The Official Washington Wizards Thread

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

If we don't get Davis, then Beal or MKG need to be the pick. Not even really a question in my mind.

[Fight4RGIII]

I guess my ideal draft right now would be MKG/John Jenkins/Crowder or Kyle O'Quinn.

[Destino]

If we don't get Davis, then Beal or MKG need to be the pick. Not even really a question in my mind.

I'm hoping we can come out of it with a trade. Maybe the Hornets want our second over all and give us both of their 1st rounders or the Thunder go insane and give us Harden for our pick. I'm not entirely sold on anyone in this draft being a superstar.

[stevemcqueen1]

I'm hoping we can come out of it with a trade. Maybe the Hornets want our second over all and give us both of their 1st rounders or the Thunder go insane and give us Harden for our pick. I'm not entirely sold on anyone in this draft being a superstar.

I wouldn't trade our pick for Harden.

I think it's reasonable to expect Harden to NEVER match his former production if he came here. He's a glorified role player for OKC. A very good one no doubt. But a sixth man wing player like him needs a certain set of circumstances to perform like he has. He would have to start for us, and he would have to shoulder the load. I don't think he's suited for it.

Don't pay premium for a player's stats for another team.

[RonArtest15]

I wouldn't trade our pick for Harden.

I think it's reasonable to expect Harden to NEVER match his former production if he came here. He's a glorified role player for OKC. A very good one no doubt. But a sixth man wing player like him needs a certain set of circumstances to perform like he has. He would have to start for us, and he would have to shoulder the load. I don't think he's suited for it.

Don't pay premium for a player's stats for another team.

Harden is also 22 years old. Did you catch the game the other night when he dropped 40? I do agree that he's not a #1 scoring option, but as a #2....you bet. On top of it all, he does so many good things on the floor to fill the stat sheet, he's well worth a max deal in this new CBA.

If we land any pick outside of the top-3, I'd be looking to deal. Especially if Harden is in play. He's a Manu clone and would be a ridiculous building-block for this team going forward.

Of course (assuming OKC lets him walk) we could wait for his FA year. Imagine if the Wizards got the #1 overall and somehow signed Harden down the road? A trio of Davis, Harden, and Wall would be flat out AMAZING and make this team contenders immediately.

[stevemcqueen1]

And whether or not we would want to deal for Harden, I seriously doubt OKC would ever trade him for draft picks. He's young and he's their guy. They picked him over Tyreke Evans and Steph Curry because they liked him specifically for their roster construction and their chemistry. He's perfect within the structure of their organization--it's his absolute ideal fit. They're a dominant team and a legit title contender as is, they don't need to make any changes and just need to focus on keeping everyone together from here on out.

But even if he were available for our lotto pick, as good as he is, I wouldn't make the trade. I don't think we can replicate OKC's circumstances and I think he would regress here. He's not really an alpha type scorer. He's the perfect wing man--a second line energy guy that hits the limited shots he gets each game, can perform in the clutch and , and excels at creating for his star teammates. Here he'd be the go to guy on offense, have to deal with double teams, shoot far more and have to create his own shots, play far more minutes, and he wouldn't get nearly as many favorable looks.

[No Excuses]

We need to hope that magically we land a first tier scorer (how many of these are there truly in the NBA?) because apparently a 22 year old high efficiency SG who does just about everything for his position at an exceptional level isn't good enough for this team. Go figure.

James Harden is what Bradley Beal might become in a couple of years.

[stevemcqueen1]

Harden is also 22 years old. Did you catch the game the other night when he dropped 40? I do agree that he's not a #1 scoring option, but as a #2....you bet. On top of it all, he does so many good things on the floor to fill the stat sheet, he's well worth a max deal in this new CBA.

If we land any pick outside of the top-3, I'd be looking to deal. Especially if Harden is in play. He's a Manu clone and would be a ridiculous building-block for this team going forward.

Of course (assuming OKC lets him walk) we could wait for his FA year. Imagine if the Wizards got the #1 overall and somehow signed Harden down the road? A trio of Davis, Harden, and Wall would be flat out AMAZING and make this team contenders immediately.

You're right that he's young and he'll probably get better. But would that happen here? I think he'd actually regress playing for us because of the drastic change in role he'd have to assume.

I too think he is just like Manu, and Manu has always been better playing with the second line and coming off the bench. I just don't think Wall or Crawford are good enough go to scoring types that we could afford to keep Harden on the bench and in that kind of 6th man role. I don't think they can consistently clear him of defensive pressure.

Harden in FA makes a lot more sense for us because we wouldn't have to surrender that draft pick and his expectations would be totally different. We could play him off the bench then, but when you trade such a high lottery pick, it's kind of assumed if you're giving up a potential star player to get him, then he should come in and be a star for us. But if you keep the lotto pick and get someone really good like Davis or even MKG and you get Harden, that's a whole different construction. The hope would be that you've got enough talent (or potential talent) around Harden by that point that you could keep him in the same role as the sixth man.

---------- Post added April-23rd-2012 at 03:14 PM ----------

If you go out and get Harden and want him to be the player here that he is for OKC, I think you need to go out and get another player who is a legit star or potential star.

Harden and Nene would be valuable complimentary players to a true star scoring forward or 2 guard because of their ability to thrive with limited shots. With Wall and a big time scoring wing or PF plus Harden and Nene, I think you'd have a contender in place.

With Harden here, I'd put everyone on the roster up for sale except Wall to get someone. Maybe someone like DeMarcus Cousins. I wonder if the Knicks would deal Carmelo Anthony?

[Destino]

I wouldn't trade our pick for Harden.

I think it's reasonable to expect Harden to NEVER match his former production if he came here. He's a glorified role player for OKC. A very good one no doubt. But a sixth man wing player like him needs a certain set of circumstances to perform like he has. He would have to start for us, and he would have to shoulder the load. I don't think he's suited for it.

Don't pay premium for a player's stats for another team.

I disagree. Wall is more of a pass first point guard than Westbrook which would greatly benefit a player like Harden that is a terrific scorer but not as good of an athlete. If Beal works out well he'll likely be very similar to Harden, although shorter, and several years behind in development. I wouldn't trade the farm for Harden (several picks) but if we don't get the first pick I would certainly make the trade. Most importantly however Harden is a scorer and that is something this team desperately needs. MKG isn't going to be a offensive monster, he's a defender with a good around the basket game. T-Rob would be nice and we need a rebounder but with the emergence of Seraphin perhaps we aren't as bad at the 4 and 5 as we thought we were.

Wall Mack
Harden Crawford
Singleton Martin
Nene Booker
Seraphin Vesely

That's not nearly as horrible a team as we've suffered through. Booker, Crawford, and Martin give us real scoring options off the bench. Nene, Wall, and Harden give us inside and outside scoring options in the starting unit. We'd lack rebounding but Rome wasn't built in a day.

[Fight4RGIII]

Well that was a BS Flagrant 2 on Thomas haha.

[StillUnknown]

Well that was a BS Flagrant 2 on Thomas haha.

Very weak call, no way he deserved to be ejected for that.

That said, Tyrus Thomas is probably elated he doesn't have to play the rest of this game.

---------- Post added April-23rd-2012 at 07:48 PM ----------

Charlotte should be contracted

[Fight4RGIII]

It's amazing how much of a talent disparity there is between the two worst teams in the NBA haha. The Bobcats make us look like a playoff team.

[StillUnknown]

I'm checking out at halftime.

The Bobcats belong in the d-league. This is embarrassing.

Keep up the good work Mike.

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

Worst team in NBA history.

[RonArtest15]

I really....reaaaaaally think that Stern won't reward the Bobcats for laying down like this. Remember when the C's "tank" backfired (when they wanted Duncan) and ended up drafting Billups/Mercer with their two top-6 picks? They had an AMAZING chance to get the #1 and tanked....didn't work.

C'mon Stern...I'm not asking for the #1 overall, though it would be nice, but please give us at the least...the #2. Thanks.