The Official Washington Basketball Thread: Wizards, Mystics etc

[StillUnknown]

That's an uninspiring signing. The guy who couldn't beat out Janero Pargo is replacing the guy who the team thought was better than Janero Pargo.

[method man]

I don't think Cousins is going to get it until his late 20s. That is the case with many of the knuckleheads around the league who have toned it down in recent years (ex. ZBo, JR Smith, etc.). These guys need to experience disappointment and rock bottom before they end up changing their approaches to the game and their attitudes.

Alas we are a sucky team at the end of the day that has truly hit rock bottom. We have nothing to lose and I'd be willing to throw in any piece outside Wall, Beal, and the next 2 1sts for Cousins.

[Burgold]

I keep seeing Cousins' name on here.

What gives anyone any confidence that this organization is in any way capable of pulling off a rehab project like that? I think his coming to the Wizards would actually put lives at risk.

Okay, Captain Kirk was pretty good in relief of RGIII, but I really don't see the Redskins trading him to the Wiz or even loaning him to them during the offseason. You guys are going really far afield...

[Skin'emAlive]

With Ernie orchestrating, im pretty sure we will be on the losing end of any trade.

[SuperBash]

Nice. EG cut Mack for Pargo, then Pargo for Livingston and now Livingston for Mack.

Next, we'll trade our 5th overall pick for Deshawn Stevenson and Ivan Johnson

Edited December 23, 2012 by SuperBash

[AsiaticSkinsFan]

I will say this about Demarcus Cousins, he does have a horrendous coach in Keith Smart.

[Lombardi's_kid_brother]

Alas we are a sucky team at the end of the day that has truly hit rock bottom. We have nothing to lose and I'd be willing to throw in any piece outside Wall, Beal, and the next 2 1sts for Cousins.

So, in other words, you are offering nothing for him.

[StillUnknown]

I will say this about Demarcus Cousins, he does have a horrendous coach in Keith Smart.

If we were to get him, he wouldn't exactly be working under Greg Popovich.

[No Excuses]

Bless you guys who still care for this team.

I will be back when the front office and coaching staff and most of this roster is nuked.

[Warhead36]

Bless you guys who still care for this team.

I will be back when the front office and coaching staff and most of this roster is nuked.

I haven't watched a game all year.

[AsiaticSkinsFan]

If we were to get him, he wouldn't exactly be working under Greg Popovich.

nah, im not suggesting we sign him

he would kill Wittman and Ernie... I would raise money for his legal fees tho

[Going Commando]

Cousins is an enormous untapped talent. This team is going nowhere, you need to take some risks to salvage the John Wall era.

Cousins is a different player when he's on the floor with Wall. Basically he's a head smashing old school big man with Wall feeding him in his spots.

Nene plus our first rounder for Cousins and a bad contract is an awful value though. Cousins's value is probably at it's nadir. You should be able to get a player like him for a song relative to what his value was/could be. He will never be a franchise player in Sac-town at this clip. Never even come close to realizing his potential/

If you get a deal done, Nene probably isn't a part of it because of the contract. We don't need to be losing a good player AND taking back some bad deals just to take a wild swing at Cousins.

Lowball this one. Build a package around Seraphin and probably Crawford. Don't take back a crap contract, we've already got enough. Top three protection through 2015 on the draft pick if you deal it. It's a 99% certainty it'll be a top three pick this year and you can't take the chance of trading off a 2014 top three pick for any one short of Durant, Melo, or LeBron status.

Hire Calipari. Wall + Beal + top 3 pick + Cousins + Nene is pretty damn nice for a core considering how dreadful we are. Sort of like the Grizzlies only you've got huge untapped upside still with Wall and Cousins.

---------- Post added December-23rd-2012 at 11:48 PM ----------

For all he gets dumped on, Cousins has still been one of the best players out of his draft class. He's been better than Derrick Favors and people still get glassy eyed when they talk about the potential player Favors is going to be. Cousins has the ability to be the second or third best true big man in the game when he hits his prime.

[Destino]

If the team could land Cousins without trading Nene they'd have a actual nba caliber team.

Wall

Beal

Ariza?

Nene

Cousins

That's four players that can score. What they'd need is a serious coach though and Ted doesn't strike me as the type to pay for one. Beal and Nene seem as easy going as anyone but Wall, and to a much greater extent, Cousins do not. Someone would need to be brought in to keep the kids in line that could actually pull it off. Cousins would probably stab Stan Van Gundy and might show up drunk without his shoes under Wittman and Grunfeld.

Edited December 24, 2012 by Destino

[Skin'emAlive]

I don't want to see us losing Crawford. He Is a born 6th man. He would be great leading our second team.

[Going Commando]

I don't want to see us losing Crawford. He Is a born 6th man. He would be great leading our second team.

I like him. Have had a soft spot for him since he was a rookie. But I'd trade him as part of a deal to bring in a talented big. Especially one with upside like Cousins. He's a good player but we need a good big man more than we need another scoring guard. Crawford is already 24 too.

[Hersh]

Hire Calipari. Wall + Beal + top 3 pick + Cousins + Nene is pretty damn nice for a core considering how dreadful we are. Sort of like the Grizzlies only you've got huge untapped upside still with Wall and Cousins.

So you guys want to put all your eggs in a basket that includes a PG who relies on his athletic ability but currently has a devastating knee injury with no timetable to return, a C with a terrible shooting % and attitude, and a PF with a nice all-around game but can't stay on the court because of a chronic foot injury.

Before the Wiz do anything, they need a proven head coach and GM to attempt to develop some of the young players either to keep as a core or to create trade value. Other than Beal, I'm not sure who else any other team would want right now.

[Going Commando]

If the team could land Cousins without trading Nene they'd have a actual nba caliber team.

Wall

Beal

Ariza?

Nene

Cousins

That's four players that can score. What they'd need is a serious coach though and Ted doesn't strike me as the type to pay for one. Beal and Nene seem as easy going as anyone but Wall, and to a much greater extent, Cousins do not. Someone would need to be brought in to keep the kids in line that could actually pull it off. Cousins would probably stab Stan Van Gundy and might show up drunk without his shoes under Wittman and Grunfeld.

Calipari would be best for Wall and Cousins IMO. Cousins trusts Calipari and they genuinely like each other. Calipari understands how he ticks.

I just looked at Salmons's deal, it's not bad like I thought. Team option in 2014/2015 which he wouldn't get so it's really just a 7 million expiring deal next season. I'd take it in a deal with Cousins. Who knows, we might actually be able to play him in the rotation given our weakness at SF.

I wouldn't deal Beal or Wall for Cousins. I'd want to keep Nene, but if it came down to Nene or the draft pick I'm not sure who I would choose. Best of all worlds is keeping Nene and top 3 protecting the draft pick for this year and next. Top 3 is very light protection considering how bad we are. We've got an extremely high chance of finishing with the worst record which would guarantee we'd keep our pick this year. Spend it on our third big, someone we could actually afford to develop really slow. Or spend it on Shabazz and start him at SF. Even with a healthy Wall and bringing in Cousins, we might still finish with the worst record. Probably not. And if we finished outside the top three in this year's class, who really cares if we give up our pick? The most worthwhile players in the class would be upside guys like Len, Shabazz, and Noel, each would probably be gone.

You just have to 2014 protect the pick for at least the top three. Parker, Randle, and Wiggins might not come out. But there is a chance they do. And you can't risk what happened to the Grizzlies when they traded for Otis Thorpe. The way that pick was protected ended up giving Detroit the 2nd overall pick in the LeBron draft and Memphis missed out on Carmelo and Wade. Protect it for the top three just in case all hell breaks lose or we win the lottery on a long shot and don't have to miss out on potential franchise guys in those three.

If you keep Nene, he and Cousins is a pretty nasty front court. Lean on them to power us and Wall + Beal is a nice back court that could pull their weight fine. Hopefully Ariza won't pick up his player option next year but seems like he'd be stupid not to.

Seraphin + Crawford + Ves + Book + Singleton would certainly be on the bargaining table. Okafor and Ariza deals are expiring deals next season. Draft pick will be high. Relatively bad contracts can be taken on. Cousins's value has taken a major hit this year, Seems like there are plenty of elements in there to create room for a deal to be had that could make both sides happy.

---------- Post added December-24th-2012 at 01:57 AM ----------

So you guys want to put all your eggs in a basket that includes a PG who relies on his athletic ability but currently has a devastating knee injury with no timetable to return, a C with a terrible shooting % and attitude, and a PF with a nice all-around game but can't stay on the court because of a chronic foot injury.

Before the Wiz do anything, they need a proven head coach and GM to attempt to develop some of the young players either to keep as a core or to create trade value. Other than Beal, I'm not sure who else any other team would want right now.

We've had all our eggs in Wall's basket all along.

He is going to return from his injury eventually.

Nene is a good player, any team would want him if he didn't have so many years left. Even still, there are probably several teams that would gladly take him. Bigs like him are very rare.

Singleton, Seraphin, and Crawford should each have trade value. Ves probably still has value too based on his athletic potential. Oak & Ariza will have expiring deals if this goes on during the summer.

Our draft pick will be high.

We've got assets to make some deals.

Cousins's potential is massive. At worst he fixes our rebound problem and is a nifty scoring option.

[Renegade7]

He's getting slaughtered in the comments section of his blog, he knows the fans want Grunfeld gone more than anything. He's stubborn to a fault.

He's destroyed any goodwill he had with the fans, his only card left to play is to get rid of the front office, but he seems reluctant to make that move. He made a big deal of the 6 game win streak to end the year last season and used it as justification to bring back Grunfeld & Wittman. He's not about to admit he was wrong this quickly, especially when he can use the injury excuse, even if the fans aren't buying it.

If pride is the only thing stopping him, how much longer until he has a Snyder-type revolution? I do honestly feel if he put the money in the right GM and just signed the checks like Snyder, we'd be winning, too. I still feel we're dealing with a guy learning his lessons from the Capitals and their recent "struggles".

[AsiaticSkinsFan]

if the Kings want Nene for Cousins, I would do it in a heartbeat just to get out of that contract.

[spjunkies]

At least we could win 20 games back in these days. Edited December 24, 2012 by spjunkies

[Warhead36]

We had a guy named John McClane? No wonder we were awesome back then.

[StillUnknown]

http://www.nba.com/2012/news/features/david_aldridge/12/24/morning-tip-holiday-wishes-from-david-aldridge/index.html#dribbles

They fell to a league-worst 3-22 Saturday after dropping a second game within 24 hours to the until-they-played-Washington 7-21 Pistons, the night after they lost in Detroit to the Pistons by 32, in a humiliating rout. It was another terrible performance in another lost season (already) for the Wizards, and the following night, most of the few fans remaining at the end at Verizon Center seemed too numb to boo. Or maybe it was too cold outside to boo. Or maybe the caring has been beaten out of them, with a fifth straight season with fewer than 30 wins staring them in the face.

The predictable scurrying for the lifeboats has followed.

"It's like there's a cancer in here," one player said.

"I see division, and no vision," said another.

And this is in a locker room full of, relatively, good guys.

Much, much more in the link unfortunately. The entire article is full of damning quotes.

"When you play with confidence, and you're together, it's different," Nene said. "You feel, you know your teammates know you, and you give your best. But right here, right now, it's the opposite. Total opposite."

And why is that not happening in D.C.?

"Because people have no respect for the game," he continued. "They think this opportunity's nothing right now. That's the problem with the young guys. They don't take advantage of being in the NBA, the best basketball in the world. A lot of young guys want to be in their position. But right here, I don't think they realize that."

Does he feel, he is asked, a responsibility to speak to them about that? It is not mentioned that he is in the second year of a five-year, $67 million extension he originally signed with Denver.

"My job is to play hard, to give my best on the basketball court," he said. "The responsibility is the manager and the coach. But somebody needs to talk to them."

Edited December 24, 2012 by StillUnknown

[Going Commando]

The dysfunction of an Ernie Grunfeld organization could not possibly be laid out any plainer. This is what Ernie sews.

Ted for ****'s sake FIRE ERNIE ALREADY! Christ can he really be that dumb?

[AsiaticSkinsFan]

if Nene wants to be traded, I would be sooooooo happy.

[Skin'emAlive]

It couldn't be more telling that the whole problem is Ernie and the front office staff.

What else could be said without ernie's name being mentioned by a current player. Why can't someone on the team just outright call him out? We always hear that no one is accountable... And then players mysteriously lose playing time ( see Webster earlier this season).