The Official Washington Basketball Thread: Wizards, Mystics etc

[Ball Security]

They are going to be so bad next year, but currently have no first rounders in 2024. They have to net one or more with Porzingis and Kuzma. Or is the 2024 pick that is now with the Knicks protected in any way?

 

EDIT: looks like the 2024 is top 12 protected.

Edited June 19, 2023 by Ball Security

[abdcskins]

It's sad....gonna be a long road towards being competitive. I've always said if the Wizards win a championship in my lifetime I will be impressed/ecstatic.

 

I maintain they are the worst franchise ever. Clippers give them a run for their money, but at least they have been somewhat competitive. 

 

At least we have that 1978 championship 🏆

[Hersh]

16 minutes ago, abdcskins said:

It's sad....gonna be a long road towards being competitive. I've always said if the Wizards win a championship in my lifetime I will be impressed/ecstatic.

 

I maintain they are the worst franchise ever. Clippers give them a run for their money, but at least they have been somewhat competitive. 

 

At least we have that 1978 championship 🏆

 

The saddest part is that fans have been begging for a full rebuild for a few years when it was painfully obvious to everyone except Ted and Tommy. If we had a front office go down that road, they would've trade Bertans for firsts and Beal for a haul. We'd be really good now. 

[LetMeSeeYourWarFace21]

4 hours ago, abdcskins said:

****ty trade. Not surprised. Bradley Beal screwed us, I hate that guy.

 

Exactly **** beta male Beal............I swear to God, if dumb **** Ted L plays some kind of memory highlight video of Beal the first time he comes back to play us, I will officially leave this team after 33 years of being a fan. 

 

Ted the worst ****ing owner in the league. Treated that under achieving **** like he was a Top 3 player in the league. LeBron, Durant, Curry dont even have a NTC in their contracts. If I wasnt born and raised in DC, I wouldve NEVER been a fan of this dumb **** franchise. 

 

4 hours ago, CRobi21 said:

Thank God they're flipping CP3. Don't think I could stomach seeing him play for my team...

 

If you could stomach watching this organization treat Beal like LeBron and basically getting back a bag of **** for Beal in a trade after all these waisted years, you could deal with CP3......

Edited June 19, 2023 by LetMeSeeYourWarFace21

[Warhead36]

41 minutes ago, abdcskins said:

It's sad....gonna be a long road towards being competitive. I've always said if the Wizards win a championship in my lifetime I will be impressed/ecstatic.

 

I maintain they are the worst franchise ever. Clippers give them a run for their money, but at least they have been somewhat competitive. 

 

At least we have that 1978 championship 🏆

Yeah in the history of the NBA I believe we might actually be the worst of all time. Well, maybe 2nd to the Kings, since we at least have a couple Finals appearances and a championship. 

 

I remember growing up with the Clippers, Warriors, and Nuggets also being bottom of the barrel league jokes. Well two of those three have won rings and the Clips have been mostly pretty good the last several years. 

 

We are a dead franchise.

[LetMeSeeYourWarFace21]

2 hours ago, Ball Security said:

How many 2nds did they end up with?

 

From what I saw, we get 6 second round draft picks. Thanks Brad for signing with your Father-In Laws team (or whatever his relationship is to the Suns). *BTW, can the League look at this trade and possibly overturn in? I seriously doubt it, but this **** dont feel right......

 

Couldve got multiple 1st round picks out of Miami. Franchise bent over backwards for that ****in choke artist. 

 

 

Can someone explain the future "pick swaps" that we get? Are those first round pick swaps? Are they conditional? 

Edited June 19, 2023 by LetMeSeeYourWarFace21

[Going Commando]

We bent over backwards for Beal in every way possible, and have little to show for it in the end.

 

One negative outcome for the league from this is that Beal ultimately used our reckless desperation to appease him to form a new Big 3, when those were finally almost dead and gone.  So that sucks.  Hopefully he and Durant are too washed up for it to make much of a difference.

[Hersh]

The Wiz only have one guaranteed contract on the books for the 2024-25 season. The benefit of trading Beal. Teams can dump their bad contracts and send the Wiz assets to do so. This franchise needed to bottom out and we are about to do so. 

[Spaceman Spiff]

As a relative outsider looking in, I don’t get the hate. I don’t follow the NBA as rabidly as I used to and I certainly don’t follow the Wiz like I used to. 
 

But from what I can tell, the Beal deal was ****ed from jump street. All that money AND the no trade clause. It has to be one of the worst contracts in the NBA, probably one of the worst contracts in all of sports. He was getting paid like a top 10 player when he wasn’t near it, and the NTC which from what I’m gathering, not many players in the NBA have at all. 
 

Add on top of that, he’s been injured a fair amount and I’m not sure what people are expecting in return.  In a league where draft capital is paramount, I’m not sure why a team would give up a 1st rounder for a guy who has an awful contract and has been hurt. Especially when everyone in the league knows that a new regime is taking over for the Wizards and they want to clean house.  The return on this trade wasn’t decided this weekend, it was decided when Ted handed over the keys to the new guys. 
 

I am under no illusion that this team will be good next season or maybe even the one after that. But what did anyone think that getting out from a ****ty contract like that would look like?

[Renegade7]

@Spaceman Spiff I'd say most Wizards fans left would say the value of getting out of Beal's contract was priceless...

 

For me it makes up the value gap of what we actually got in return asset-wise...I didn't care long as it didn't cost us a first rounder to complete the trade...I'da been hella pissed about that...

 

 

 

[Fergasun]

The return is that we start to tank earlier? No one here really thinks this mid-3 team was doing anything.  It's just hard to admit roster failure and blow-up time. 

 

Starters could he Delon Wright, KP (assuming he opts in), Gafford and two of Deni/Davis/Kispert.  

 

 

[method man]

**** Tommy, **** Ted and **** Beal. **** the first two guys for giving this guy a supermax, a NTC and a trade kicker to boot and not trading him when his value was at its max. Absolutely ridiculous and only bottom of the barrel franchises do this sort of thing. **** Beal for forcing his way to the Suns and dictating the overall trade (taking on CP3 instead of Ayton, who they could have flipped to another team for a return).

 

I was never a big Beal fan even at his best. He never captured my heart as a fan the same way Gil, Caron and Wall did. There was a genuineness to those guys, for better or worse, that Beal has never had. There was also an alpha element to those guys that Beal never had. I always felt he had a fakeness to him where he was trying to have this image as a clean, community first, team first loyal player while having his wife and Quinton Mayo serve as his mouthpieces to voice his complaints through the media. There has always been a disingenuous and passive aggressive nature to him. I'm glad he's gone and that he has outed himself for who he truly is. Glad he is not going to be able to hold the franchise record for points and hopefully he is not having his jersey retired. Hopefully, he is an afterthought when discussing this pathetic franchise's history.

 

Would a don like Pat Riley have taken this from Beal and Bartelstein? Probably not. At the same time, I see where this new FO was operating from. Once the new league year kicks in, due to the changes to the CBA, it was going to become harder to move Beal because teams a certain level over the luxury tax would have to be closer in terms of the salary match vs now. Furthermore, given his history over the past couple years, if he was pacing toward having that type of trajectory a third straight year, that may have also impacted the appetite for teams to take him on. Given the handcuffs this group was dealt with, I think what happens with KP, Kuzma and the draft are going to better indicators for how to judge this FA.

 

Finally, something I've seen only Hollinger mention is that by making this a three team deal and moving CP3 to LAC or another team, we may be able to create a significant trade exception (Hollinger mentioned $17M). They got a $6M exception in the Rui trade, which gives them the ability to take on a bad salary close to $30M to get the party started with eating bad contracts. I wonder what they could get from teams for eating contracts like Ben Simmons's. The Nets, as one example, have a lot of first round picks coming their way.

 

 

[Going Commando]

The front office was so desperate to be seen as doing right by their star player.  I guess they thought they were creating equity with him and any other potential star players they might have one day.  But there is no real return from this.  This is what happens to a team with no culture that lets the players run the show.  We're the ones left holding the bag, starting over with nothing when they inevitably move on.  Stuff like this just savages the fanbase, and has basically killed my passion for following the team.  Not even the Commanders leave me feeling this hopeless.

 

Agreed that Beal screwed any chance of having a positive legacy here.  He and Mark Bartlestein can eat ****.  They better not put this ****er's jersey in the rafters, but I wouldn't put it past this franchise to do it.  They'll probably kiss his ass and put him on the broadcast crew once he's done playing.

[No Excuses]

It’s not a bad trade. 

 

I think the only sad thing about it is how it reinforces what a third rate team the Wizards are in the NBA. A potentially major market team that is functionally the most irrelevant team in the league. A complete afterthought for any superstar and a dumping ground for other teams to send their garbage. 

[mhd24]

2 hours ago, Going Commando said:

The front office was so desperate to be seen as doing right by their star player.  I guess they thought they were creating equity with him and any other potential star players they might have one day.  But there is no real return from this.  This is what happens to a team with no culture that lets the players run the show.  We're the ones left holding the bag, starting over with nothing when they inevitably move on.  Stuff like this just savages the fanbase, and has basically killed my passion for following the team.  Not even the Commanders leave me feeling this hopeless.

 

Agreed that Beal screwed any chance of having a positive legacy here.  He and Mark Bartlestein can eat ****.  They better not put this ****er's jersey in the rafters, but I wouldn't put it past this franchise to do it.  They'll probably kiss his ass and put him on the broadcast crew once he's done playing.

Blame Leonsis for not trading him years ago to start the rebuild. Blame Leonsis for running a Mom & Pop operation for years drafting Johnny Davis types (whom I think is gone as a trade filler/not having his option picked up after this year).  Winger & the new FO as DA wrote today are ruthless.  They needed to pull the bandaid.  I hate the trade compensation, but they had no choice.  This team needed to be nuked.  I wrote before last season that they were the worst positioned team in the NBA.  At least the new FO realizes they need to rebuild.  Something Leonsis finally acceded to.  Leonsis is worse than Snyder as an owner (not personally).  The Wizards will never win with Leonsis as owner.  

 

I'm giving the new FO a ton of leeway.  Leonsis better not meddle.  He's too much of a coward to never go on the record.  Let Winger, Dawkins, and Schlenk run the show.   

[Rocky21]

Guess how many players in the NBA have a no trade clause?  One.  Bradley Beal.

 

**** you Ted

Edited June 19, 2023 by Rocky21

[@DCGoldPants]

Feel oddly even better about this. They guys inherited a ****ty situation created by the owner. If we're handing out blame, I'm going 80% Ted, 20% Tommy. 

 

So, getting him off the books is the best case scenario, and in a year they will have space to do what they want.

 

Does that mean players will want to come here? No. That's also up to new leadership to make it a better destination. Finding that young star. Fixing a bottom NBA brand. Etc.

 

I wish Beal the best in Phoenix. As a 2nd or 3rd option, he could flourish. He also could have a year like that last two where he misses a huge chunk.

 

I'll be able to root for a bare-bones roster if there is a feeling they have a path over the next 3, 4, 5 years. 

[Going Commando]

Beal could have given us a list of teams so we could at least have dug any kind of compensation out of dealing him.  Even a list of two gives us a chance at leverage.  Instead he proved how selfish he was and basically gave us the finger as he skips town, and we get Landry Shamet and a bunch of seconds.

 

I absolutely do not wish him well.  **** him, his time here was a bitter waste that proved what a chumpy, third rate team this is.  But I'm much more angry at Ted Leonsis and Tommy Shepherd that him because yeah, we were the idiots throwing the bag and the NTC at Beal no strings attached.

 

Now I'm just glad to be done with Tommy and Beal.  Wish we could be done with Leonsis too, but that's not happening any time soon.  There will be no reason to catch a Wizards game for a long time though, when you factor in our typical rate of draft lottery drops and wasted high picks.  So I guess I'll see you guys in like 2027.

[method man]

Just now, Going Commando said:

Beal could have given us a list of teams so we could at least have dug any kind of compensation out of dealing him.  Even a list of two gives us a chance at leverage.  Instead he proved how selfish he was and basically gave us the finger as he skips town, and we get Landry Shamet and a bunch of seconds.

 

I absolutely do not wish him well.  **** him, his time here was a bitter waste that proved what a chumpy, third rate team this is.  But I'm much more angry at Ted Leonsis and Tommy Shepherd that him because yeah, we were the idiots throwing the bag and the NTC at Beal no strings attached.

 

Now I'm just glad to be done with Tommy and Beal.  Wish we could be done with Leonsis too, but that's not happening any time soon.  There will be no reason to catch a Wizards game for a long time though, when you factor in our typical rate of draft lottery drops and wasted high picks.  So I guess I'll see you guys in like 2027.

Buckle up GC. It is going to be longer buddy. I think we are looking at 5 years. This team has no prime assets, whether they be picks or players to work with. At least OKC had SGA and all the picks from the PG and Russ trades to start from

 

This crew will need a few years to scoop up quality assets while it tanks and serves as TARP for other teams. At least the timing of dumping salary is right. The new CBA is going to make teams more motivated than ever to move toxic contracts. 

[Spaceman Spiff]

26 minutes ago, method man said:

Buckle up GC. It is going to be longer buddy. I think we are looking at 5 years. This team has no prime assets, whether they be picks or players to work with. At least OKC had SGA and all the picks from the PG and Russ trades to start from

 

This crew will need a few years to scoop up quality assets while it tanks and serves as TARP for other teams. At least the timing of dumping salary is right. The new CBA is going to make teams more motivated than ever to move toxic contracts. 

 

I dunno if it'll take 5 years.  I mean, it could especially if they can't draft anyone of consequence.  

 

You can turn around pretty fast in the NBA and the NFL.  

[Destino]

1 hour ago, Spaceman Spiff said:

 

I dunno if it'll take 5 years.  I mean, it could especially if they can't draft anyone of consequence.  

 

You can turn around pretty fast in the NBA and the NFL.  

If they plan on building around lottery picks earned during the rebuild five years is optimistic. Takes three years for drafted stars to hit their stride. Wizards have no assets and no stars for any future drafted player to join. This is essentially “the process” all over again, but we just traded our best player for theater tickets.  

[abdcskins]

It will take 22 years.

[Warhead36]

Yeah while I don't hate Beal, I don't really have any real love for him, the way I do for Wall, or even Arenas. Always felt like his #s were just...empty. And he was always terrible in the clutch. He's like that guy in MLB who hits 30 homers but most of them are in the 7th inning when you're down 5-1 while regularly striking out with the bases loaded in a close game.

 

Ultimately I don't see him winning in Phoenix. That roster construction is a mess and the West is too good. They're gonna be fun to watch while losing games 160-155 and Duraint missing 20 games a year.

[Hersh]

6 minutes ago, Destino said:

If they plan on building around lottery picks earned during the rebuild five years is optimistic. Takes three years for drafted stars to hit their stride. Wizards have no assets and no stars for any future drafted player to join. This is essentially “the process” all over again, but we just traded our best player for theater tickets.  

 

It will be interesting to see how the new CBA impacts teams and their potential desire to trade away players. Wiz will have a ton of cap space and could stack up some assets pretty quick over the next couple of years. It's going to take time but at least there is a direction. 5 years late but better than being mid forever. 

[TradeTheBeal!]

1 hour ago, Spaceman Spiff said:

 

I dunno if it'll take 5 years.  I mean, it could especially if they can't draft anyone of consequence.  

 

You can turn around pretty fast in the NBA and the NFL.  

I appreciate your optimism.