Comment from WizDom
Time May 8, 2007 at 9:55 AM

I wonder what we can get in return for him.
He doesn’t get paid much compared to other starting centers the league.

Comment from wizkid034
Time May 8, 2007 at 11:10 AM

I do not care what has to be done, but Haywood has to go…even if it means a second-year pick sometime in the future. The bottom line is that Brendan has become a clubhouse cancer, and even AJ is frustrated with him and the situation.

The article states that EG told Haywood he would try to honor his trade request, but if the trade could not bring the Wizards a quality BIG in return that the team would be content holding on to Brendan.

I know that was not a quote and I know that EG has to keep some leverage for a possible trade, but if he truly feels that way then there is a big problem. Forget the fact that Brendan is spotty at best with his performance, he is absolutely bad for clubhouse morale. If he is here next year, he will pick more fights and continue to hamper the team.

At this point, I am all for releasing him if a trade does not get completed, and take the cap hit. It will be an addition by subtraction no matter which way you look at it.

Comment from Takisha219
Time May 8, 2007 at 11:31 AM

EG may have said that he would be willing to keep Brendan if he couldn’t get a good deal. I read earlier that EG went to Jordan after game 2 in Cleveland and asked if he could use Brendan more.

Comment from Leonardo Patelli
Time May 8, 2007 at 11:48 AM

Haywood is saying Eddie Jordan is the problem.

Eddie Jordan is saying Haywood is the problem.

The solution is to get rid of both.

Get Jeff Van Gundy or Stan Van Gundy to improve the Wizards defense.

Get Anderson Varejao to improve the Wizards rebounding.

Comment from Wizards4Life
Time May 8, 2007 at 11:50 AM

i don’t know what the problem with him and EJ is but i am glad he is leaving for him and for EJ and the team you cant fault people for not liking everyone and the best thing to do is a trade he can get a team that will let him do what he wants and we can possibly get a big that will keep his mouth closed and do what hes asked!

on a side note i don’t think he is a bad player i think he is a very good center when he wants to be! but there is few times when i seen him want to be a good player

Comment from middletonss
Time May 8, 2007 at 12:01 PM

Everyone saw this coming. Haywood and Jordan haven’t been getting along for a while. I don’t know why it’s important for EG to get another big man in return for Haywood. It seems as though we can get a player from any position as long as we focus on a big man with the 16th pick in the draft. Someone please enlighten me.

Comment from middletonss
Time May 8, 2007 at 12:11 PM

This is off the subject but:
Which one of the Wizards current players was describe as this on draft day? (I had to take out some parts so that I don’t give it away).

Overall: 96
NBA Comparison: Michael Jordan

Strengths: Special player. Extremly gifted athlete. Great ball handler. Very advanced shooter and scorer for his age. A showstopper. Can play the 1 or 2.

Weaknesses: Tries to do too much at times. Learning how to be a consumate team player, something his idol Kobe still must learn himself. Gets criticized for being too fancy, still has alot of basketball to learn.

Comment from LilGil
Time May 8, 2007 at 12:35 PM

Middletonss my name give ya the answer I mean it obvously can only be my boy Gil.
On “the brendan situation” we all knew it would happend. But now something has to happend. We’ve all spoken about the fact that we would be lookin for a center this summer and we all understood that it was gonna be really tough for EG to deal with all the conditions. The real problem is that Brendan could not be traded and at this time imagine how the players coaches and even fans will react… I’d hate to have to start a new season with already some problems you know… I really hope we can find a good deal…

Comment from WizDom
Time May 8, 2007 at 12:39 PM

middletonss: sounds like DeShawn Stevenson out of highschool

Comment from LilGil
Time May 8, 2007 at 12:42 PM

I didn’t read the lil “96 overall” and I was abused by the Kobe thing, it ain’t gilbert sorry, it is Deshawn (sometimes I’m too much into Gil ^^ )

Comment from middletonss
Time May 8, 2007 at 1:05 PM

Yeah, DeShawn Stevenson

After really looking at other teams starting centers’, EG might not have a hard time finding a replacement for Haywood. Guys like Zaza Pachulia, Kendrick Perkins, Troy Murphy, Dan Gadzuric, Mikki Moore, Tony Battie, Rasho Nesterovic, Erick Dampier, Jamaal Magloire, Francisco Elson, and Nick Collison are all starting centers on the teams. In my opion if Haywood was on any of those teams he could give those guys a run for there money.

Comment from LilGil
Time May 8, 2007 at 1:16 PM

We’d better find someone who wouldn’t cost us too much more than Brendan since we might get stuck with our salary cap, I mean it depends totally on the choices EG will make, the trades and everything, but I can already tell you, it’d better not be Zaza

Comment from neal
Time May 8, 2007 at 1:43 PM

Wizardsdotcom, we can’t trade a player for a draft pick, can we? Don’t we have to get a player or players with approx. the same total salary?

Is the draft deep or thin at center? Which center is likely to be there at no. 16? Wouldn’t it be unusual to get a center ready for substantial minutes at that place in the draft?

Comment from neal
Time May 8, 2007 at 1:48 PM

Neither Van Gundy is currently employed?

Comment from smchawk
Time May 8, 2007 at 1:53 PM

Personally I have not been impressed by Jordans coaching this season, nor by Haywoods often uninspired play. One hting I’ve been impressed with is Grunfield’s GM skills, and I’ll trust he will make the evaluations and decisions that keep the Wizards moving up the standings in the Eastern conference towards a championship.

Comment from DaWizKid
Time May 8, 2007 at 1:53 PM

Contrary to most I happen to like Brendan Haywood. I believe he plays with an enormous burden on his shoulders that most players simply do not have. The burden of having to play a PERFECT game or be benched or demoted from being a starter. How many times has another teammate gone 3 for 25 from the field or recorded 0 pts 1 rebound 2 assists without being benched or demoted. If you name him your starter, like any other player he’s going to have bad games. I think as a coach you should allow him to play through his slumps, unfortunately Brendan was never given that respect that most players. Not to mention, Eddie runs a Princeton offense, which isn’t designed for a 7ft center to do much besides set screens and rebound (if they’re not already out of position). Hopefully, through a trade, he’ll get an opportunity to showcase his talent elsewhere.

Comment from middletonss
Time May 8, 2007 at 1:54 PM

I’m not a Zaza fan but I think he would as good of a back-up center as Haywood.

Comment from smchawk
Time May 8, 2007 at 1:55 PM

Stan isn’t employed – there were rumors that Jeff was going to retire from the Rockets, but that was just a rumor.

Comment from WizDom
Time May 8, 2007 at 2:13 PM

It’s my understanding that we could trade a player for draft pick as long as the team taking the player can absorb the salary (i.e. being under the cap)

Comment from wizardsdotcom
Time May 8, 2007 at 3:54 PM

WizDom – that’s correct. Man, you’re getting pretty good at this CBA stuff.

Comment from neal
Time May 8, 2007 at 5:21 PM

Are there many teams under the cap? My impression was that almost all teams are at the cap or above

Comment from aznzero
Time May 8, 2007 at 7:27 PM

man i really had faith in him. EJ didnt really give him a chance

Comment from chomp
Time May 8, 2007 at 8:45 PM

I heard Orlando and Charlotte has a lot of space under the salary cap. Charlotte will spend on keeping Gerald Wallace. Orlando is home free since Grant Hill’s contract is finally over.

Comment from neal
Time May 8, 2007 at 8:57 PM

According to hoopshype.com, only Charlotte and Atlanta were under the salary cap last year. Washington ranked 18th out of the 30 teams.

Comment from ChenierFan
Time May 8, 2007 at 9:43 PM

So Haywood requested a trade. That’s fine with me. If we are looking for equal value how about trading him for the midget on the Geico commercial. At least that guy doesn’t whine and complain.

Comment from neal
Time May 9, 2007 at 7:28 AM

It’s all about Grunfeld at this point. Will he get us someone good enough to be in the rotation? That would probably be a shooting guard.

Comment from Tom Mandel
Time May 9, 2007 at 9:09 PM

Haywood hasn’t whined and complained; at least to the press, he has spoken respectfully about his situation.

In the end, problems with employees come back to the leader. If there is a problem with Haywood, it indicates a problem with Eddie Jordan. The solution may still be to get rid of Haywood, but I don’t think Jordan comes off w/ no responsibility for this problem. Haywood is *definitely* a better center than Thomas, and the numbers, including above all *wins*, indicate that.

I don’t know what I’m missing if anything, but I can’t see any big guys to trade him for. Ernie will figure something out, I’m sure.

Comment from wizardsdotcom
Time May 9, 2007 at 11:59 PM

Sorry TM, but speaking in general terms as a “leader” of a team (and in absolutely no way taking any sides in the current situation with Brendan etc), just because an “employee” isn’t happy, doesn’t mean the leader is to blame. Should companies let go of great managers because a member of his or her staff has a problem?

Comment from LilGil
Time May 10, 2007 at 10:54 AM

I agree with you Eric, but we miss way to many infos to take any side here… I mean, when you got a great center, and you don’t play him for some mysterious (to us) reasons, well it could as well be your fault. We have seen (more than once) what kind of behavior Brendan can show, and it wasn’t his first time, so we know that EJ is not THE one to blame here, but to have an argument you gotta have two parties, without further informations (which we’ll never get) we can’t blame anyone… I like Brendan (for the way he plays, trust me I hate to see his behaviour on the bench, even though on these two last games the only thing I could see him doin (from my tv) was chatting with Gil) and I like Eddie but I won’t give any of ‘em my blessing for what he choosed to do, whether it’s not to play a good player or to act like an 8 year old cake less child. What I do know is that if Brendan is forced to stay, he might stay on the bench just enough to afford a better seat than the ones players usually seat on.

Comment from AUNDRA2007
Time May 13, 2007 at 10:38 AM

The final analysis between Coach Jordan and Big B Brendan Haywood is the player always gets the final say. This saga has been going on forever and neither side has reconsidered each other feelings.The player wants to leave so we have to trade him for the betterment of the team.I hate to see
Haywood go personally because he showed alot of improvement this year with his shot blocking and fast breaking abilities and his overall length. The attitude and disenchantment with the coach in particular is definitely detrimental to the cause. On the for reel tip there is no one out there I would want on this team right now other than Brendan Big B Haywood!I hope a reconsideration is still available but if it isn’t than I wish him great success in the future. This will definitely be a difficult time for this organization if we trade him and we get absolutely nothing in return! I hate to see players leave like this because they usually bite us right back in the ass later!