Wizards president Ernie..." May 23

SI.com "Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski will be returning as the head coach of USA Basketball for the 2016 Olympics, according to a source with direct knowledge of the situation. A formal announcement is expected in the next 48 hours. Krzyzewski led Team USA to gold medals in both the 2008 Beijing Olympics..." May 23

Washington Post "The worst thing the Washington Wizards could do at this moment is give in to public sentiment and view their unexpected surprise of a No. 3 pick in the NBA draft lottery as a nameplate above a cubicle in their locker room next season. The Wizards got lucky, moved up five picks from where they..." May 22

Washington Post "The Wizards’ odds of winning the NBA draft lottery on Tuesday are slim and the actual prize isn’t obvious, since no player has distinguished himself as the unquestioned No. 1 overall pick. That doesn’t mean there won’t be any intrigue on the night Ping-Pong balls set the fate for non-playoff..." May 21

SportingNews.com "Washington Wizards guard Bradley Beal said Friday he’d lose some respect for a teammate who stayed on the sidelines the way Chicago Bulls point guard Derrick Rose did this season. “A little bit. Yeah, I would,” Beal said in an interview with Washington radio station WJFK-FM (via The Washington..." May 18

NBA.com "The Portland Trail Blazers' Damian Lillard, the unanimous selection for the 2012-13 Kia NBA Rookie of the Year, headlines the 2012-13 NBA All-Rookie First Team, the NBA announced today. Lillard was the lone unanimous First Team selection (58 points, 29 First Team votes), while the Washington..." May 15

Washington Post "Eddie Jordan hasn’t been an NBA head coach since he was fired in 2010 after one failed season in Philadelphia. Three years later, Jordan is now a college head coach at Rutgers and hopes to help the program return to the level of respectability that it had during his playing days, when he led the..." May 14

Washington Post "The red, spinning, blaring firetruck sirens of concern about Jan Vesely should’ve been set off in Charlotte in early November, when he willingly allowed Jordan Crawford to attempt free throws for him. Vesely knew that Bobcats forward Tyrus Thomas had fouled him, but he stepped aside when..." May 13

CSN Washington "Hindsight is always 20/20 but let’s flashback to 2009. The Wizards had just been awarded the fifth pick in the NBA Draft. At the time their roster included All-Stars Caron Butler and Antawn Jamison, plus Gilbert Arenas was supposed to make his return from a knee injury. At that point the..." May 07

North Jersey "Jason Collins, the former Net who last week announced he is gay, is seeking a book deal, The Associated Press learned. Officials at three publishing houses said Monday that they had been contacted about a planned memoir by Collins, the first active player in any of four major U.S. professional..." May 07

Foxsports.com "Anybody wondering why there is such antipathy about recently unemployed NFL quarterback Tim Tebow needs only to look at what happened to Jason Collins on Monday. His admission of “I’m a 34-year-old NBA center. I’m black. And I’m gay.” unleashed a torrent of Biblically-annotated vile so ugly, so..." May 01

Washington Post "Little more than a year ago, Bradley Beal was contemplating whether he should leave for the NBA or stay at Florida and take a shot at winning a national title. He counseled with his family and Florida Coach Billy Donovan, weighed the pros and cons, then decided that he was ready for the next level..." May 01

Washington Post "As he dressed in the visitor’s locker room after the Washington Wizards’ season-ending loss in Chicago, Jason Collins was pelted with a piece of ice. Glaring over at the direction of the toss, Collins spotted teammate Trevor Booker with an opened ice pack on his right wrist, playfully looking away..." April 30

Detroit Free Press "There has been overwhelming support for Jason Collins since he opened up to “Sports Illustrated” about his sexuality earlier Monday. As we pointed out earlier, Bill Clinton, Kobe Bryant, multiple NBA franchises and many other players have tweeted or relayed positive messages about Collins’..." April 30

Fort Lauderdale Sun-Sentinel "ESPN NBA analyst Chris Broussard caused a lot of controversy Monday when he said the following about NBA center Jason Collins, who had announced he was gay earlier in the day: "I'm a Christian. I don't agree with homosexuality. I think it's a sin, as I think all sex outside of marriage between a..." April 30

L.A. Daily News "This involved more pressure than taking a game-winning shot. It also bore far greater implications than any outcome on the basketball court. Yet, NBA veteran and former Harvard-Westlake standout Jason Collins shattered one significant barrier in professional sports in a move few could draw up..." April 30

SI.com "I'm a 34-year-old NBA center. I'm black. And I'm gay. I didn't set out to be the first openly gay athlete playing in a major American team sport. But since I am, I'm happy to start the conversation. I wish I wasn't the kid in the classroom raising his hand and saying, "I'm different." If I had my..." April 29

CBSSports.com "The founder and managing director of the National Basketball Players Association's former financial firm has been charged with attempting to defraud the union of $3 million by forging the signature of a dead man, federal prosecutors said Thursday. Joseph Lombardo, 72, the founder and director..." April 26

CSN Washington "Among the pressing issues going into the off-season with John Wall won’t be just about his health or his ability to build on his third year with the Wizards. It’ll be center around whether or not he deserves, and ultimately receives, a max contract. The Wizards (29-53) can extend him up to five..." April 23

Washington Post "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..." April 23

CSN Washington "The Wizards (29-53) may look different next season as they set their sights on making a legitimate run for the playoffs. This is the third in a series breaking down the roster by position, how they fared and what's ahead. Small forwards: Martell Webster Numbers game: 11.4 points, 3.9..." April 22

CSN Chicago "With the fifth seed hanging in the balance, Bulls coach Tom Thibodeau--as is the case whether game No. one or 82—was playing for the win, not focusing any of his attention towards the progress of what the Atlanta Hawks were doing, nor who they would be matching up against in the first round of the..." April 18

Washington Post "As he turned over on his left shoulder while being stretched out on Monday before the Washington Wizards played the Brooklyn Nets, John Wall glanced down at Bradley Beal, who was getting treatment on his right leg while watching film. The Wizards’ season will end tonight in Chicago, very much..." April 17

Yahoo! Sports "Brazilian 7-footer Lucas Nogueira, a serious candidate to be a first-round draft pick, has decided to enter the NBA draft, sources told Yahoo! Sports. Nogueira, 20, possesses a 7-foot-6 wingspan and has been an intriguing prospect to NBA executives for several years. The center initially..." April 17

Bergen Record "The Nets spent most of the last six months positioning themselves for the playoffs. Their work in the standings is now done. “The reality of it is, come 10:30 Wednesday night, [the regular season is] out the window; same as it is for the other 15 teams,” Nets interim coach P.J. Carlesimo said...." April 16

Washington Post "During a timeout in the first quarter of the Washington Wizards’ 106-101 loss to the Brooklyn Nets on Monday night, Martell Webster walked up to a referee, asked for the game ball and commenced to do a string of Harlem Globetrotter-worthy tricks. The injured Wizard rolled the ball around his..." April 16

CSN Washington "The Wizards can point to a lot of reasons for their four consecutive losses, but as the season winds down coach Randy Wittman is running out of options. They have a 7-32 road record with two games left in the regular season at the Brooklyn Nets at 7:30 p.m. ET on Monday and at the Chicago Bulls..." April 15

Washington Post "Nene may have been better served to just step into a freezer after each game this season. Over the course of another grueling campaign, the Washington Wizards veteran’s nightly recovery routine gradually increased from resting one foot in a bucket of ice to soaking both feet, to covering both..." April 15

CSN Washington "It wasn't too surprising that Nene declared himself out for the final two games of the season after the Wizards' practice on Sunday morning. Coach Randy Wittman, however, just wasn't aware that he wouldn't have his starting power forward for Monday's game at the Brooklyn Nets and Wednesday's at..." April 14

Washington Post "When the Washington Wizards started the season with 12 straight losses and had just four victories after the first 32 games, Coach Randy Wittman didn’t want to alienate the veterans who had earned their minutes or force them to surrender on a season that still had some faint promise once John Wall..." April 12

Washington Post "John Wall will be back at Nationals Park on Thursday seeking redemption for one of the most embarrassing moments of his young career. For two years, Wall has had to deal with the ridicule that came with throwing one of the most pitiful first pitches before a Washington Nationals game against the..." April 11

Fort Lauderdale Sun-Sentinel "To a degree, the Miami Heat played like strangers Wednesday night. To a degree, they were. Didn't matter. Not this season, when everything Arison-Riley-Spoelstra has turned to gold. With LeBron James, Dwyane Wade, Chris Bosh and Udonis Haslem given the night off due to a variety of..." April 11

New York Daily News "It started out as the Knicks’ primary goal for this season, but who can blame them if reaching it has caused them to readjust their sights higher? The sizzling Knicks tied a franchise record with 20 three-pointers to easily extend their winning streak to a baker’s dozen, cementing their first..." April 10

CSN Washington "While the Wizards (29-48) play on with the goal of ending the season saying, "We're No. 9," three of their five remaining opponents are playing for postseason position. The other two teams are trying to stay atop their respective subset. Spoiler mode it is. Tuesday, at Knicks: Seeing as the..." April 09

NESN "Prior to every game, the two high-definition TVs in the home locker room at TD Garden typically show video of the Celtics’ previous matchup with that night’s opponent. Some players, like Jeff Green and Brandon Bass, watch raptly while others hardly pay attention. But the TVs almost always show..." April 08