RealGM Basketball Wiretap

15 September 2024

• Evan Fournier Turned Down Two-Year Deal From Wizards

  Evan Fournier signed a two-year deal with Olympiacos earlier this week. Before heading back to Europe, Fournier had an opportunity to sign with the Washington Wizards.

  Fournier told L'Equipe that he turned down a two-year offer from the Wizards. Fournier said he didn't want to be in a "mentoring role" for Washington's young players. The veteran wing also said he wasn't interested in being "on a losing team".

  The Wizards have drafted French players in the first round in each of the last two drafts. In 2023, Washington drafted Bilal Coulibaly. In 2024, the team added Alex Sarr. The Wizards may have been looking for Fournier to help mentor his two young countrymen, as they figure things out in the NBA.

  Fournier's deal with Olympiacos is reportedly for $4 million over two seasons. It's unknown if the contract includes an NBA out or not.

• Wizards Sign Kira Lewis, Leaky Black, Jaylen Nowell To Exhibit 10 Deals

  The Washington Wizards have agreed to sign Leaky Black, Kira Lewis Jr. and Jaylen Nowell to Exhibit 10 contracts. Black, Lewis and Nowell will compete for a regular season roster spot with the Wizards in camp.

  Lewis appeared in 28 games last season with the New Orleans Pelicans, Utah Jazz and Toronto Raptors, averaging 3.2 points and 1.3 assists in 9.4 minutes. Lewis also appeared in five Summer League games with the Houston Rockets.

  Black appeared in 26 games last season with the Charlotte Hornets, averaging 2.7 points and 1.9 rebounds in 10.9 minutes.

  Nowell appeared in four games with the Detroit Pistons last season, averaging 7.5 points and 2.6 rebounds in 14.4 minutes. Nowell also appeared in 28 G League games, averaging 17.4 points, 3.6 rebounds and 3.4 assists in 27.9 minutes.

• Wizards To Waive Eugene Omoruyi

  The Washington Wizards will waive Eugene Omoruyi. Omoruyi's salary of $2.2 million for the 2024-25 is non-guaranteed.

  Omoruyi appeared in 43 games last season with the Wizards, averaging 4.8 points and 2.0 rebounds in 9.1 minutes.

  Omoruyi is represented by Mike George and Shayaun Saee.

• Back-To-Back Games Up In 24-25 NBA Schedule Vs Prior Year

  As the NBA continues to find ways to increase player availability for key and high-profile games, that has led to more back-to-backs being scheduled in 2024-25. Teams average 14.9 back-to-back games in next season's schedule, which is up slightly from last season. That figure is still down considerably from a decade ago.

  This season, the league has arranged the schedule to make sure no team is on a back-to-back ahead of opening week national TV games, holiday games (Christmas and MLK) and before Saturday night showcase games on ABC throughout the season. In addition, no NBA Cup games will be played as the second game of a back-to-back.

  A group of 11 teams have the most back-to-back games scheduled at 16 occurrences. This group includes the Atlanta Hawks, Cleveland Cavaliers, Denver Nuggets, Houston Rockets, LA Clippers, Milwaukee Bucks, New Orleans Pelicans, Oklahoma City Thunder, Phoenix Suns, Sacramento Kings and Washington Wizards.

  A group of six teams have the fewest back-to-back games scheduled at 13 occurrences. This group includes the Boston Celtics, Chicago Bulls, Dallas Mavericks, Los Angeles Lakers, Orlando Magic and Portland Trail Blazers.

  There are no instances of four-in-five games. The NBA has worked to eliminate those situations over the years.

• Brian Keefe Excited To Work With Wizards Young Talent

  The Washington Wizards drafted three players in the first round of the 2024 NBA Draft. The trio of Alex Sarr, Bub Carrington and Kyshawn George will join 2023 first-rounder Bilal Coulibaly to make up Washington's young core.

  That group has Wizards coach Brian Keefe excited to work with them. Keefe said there is a clear first goal for his young players.

  "Establishing habits, No. 1," Keefe said. "I said the same last year with Bilal, you teach them the professional habits and how to work in this league. It's the only way you get better is to have consistent work habits and approach to everything you're doing. That will be our No. 1 focus for those guys."

  On Sarr, who was the second overall pick, Keefe said the Wizards want to see him with the ball a lot.

  "He's got the ability to be a three-level scorer at some point. But one thing that has stood out to us is his ability to see the game and read the game. He's a good passer, so we want the ball in his hands to explore those opportunities for him to make plays for himself and others," Keefe said of the 7-footer.

  As for Carrington, the Wizards see him as able to play a lot of different roles.

  "We're going to play a little bit positionless to where a lot of people will handle and make decisions. We look at him as a guard who can make plays for himself and for others. You can see that he's a multi-talented guy who's a good rebounder that can push it in transition. We'll see him handle playing on and off the ball," Keefe said about Carrington.

• RealGM Radio: Wes Goldberg, Mike Prada On The Southeast Division (Aug 2024)

  Host Danny Leroux, Wes Goldberg of Locked On Heat and Mike Prada of The Athletic break down the NBA's Southeast Division.

  They discuss how the Heat, Magic, Wizards, Hornets and Hawks fared in the off-season, including which teams improved and what moves stood out. The three also predict the season to come, including projected finish, breakout players and rookies they are most excited to see.

  After that, Danny and Wes discuss him taking over as the host of RealGM Radio starting in September.

  Subscribe to RealGM Radio on Apple Podcasts or via the RSS feed.

• Anthony Gill Re-Signs With Wizards

  Anthony Gill has agreed to re-sign with the Washington Wizards. Gill is represented by Sean Kennedy and Jeff Schwartz.

  Gill appeared in 50 games last season, averaging 3.8 points and 1.9 rebounds in 9.3 minutes. Gill went undrafted in 2016 and first played in the NBA in 20-21 with the Wizards.

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