The Official Washington Basketball Thread: Wizards, Mystics etc

[StillUnknown]

Honestly, who plays first Porter or Kobe?

 

Kobe, he's already practicing

Edited November 21, 2013 by StillUnknown

[LetMeSeeYourWarFace21]

Time for some of y'all to come back off the ledge.  Good road win on a back-to-back.

 

 

Wish I could, but Im not sold. Once again we had a big lead (25points at one point??) and we barely escape with the win. We are lucky Kyrie Irving didnt get a ton of minutes or that we didnt play a team slightly better then the Cavs.

[RonArtest15]

Cavs were WELL rested.  I don't care how many minutes Kyrie was playing, at one point he was a team worst -30 (finished at -20).  There should be no excuse on their end.  Wizards are coming off a nice victory against a good team in the Wolves the night before.  If any team should have come out flat, it was us.  This is a solid Wizards team.  They were a second away from beating OKC on the road, and a few missed FT attempts from beating the Cavs a few days back.  They could very easily be 5-5. 

[Going Commando]

We had a rough schedule for Novemeber too. Lots of road games, including a Texas trip scheduled in. It was a given our record would be bad early on. We've been close in every game except at Miami and at San Antonio.

Look at the standings, we're tied for the 8th seed right now. There are also only two legit teams in the conference this year, only two who actually have winning records on the road. Our 7 road games so far is behind only Boston with eight. Teams like the Bulls and Knicks have only played 4 road games a piece. That's the only reason why Chicago's record isn't awful. They got a fortuitous home stretch exactly when they needed it. We're also tied with Tornoto, New York, and Boston for most games against a .500 team with 8.

We're still in the thick of the playoff race right now because we've been competitive in most games against one of the hardest schedules thus far.

[Chachie]

We're still in the thick of the playoff race right now because we've been competitive in most games against one of the hardest schedules thus far.

 

 

 

Or because we're only 11 games in.   

 

(I know- I'm jaded!)

[Sticksboi05]

I missed the end of the third and the entire 4th and reading these posts I'm glad I did. lol

The one thing I'm getting sick of is a Wall having more attempts than points. That garbage has to stop. I think that's the 6th time in 11 games

 

Preach brother, preach.

[No Excuses]

Wall looks gimpy to me. He's not healthy and he can't rest because his backup stinks. I wish we could sit him for a few games.

Thanks Ernie.

[StillUnknown]

We're still in the thick of the playoff race right now because we've been competitive in most games against one of the hardest schedules thus far.

 

Or because we're only 11 games in.   

 

(I know- I'm jaded!)

 

We will be in thick of the playoff race because the East is looking pretty bad so far.

 

A couple of sub .500 teams will probably make the playoffs in the East.

Edited November 21, 2013 by StillUnknown

[Going Commando]

The East is awful. When the smoke clears, I think you'll see four or five teams that are actually pretty good. Then three or maybe even four teams get in with barely 42 or fewer wins.

1.) Miami

2.) Indiana

3.) Atlanta...

4.) Toronto......

[Destino]

The East may have less good teams than the west but the two good ones they have are better than all of the West. I'd take the Pacers or Heat over any Western conference team in a series.

We'll see what the Nets look like late in the season too, they have a lot of new people to hammer out at the same time and they'll probably settle down late. Their roster is old but playoff ball is slower and defense is less dependent on athleticism than it is in the regular season.

The Bulls, if they can stay healthy (big if), will also be a tough out for anyone in the playoffs. Rose will be closer to what earned him a shoe deal and they play great defense. They are the Grizzlies of the East, beating them is a dog fight.

[Going Commando]

Whups Destino, I think I accidentally reported your post when I was trying to like it.

[Destino]

Whups Destino, I think I accidentally reported your post when I was trying to like it.

You brought a mod here? That ticks the number of people reading this thread to what... seven? lol

[BRAVEONAWARPATH]

http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/wizards-insider/wp/2013/11/20/former-wizards-guard-a-j-price-was-surprised-to-never-hear-from-team-in-free-agency/

 

 

 

Former Wizards guard A.J. Price was surprised to never hear from team in free agency

 

A.J. Price isn’t upset with anyone over how last summer worked out, but he certainly had different expectations after having the best season of his career with the Washington Wizards.

 

 

In his short time in Washington, Price was well-liked by his teammates, assisted Jan Vesely with his confidence problems and even offered the occasional tip to John Wall. But Price had no idea that when he collected his belongings after his exit interviews last season that the Wizards wouldn’t make any effort to keep him.

 

“I left here thinking I was coming back,” Price, now a backup with the Minnesota Timberwolves, said on Tuesday before making his lone visit to Washington to face his former team.

Price said he never heard from the Wizards last summer after he posted career highs of 7.7 points and 3.6 assists, with 22 starts, “Which is kind of surprising.”

 

 

 

[Destino]

So Price for a little less than a million or Maynor for more than 2 million and a player option (unbelievable) for year two? Oops.

[StillUnknown]

You know the back-up pg is bad when we're missing AJ Price.

[Skin'emAlive]

Its not so much that we are missing price. I think it was universally agreed upon that we needed a better backup than Price. Guy is a SG, not a PG. The main problem is that we didnt get the right one. Many have said Maynor was the wrong choice. But alas, we could not afford a better one apparently.

[StillUnknown]

Its not so much that we are missing price. I think it was universally agreed upon that we needed a better backup than Price. Guy is a SG, not a PG. The main problem is that we didnt get the right one. Many have said Maynor was the wrong choice. But alas, we could not afford a better one apparently.

 

Thats where giving Martell the full MLE kinda hurts. Its also why many would prefer to see him in the starting lineup, so the contract doesn't look as bad. He performs much better with the starting unit, hopefully Ariza will fall back into his role as the "6th starter" that he had last season.

[Going Commando]

I still think an Ariza for Calderon swap would be good even though Calderon has a long contract.

[Destino]

I still think an Ariza for Calderon swap would be good even though Calderon has a long contract.

He wouldn't fit Randy's Motionless Offense because he's too slow to attack the rim consistently while running the same pick n roll play over and over again. Maybe Darren Collison can be signed as the third guard in a three guard rotation after he opts out of his second year with the clippers? Play Wall at SG while Beal is sitting.

[Skin'emAlive]

Thats where giving Martell the full MLE kinda hurts. Its also why many would prefer to see him in the starting lineup, so the contract doesn't look as bad. He performs much better with the starting unit, hopefully Ariza will fall back into his role as the "6th starter" that he had last season.

Its no secret that Webster plays better in the starting lineup. Nor is it a secret that he is the best fit in the starting lineup over Ariza. However it made alot of sense to start Ariza so we could drive up his trade potential provided wall could give him open 3's. For the most part, Ariza did just that and outside of an injury is having a great year. Success. The goal in my opinion all along was to get Ariza looking good by mid season and trade him off for a serviceable big ( Asik), provided there is one on the market. Then Webster would move up, and Porter would be getting minutes in the second unit or more. Porter's injury hasnt changed the plan really. We were going to drive up Ariza regardless.  ( At least we should have been trying to do that. Never know with this team). Okafor's injury really hampered us in the begining. But the plan isnt really lost.

 

Of course, if Wittman runs our players in the dirt like he has been, and we get an injury with Wall/Beal ...... All Hell

[Destino]

Two wizards made Shaqtin a fool in the same week. Gortat for his spoof of a dream shake and Beal for losing the ball and then falling down on a fast break. http://allball.blogs.nba.com/category/shaqtin-a-fool/

[Going Commando]

Its no secret that Webster plays better in the starting lineup. Nor is it a secret that he is the best fit in the starting lineup over Ariza. However it made alot of sense to start Ariza so we could drive up his trade potential provided wall could give him open 3's. For the most part, Ariza did just that and outside of an injury is having a great year. Success. The goal in my opinion all along was to get Ariza looking good by mid season and trade him off for a serviceable big ( Asik), provided there is one on the market. Then Webster would move up, and Porter would be getting minutes in the second unit or more. Porter's injury hasnt changed the plan really. We were going to drive up Ariza regardless.  ( At least we should have been trying to do that. Never know with this team). Okafor's injury really hampered us in the begining. But the plan isnt really lost.

 

Of course, if Wittman runs our players in the dirt like he has been, and we get an injury with Wall/Beal ...... All Hell

That seems too conspiratorial. Randy is the one who makes calls about the line up, not Ernie. And Ernie is the one looking for trades.

I think Wittman simply thought Ariza was the better player and thus the better option to start.

And he's not technically wrong in thinking Ariza is the better player. He probably is. But Ariza is more effective as the sixth man like he was last year, than Webster has been. I think most of us agree that we get more bang for our buck in our line ups when we start Webster and have Ariza come off the bench.

Ariza should be dealt though. I think its wasting an asset to have him expire. A 7.8 million dollar expiring that's a very useful player should get you a useful player back in return. We're a couple bench guys away from actually having a solid team, depth included.

We need a quality 3rd guard, which currently is not on the roster. We need a respectable back up option at C. Which I also don't think is on the roster, but maybe Seraphin gets it together eventually. We've got Ves, who suddenly seems like a decent option off the bench at PF. And we've got Porter coming back in a little while, who would hopefully replace Ariza at SF. Nine players would be enough.

[Destino]

Wizards don't have a lot of cap room next season and I think the point of the playoffs or bust stance is to make a Washington an attractive destination. I doubt they'll trade Ariza for future salary unless it was for a draft pick. It doesn't make sense to target this season as a playoff push if they weren't looking to make a move because they are going to have holes to fill. Ves, Singleton, Booker, Seraphin, Ariza, and likely Gortat are all gone at the end of the year. We may not even have a first round pick to use to replace any of them. They are going to need money.

[JoeWolf990]

Wizards have enough for another max contract

I still think an Ariza for Calderon swap would be good even though Calderon has a long contract.

nah, im good on that.

need the free money.

[Going Commando]

Wizards don't have a lot of cap room next season and I think the point of the playoffs or bust stance is to make a Washington an attractive destination. I doubt they'll trade Ariza for future salary unless it was for a draft pick. It doesn't make sense to target this season as a playoff push if they weren't looking to make a move because they are going to have holes to fill. Ves, Singleton, Booker, Seraphin, Ariza, and likely Gortat are all gone at the end of the year. We may not even have a first round pick to use to replace any of them. They are going to need money.

I hear you.

But presumably, you could deal Ariza for multiple contracts (or to a team capable of making an unbalanced deal), and one of those deals could be a multi-year deal that would fill one of the roster holes you mention.

Here's a summary of our salary for next season:

Wall - 13.7 million

Nene - 13 million even

Martell - 5.4 million

Beal - 4.5 million

Porter - 4.5 million

Maynor - 2.1 million player option (ugh)

43.2 million in commitments for our starting PF, SF, SG, PG, and back up PG & SF.

Now let's say we lose our draft pick and keep Glenn Rice Jr at .8 million and we're at an even 44 million for 7 players.

Which of our FA's would we keep and how much will it cost?

Let's say Gortat finishes the season about at his current level of play: 12 & 9 & 1.7 blocks on 52% shooting. Around a 16 PER. 30 years old. Good but not great defender. Good but not great offensive game. I would think that's like 10 million per year. A little more than Paul Millsap because he's a seven footer. Less than Al Jefferson and Josh Smith because he's not an All Star and not a 20 PER player like Jefferson.

Let's also say Vesely keeps up his current level of production throughout the season - Good defense, and enough offense and rebounding for a 14 to 15 PER. I can't imagine there being competition for him. Let's say his value is up to 3 million a year since he's a young 7 footer.

So we're now at 57 million and almost at the cap for 9 players. And we still need a quality third guard and a backup C.

That's not enough money to get the C and the guard in FA. You could use the MLE on one of them, but you'd still need the other one and really have no avenue to get a decent one. You'd have to use very small exceptions and take a flier on a risky player.

So that means I think you deal Ariza for the guy you want to have for next year before this trade deadline. Then you can use bird rights to keep everyone you want and use the MLE to fill the final spot in the rotation. Say we make an Ariza for Asik swap and use some of the MLE for a Ramon Sessions or something.

Then you can use minimal exceptions to keep guys like Booker and Temple to fill out the end of the roster.

Need 2 PGs, 5 wings, 5 bigs.

PG: Wall, Sessions, Maynor

SG: Beal, GRJr, Temple?

SF: Webster, Porter

PF: Nene, Vesely, Booker?

C: Gortat, Asik

That isn't a bad roster. Unfortunately it's very expensive and I think it pays luxury tax, which is bad to get into this early in the Wall/Beal era. Can't forget that Asik is actually owed 15 million even though only 8.3 counts against the cap.

Dealing Ariza for a cheaper back up big like Zaza Pachulia is an option I suppose. Asik is a lot better though.

Best of all would be dealing Maynor with something like Seraphin included as part of a package for a better back up PG and an expiring.

Wizards have enough for another max contract

nah, im good on that.

need the free money.

Who are we going to get worth a max deal?