RonArtest15

I agree with most of what you said...but what I was getting at was that since Abe's passing, EG has done a great job with the roster. He's shed salaries and added some intriguing young talent. Now, none of us know exactly what went on behind the scenes when Abe was around. This is why I was wondering about EG being handcuffed during the Polin days. We had opportunites to add depth to the roster in the 2nd round in the previous couple of seasons (Blair, Walker) but either passed on the player in favor of someone else, who's rights were then sold. I'd like to think those moves weren't so much Grunfeld, but rather the Polin's trying to save a couple of dollars...but who knows? Honestly, as much of a mess as Gilbert was....I don't think that superstars would think twice about about signing here if the money is right despite what Grufeld did to save face. At the end of the day it's about the dollar. There have been PLENTY of terrible GMs/Owners in the course of the NBA's history who haven't had problems luring FAs to their cities. Again, if the money is right a lot of people can put aside some of their feelings just in order to get paid.

I dunno about Dumars...he traded for Iverson to get salary cap space, then blew all the money on Charlie V. and Ben Gordon...he gave big moeny to an over-the-hill (in NBA terms) Rip Hamilton...also, not trying to move some of the other vets on his roster to start the rebuild. Detroit is in TERRIBLE shape and a lot of that falls on Dumars' shoulders. In all honestly, I think I'd see if Kevin Pritchard was interested in this job (assuming EG is let go). In thinking about it, I wonder how much EG was handcuffed by Abe Polin? Not for nothing but EG has done a GREAT job since Leonsis took over.

Booker earned some SERIOUS PT in the future (hopefully) after this game tonight... what about this idea...Start Blatche at C and Booker at PF? Give it a try for a few games and see what happens....dude (Booker) is relentless on defense and is actually...*gasp* physical. We need a guy like him getting consistent minutes. As far as Seraphin...EG needs to give him every game tape of Kendrick Perkins to watch over the summer. Love his upside.

G.A.C.O.L.B., did u see Wall's comments last night? Also...totally agree w. you on NBADraft.net....I remember they had DeShawn Stevenson's NBA comparison to.....MICHAEL JORDAN LOL. DX is the better of the two sites IMO.

SM...I honestly think that Blatche is a cancer and the sooner he's off the team, the better. I know that there would be a void left (if he was traded....and also depending on who we'd get back) due to his scoring being gone. It's an addition by subtraction scenario. I wonder if team morale would improve with him off the roster? I don't know how much of an effect it would have on wins vs. losses, but I can't help to think that things would be better not only in the locker room, but on the court as well.

Well, Deron Williams didn't know about being traded until he watched SC LOLOL....still a few more hours until the deadline is over, so anything can happen. Blatche playing tonight has no bearing on anything tomorrow...

Off topic, but Marshon Brooks has 52 points right now... *back on topic...anyone else got a feeling that Blatche is going to be traded???

I know they are discussing this but that is a moot point until it gets approved. The knicks have done this to get another star in 2012 They won't have the flexibility to add another superstar in 2012. It's going to be Melo + Amar'e for the long run...with a bunch of role players.

Why do people think it's a slam-dunk that the Knicks will get CP3 or Deron Williams in 2012. With the new CBA, they won't be able to pay max money, and those two would have to take a SIGNIFICANT pay cut to play in NY. from the BDL blog: http://sports.yahoo.com/nba/blog/ball_dont_lie/post/New-York-trades-for-Carmelo-Anthony?urn=nba-324760#remaining-content

Maybe one day we can get a "2011 Comprehensive NBA Draft Database" LOL...I know a lot of us have talked about who the Wizards should draft..here's a scout's take of some prospects thus far (rest of article in link) http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2011/writers/seth_davis/02/14/nba.scouting.finch/index.html?eref=sihp

If the Wizards land a top-5 pick, Harrison Barnes SHOULD NOT be in the equation. They need a TRUE low-post scoring presence in the worst way. Sullinger should be the target. If he's off the board, Kanter or Derrick Williams wouldn't be bad options. As a matter of fact, if the Wizards are looking for a SF, I'd take Terrence Jones over Barnes 10x out of 10. Anyways....that game last night was awful. First time I can remember turning a game off after the 1st quarter. What saddens me is seeing a guy like DeJuan Blair dominate and get buckets/boards whenever he wanted. It's not like we had a chance to draft him...oh wait, we did. SMH. He's the exact type of player we needed on this team and he slipped right through our hands and landed in SA where their FO, once again, looks like geniuses. I don't know how it couldn't be any more apparent....but this team has tuned out/quit on Flip. I'm actually hoping that the Wizards get blown out tonight. Maybe then changes will be made to get another coach in here that the players would respond to. I'm all for giving Sam Cassell an interim tag for the remainder of the season. Well...let's see what happens tonight. Ugh....

I wouldn't give Nick Young anything more than a 3 year extension. One thing that really irked me was in the post-game. I was reading some of Flip's comments and he didn't hold too much back in assessing Javale McGee's play. I don't have an issue with calling a player out, but if you're going to do it to him infront of the media, then you should be doing the same with some of the other guys. *cough* Blatche *cough*. I don't get the coddling of AB...at all. McGee does some really dumb things over the course of a game...however, so does Blatche. Big time double-standard IMO.

I think it was Charles Barkley who said that even though Blake Griffin was hurt last year, he got invaluable experience watching games, practices, film sessions, etc... SM....even though he didn't play particularly well yesterday....Harrison Barnes did do some things that impressed me. He played some tough D, scored a tough 2 inside, etc. I'm not completely sold on him (yet), but the upside is there. I saw a comparison to his Frosh year so far and Paul Pierce's at Kansas....there are some big time similarities. Like I said before...he's a guy to keep an eye on as the season winds down. *I was VERY impressed by UNC even with the loss last night. With more experience, they don't lose that game.

If we secure another 1st round pick, I don't see why not. Can't hurt to have a guy on the on the roster who can play the 2 and slide over the 1 at times. He reminds me of Nick Young to some extent. Between now and the NBA draft I want to see if his ball handling improves. The upside is CLEARLY there. If the Wizards get a mid-to-late 1st round pick, I wouldn't be mad if they drafted a guy like Brooks, Burks, or Thompson.

Thing is...he's not taking bad shots. If it's not Brooks, who are you going to count on? I'd maybe get on the amount of shots he was taking compared to the others if his percentage was terrible. But he's shooting 50% from the floor and 35% from 3. He HAS to do it...I don't fault him one bit, especially since the other guys on the team defer to him on a consistent basis. Easiest thing to do to stop PC is shut down Brooks and let the likes of Council, Mondy, or Coleman try to get their points. Easier said than done. He's put the whole team on his back and as Brooks goes, so do the Friars. Honestly, I don't see why you're comparing the likes of Curry/Efejuku to Brooks when he's the better player. Why discredit the improvement he's made as a senior?

Like Walker, Freeman, etc...Brooks has improved in EACH of his seasons at PC. What makes him good? How about if you shut down Brooks, PC has no chance? PC doesn't have NEARLY the balance or talent when comparing the likes of the other teams in the BE like G'Town, UConn, Pitt, etc....shutting down Brooks is easier said than done. I don't see how you can't be sold on a kid who has improved in each of his seasons. FWIW, he's much better than Gibbs and ESPECIALLY, Wanamaker....I've seen a fair share of PC games on TV...but seeing Brooks in person is a different story. He did what he wanted to Wright, Freeman, etc...didn't matter who was defending him, he got his buckets both inside/outside. As I've said MANY times before...he's legit. What he's doing goes far beyond putting up #'s on a sub-par team. He IS the team.

SM....good call on Alec Burks. He's got a real smooth game. He'd be an intriguing prospect if we don't re-sign Nick Young. One guy who I'd look at over Burks is Klay Thompson. He can play the 2/3...and sometimes 1. I'd only take a flyer on guys like Burks, Thompson, Brooks if there's a chance we can land a 2nd 1st round pick late in the round. Getting a beast low-post presence is a priority. Let me ask you...we've had conversations about Harrison Barnes. I wonder how much of an effect Larry Drew II had on his game? Reason I say this is he's had a bump in productivity since Marshall has been getting the minutes at PG and Drew quit. Can't wait to see how he does tonight vs. Duke. From what I've been reading, Drew was a cancer on that team. Harrison Barnes has the pedigree, so let's see how he does as we approach the home-stretch of the season going into the NCAAs. He has a real chance to shut a lot of his critics up..... *Oh as far as Austin Rivers....dude can flat out play. He's got an ego the size of Texas and at times can have a bad attitude if things aren't going his way. He needs to be humbled a bit. I think going to Duke and playing for Coach K will be good for his game. Nothing will be given to him at that program and he'll have to earn his minutes. Kid is special....if there wasn't an age-limit in the NBA, he'd be a top-5 pick in 2011. He's that good.

Again...you miss the point. There is NO comparison between Shammgod/Brooks because they play two different positions, play for different coaches, play in different systems, and play in a different era. PC's player-to-pro history is IRRELEVANT. Brooks right now is arguably the most dominant player in the best conference in college hoops. He'll get consideration for BE POY....I guess I shouldn't get caught up in the hype though. LOL....if you actually watch the games like you "claim" you'd appreciate what he's been doing not only in conference play, but overall. The kid is legit and will be a 1st round pick come June.

^But your point makes no sense.... it's like saying the Hawks shouldn't look at Derrick Williams because Salim Stoudamire was a bust.

Because Shamgod and Brooks aret he same type of players? And nothing special? He's only been held to under 20 points ONCE in BE play and is averaging 24ppg when opposing defenses key in on him because he's the only scoring option on PC. Shooting 50% from the floor and 35% from 3. Not to mention he really hits the glass as well. Just gotta improve his handles a little bit. SM....i think that he's a late-1st round pick right now who has a GREAT chance of shooting up draft boards.

I wouldn't spend a top-5 pick on Harrison Barnes...I've stated my reasons, and although he's played better in the past couple of games...I still have some doubts. If Cleveland lands the #1, there will be pressure to take Jared Sullinger #1 overall. Local kid, humble, and would be the anti-Lebron to some extent LOL. SM...you're right...generally guys like Love, Scola, Millsap, etc don't get taken #1 overall. However with there being no clear-cut #1 pick in a pretty weak draft, ANYTHING can happen. Sullinger might be that guy. If the Wizards get a top-3 pick, I'm on board for drafting One of the Jones boys, Kanter, or Sullinger....anything else (up to this point), I'm not to interested in. Maybe trade back and gain a late pick or something of that nature. One guy who intrigues me is Marshon Brooks. I got a chance to see him live this past weekend, and he's a DYNAMIC scorer. He had a few opportunities to bring the ball upcourt as the 1, but he needs to work on his handles a little bit. If you can get a big combo-guard (later in the draft) of Brooks' ilk, then by all means he should be targeted. Dude is putting up SICK numbers in the toughest conference in the nation. All you have to do to stop PC is stop Brooks...and he can hardly be checked by anyone.

Michael Jordan made the Wizards relevant for about 2 years. Following the idiotic trade of Webber, this franchise was in influx for a while. The best thing to happen to this franchise after the Webber ordeal was when Mike said he was stepping out of the suite to lace up the kicks again. Immediately, there was a ridiculous circus-type of atmosphere at the then MCI Center or whenever the team played on the road. It's been a roller-coaster ride here in DC...full of ups and downs. Hindsight is 20/20, but Abe Pollin...giving a gimpy Gilbert Arenas a 111 million dollar contract perfectly capsulates what this franchise is. With the new ownership taking over, I hope the ship gets headed in the right direction. We have a great building block in Wall, and hopefully in 3 years or so this team goes from laughingstock to perennial competitior for the EC crown. It can happen.

Folks said the same thing about Derrick Rose's broke jumper when he came into the league, now he's a threat to score from just about anywhere on the court. I'm not concerned with his bad shooting because I know he'll put in the time to improve. He's a gym rat and has the desire to be the best...Wall has the potential to be the best PG in the NBA. I never said anything about him being it right now, because he's not. However, as a pure PG...he's further along at the age of 20 than guys like Deron Williams, Derrick Rose, Russell Westbrook, Rondo, etc....On top of it all, Wall is playing hurt. It's no coincidence that his defense and general lateral quickness have suffered since he came back a few weeks ago. Dude is gutting it out right now.

Yeah...I don't get how anyone can have a bad feeling about Wall. He's been one of the few bright spots on the squad. Dude is going to be one of, if not THE best all-around PG in the NBA in a couple of seasons. I just feel bad for him because of the deficiency of talent that's surrounding him. Just gotta go through these growing pains. It will be all worth it when things get turned around. Just gotta get rid of Blatche.

I honestly think that if the Wizards get rid of Blatche, team morale will improve. He kills the flow of the offense and IMO is a huge cancer. Addition by subtraction. Whatever it takes to get him off the roster by the deadline, I hope it gets done. He's flat out terrible.