The Official Washington Wizards Thread

[nuposse87]

Leonard would have been bad at 6. You take upside when you pick that high and Ves definitely has higher upside. He's a seven footer. We would have no length now if not for him.

Ves will be alright. If we wanted Leonard, we should have dealt for him at 15 with Indiana like the Spurs did. All they gave up was George Hill and some other bits and got some bits back plus Leonard. It wouldn't have been that hard.

Beal is going to be a good player. Better than Nick Young Jr. I'm sorry but Lamb is a straight up knuckle head. There is a reason everyone in basketball loves Beal and thinks he's going to good. There is a reason Beal was OKC's first choice and they tried to get him at 2 in the Harden deal.

Leonard is a defensive juggernaut already at a young age. The problem is...can you expect the same type of development with the Wizards...as oppose to the Spurs? As it stands right now, Leonard would have been the perfect SF for us, athletic, 3 and D on the wing. He doesn't need the ball to be effective either, which lets Wall operate as needed...

I haven't given up on Jan, I think he's ok as a player so far...definitely not worth the 6th pick so far barring Seraphin-esuqe like improvment mid season.

Wall
Harden
Leonard
Nene
Seraphin

would have been tremendous in the east, although I'm kind of happy we didn't pull the trigger on the Harden thing. One game against possibly the weakest defensive backcourt in the league isn't enough to crown him.

[stevemcqueen1]

A core of Wall, Nene, and Harden makes this team competitive for (at the minimum) a 5 seed in the East. A core of Wall, Seraphin, Beal, and Nene makes this team a fringe 8 seed. That's just how I see it.

I doubt for this year though. Who knows how long Wall and Nene will be out? Harden would be doing it by himself.

But next year, that would be the expectation no doubt. That's three All Star-ish players.

I think we could have gotten both Beal and Harden by being creative though. Maybe even kept Nene in the process.

Imagine this offer:

James Harden + Kendrick Perkins + whomever to make the salaries work (Aldrich and Cook were used to get 5 million more in salary)

For Nene + Crawford + Booker or Seraphin + Singleton + first rounders in 2013 and 2014

That offer massively beats Houston's IMO.

First off, our draft picks might actually be high unlike Toronto's protected pick and Dallas' pick.

Second, Nene alone is far better return than Martin and Lamb combined. Gives them low post scoring with barely needing any touches + a great passing big which they need because of Westbrook's style. He's a great fit as their starting C, a huge upgrade from Perkins.

Third, you give them Crawford to try and replace second line scoring in a similar role to Martin in the Houston deal.

Fourth, they get Singleton, who has the potential to give them another perimeter stopper (and LeBron guarder) for the second unit when Thabo Sefolosha is out.

Fifth, you give them Booker or Seraphin to bring the tough guy energy stuff to the Thunder they're losing by shipping off Perkins. Only they come at a significantly lesser cost.

Sixth, they get out of Perkins's contract, which is too expensive for what he brings to that team.

That is six separate incentives, most of which beat the ones in the Houston deal.

We gutted our team, but got an All Star in return + kept Beal.

Let's say we weren't stupid and had actually demanded #10 back from NO for that awful Ariza/Okafor trade. We then spend that pick on Lamb anyway. That makes a Harden deal even easier to construct without gutting our team.

Perkins's deal would be up in 2014, the same year we have to make some of our key extensions + the year Boogie Cousins will hit the open market if he doesn't negotiate a new deal before then.

I think you could create the space you'd need to have Wall + Harden + Beal + Cousins + Vesely as your core 5. Wall, Harden, and Beal are unselfish and Vesely needs no offensive touches. They could each get the numbers they'd want and Cousins could put up monster numbers. It'd be a nasty group.

Oh well, that will never be.

[BRAVEONTHEWARPATH93]

I doubt for this year though. Who knows how long Wall and Nene will be out? Harden would be doing it by himself.

But next year, that would be the expectation no doubt. That's three All Star-ish players.

I think we could have gotten both Beal and Harden by being creative though. Maybe even kept Nene in the process.

Imagine this offer:

James Harden + Kendrick Perkins + whomever to make the salaries work (Aldrich and Cook were used to get 5 million more in salary)

For Nene + Crawford + Booker or Seraphin + Singleton + first rounders in 2013 and 2014

That offer massively beats Houston's IMO.

First off, our draft picks might actually be high unlike Toronto's protected pick and Dallas' pick.

Second, Nene alone is far better return than Martin and Lamb combined. Gives them low post scoring with barely needing any touches + a great passing big which they need because of Westbrook's style. He's a great fit as their starting C, a huge upgrade from Perkins.

Third, you give them Crawford to try and replace second line scoring in a similar role to Martin in the Houston deal.

Fourth, they get Singleton, who has the potential to give them another perimeter stopper (and LeBron guarder) for the second unit when Thabo Sefolosha is out.

Fifth, you give them Booker or Seraphin to bring the tough guy energy stuff to the Thunder they're losing by shipping off Perkins. Only they come at a significantly lesser cost.

Sixth, they get out of Perkins's contract, which is too expensive for what he brings to that team.

That is six separate incentives, most of which beat the ones in the Houston deal.

We gutted our team, but got an All Star in return + kept Beal.

Let's say we weren't stupid and had actually demanded #10 back from NO for that awful Ariza/Okafor trade. We then spend that pick on Lamb anyway. That makes a Harden deal even easier to construct without gutting our team.

Perkins's deal would be up in 2014, the same year we have to make some of our key extensions + the year Boogie Cousins will hit the open market if he doesn't negotiate a new deal before then.

I think you could create the space you'd need to have Wall + Harden + Beal + Cousins + Vesely as your core 5. Wall, Harden, and Beal are unselfish and Vesely needs no offensive touches. They could each get the numbers they'd want and Cousins could put up monster numbers. It'd be a nasty group.

Oh well, that will never be.

you're hurting me man...stop it. lol

Can we nominate you for GM?

[Lombardi's_kid_brother]

Vesely is the hill that Steve seems willing to die on. I just view him as a body right now.

Anyway, I think any move the Wizards had went out the window when they added Ariza/Okafor.

Here is a dumb question: Are Ariza and Okafor expiring contracts this year or next year? I'm pretty sure it is next year, but I suddenly had some doubts.

[No Excuses]

Here is a dumb question: Are Ariza and Okafor expiring contracts this year or next year? I'm pretty sure it is next year, but I suddenly had some doubts.

Next year.

But don't expect Ernie to do anything with them.

[stevemcqueen1]

Vesely is the hill that Steve seems willing to die on. I just view him as a body right now.

Anyway, I think any move the Wizards had went out the window when they added Ariza/Okafor.

Here is a dumb question: Are Ariza and Okafor expiring contracts this year or next year? I'm pretty sure it is next year, but I suddenly had some doubts.

Did you see the first game? Vesely looked pretty good.

He's never going to be worth a damn as a scorer. He's got no touch on his jumper, no elevation, and no confidence in it whatsoever. He also can't handle the ball. His only scoring will be cuts where someone else gets him the ball inside. BUT, he does see the court well and he's already a good passing big. He passes out of trouble and he can get the ball from one side of the court to the other because he sees over everyone. And he does have good touch around the basket and is an excellent finisher.

And his defensive potential is enormous. I don't understand how the people who don't like him don't recognize that. It literally shouts at me every time I see him play. His IQ is high and he's so tall and athletic. And he's got good hands.

How do his detractors not see those same things? IQ + 7 FT + Athleticism + Hands = a valuable big man. That's a rare skill set and guys like that end up being good.

---------- Post added November-2nd-2012 at 03:31 PM ----------

Also I think one of Okafor or Ariza has an early buy out sometime.

[Fight4RGIII]

Did you see the first game? Vesely looked pretty good.

He's never going to be worth a damn as a scorer. He's got no touch on his jumper, no elevation, and no confidence in it whatsoever. He also can't handle the ball. His only scoring will be cuts where someone else gets him the ball inside. BUT, he does see the court well and he's already a good passing big. He passes out of trouble and he can get the ball from one side of the court to the other because he sees over everyone. And he does have good touch around the basket and is an excellent finisher.

And his defensive potential is enormous. I don't understand how the people who don't like him don't recognize that. It literally shouts at me every time I see him play. His IQ is high and he's so tall and athletic. And he's got good hands.

How do his detractors not see those same things? IQ + 7 FT + Athleticism + Hands = a valuable big man. That's a rare skill set and guys like that end up being good.

---------- Post added November-2nd-2012 at 03:31 PM ----------

Also I think one of Okafor or Ariza has an early buy out sometime.

Not an explosive scorer = BUST. Clearly, that is the only thing that matters in the NBA. What is this, "defense," thing you keep talking about? Never heard of it.

[stevemcqueen1]

Not an explosive scorer = BUST. Clearly, that is the only thing that matters in the NBA. What is this, "defense," thing you keep talking about? Never heard of it.

Goofy looking white kid that can't shoot or handle the ball and the things he's good at don't accumulate stats. That's what people see. Thankfully for Ves, the NBA isn't one giant pickup game.

[stevemcqueen1]

Ariza has a player option for next season. It's 7 million. He's probably going to pick that up.

[GOSKINS_08]

When is everyone suppose to be healthy and return?

[StillUnknown]

When is everyone suppose to be healthy and return?

With this staff, you never know. Wall's injury recovery was set at 8 weeks, although some think that's conservative. There is no set date for Nene.

Seraphin is back tonight though.

[Thinking Skins]

This looks like it may be a LONG game.

[Fight4RGIII]

What a god awful start. Can't defend pick and pops and we have put a ball in the basket yet. 5 minutes in. I hope Beal develops the ability to separate from his defender.

[StillUnknown]

This looks like it may be a LONG game.

I'm just about done with Mr. Price already.

Livingston is a better option.

[Thinking Skins]

So far we've taken 10 shots and Price has taken 4 of those shots.