GRUNFELD DISCUSSES 06-07 SEASON
Wizards President of Basketball Operations Ernie Grunfeld covered a variety of topics when he met with members of the local media Thursday afternoon at Verizon Center.
If you’re not in the mood to watch the whole video, here are some quotes from the gathering:
On the season:
“It ended in a disappointing fashion for all of us. Overall, we started the season very well. We hit some bumps in the road during the second half of the season. We did not finish as well as we would have liked to, but I think that we have shown that when we are healthy and have all of our players we can compete with anyone in the league.
We had some great wins this season against some of the top teams in the league and I think our future is extremely bright. We have three All Stars, some outstanding young players and most of our players are in their prime. I am excited about the future of this ball club, but right now, after a loss in the playoffs, I think we are all disappointed and it hurts.â€
On the future:
“We are going to use the next two to three weeks to evaluate everything. You do not evaluate the whole season in a 10-week period, or a five-game period, you have to look at the whole body of work from all our individual players and the team collectively. I think we are well positioned. We will begin to have internal meetings and we will decide what we have to do going down the road.â€
More on plans for the off-season:
“We are going to take some time to evaluate everything, to see exactly where we are and what we need to do. We have some free agent issues that we need to deal with. We have some big free agents this summer. We will be making a decision about what we will be doing, but that will all take some time to do.â€
On Oleksiy Pecherov:
“I anticipate having (Oleksiy) Pecherov on the roster next season. He had a very solid year playing in BC Kyiv. We anticipate bringing him over in the next month, and he will be playing with us in summer league. We cannot sign him to a contract until July, but at that time we anticipate having him here and having him next season.â€
On Vladimir Veremeenko:
“We will see how that situation develops and how many roster spots we have for next season. A lot of things will unfold this summer, and we will take that one step at a time. He had a very good season also; he played with Khimki in Russia. We will hopefully bring him in to summer league, but we are not sure if we can work that out yet.â€
On having eight free agents this off-season:
“Every organization wants players that they feel can help them win. We feel that if we have players that can help us win we will do everything to keep them here. If we do not feel that they can help us accomplish that then we will act accordingly.â€
On Gilbert Arenas:
“Gilbert is very committed to this city and this organization. He likes it here and we all have had great success, and we are heading in the right direction. We would love to have Gilbert end his career here and put his number up in the rafters. He is very popular in this town, the fans love him and we all love him. He has a strong competitive nature and a desire to win. He does have the right to opt put next summer and get another long term contract, or he can get an extension this summer, but a much shorter term than it would be next summer.â€
On the center position:
“Every team would love to have maximum production from each position on the floor. Looking over the course of the season, (Brendan Haywood and Etan Thomas) split time almost evenly, and if you put their numbers together there was good production. If you look at other teams, there are not many starting centers in the league that put up the type of numbers that the two of them do together.â€
More on what is to come this summer:
“Our number one concern is to put the best possible team out on the court. It will be our goal and what we will be working towards. We have seven players under contract for next season, those seven players are in the rotation and we have the highest scoring trio returning next season. Our number one priority is to make sure Gilbert (Arenas) and Caron (Butler) get healthy and then we will address other opportunities.â€
On the play of some of the younger Wizards:
“We will not use injuries as an excuse for anything because they are a part of the game and they happen. It did give other people an opportunity to play more and some players were put in different roles. Andray (Blatche) showed some promise and had good moments. Donell (Taylor) also had good moments along the way, Roger (Mason Jr.) came in and did some good things for us. I think our young players came in and did a good job of contributing.â€
Posted: May 3rd, 2007 under Ernie Grunfeld, Video Features, Wizards.
Comments
Comment from LilGil
Time May 3, 2007 at 5:01 PM
Well neal that’s pretty much the way it should/will go. This press conference doesn’t really bring any news since it’s only the beggining of this period and Ernie ain’t gonna give out his moves right now, we’re gonna have to wait for it… I think the wiz fans are pretty much right about what should happend this summer since there aren’t that many possibilities, we shouldn’t suffer too many shocks, perhaps a couple disapointements but no shock… It’s funny how Ernie smiles each time someone asks something about Gilbert and how he goes on with ” he loves DC you know”, for me it sounds like Gilbert already signed an extension (joking of course).
Thank’s Eric for the vid, and btw I’m wondering if there are many teams where press conferences are full of jokes and laughs just as ours (can you actually imagine Brendan and Etan having dinner?? It reminds me of a lil wizznutzz article about poetry and these two guys!)
Comment from shankar
Time May 3, 2007 at 6:27 PM
Ernie what the heck are you saying? Go and grab Gerald Wallace and Diop from free agency? What are you thinking? The quickest way to a championship is a starting lineup of diop, wallace, jamison, butler, and arenas. Come on!!!
Comment from ChenierFan
Time May 3, 2007 at 7:25 PM
Grunfeld is an excellent GM. Just think how he got Butler (for Kwame), Daniels and Songaila and drafted Blatche in the second round. Despite how the season ended, I still think this Wizards team was better than last year. Stephenson, although he rode Gilbert’s coattails through the season and was helpless as a starter when Gilbert went down, was nevertheless an upgrade over Jared Jeffries. Songaila and Blatche gave the Wizards a better bench. I feel optimistic that Grunfeld will land a quality free-agent 2 guard or center or get one of those in the draft. If he does, the Wizards will have quite a team next year.
Some random thoughts:
- I love watching Donell Taylor play, but too bad he has no outside shot
- Jarvis Hayes is not a good enough ball handler to attack the rim. He’s fast enough but to attack the rim in this league you need great ball handling skills, which he doesn’t have. Thus, he always has to settle for contested jump shots. But he is one cool lookin dude who drives a cool lookin car.
- Did I see the nameplate from Haywood’s locker for sale on eBay? It says” I really, really hate my coach” on the back.
- After starting his rookie year recovering from a near fatal gunshot wound to the chest, this was really Blatche’s de facto rookie year. His improvement from the start of the year to the end was dramatic. I can’t wait to see him play next year. I’m sure signing him is a priority.
- I would not be suprised if Grunfeld picks another European first in the draft again.
Comment from neal
Time May 3, 2007 at 9:00 PM
Think I should invite Haywood, Thomas & Jordan over to our place to kiss and make up and have a little din-din?
Comment from Wizards4Life
Time May 3, 2007 at 9:08 PM
ummmm Neal nooooo lol but yeah EG is a great guy but he has never let anyone know whats going on in his head till they absolutely have too
Comment from wizardsdotcom
Time May 3, 2007 at 10:34 PM
shankar - as good a GM as Ernie is, I don’t know if he’s a cap-miracle worker. Gerald Wallace is in a position to earn a HUGE payday, way outside of the Wizards spending range.
I think now’s a great time for everyone to re-tune their knowledge of the NBA CBA by visiting Larry Coon’s much heralded CBA FAQ.
Comment from Nara
Time May 3, 2007 at 11:36 PM
Finals are over and I’m back to blog with the wizards fans! Although i guess there isn’t really much to be excited and blog about… Anyway. The way haywood was benched throughout the playoffs worries me because it seems like that he’s a goner. I don’t know how many 7 foot centers in this league make reasonable pay and gives you good production like brendan when he’s motivated but it’s a short list. I don’t know who we can get around the league that’ll make sense for us. Most decent centers make waaaaay too much money and others suck too much. Anyone have any idea who we could get? Reasonably?
Comment from HardCoreFan
Time May 4, 2007 at 8:01 AM
I hope we keep Arenas, Butler, Jamison, Stephenson, and Blatch. Everyone else is tradeable.
Comment from neal
Time May 4, 2007 at 8:14 AM
I think Daniels and Songaila are very valuable. Certainly worth more to us than Stevenson. But I really would like to keep almost everyone unless necessary to get that dream center we all want.
Comment from eccentric beethoven
Time May 4, 2007 at 8:35 AM
two close sources with haywood say if eddie jordan is coming back he will demand a trade.
Comment from Tom Mandel
Time May 4, 2007 at 9:59 AM
Stevenson plays the 2 — that’s the easiest position to fill. He is a good player, about average for the NBA. If he goes, he can be replaced. If he stays, it’s neither a great thing nor a bad thing. This is *not* a knock on DeShawn; he had a good season.
I *like* Donnell. I hope he stays. If he goes, we will see him bloom elsewhere (anyone watching Steve Blake’s play in the Denver/Houston series?).
I don’t see much value in Roger Mason. As I’ve said before, look at his season shooting stats.
Antonio Daniels is one of the better point guards in the league, an exceptional teammate, a leader, and in every way a key player for the Wiz. He didn’t get enough minutes in the regular season IMHO.
Yes, they had better sign Blatche!
As to Haywood — I would bet *anything* that the Wizards had a better record in games where he played more minutes than Etan, and a worse record when it was vice versa. EJ’s handling of Haywood is the only real chink in his coaching armor. But, in the end it means there’s a good chance Haywood has to be dealt (if possible — and we won’t get much for him, alas).
Comment from neal
Time May 4, 2007 at 10:01 AM
I looked at the stats for Jamal Magliore. They don’t look any better per minute played than those of Haywood and Thomas. And he’s a lot more expensive.
Comment from bhj_202
Time May 4, 2007 at 10:25 AM
The real problem the Wiz had this season other than injuries was Eddie Jordan’s pride. He let personal beefs cause us games and our MVP Gilbert Arenas. I know Haywood is not the best player in the world but he’s 7 feet and gives us the best chance in the middle to defend. yeah he cant grab a loose ball to save his life but he’s 7 feet. I agree with Mandel when the wizards were on a roll it was when Haywood was starting. No other team in the league would bench their best player for being late to the pregame shootaround, oh except Eddie Jordan. Not saying that he caused Gil to go down but think about it the first time Gil comes off the bench for the Wiz he tears his knee in less than 2 minutes. If we need anything this offseason it is for jordan to put his pride and personal beef aside and play the players who give the team the best chance to win.
Comment from Tom Mandel
Time May 4, 2007 at 10:27 AM
You are right about Magloire — I don’t think he has ever shown that much in the league. I do like Mikki Moore, but he is 31 and he is probably better at the 4 than the 5. He is a free agent coming off a very good year.
To tell the truth, I don’t see *anybody* we can trade for at the 5. Someone suggested signing Diop as a FA, but I don’t know that we have cap room for him. The only *good* thing there is that Dallas should be looking to make some kind of moves after being beaten by the Warriors in the first round hehehheheheh!
Comment from bhj_202
Time May 4, 2007 at 10:38 AM
The wizards should trade haywood and a pick to the suns for barbosa and go with barbosa,gil,caron,antwan, and Haywood. yeah thats right we need to keep haywood and get rid of Jordan. Like it or not we win games when Haywood starts
Comment from neal
Time May 4, 2007 at 11:38 AM
MarkyMark, after thinking it over I agree with you that the Wiz played their best with Haywood starting. But I think the reason was that he had Thomas looking over his shoulder, not because he had no competition. In years past when he had no apparent competition for the starting position he didn’t play with enthusiasm most of the time. This year backing up Thomas or starting after Thomas got hurt he had his best year.
Comment from Tom Mandel
Time May 4, 2007 at 1:46 PM
I could be wrong, but I think Haywood was as good last year as this year, or maybe even slightly better?
In any case, he is better minute for minute than Etan. Now, Etan is a more interesting person, plays harder, and is a good teammate. I’m not criticizing Etan Thomas. Brendan is just taller, has a bigger wingspan, and is faster. I *wish* Etan could play the 4 a little bit; he’d be a plus at that position. Remember, he was projected as a 4 coming into the league. And, back then he was listed as 6′8″ — I’m sure that’s still what he is.
Comment from MarkyMark
Time May 4, 2007 at 4:31 PM
Neal, I disagree - Haywood was at his best this year when Thomas and Ruffin were hurt. That’s when the Wizards were tearing up the league. He is at his best when he is not looking over his shoulder and he has the confidence from his coach. Steady minutes is his thing.
His best contributions to the team are defense, shot blocking, and disrupting the other team’s shots - that is what a 7 footer does. His numbers have never been great - 6 points, 6 rebounds, but with the big 3 putting up all of those numbers that was just gravy. It is exactly those skills that were so needed in the playoff series and what they did not get with the small lineup Jordan played in the fourth quarter of every game.
What galls Haywood - and me - is that Jordan elected to play Thomas becuase of the percieved “effort” that Thomas gave. But Thomas’s numbers were no better and he did not contribute the defense and shot blocking, and disruption that Haywood provides. So in the end it hurt the team rather than helped it - plus knowing how Brendan is about playing time means it was inevitable that it would cause serious friction.
Comment from Nara
Time May 4, 2007 at 7:40 PM
I think there was a good deal of motivation coming in this year and not starting for Haywood. He doesn’t play well when he has to look over his shoulders after every possession but there were lots of times when he was given minutes w/o question that he disappeared for stretches. It wasn’t just games when he played five minutes that we would get 0 points and 0 rebounds. There were plenty of games throughout the years that he got 2 points and 4 rebounds after playing 30 minutes. Unless he’s motivated, haywood wasn’t the best bet to fight for rebounds consistently throughout the game and the season. That said, I wish this was magical land of happiness where coaches and players can patch up differences and 7 footers can take magic pills to stay motivated all the time because haywood really is a great center to have in our system.
Comment from neal
Time May 5, 2007 at 8:34 PM
Just from looking at the stats, these seem to me to be the top three FA centers, in order (the stats of both Thomas and Haywood look better to me):
Chris Mihm (made $4.2 million this year) 26 yrs
Darko Milicic (made $5.2 million this year) 21 yrs
Rafael Araujo (made $2.4 million this year) 26 yrs
I only watch the Wizards games. Those who’ve seen more of these guys give me your opinions.
Comment from wmines
Time May 6, 2007 at 11:28 AM
Man are you kidding me go pick up Marcus Camby!
Comment from Tom Mandel
Time May 8, 2007 at 7:50 AM
Marcus Camby would be great — only thing is we don’t have cap room to sign him.
Comment from cowboybfd
Time May 15, 2007 at 3:07 PM
Here’s the basics for ya:
1. Dump:
Haywood
Stephenson
Donnell Taylor, and possibly
Jarvis Hayes
Pick up:
One dominant Center
One 2 guard, and maybe
one power forward (if you lose Hayes)
Sign Gilbert to a multi-year extension!!!!!!!!!!!
Comment from cowboybfd
Time May 15, 2007 at 3:58 PM
Offseason in four easy steps…
1. Dismiss Haywood (stupidity), Taylor (no shot), Stephenson (less than average stats), and possibly J. Hayes (streaky/injury prone). Do this thru trade if possible for some of these…
2. Find a dominant center and a serviceable 2 guard (could be Daniels if he can improve his outside shot - splitting time with Mason), and possibly a power forward opposite Jamison…(especially if Hayes goes)
3. Sign Gilbert to a multi-year extension so that’s not looming during next season. Signing him coming off this injury could help save the Wiz a bit of dough since there’s not a certainty that he will fully recover with the same ability. Could backfire too, but worth the chance.
4. Get the Wizards TWO European dynamo’s across the pond so they can actually contribute next year. That forward spot could be filled by one of the Europeans OR Blatche if he continues to improve and BULK UP! Somebody needs to get him into gym!
Adding the two euros, a dominant center, and a serviceable 2 guard would provide an EXTREMELY strong upgrade to an already strong team…The continued growth of Blatche, a full training off-season (no back surgery) for Songiala, and the removal of the Haywood annoyance to everyone should also prove to be a major improvement!
With the euros on the roster, they could essentially ONLY add one dominant center to the mix, use Mason/Daniels as the two guard, and hope Songiala/Hayes/Blatche can effectively man the forward spot opposite Jamison.
Comment from kingly-1
Time May 31, 2007 at 4:48 PM
Whoever says that we should keep Haywood or Arvis Hayes (cuz he has no J) doesn’t watch Wizards basketball. Haywood has to be the most uncoordinated basketball player since Minut Bol! And Hayes can’t shoot and can’t dribble - how the hell did we waste a #10 pick on him! The unfortunate part about those two players is that the others teams in the NBA know they suck. If no one is willing to trade for them, we should just go ahead, bite the bullet and cut both of them. That will clear up some cap space so we can sign a legit shot-blocking center who can catch more than a cold. Maybe a 7 foot draft pick, Danny Fortson or Jake Tsakalidas type player could be available and that’s all we need. I know the first Euro kid was kinda light-weight, but I don’t know about the other guy. If he is a Memhet Okur type of player, then that would be all we need.
With the additional cap space created, we can go after a Shooting Guard who can actually shoot. I’m thinking about Flip Murray. He’s a scorer and an ok defender, but we will need his scoring ability when the eventual injury bug hits. The perfect fit would be if Stevie Jackson could come to DC and give this squad what it needs - a great shooter who can defend the athletic two guards. Kapono, Korver, Raja Bell, or Magette would work too.
In terms of the rest of the bench players, here’s what I think:
Blatche - He’s a D. Howard in the making if he puts on 15 more pounds of musle
Booth - Expendible
Daniels - Best 6 man in the east
Mike Hall - Who? Expendible
Mason - Expendible (No jay)
Ruffin - Cheap garbage man; might as well keep him
Songalia - Great shooter and passer off the bench; keep him
Stevenson - Expendible or comes off the bench
D. Taylor - Expendible
Etan - Not a starter, but solid off da bench
No disrepct intended if one of the players reads this, but pro-basketball is a business and this is what I see needs to be done in order for Washington to win a championship instead of giving them to Detroit.
Comment from rapec
Time June 28, 2007 at 11:22 AM
Hello Mr. Ernie Grunfeld, my name is Rafael Timerman and my mom’s last name is Grunfeld, exactly like yours. My grandfather, Charles Grunfeld is from Verpelet, and I just came back from there with him. I met all the places he stayed during the war, in Budapest.
My greatest curiosity is to know how did you became the president of a NBA team, after all the stories that I learn from Hungary. I love the NBA and my goal is to work with this big squad.
Today my Grandfather owns his own company in Brazil, a textile company, where he ended up after the war.
THank you for your time.
Rafael Timerman
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Comment from neal
Time May 3, 2007 at 4:48 PM
He talks like Haywood isn’t gone. “Time heals a lot of things”. Hard to believe that.