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BRAVEONAWARPATH

By BRAVEONAWARPATH
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JoeWolf990

JoeWolf990

Posted
Posted

What were the good options in 2001? And don't say Gasol, because that is cheating. (Not that I can see Michael Jordan drafting a European #1 anyway).

how is it cheating? Gasol was seen as a guy who could go #1 at the time.

Battier was not a franchise changer, even back then. WE woulda flogged him off within 2 years.

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Lombardi's_kid_brother

Lombardi's_kid_brother

Posted
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This season, Deng is giving you virtually the same production as Ariza.  TO ME, that would be a lateral move.  Although, you do get 14+ mil off the books when his contract expires at the end of the year. 

 

I'm actually OK with rolling w/ Martell and Ariza for the year.  If any trade is done for Ariza, it needs to be something to bolster our bench.  Starting 5 isn't a problem, IMO. 

 

I just don't think this team has the roster flexibility make the little trades to bolster the bench. And the assets they have (Ariza's expiring deal, Porter, um....that's kind of it) weaken the bench. I just don't see how you flip Maynor into anything right now.

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Lombardi's_kid_brother

Lombardi's_kid_brother

Posted
Posted (edited)

how is it cheating? Gasol was seen as a guy who could go #1 at the time.

 

By whom?

 

Sports Illustrated projected him at 11.

 

http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/basketball/nba/2001/draft/news/2001/06/11/mock_draft/

 

USA Today put him at 10

 

http://usatoday30.usatoday.com/sports/nba/01draft/mock.htm

 

ESPN put him at 10.

 

http://a.espncdn.com/nba/draft2001/s/2001/0625/1218424.html

 

After the draft, Marty Burns at SI called the pick "a surprise."

 

Surprise! Gasol, a 7-footer from Spain, was the best player on Europe's best team. He was supposed to go in the top 10, but the soon-to-be Memphis Grizzlies needed a small forward to replace Shareef Abdur-Rahim -- who they are trading for this pick -- so he moves up. Hope Gasol likes rhythm and blues.

 

http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/basketball/nba/2001/draft/news/2001/06/27/burns_round1/

 

Europeans just did not go in the top ten back then. Gasol was a test case.

 

The debate going into the draft was Brown or Curry. I thought both were risky for the Wizards because Jordan and Collins were not exactly known for their patience for or love of rookies.

Edited by Lombardi's_kid_brother
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JoeWolf990

JoeWolf990

Posted
Posted (edited)

By whom?

 

Sports Illustrated projected him at 11.

 

http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/basketball/nba/2001/draft/news/2001/06/11/mock_draft/

 

USA Today put him at 10

 

http://usatoday30.usatoday.com/sports/nba/01draft/mock.htm

 

ESPN put him at 10.

 

http://a.espncdn.com/nba/draft2001/s/2001/0625/1218424.html

 

After the draft, Marty Burns at SI called the pick "a surprise."

 

Surprise! Gasol, a 7-footer from Spain, was the best player on Europe's best team. He was supposed to go in the top 10, but the soon-to-be Memphis Grizzlies needed a small forward to replace Shareef Abdur-Rahim -- who they are trading for this pick -- so he moves up. Hope Gasol likes rhythm and blues.

http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/basketball/nba/2001/draft/news/2001/06/27/burns_round1/[/size]

 

well damn, i had no idea.

I remember Gasol being talked about as a possible #1 pick. It may have been SLAM magazine back then, and that always stuck with me.

Not knowing what I know now, I probably would have taken Eddie Curry in 2001. Mostly because of that show Preps.

Edited by JoeWolf990
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G.A.C.O.L.B.

G.A.C.O.L.B.

Posted
Posted

 

well damn, i had no idea.

I remember Gasol being talked about as a possible #1 pick. It may have been SLAM magazine back then, and that always stuck with me.

Not knowing what I know now, I probably would have taken Eddie Curry in 2001. Mostly because of that show Preps.

 

The one thing I remember from that draft when it came to Gasol was that Jordan absolutely despised Toni Kukoc and thus there was 0 chance he would take a Euro.

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pjfootballer

pjfootballer

Posted
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I wanted Battier in that draft. Like LKB said, he would have been the most all around solid choice in a weak draft.

 

I know some of you hate when I post in here and some may have me on ignore. But I still lurk through here and I think we should wait until the last possible moment to make a trade. 

 

I'd like to see what they could do with Harrington, Ariza and Porter playing. I'd like to give the team more time, before we go shuffling players around. Gortat has been a good deal for us so far and I think I'd see what they could do with the full compliment before we jettison off any more players.

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Going Commando

Going Commando

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Okay...this works on the trade machine.

 

Deng for Ariza, Porter and Vesley. The Wizards are a little short on #1 picks right now but I think that gives each team something. Chicago gets rid of a never-ending discussion/distraction, gets to go into tank mode, still has about $10 million coming off its books next year, and gets the #3 pick in last year's draft.

 

The Wizards suddenly get a loaded and balanced starting five - though their bench is still a nightmare.

 

PG - Wall

SG - Beal

SF - Deng

PF - Nene

C - Gortat

 

Deng is a much worse 3 point shooter than you would think, but he knows how to score and he knows how to play off the ball. Giving Wall a 3 that knows how to put the ball in the basket is a massive upgrade. And he's a good defender. And they are basically in the same position going into next year, except they now - I think - have Deng's Bird rights. (I'm actually really bad at this part of the salary cap).

 

You still need a backup PG, but that's a starting five that could push for a 3 seed.

Deng is too expensive. We would have his bird rights because they transfer with trades. But we can't afford to pay both him and Gortat this summer. Gortat is going to get at least 10 million per year and we need to keep him. Webster gives us enough at the three to get by anyway.

We're best off just waiting and seeing with Porter. Got three more years of team control on a rookie scale deal. You can marshall your cap money more easily by going with Webster and Porter combined for less than the price of Deng and looking for help in FA in the summer.

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Lombardi's_kid_brother

Lombardi's_kid_brother

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Deng is too expensive. We would have his bird rights because they transfer with trades. But we can't afford to pay both him and Gortat this summer. Gortat is going to get at least 10 million per year and we need to keep him. Webster gives us enough at the three to get by anyway.

We're best off just waiting and seeing with Porter. Got three more years of team control on a rookie scale deal. You can marshall your cap money more easily by going with Webster and Porter combined for less than the price of Deng and looking for help in FA in the summer.

 

My thought is: The East is awful and now is the time to strike. The Wizards are pretty well cap-strapped no matter what they do in the short term and this has never been a free agent destination even when there is money. Ariza comes off the books, you re-sign Gortat, and you have basically the same team as now. Is that really what you want going forward?

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Destino

Destino

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My thought is: The East is awful and now is the time to strike. The Wizards are pretty well cap-strapped no matter what they do in the short term and this has never been a free agent destination even when there is money. Ariza comes off the books, you re-sign Gortat, and you have basically the same team as now. Is that really what you want going forward?

 

I think the team needs a bench more than anything else right now (other than getting their hands on a star player, of course).  The problem is the team is going to have around 15 million and a lot of holes to fill.  Here is the depth chart, the red player names are not under contract next season.

 

Wall - Maynor 

Beal - Temple - Rice 

Ariza - Webster - Otto 

Nene - Harrington - Booker - Singleton

Gortat - Vesely - Seraphin

 

So they have around 15 million and somehow the team needs to replace it's entire power forward and center positions other than Nene.  In addition to that they need another rotation wing player.  That's a lot of need with not a lot of money to get it, especially when you consider that a starting center is going to eat up most of the money all by himself.  

 

Ideally the team would upgrade Maynor but he's got a player option (seriously, they gave him a player option) and there just might not be enough money.  There are certainly trades to be had currently but the cap situation makes them hard.  Ariza for Taj Gibson for instance, would give the Wizards a back up PF that can defend, rebound, and score.  His salary going forward however (8-9 million a year for the next three years) would cripple the team. 

 

Ernie was given 2 years and Ernie put a plan in place that seems to ignore absolutely everything beyond that.  Next season the Wizards could easily be entirely screwed.  If they make the playoffs they will lose their 1st round pick.  So they'll face replacing more than half the roster with 15 million and might just be entirely out of luck finding a starting center.  It's not like those guys are often free agents or cheap.  

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Cyclops

Cyclops

Posted
Posted (edited)

To be honest but what is the point of making the playoffs in the east in the 6-8 spots? I just feel youre best off tanking for the best draft Class since 03 then to get stomped in the first round. Until you have that super star you are not going to win any championships. Even with the best player in the league Cleveland never won anything. I get the need to feel some progress but unlike any other sport 1 player makes all the difference. Wall is a great player but not the Lebron Melo DWade Kobe Durant type player to be the best in the league. The top 5 spots this year could make a significant difference to add to Wall and Beal.

Edited by Cyclops
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Lombardi's_kid_brother

Lombardi's_kid_brother

Posted
Posted (edited)

To be honest but what is the point of making the playoffs in the east in the 6-8 spots? I just feel youre best off tanking for the best draft Class since 03 then to get stomped in the first round. Until you have that super star you are not going to win any championships. Even with the best player in the league Cleveland never won anything. I get the need to feel some progress but unlike any other sport 1 player makes all the difference. Wall is a great player but not the Lebron Melo DWade Kobe Durant type player to be the best in the league. The top 5 spots this year could make a significant difference to add to Wall and Beal.

 

Because:

1) the Wizards aren't bad enough to tank that strongly, and there is a lot of competition to get that low.

2) this team needs to start winning, because losing eventually begats losing, and

3) this team really doesn't need yet another young "star" to develop. Let's say they somehow land the #2 pick and get Wiggins. Okay, you have a 19 year-old wing. Those guys usually hit their stride in year 3 or so. So, now you have John Wall - who does have an injury history -  in his 7th year before the team is competitive. At that point, Beal is due for an extension. Do you extend him or let him go so you can extend Wiggins when his time comes? This never-ending development phase just throws teams into chaos.

 

If the Wizards get so bad as they are in position for a top 3 pick, they need to jettison everyone not named Wall and Beal and start all over again. And I'm not sure if that is what Wall had in mind when he signed his extension.

 

And the point is, you don't want to be the 7 or 8 seed in the East. But 3 through 6 is wide open. And neither the Heat nor Pacers are terribly deep. One injury changes everything.

Edited by Lombardi's_kid_brother
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Going Commando

Going Commando

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Posted

My thought is: The East is awful and now is the time to strike. The Wizards are pretty well cap-strapped no matter what they do in the short term and this has never been a free agent destination even when there is money. Ariza comes off the books, you re-sign Gortat, and you have basically the same team as now. Is that really what you want going forward?

Yeah but they're not ready to capitalize on the East this year and Deng won't get them there. Wall and Beal have no playoff experience. They'll get killed by Miami one way or the other, whether its in the first round as a late seed or the second as a mid seed.

Deng would probably give them the most balanced starting five, sort of a Grizzlies type build, but with Wall's All NBA upside in there.

But the starting five is just too expensive to keep together for long. It'd have too short a window.

Plus I don't think you deal (ostensibly) three rotation players for one if you're trying go all in for this year. Especially since Deng isn't necessarily a huge upgrade over Ariza. If it was a big man or a really good third guard, then maybe you would see more of a net gain in the roster.

And I agree with Still, you don't give up on Porter this soon. He's the last high upside asset we're going to get.

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Going Commando

Going Commando

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Posted

Okay....everyone hated by Deng trade.

 

So...how do you fix the bench, particularly the backup PG spot?

No idea. Play John Wall 40 minutes a night and hope that someone else can make enough plays off the bench to give us a handful of points.

I'm not sure there is a realistic fix right now. We're going to have to either wait for a team to fall out of contention and deal off someone or take a flier on a sketchy or unknown option and hope it works out.

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StillUnknown

StillUnknown

Posted
Posted (edited)

Bill SimmonsVerified account

‏@BillSimmons

More bummer injury news: hearing Bradley Beal reaggravated last spring's leg injury, and that the Wiz are worried he'll miss extended time.

 

 

 

**** MY LIFE

 

SOMEBODY TELL ME SIMMONS IS TALKING OUT HIS ASS, PLEASE

Edited by StillUnknown
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