The Official Washington Wizards Thread

[Sticksboi05]

The Nats

This. Wiz are a joke and Caps can't even play.

[ixcuincle]

http://twitter.com/richarddeitsch/st...89022227296257

Via @jfdulac, bag-wearing Wizards fans hit the front of the Washington Post today: pic.twitter.com/p7O86b0W

[stevemcqueen1]

They need to do something. The roster as constructed is a disaster (again). Half the roster is projects (and as I keep saying, even good franchises can only develop one or two players at a time). The other half is useless vets with bloated contracts.

There are so many problems on this team that it is hard to list them in order. But a big one is that outside of Nene and occasionaly Ariza, there is no one on the roster that actually knows how to play basketball. Even Wall mostly just goes on instinct and natural skill.

I just don't know what the Wizards could offer and/or get back if Wall and Beal were off the table. Maybe a team like San Antonio or Houston or OKC thinks they could develop one of the kids, but what would they really offer in return?

If I were hired as GM tomorrow, I would be tempted to just burn the thing down and start all over with everyone - including Wall and Beal - available for the right price. Of course, even that plan would be on hold until I knew what was going on with Wall's knee.

If Leonsis cleaned house and hired you as GM to architect the rebuild with the imperative you need to start being competitive by 2014, what would you do to the roster?

Let's go ahead and assume you've hired competent scouts, assistants, medical staff & trainers, etc. plus a good young head coach out of a quality Western team like San Antonio. The whole culture is rebooted.

Also, start from an acceptance that your statement I underlined is true.

It's fricking tough. Where do you begin?

[Destino]

http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/...ctice-meeting/

“He came in the locker room and began talking and said, ‘What do you guys feel?’ ” rookie shooting guard Bradley Beal recalled.

With the floor opened up, Martell Webster was the first player to stand and Beal said he told Wittman, “You can’t take responsibility for everything because you’re not the one playing.”

And from there, the Wizards let out all of their frustrations about confusion over ever-changing roles and responsibilities and about using schemes that maximize their strengths. Players have tried to stay relatively upbeat while quietly grumbling about lineups and rotations that change each game. They have to be prepared to play 25 minutes or not play at all. Wittman has relied a lot on his intuition, riding hot hands that quickly go cold and energy players who have already zapped out.

“It’s a good thing we’re doing that because it gets it off our chest,” Beal said. “We’re holding stuff in and sometimes you feel like, well, you can’t [challenge] the coach. You don’t feel comfortable saying it to him. But we actually got the opportunity to tell him what we need to do and how we need to do it, basically, and I think we’re doing a great job of getting that out.”

Wittman was pleased with the feedback and used their comments during the film breakdown and in what he called “a good spirited practice.”

Beal said the air-out session provided boost when the players finally stepped on the court. “Today was the best practice we had probably all year. We talked, we communicated. There was a lot of energy out there.”

Circus.

[WhoRUSupposed2Be]

If Leonsis cleaned house and hired you as GM to architect the rebuild with the imperative you need to start being competitive by 2014, what would you do to the roster?

Let's go ahead and assume you've hired competent scouts, assistants, medical staff & trainers, etc. plus a good young head coach out of a quality Western team like San Antonio. The whole culture is rebooted.

Also, start from an acceptance that your statement I underlined is true.

It's fricking tough. Where do you begin?

Now that is the hard part in itself...

[Sticksboi05]

Ernie has been running from the law long enough. He has committed homicide...of the Bullets franchise. Just looking back, his rationale for giving a half-kneed Arenas a $100 million contract and then thinking loading the team with two mediocre vets in Okafor and Ariza would somehow help the franchise. So many terrible moves...this has gone on long enough...It's time to bring him to justice. Too bad Ted's the jury and judge.

[BRAVEONTHEWARPATH93]

http://www.grantland.com/blog/the-tr...75/the-wizards

[Lombardi's_kid_brother]

If Leonsis cleaned house and hired you as GM to architect the rebuild with the imperative you need to start being competitive by 2014, what would you do to the roster?

Let's go ahead and assume you've hired competent scouts, assistants, medical staff & trainers, etc. plus a good young head coach out of a quality Western team like San Antonio. The whole culture is rebooted.

Also, start from an acceptance that your statement I underlined is true.

It's fricking tough. Where do you begin?

Is Wall healthy enough to play and practice? The first thing I do is hire a veteran coach who I think is a good evaluator of talent. Like a Hubie Brown type. I'm drawing a blank as to who that could be, but I want an old guy who will take a job until the summer with the job of just assessing the roster and who is not coaching for his career.

Before the trade deadline, I ask him these questions: Can we win a title with John Wall as our best player? Can we win a title with Wall as our second best player? Can we will a title with Beal as our second best player? Based on that discussion, I choose one of those two to stick with and look to deal the other. If I keep Wall, part of my off-season coaching hunt is someone who can develop a point guard either as head coach or top assistant. If you are going to build around Wall, then give him all the tools possible to succeed. I don't feel like he has been coached at all. Calipari got him ready for the draft and that's about it. I either commit fully to developing Wall into an All-Star or I dump him.

After that, I start to go to work on the cap. I actually would not mind a roster with player like Ariza and Nene...if I weren't paying them so bloody much. Unless you are one of the six best teams in the league, your goal should always be roster flexibility. There is none of that right now.

I would probably keep Seraphin and maybe one other youngster but look to replaced the rest of the roster with cheap veterans. If I'm not going to be good, I'm going to be under the cap. Because my big move as GM is off the court.

I would reach out to the Redskins and Nats. I want RGIII at games. I want Harper and Strasberg at games. I want to figure out a why a city in the northeast filled with famous people, with four professional sports teams, and with a large - and affluent - black population cannot attract free agents. I want to be cutting edge off the court (like the Mavericks and like the Nets are going to be). I'm a 38-year-old white dude, but there have to be local rappers and artists and musicians....I need to connect to them. And I need some of them in the marketing department. Because that needs to change too. I would love to go back to the Bullets and just completely re-brand the team, maybe going retro 70s. Hell, I might even give John Wall a bonus if he grows an Afro. (Only half-joking by the way).

In the summer, I'm trying to get a young, somewhat hip coach. I may even do something completely nuts and hire Shaka Smart. At least someone that would make you take notice.

On the court, I'm going with Wall, whoever the number one pick is next year, Seraphin and competent vets until I figure out what Wall actually needs around him. Off the court, I'm trying to figure out how to make the team someplace players want to go. Not necessarily the Lebrons of the world, but second tier all-stars at least. Right now, DC is as attractive as Sacramento, which is insane.

I don't know if the Wizards are competitive in 2014 with that plan, but they are very very different.

I also completely rebuild our scouting department with Houston as the model. Houston does a great job of finding cheap, complementary pieces. Morey has consistently had the best #3 through #8 players in the league. The problem is, They have been his #1 through #6 players (if that makes sense). I have some assets. I have high draft picks. I will have chances to get a superstar. Hell, I may even have one. I want good, smart players there when I land him.

This team was run like a family hardware store for 30 years. It is now being run with complete indifference by a fat billionaire whose best ideas seem to be from 1997. I want it younger, hipper, and cutting edge.

[stevemcqueen1]

Here's my vision. Long Post Alert:

- Our biggest mistake of the John Wall rebuild was we went too young. 100% roster turnover by season 3 (Wall is the longest tenured Wizard). An attempt to develop six first round draft picks from a two year span.

- We've got two bad contracts in Nene's and Okafor's, but neither are actually that bad. Oak's is up next Summer and Nene definitely earns his money when he's on the court. We have a lot of cheap rookie deal trade-able pieces but the only ones that would be very valuable are Wall and Beal. We've got flexibility to fire sale and turn the roster over if need be, make some unbalanced trades, bring in new blood.

I'd start by keeping Wall and deciding to build around him for Wall era 2.0. He's not a developmental talent any more by his fourth season, he's ready to lead a winning team. Good enough to do it too. If he's nothing more than a rich man's Brandon Jennings, I can live with that. He'll get better from having better teammates. He'll also pick up the little things continuously throughout his career but I'm no longer expecting him to develop into this great shooter or complete PG, he is what he is and I'm fine with it. I'm not trading him because his contract is awesome and I simply will not find a better PG than him and it's unlikely I'll find a more valuable player at an equally valuable position in any deal. I'd only trade him for an elite SF or elite big but why would some other team make that deal?

Second, I work from the premise that I'm going to get a high draft pick this year and that guy and Beal are going to be my two developmental pieces. Seraphin isn't really a developmental player any more, he'd be getting grown man treatment and I'd be planning to play him 34+ minutes a game from now on. In the draft, I'd pray for Shabazz. He would have enough NBA ready skills to contribute and get some confidence even before he knew how to play.

I would deal Nene if anyone would take him. Excellent player, but his health problems hurt the team too much. I would deal Oak next year once his contract is set to expire. He'd be a valuable trade chip. I'd deal Crawford, Booker, Singleton, Vesely, and Ariza this year if possible. Singleton, meh, I'd keep him if no one wanted him.

Ves is a good fit in Dallas or San Antonio. An offense where there is barely any dribbling and the players make quick chains of passes for movement. That's exactly where he needs to be.

Book is a good fit for a team like Miami. Possibly the Lakers.

Crawford would be a good fit for Chicago to bring that second line scoring. Probably a lot of teams out there that could use him.

Singleton would actually be a good fit on a team like OKC or the Lakers. Singleton is tough and has young legs plus he can hit open shots. The main appeal is his size and tremendous lateral speed. He's a defensive player you develop into a LeBron/Melo guarder, so teams that have to contain those types could use him. OKC in particular would be who should get him.

Ariza could help out any playoff team pretty much. His contract is meh, player option for next year, 7 million per. He's someone that should be pretty easy to move before the deadline. I'm thinking a team like the Knicks is a good fit for him.

I don't know who in the Hell would take Nene. There are a lot of teams that could afford him surprisingly enough. I think he'd be a brilliant fit in Miami but they can't afford him. I think Chicago would also be a great fit but Boozer's deal is in the way and I'm not taking it back. And again OKC could use him but I'm probably not taking Perkins' contract back.

So best I can do is try and work him into some deal for some awful, expiring talent.

I would absolutely get in on the Pau Gasol trade to either move contracts or actually get him. Wall, Beal, and my unprotected first are the only things I'd leave off the table.

If I didn't get Pau, Marcin Gortat is my #2 option. I just need somebody big that can play and isn't beset by injuries. I can play almost anyone big next to Seraphin because Seraphin can play inside--out.

Another vet I'd try and make a move for is Shawn Marion or someone like him. Two year deal, overpaid, but the kind of wing and contract I want to bring in while I develop Beal and Wall. Dallas is probably looking to dump him for something appealing.

I know I only get two years from Gasol/Gortat and Marion. One really since this season is a wash. But I believe a Wall, Beal, Marion, Gasol/Gortat, Seraphin group is one I can win games with in 2013/2014 and challenge for a late seed.

My key reserves would be a backup PG, a scoring wing, and some sort of big. My scoring wing would hopefully be Shabazz whom I'm getting with my high pick. My backup PG would ideally be Chauncey Billups if I could lure him here. If not, I'd as soon keep Shaun Livingston. For my big, I would really try and pry Tyler Hansbrough away from Indy.

The rest of my roster will be filled out with cheap one year contracts. I'd go with an 8 man rotation where everyone's role is intuitive and completely clear.

240 minutes a game:

- Wall gets 36 mins
- Beal gets 34 mins
- Marion gets 30 mins
- Seraphin gets 34 mins
- Gortat/Gasol get 34 mins
- Shabazz gets 30 mins
- Livingston gets 21 mins
- Hansborough gets 21 mins

That's my 2013/14 rotation and it makes sense and I don't need anyone else. Everyone would know their place and everyone can do their job. It would only be a one year thing as Gortat/Gasol & Marion would all be hitting UFA. But By that point Seraphin and Wall will be fully formed players going into their fifth seasons, Beal would be good enough to be a primary offensive option going into his third year, and Shabazz could possibly be good enough to handle an increase in minutes. All I would have to do is find a way to keep Pau or Gortat or find another big man---challenging--but not nearly as hard as getting the initial pieces in place.

From there I think Wall, Beal, Seraphin, and Shabazz is a good enough to start winning and getting to the playoffs as a minimum and at that point I'd be good enough to worry about dealing some pieces to get a superstar for an actual contender to fall into place.

[StillUnknown]

Nene expected to play tonight.

[AsiaticSkinsFan]

I want to figure out a why a city in the northeast filled with famous people, with four professional sports teams, and with a large - and affluent - black population cannot attract free agents.

bad organization, simple as that.

[Fight4RGIII]

Nice to see that practice of the year with so much communication translating onto the floor tonight.

[StillUnknown]

15-4 Blazers already

---------- Post added November-28th-2012 at 07:24 PM ----------

Beal is all kinds of lost right now.

[abdcskins]

I just looked at Emeka Okafor's salary for this year. Pffffffffff, really?

50 Emeka Okafor C 30 6-10 255 Connecticut $13,490,000

[StillUnknown]

I just looked at Emeka Okafor's salary for this year. Pffffffffff, really?

50 Emeka Okafor C 30 6-10 255 Connecticut $13,490,000

With a player option for next year, I can't imagine he would choose to opt out.

---------- Post added November-28th-2012 at 08:04 PM ----------

Tie game at the half


could it actually happen tonight?


just noticed Vesely didn't play at all that 1st half