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The Official Washington Basketball Thread: Wizards, Mystics etc

BRAVEONAWARPATH

By BRAVEONAWARPATH
in The Tailgate

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StillUnknown

StillUnknown

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They've spent years structuring their contracts to be able to sign Durant without needing a trade partner and just before he becomes a free agent they hire his former coach. Yeah, I'm sure that has nothing to do with Durant.

 

3 years from now:

 

"We hired Scott with knowledge that his connections to Kevin Durant would help us land him in the offseason. Obviously, that did not materialize. We feel like we assembled a competitive roster despite missing out on Kevin, but we have not been as consistent as we would have liked and have decided to move in a different direction. I will begin conducting searches for the next coach immediately" - Grunfeld

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Burgold

Burgold

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Our players are probably ****ing tired of hearing about Durant.

They really should be. It's kind of offensive (esp. during the season while they are in a playoff hunt. It's basically telling them that their efforts didn't matter and even if they do something cool they are unlikely to be rewarded for it.) I suspect the guys who play Durant's position are unhappiest.

 

Nice to get a paycheck, but kind of sucks to be the third choice to the prom... you know, the back ups back up.

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Warhead36

Warhead36

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I'm fine with having a plan to go after Durant but we were just soooo transparent about it it was ridiculous. Now that's fine if you're a big name franchise like the Knicks were when they were trying to position themselves for Lebron, but you saw what happened: Miami came kinda out of nowhere and stealth scooped him. That's the difference between a Pat Riley and an Ernie Grunfeld/Isiah Thomas(or whoever was running the Knicks at that time).

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Gamebreaker

Gamebreaker

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It also didn't help that Lebron knew he wasn't going to the Knicks before he even became a FA. Bosh, Wade and he decided during the Olympics to play together, and the plan was always either Cleveland or Miami. He couldn't convince them to go to Cleveland so Miami was a given. It's possible KD already knows what he's going to do, it's hard to believe he hasn't thought about it at all with the media hounding him nonstop for two years.

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Skin'emAlive

Skin'emAlive

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I guess... But the Knicks pretty openly campaigned for Melo prior to getting him. Then they got him. Houston and Phoenix both campaigned for Aldridge, but he went with the sure bet in San Antonio. It sure wasnt transparent. Usually a superstar stays with their original team. Look at Cousins. Despite all that has gone on, he is still there. Superstars leaving their team happens once in a blue moon. There isnt really any precedent as to how to lure a superstar to your team. But getting a good collection of people that are on good terms with the guy and clearing cap space for the possibility is a good start. People are more open to diving into familiar waters.

 

Anyways, plan B should be to stock up on better role players and wait for the inevitable Kings meltdown next season. Then move Gortat and something for him. If that doesnt work... plan C is to hope that Brooks can continue to develop our core in the same fashion he did OKC and that Ernie stumbles upon a young big somewhere.

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BRAVEONAWARPATH

BRAVEONAWARPATH

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http://espn.go.com/nba/story/_/id/15353834/the-wizards-go-back-drawing-board-scott-brooks

 

 

 

Can Scott Brooks solve the Wizards' identity problem?

 

 

Deciding whether a team has an "identity" calls to mind the classic U.S. Supreme Court definition of pornography: it's hard to define exactly, but you know it when you see it -- and in the case of NBA teams, you definitely know when you don't.

 

It's hard to even say whether you can craft an identity top-down -- by plucking the right free agents and college kids -- or if a team must happen upon one organically through some semi-random process of self-discovery. The Wizards of 2015-16 tried to manufacture an identity on short notice while saving cash for a plastic surgery job in July. They haphazardly crafted a pace-and-space team while winky-wink flirting with Thunder forward Kevin Durant, and after six injury-riddled months of aimless flailing on the court, they may end up with neither.

 

On Friday, Washington banked the next phase of its development on a coach seeking his own identity, even after guiding Oklahoma City within three games of a title way ahead of schedule. Ask the Wizards what they see in former Thunder coach Scott Brooks, and you'll hear the usual: He's a wonderful man, players will go to war for him, and he'll coach up the young guys -- just as he did with the once-youthful Thunder. He's a warm, encouraging spirit, and that matters over the slog of 82 games. For better or worse, it will create a different vibe than recently departed Randy Wittman's sometimes ornery perfectionism.

 

 

 

 

 

 

All the Durant buzz now says he wants no part of going home, but be careful what you believe. Most of that chatter comes from people three, four and five steps removed from Durant's tight-lipped inner circle at Roc Nation -- gossipy types who dial up the NBA's telephone game. The Lakers are in it, then out of it, then in it again -- and don't forget about the Warriors! I will say this: The Spurs buzz is ascendant in a way that is eerily similar to what happened last Januaryat the D-League Showcase, when a half-dozen unconnected team executives warned me over the span of a few days that LaMarcus Aldridge would bolt from Portland for San Antonio. Who knows. At the very least, the Wizards will get a chance to make their pitch.

 

Edited by BRAVEONAWARPATH
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BRAVEONAWARPATH

BRAVEONAWARPATH

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Presser has started. Ernie Grunfeld begins by saying Scott Brooks was Washington's top candidate.

 

 

Grunfeld stresses Brooks' development of young players with the Thunder as a big reason why Brooks will succeed with the Wizards.

 

 

Scott Brooks: "I'm excited. I have a great opportunity." Thanks Ted Leonsis for "opportunity to lead this tremendous group of young men."

 

 

Ted Leonsis: "Ernie and I believe this was the right hire for our team." Leonsis also refers to Brooks' work with young players.

 

Leonsis says there will be an "exciting brand of basketball." He & Grunfeld have now cited Wizards will have a "more sophisticated" offense.

 

Brooks said he spent time with high school, college and pro teams, but the Spanish national team, during his year-long sabbatical.

 

 

Scott Brooks: "We will develop players every single day." Says it goes into both on and off court aspects of the job.

 

Scott Brooks says John Wall still has another level to go -- "maybe two or three more levels."

 

 

Leonsis: "We'll use this offseason to recraft the team." Says having a coach who can relate to players is vital, praises Brooks for that.

 

 

Leonsis says after FA the Wizards will have a better team than they did this year.

 

Scott Brooks on analytics: "I love it."

 

 

Leonsis on why the coaching search process wasn't more expansive: "Because we wanted Scott."

 

 

Leonsis on why there weren't more sweeping changes (i.e. why Grunfeld was retained: Never considered it because plan is still intact.

 

Parsing Leonsis's answers, Grunfeld's job was never in jeopardy. He said it would've been if Grunfeld deviated from course.

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BRAVEONAWARPATH

BRAVEONAWARPATH

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Leonsis said comparison with #Caps is the front office deviated from "the plan." Grunfeld stays bc he didn't #WizardsTalk @CSNWizards


 


 




Leonsis said he sent Grunfeld to Newport Beach to meet with Brooks and told him not to come back without a deal @CSNWizards #WizardsTalk


 


 




Leonsis says "we like our core and we said we wanted to have flexibility and cap space." @CSNWizards #WizardsTalk


 




Leonsis cited 100-99 loss to #Pacers as a soul crusher. I reported after that Dudley went to Witt to talk and it went nowhere #WizardsTalk



 




 





Leonsis on roster: "Im not really involved in those decisions. Ive told them how much money they can spend, which is A LOT" #WizardsTalk


 


 


 




Leonsis on Porter: "He didn't take that next step ... I think this will be a breath of fresh air for him" #WizardsTalk @CSNWizards


 


 




Leonsis on Oubre: "Every player noted to me he's very hard to play against. The players wanted him to play more" #WizardsTalk


 




That quote from Leonsis on Oubre was in regards to exit interviews what teammates said about him #WizardsTalk @CSNWizards


 


 




I go back to #Lakers home loss. Oubre yanked for cheap foul on Kobe and was kept on bench. Had defended him well. Kobe drops 31 #WizardsTalk






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Taylor703

Taylor703

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Its official: Ted is an idiot. I thought he was smart, but turns out he's just another dolt who lucked into billions because of the dot com boom.

I've known Ted was an idiot since he allowed McPhee to trade away Forsberg. I've been calling him out for years. He's a terrible owner.

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