NBA Rumors: Celtics ownership update, Nuggets out on Gary Trent Jr., Wizards sign Saddiq Bey

NBA Rumors: Wizards sign Saddiq Bey

The Washington Wizards are loading up on tradable contracts this summer, including their most recent signing, forward Saddiq Bey.

On Wednesday, ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski reported that Bey and Washington have agreed on a three-year, $20 million deal. After spending two seasons with the Atlanta Hawks, the D.C. native will join the Wizards.

As Wojnarowski points out, Bey is working his way back from a torn ACL, though he is a solid reclamation project for a retooling Wizards franchise.

Bey was traded to the Hawks by the Detroit Pistons ahead of the 2023 trade deadline in exchange for five second-round picks. Before getting hurt, he was a pivotal rotational piece for Atlanta this past campaign, even emerging as a starter. He averaged 13.7 points and 6.5 rebounds per while, albeit on inefficient shooting from the floor (41.6 percent) and three (31.6 percent).

The Wizards will presumably redshirt Bey for much of 2024-25. But his $6.66 million average annual salary could be an attractive bargaining chip once he's healthy enough to play, especially considering the continuously rising NBA salary cap. 

Only 25, Bey's combination of size (6-foot-7), scoring and shooting make him an intriguing 3-and-D flier. He dropped a career-high 51 points in 2022 with the Pistons, proving his ability to get buckets.

NBA Rumors: Nuggets out on Gary Trent Jr.

Veteran sharpshooter Gary Trent Jr. hasn't been as well-perceived on the open market as he had hoped or expected. As a result, speculation that he's willing to take a one-year "prove it" deal to re-establish his value looms. However, we can cross the Denver Nuggets off the list of potential suitors based on intel from Harrison Wind of DNVR Sports.

Per Wind, "you can rule out" Trent taking the discount it'd require to be in Denver's price range, considering they can only offer him a minimum contract. Moreover, the Nuggets insider adds that he doesn't believe the team would have "much interest" in the 25-year-old.

Hard-capped at the second apron, the Nuggets have few ways to upgrade the roster at this juncture in the offseason. So, they are attempting to upgrade their roster around the edges. Nonetheless, they've yet to fill the void left by Kentavious Caldwell-Pope's departure in free agency, and Trent could have been a fascinating replacement.

Trent posted his lowest scoring tally since 2020-21 this past season with the Toronto Raptors (13.7 points per game). But he shot 39.3 percent from beyond the arc on 6.4 nightly attempts and averaged 1.1 steals per game, flashing his two-way prowess on the wing.

Regardless, we can cross Denver off the list of possible Trent landing spots.

NBA Rumors: Celtics ownership update

Fresh off the Boston Celtics winning their 18th NBA championship in franchise history, owner Wyc Grousbeck announced his stake in the team is for sale. Since then, he has provided further information, outlining his strategy to shed his shares in multiple transactions.

During an appearance on CNBC's Closing Bell, Grousbeck said:

“I want to clarify, it’s not my majority stake. The control of the team is owned by my family. So, it's a family that I belong to and then I have the Celtics family I also belong to, so there's an intersection and there's an involvement."

Moreover, Grousbeck said he plans to sell the team in "two parts," with 51 percent of his equity "going fairly soon." Then, his "expectation" is that the remaining 49 percent will get dealt in 2028.

"I’m planning or expected to stay on [as governor] until 2028," Grousbeck said, adding that this will be "quite a bidding process." 

The Celtics are among the most iconic organizations in all sports and the most valuable/desirable assets. Per Sportico, Boston is worth $5.12 billion.

Boston fans will be happy regardless, barring the proprietor of the hometown Red Sox, John Henry, stepping into power. However, the city may have Los Angeles Lakers superstar and longtime rival LeBron James to thank for that not happening.