The Official Washington Wizards Thread

[Destino]

A successful year for Beal is to earn significant minutes, show his potential, and have numbers that show promise. .400+ fg% and .300+ fg% would be lines he'd have to find himself north of as a shooter. I dont care about his rebounding unless it is too low, as this aspect of a guards game is icing and not cake. I'm very interested to see his defense though I expect him to get shredded as a rookie, again we are looking for potential.

He true test is to show improvement every year and star power in year three or four. That's 2014-15. That matters because he shouldn't be near his prime until after the contract cataclysm.

Edit:
Steve you see Serphin starting over Okafor? I don't. Unless Seraphin flat out beats Okafor in camp and preseason h should come off th bench. I like that personally, make everyone earn it.

I think Beal should have to beat out Crawford as well (and I might still have him playing 6th man for a while, just to make him work).

[stevemcqueen1]

Omer Asik got 3 yrs, $25 mil from the Rockets.

http://www.basketball-reference.com/.../asikom01.html

Yup. That guy. And his 3 pts, 5 rebs a game.

Best part is that he gets $15 mil of it his last year.

That is a dumbass contract.

Asik is developing, looked pretty good in spot duty for the Bulls, got fairly limited opportunities because the Bulls have strong frontcourt players ahead of him, plus he's a legit 7 footer and pure defensive center. But there is no way you pay him that kind of contract without coming to regret it eventually. This contract is almost as bad as the one Brendan Haywood got, and that contract essentially gave the Mavericks no ability to extend Tyson Chandler, essentially giving them no ability to defend their championship.

You simply can't pay a 6 hard fouls big that kind of money.

The Rockets are desperate. They're screwing themselves over long term IMO.

---------- Post added July-2nd-2012 at 11:00 AM ----------

If Okafor is healthy he is going too get more than 10-15 minutes per game you are slotting him at Steve.

At the expense of Seraphin though? Seraphin proved he deserves a chance at legit starters minutes last season IMO. Okafor won't take Nene's minutes. Seraphin will be the one who gets short changed. I'd rather not do that just to accommodate Okafor because for all we know, he is only going to be here a year or two.

[pjfootballer]

For the record, I'm not claiming he'll be a bust nor did I say he would be. For the sake of the franchise, I always hope EVERY draft pick becomes an eventual all-star and can propel us back to a championship. But as always with this franchise, I have to take a wait and see approach. I appreciate all the optimism that you guys bring and all the information on him. I've admitted that I wasn't real high on the pick and I understand SG was an area of need, but until I see a full season from him, I will continue to have reservations.

[Destino]

For the record, I'm not claiming he'll be a bust nor did I say he would be. For the sake of the franchise, I always hope EVERY draft pick becomes an eventual all-star and can propel us back to a championship. But as always with this franchise, I have to take a wait and see approach. I appreciate all the optimism that you guys bring and all the information on him. I've admitted that I wasn't real high on the pick and I understand SG was an area of need, but until I see a full season from him, I will continue to have reservations.

I agree with you on the Ray Allen comparison being crazy talk. Someone asked you who made the claim the answer is the basketball media in general and his head coach in college. Here is what Beal had to say about himself:

‘My game is really, I’m an all-around player. I love to get my teammates involved. Comparing myself to somebody else, the way I shoot, I shoot similarly to Ray Allen. And when I drive to the basket, I like to compare myself to Dwyane Wade because we have the same body type or whatever. I like to compare myself to those two guys. I take pride in my defense and I’m a pretty good rebounder at my position.’”

http://www.slamonline.com/online/nba...n-dwyane-wade/

So he's not Ray Allen... He's only the NBAs best shooter when he's pulling up and shooting. He's DWade when he's driving to the basket.

Way to manage expectations Bradley!

[G.A.C.O.L.B.]

[StillUnknown]

as long as we're talking bad comparisons: http://www.eurohopes.com/player/8/tomas-satoransky/

This site compares Satoransky to Derrick Rose.

[G.A.C.O.L.B.]

as long as we're talking bad comparisons: http://www.eurohopes.com/player/8/tomas-satoransky/

This site compares Satoransky to Derrick Rose.

Been reading about him for the last 20 mins. Love this pic btw, lol



---------- Post added July-2nd-2012 at 11:43 AM ----------

Haha, I love the announcer here. Especially his call at 00:39



And Satoransky won this dunk contest. He's won a couple over in Europe:

[stevemcqueen1]

Edit:
Steve you see Serphin starting over Okafor? I don't. Unless Seraphin flat out beats Okafor in camp and preseason h should come off th bench. I like that personally, make everyone earn it.

I think Beal should have to beat out Crawford as well (and I might still have him playing 6th man for a while, just to make him work).

It'll be open competition at every position. John is the only player assured of winning any competition, although Nene will start somewhere too.

I think Seraphin has a strong chance of beating out Okafor. Right now, he's our best option at center IMO. But, I agree that Seraphin should have to earn what he gets.

I think Beal has an even stronger chance of beating out Crawford. He played the most minutes on a Florida team with senior and junior guards despite being a freshman. Wittman already loves him. And he's the smart, high motor player that endears himself quickly to the coaches. He'll learn fast and probably play better defense than Crawford by the end of the year. He'll probably take smarter shots than Crawford day one.

I also think it's no lock that Ariza will start at SF either. He's the favorite because of his championship experience and relatively easier competition. But I could see him getting beaten out/losing the starting job at some point during the season.

[Thinking Skins]

It'll be open competition at every position. John is the only player assured of winning any competition, although Nene will start somewhere too.

I think Seraphin has a strong chance of beating out Okafor. Right now, he's our best option at center IMO. But, I agree that Seraphin should have to earn what he gets.

I think Beal has an even stronger chance of beating out Crawford. He played the most minutes on a Florida team with senior and junior guards despite being a freshman. Wittman already loves him. And he's the smart, high motor player that endears himself quickly to the coaches. He'll learn fast and probably play better defense than Crawford by the end of the year. He'll probably take smarter shots than Crawford day one.

I also think it's no lock that Ariza will start at SF either. He's the favorite because of his championship experience and relatively easier competition. But I could see him getting beaten out/losing the starting job at some point during the season.

I can easily see SF and C spots changing more than once during the year. Especially at SF, if Wittman gets tired of somebody not hustling (Singleton) or jacking up shots (Ariza), then I can see a switch being made. Center, I can see it moreso as a matchup thing. If Seraphin's not rebounding properly, I can see Okafur getting inserted. Likewise, if Okafur's offense isn't there, I can see more time from Seraphin.

[stevemcqueen1]

Andray Blatche always talks a big game and says all the right things in interviews. He seems self aware and knows what he has to do moving forward... and then he doesn't do any of it. He self destructs. He will never get it turned around here. For his own sake he should hope he gets amnestied. He'll never change without a change of scenery.

---------- Post added July-2nd-2012 at 02:55 PM ----------

I can easily see SF and C spots changing more than once during the year. Especially at SF, if Wittman gets tired of somebody not hustling (Singleton) or jacking up shots (Ariza), then I can see a switch being made. Center, I can see it moreso as a matchup thing. If Seraphin's not rebounding properly, I can see Okafur getting inserted. Likewise, if Okafur's offense isn't there, I can see more time from Seraphin.

That's a good point.

I would like to see Seraphin's rebounding improve. If it doesn't, I think you're right. You have to put Okafor in. Giving up second chances hurts us more than Seraphin's low post offense helps us right now.

We were lucky to get Nene. He's made such a difference in such a short time. He was our leader day one and I love to read about how the young players are just kind of in awe of his veteran demeanor. We would still be completely adrift without him. Looking back, Denver made a bad trade. They panicked on him and gave him away for a potential one year rental of JaVale.

Look at some of the terrible contracts being signed this offseason. Nene for five years at a flat 13 million per year is a bargain. Brendan Haywood makes almost 10 million per year for the same duration. Omar Asik just got what, 8 million a year on average for the next three years? Roy Hibbert is getting maxed out. Lord knows what JaVale would have asked for on the open market. These deals are making Blatche's contract look like good value...

---------- Post added July-2nd-2012 at 03:04 PM ----------

Also, these terrible deals being doled out make me wonder if Blatche actually does have trade value. He's a 25 year old 6'11 scoring big with skills making around 7 to 8 million a year.

If his damn contract wasn't so long, I bet he'd actually bring value back in trade because that is a very cheap dollars amount for that type of player. But because the damn thing is so long, other GMs are probably too afraid to take a risk on him and his (lack of) motor to give anything up for him. They don't want to have to deal with him for the next three years if it doesn't work out.

---------- Post added July-2nd-2012 at 03:18 PM ----------

Did anyone else see that Minny tried to trade Derrick Williams for the 2nd overall pick to then flip for Pau Gasol?

I wonder how available DWill is? I wouldn't want to give up Nene for him. And Wall and Beal would be off the table in pretty much any deal. Would anyone here consider trading for DWill? A scoring combo forward like DWill would be a really nice weapon for John Wall.

I'd be afraid any deal for DWill would have to include Nene though. Minny apparently wants a veteran big to complement Kevin Love. After the chemistry Nene built and the effect he had on our young players in just a few months, I would not want to lose him for a sophomore player.

---------- Post added July-2nd-2012 at 03:34 PM ----------

Austin Rivers is like a shorter, quicker Kevin Martin. I don't like the idea of him running point in New Orleans. That offense is going to be stagnant.

[Thinking Skins]

Andray Blatche always talks a big game and says all the right things in interviews. He seems self aware and knows what he has to do moving forward... and then he doesn't do any of it. He self destructs. He will never get it turned around here. For his own sake he should hope he gets amnestied. He'll never change without a change of scenery.[COLOR="Gold"]

---------- Post added July-2nd-2012 at 02:55 PM ----------
These deals are making Blatche's contract look like good value...

---------- Post added July-2nd-2012 at 03:04 PM ----------

Also, these terrible deals being doled out make me wonder if Blatche actually does have trade value. He's a 25 year old 6'11 scoring big with skills making around 7 to 8 million a year.

If his damn contract wasn't so long, I bet he'd actually bring value back in trade because that is a very cheap dollars amount for that type of player. But because the damn thing is so long, other GMs are probably too afraid to take a risk on him and his (lack of) motor to give anything up for him. They don't want to have to deal with him for the next three years if it doesn't work out.

See, my fear is that Ernie will fall in love with his pet project again and think that Blatche can help this team again. I really feel like Wittman got to Ernie and just said "get this guy away from my team" and that thought makes me love Randy more. That being said though, I do wonder if we're going to include Blatche in our rotation to try to showcase his talents at all (assuming we keep him), or if he's just gonna get paid to sit on the bench. When he's on he does give us another outside shot. I just don't trust that he'll ever be on consistently or reliably.

[stevemcqueen1]

See, my fear is that Ernie will fall in love with his pet project again and think that Blatche can help this team again. I really feel like Wittman got to Ernie and just said "get this guy away from my team" and that thought makes me love Randy more. That being said though, I do wonder if we're going to include Blatche in our rotation to try to showcase his talents at all (assuming we keep him), or if he's just gonna get paid to sit on the bench. When he's on he does give us another outside shot. I just don't trust that he'll ever be on consistently or reliably.

Blatche can't get back on the court for us. I hope Wittman makes sure this doesn't happen. If he's going to ever redeem himself, it has to be for another team. We'll know our intentions after July 11th I suppose. I read somewhere that's the earliest we can amnesty him.

[StillUnknown]

Blatche can't get back on the court for us. I hope Wittman makes sure this doesn't happen. If he's going to ever redeem himself, it has to be for another team. We'll know our intentions after July 11th I suppose. I read somewhere that's the earliest we can amnesty him.

July 11th is the earliest, and July 18th is the latest I think.

Ernie could make things easier my just announcing that we're going to amnesty the bum. I would prefer amnesty to a trade at this point, I can't see anyway we win a deal in which he's shipped.

[stevemcqueen1]

Anyone think JaVale makes the Olympic team this summer?

Keep in mind Anthony Davis won't be in the picture because of a recent ankle sprain. And Dwight Howard and Chris Bosh aren't playing because of their injuries. Right now the only legit bigs on the team are Tyson Chandler, Kevin Love, and Blake Griffin. They've got to find another center IMO. Love and Griffin are PFs. Joakim Noah plays for the French team. Andrew Bynum, DeMarcus Cousins, Greg Monroe, and JaVale McGee are really the only other American options...

The NBA has a severe defficiency of quality American centers.

[Samuels]

Okafor if healthy is starting on this team and playing 30mpg. I don't think some of you realize how good he is when healthy. He is our best defending big,best rebounding big can hit a mid range shot and knows how to play the spacing game.

I love Seraphins ability and possible upside if you go back thru this thread when everyone was bashing him I was the one to defend him. But he is'nt anywhere near Okafors all around game at this point. Seraphin and Booker will battle for scraps unless there is a injury.