WASHINGTON (AP) — Ernie Grunfeld was fired as president of the Washington Wizards after 16 seasons in charge of the team, and owner Ted Leonsis said he will oversee a "reboot."Grunfeld's dismissal was announced with four games left in a disappointing, no-playoffs season that began with Leonsis setting a goal of 50 wins, something the franchise last accomplished in the 1970s.Instead, Washington is 32-46 and in 11th place in the 15-team Eastern Conference. So Grunfeld is gone, after sticking around through years of fans' complaints about him."Each year that he worked for me, we sat down and said: 'What are our expectations. What are our goals?' And we're very, very thoughtful and mindful and spend a lot of time on what the goal should be. We set that up this year and we didn't meet them and so that's what happened this year," Leonsis said."We entered the year with the fourth-highest payroll in the league. We could end up with the fourth-worst record in the league," he said. "There's a misalignment... [More]

WASHINGTON (AP) — Ernie Grunfeld was fired as president of the Washington Wizards on Tuesday after 16 seasons in charge of the team.The Wizards announced his dismissal with four games left in a disappointing, no-playoffs season.Washington is 32-46 and in 11th place in the 15-team Eastern Conference."We did not meet our stated goals of qualifying for the playoffs this season," owner Ted Leonsis said in a statement issued by the Wizards, "and, despite playing with injuries to several key players, we have a culture of accountability and a responsibility of managing to positive outcomes."Point guard John Wall and center Dwight Howard both missed most of the season, and forward Markieff Morris also was injured before getting traded.The club went 568-724 during Grunfeld's tenure, including eight postseason appearances.But Washington never made it past the second round of the playoffs and never won at least 50 games in a season, despite having All-Stars such as Wall, Bradley Beal, Gilbert Arenas,... [More]

OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) — The Oklahoma City Thunder signed free-agent forward Markieff Morris on Wednesday.The 29-year-old Morris was traded from Washington to New Orleans two weeks ago in a deadline deal, then waived by the Pelicans. He has been cleared to play after being sidelined since late December because of a neck injury.Morris averaged 11.5 points, 5.1 rebounds and 1.8 assists in 34 games this season for Washington. In eight NBA seasons with Phoenix and Washington, the former Kansas player has averaged 11.8 points, 5.6 rebounds and 1.7 assists.He's the twin brother of Boston forward Marcus Morris.___More AP NBA: https://apnews.com/tag/NBAbasketball and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports

WASHINGTON (AP) — John Wall has a history of trying to play through pain. His latest setback is forcing the Washington Wizards guard to take a different approach."I guess God is telling me something," Wall said Friday night about the ruptured Achilles tendon that will force him to miss at least the majority of the 2019-20 season. "To sit down and get yourself fully healthy. I've played through injuries my whole career. I know a lot of people who played through injuries and don't sit down. That's one thing I don't like to do. If something that's nagging or not broken, I want to play. I guess it kind of caught up to me."Wall was already out for the season after having surgery to repair bone spurs in his left heel. The rupture in his tendon was discovered by a team doctor during a follow-up procedure to clean out an infection. His recovery time has been estimated at 11 to 15 months."I didn't want to hear it," Wall said of the diagnosis. "I'm kind of glad it happened now instead of when I'm... [More]

CHICAGO (AP) — The Washington Wizards decided they needed to shake things up with All-Star point guard John Wall out for the season.Otto Porter Jr. is gone. Jabari Parker and Bobby Portis are in.Washington traded Porter to the struggling Chicago Bulls on Wednesday for Parker, Portis and a protected 2023 second-round pick."I know what he's capable of doing," the Wizards' Bradley Beal said. "He has the ability to go lead a young team now, so I know he'll do well there, or wherever he may end up. We'll welcome Bobby and Jabari and just keep moving forward."The Wizards changed up their front court in the aftermath of the news that Wall needs surgery for a ruptured left Achilles tendon and is expected to miss much — if not all — of next season. Wall already was sidelined because of an operation on his left heel.The trade also ends a failed experiment for the Bulls after Parker signed a $40 million, two-year contract with his hometown team. Chicago dropped to 12-42 with Wednesday night's 125-120... [More]

CHICAGO (AP) — The Washington Wizards decided they needed to shake things up with All-Star point guard John Wall out for the season.Otto Porter Jr. is gone. Jabari Parker and Bobby Portis are in.Washington traded Porter to the struggling Chicago Bulls on Wednesday for Parker and Portis. A person familiar with the situation confirmed the move on condition of anonymity because the deal had not been announced.The Athletic first reported the trade.The Wizards changed up their front court in the aftermath of the news that Wall needs surgery for a ruptured left Achilles tendon and is expected to miss much — if not all — of next season. Wall already was sidelined because of an operation on his left heel.The trade also ends a failed experiment for the Bulls after Parker signed a $40 million, two-year contract with his hometown team. Chicago dropped to 12-42 with Wednesday night's 125-120 loss to New Orleans.Porter had joined Wall and shooting guard Bradley Beal to form a young nucleus of lottery... [More]

WASHINGTON (AP) — Already done for this season after one operation, Washington Wizards point guard John Wall now will miss most — if not all — of next season, too, because he needs surgery on his left Achilles tendon, which he tore in a fall at home.Wizards team doctor Wiemi Douoguih said Tuesday in a conference call with reporters that he discovered the partial rupture of the tendon during a procedure done Monday to address an infection from the operation on Wall's left heel on Jan. 8.The 28-year-old Wall's Achilles surgery has not been scheduled yet. Douoguih said it probably will be next week.Wall, whose game is built around his speed and ability to drive to the basket, is expected to be able to return to what the team called "full basketball activities" about a year after that operation. Douoguih estimated the recovery range for Wall's injury, "at John's age," to be from 11 to 15 months.There is no way to know what sort of player Wall will be when he returns, Douoguih said."Unfortunately,"... [More]

Imagine this: Kevin Durant is out of bounds by an enormous margin, all three referees somehow miss the obvious infraction and Golden State winds up getting a basket that it didn't deserve to take the lead with a few seconds remaining.It seemed implausible.That is, until it happened.When such a scene played out last week in the Houston-Golden State overtime thriller, James Harden kept a ton of egg from landing on the NBA's face when he connected on a 3-pointer to give the Rockets a win in a game they would have screamed bloody murder about otherwise. But what if he missed? Or worse, if a call that big got missed in Game 7 of the NBA Finals?"How do you miss that?" TNT analyst Reggie Miller mused while watching the Durant replay.An obvious question, with an obvious answer: It's time for a change.Everyone in the NBA replay center in Secaucus, New Jersey that night surely saw Durant standing out of bounds. But there is no mechanism for the replay crews to trigger a review of such a play — since,... [More]

WASHINGTON (AP) — Washington Wizards power forward Markieff Morris will miss at least six weeks with a neck injury, the latest setback in a difficult season for one of the NBA's most disappointing teams.The Wizards announced Thursday that Morris was examined by a doctor after dealing with neck and upper back stiffness since getting hit on the chin during a game against the Los Angeles Lakers on Dec. 16. Morris left that game at halftime with what the Wizards said then was a neck strain.He now will be limited to non-contact basketball activities for the next 1½ months. The Wizards are scheduled to play 20 games in that span.The 29-year-old Morris has never appeared in fewer than the 63 games he played in during his rookie season back in 2011-12.The Wizards already were without All-Star point guard John Wall for the rest of this season because he needs an operation on his left heel and Achilles tendon, and they're also currently missing center Dwight Howard, who is expected to be out for... [More]

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Washington Wizards say forward Markieff Morris will miss at least six weeks with a neck injury, the latest setback for one of the NBA's most disappointing teams.The Wizards announced Thursday that Morris was examined by a doctor in Dallas after dealing with neck and upper back stiffness since getting hit on the chin during a game on Dec. 16.He will be limited to non-contact basketball activities for the next 1½ months. That would mean sitting out a minimum of 20 games.The Wizards already are without point guard John Wall for the rest of the season and are currently missing center Dwight Howard, both because of injuries.Only four teams in the Eastern Conference own a worse record than Washington's 15-23 mark.___More AP NBA: https://apnews.com/NBA and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports

WASHINGTON (AP) — John Wall is out for the Washington Wizards' game Friday night against Chicago due to a left heel injury, and coach Scott Brooks says the point guard will see a specialist.Brooks would not speculate on the severity of the injury. He says Wall has managed an issue with his heel for years and "it comes and goes."Wall is averaging 20.7 points and 8.7 assists per game. He missed a game with an injury to his heel Dec. 10.Tomas Satoransky will start in place of Wall.Otto Porter is out for the ninth consecutive game with a bruised right knee. Brooks said he is improving and nearing a return. Forward Markieff Morris is also out with a neck injury.___More AP NBA: https://apnews.com/NBA and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports

WASHINGTON (AP) — John Wall is out for the Washington Wizards' game Friday night against Chicago due to a left heel injury, and coach Scott Brooks says the point guard will see a specialist.Brooks would not speculate on the severity of the injury. He says Wall has managed an issue with his heel for years and "it comes and goes."Wall is averaging 20.7 points and 8.7 assists per game. He missed a game with an injury to his heel Dec. 10.Tomas Satoransky will start in place of Wall.Otto Porter is out for the ninth consecutive game with a bruised right knee. Brooks said he is improving and nearing a return. Forward Markieff Morris is also out with a neck injury.___More AP NBA: https://apnews.com/NBA and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports

WASHINGTON (AP) — Washington Wizards point guard John Wall is missing Saturday night's game against the Phoenix Suns because of flu-like symptoms.Wall was ruled out shortly before the 7 p.m. tipoff. He did not participate in Washington's morning shootaround.Tomas Satoransky is starting in place of the five-time All Star. Forward Markieff Morris also is dealing with an illness but will play, according to coach Scott Brooks.Wall entered Saturday averaging 21.2 points and 8.9 assists for the Wizards, who have lost six of seven.He has missed three games this season, sitting out on Dec. 5 because of personal reasons and on Dec. 10 with bone spurs.___More AP NBA: https://apnews.com/NBA and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports

WASHINGTON (AP) — Dwight Howard is scheduled to make his Washington Wizards debut against the Oklahoma City Thunder on Friday.Wizards coach Scott Brooks says his team's new center practiced Thursday and will start against visiting Oklahoma City.The Wizards are off to a 1-6 start without Howard. He missed all of training camp, the preseason and the first seven games of the regular season because of a sore backside.Howard didn't travel with the team on Washington's recent five-game road trip.Brooks says power forward Markieff Morris is out of the concussion protocol and practiced Thursday. He is also expected to play Friday against the Thunder.___More AP NBA: https://apnews.com/NBA and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports

NEW YORK (AP) — Washington forward Markieff Morris has been fined $15,000 for unsportsmanlike conduct late in the Wizards' overtime victory at Portland on Monday night.The NBA announced the penalty Wednesday before the Wizards played at the two-time defending champion Golden State Warriors.Morris was on the bench when he twice pulled at guard Seth Curry's shorts during live play at the end of the fourth quarter in the Wizards' 125-124 victory.___More AP NBA: https://apnews.com/tag/NBA and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports

NEW YORK (AP) — Washington Wizards forward Markieff Morris has been fined $15,000 for unsportsmanlike conduct for grabbing an opponent's uniform.NBA executive vice president of basketball operations Kiki VanDeWeghe announced the fine on Wednesday.It stems from the final play of the fourth quarter of the Wizards' 125-124 overtime win over the Trail Blazers on Monday.Morris, who was out of the game after scoring 28 points, twice grabbed Portland guard Seth Curry's uniform while Curry was playing.___More AP NBA: www.apnews.com/tag/NBA and www.twitter.com/AP_Sports

WASHINGTON (AP) — For a team that entered the season thinking it was ready to win 50 games and reach the Eastern Conference finals, John Wall's Washington Wizards sure did lose a lot of games against teams that didn't even make the playoffs.And everything revealed by those defeats against the likes of the Hawks and Magic, or the Mavericks and Suns, or the Nets and Bulls — a lack of consistency, for example, or an inability to close out opponents — were the same sorts of problems that failed the Wizards in their first-round exit as the No. 8 seed in the Eastern Conference."We had some great moments. Then we showed bad moments," Wall said Saturday, the day after a 102-92 loss in Game 6 against the No. 1 seed Toronto Raptors ended Washington's season. "Just kind of not respecting some of the opponents that we went against."Asked why that happened, forward Markieff Morris said: "Sometimes it felt like it was immaturity. ... Not coming in and doing our job."The issue might have been as much... [More]

WASHINGTON (AP) — For a team that entered the season thinking it was ready to win 50 games and reach the Eastern Conference finals, coach Scott Brooks' Washington Wizards sure did lose a lot of games against teams that didn't even make the playoffs.And everything revealed by those defeats against the likes of the Hawks and Magic, or the Mavericks and Suns, or the Nets and Bulls — a lack of consistency, for example, or an inability to close out opponents — were the same sorts of problems that failed the Wizards in their first-round exit as the No. 8 seed in the Eastern Conference."I don't know if we're too casual or something that was keeping us from being able to compete at the high level against all teams," Brooks said Saturday, the day after a 102-92 loss in Game 6 against the No. 1 seed Toronto Raptors ended Washington's season. "Got to figure that out."They sure do."Sometimes it felt like it was immaturity," forward Markieff Morris said. "It's not coming in and doing our job."The issue... [More]

WASHINGTON (AP) — Washington Wizards coach Scott Brooks knew John Wall would be back to his explosive, elite self for the playoffs when the All-Star point guard was able to play 38 minutes in a regular-season loss at Cleveland.It took Wall one additional outing to be absolutely certain he' d be OK after coming back from surgery on his left knee, pointing to his 29-point, 12-assist effort against Boston five days later."I had a big game," he said Monday, looking back at that victory from a couple of weeks ago. "Kind of just started to see shots fall that I was falling short on the couple of games I had before that."As Wall prepares to lead the No. 8 seed Wizards into Game 5 against the No. 1 seed Raptors on Wednesday night in Toronto, it is as if he never was away for more than two months. As if he never needed that operation in the first place. As if he got a chance to ramp up for the postseason for more than merely four games.And all of that outside chatter about whether Washington might... [More]

NEW YORK (AP) — The NBA has fined Washington Wizards forward Markieff Morris and twin brother Marcus Morris of the Boston Celtics for their roles in separate incidents during playoff games.Markieff Morris has been fined $25,000 by the NBA on Saturday for attempting to escalate an altercation and pushing an official during a game against Toronto on Friday night. Morris shoved official Ken Mauer aside when Morris and Toronto's OG Anunoby had to be separated after a near-fight that drew other players less than three minutes into the Wizards' 122-103 victory.Meanwhile, Marcus Morris was also docked $15,000 for criticizing officials after the Celtics' 116-92 loss to the Milwaukee Bucks. He was called for a technical foul in the third and was critical of the officiating after the game.In October, the brothers were acquitted by a Phoenix jury in an aggravated assault trial. They were on trial on charges that they helped three other people beat a man in January 2015 outside a high school basketball game. The twins played for the Phoenix Suns at the time.