Washington Wizards Blog

Comment from Tom Mandel
Time June 29, 2007 at 7:41 AM

If you count Pecherov in *this* draft, then don’t you have to say we got nothing in *last year’s* draft?

Pecherov was last year, Young is this year. I hope the kid is as good as Ernie thinks he is. I was sure the Clippers would take crittenton and leave Al Thornton for us, but maybe Ernie would have taken Young anyway?

I think McGuire was *a steal* where we got him — great pick.

Now go sign Kyle Visser for summer league.

Comment from WizardsDotCom
Time June 29, 2007 at 9:03 AM

Obviously I’m an employee of the team, so I should probably keep my biased mouth shut, but I don’t understand why everyone on some of the other posts are making such a big deal about why the team didn’t draft a big 16th last night. The answer is SIMPLE: there was no one left that’s 6′11″ and taller that was worth taking at that point!

One area that some “experts” said that Wizards also lacked was scoring depth (WAS had the lowest bench production in the league - which is crazy considering we were also one of the highest scoring teams). The addition of Young could solve this tremendously. He’s a talented perimeter scorer who can penetrate and score off the jumper. He’s also great athlete (Check out some highlights of his workout here).

Comment from WizardsDotCom
Time June 29, 2007 at 9:07 AM

TM - as far as Pech, I guess you could look at it that way but isn’t that a bit glass is half empty? We’re a glass is half full crowd around here! LOL

Comment from WizDom
Time June 29, 2007 at 9:12 AM

I like the McGuire pick.. A defensive guy we’re missing who can block shots and get boards.
Both guys we picked up yesterday are athletic players…
Maybe we’ll start seeing some oops!
I hated that ESPN just skipped us in the 2nd round and didn’t mention anything when they got back from break!

Comment from WizardsDotCom
Time June 29, 2007 at 9:19 AM

WizDom - VERY ATHLETIC. Count on Ernie mentioning that at today’s press conference when the team introduces Nick to the local media.

Comment from wizkid034
Time June 29, 2007 at 9:25 AM

WizDom, I agree with. ESPN sucks! I really like to here what Bilas has to say. Just because we didn’t draft a name, like Aaron Gray, they do not talk about the pick. Bilas had to have something to say. Who freaking cares about interviewing D’Antoni and Mullin. Which brings a question to mind, why is Ernie never interviewed on those things? That sounds a bit odd.

Anyway, I am very satisfied with this draft. The thing is, at 16 we had to take the best player available. I started to salivate come pick 11, when Thornton and Julian Wright were still on the board. Not that Nick Young is bad, because he is not. But I was hoping one of those other guys would slip to us. I LOVE Thornton! That being said, Nick Young was a steal. I was certain he would go to the Clips as well (part of the reason I was salivating) Had we drafted Jason Smith and left Nick there, I would have been unhappy. Instead, we got someone who will come in and immediately provide some bench scoring. Now we do not have to concentrate on keeping two of the Big Three on the court at all times. Now I will be interested to see what happens with DeShawn and Antonio. Do we re-sign DeShawn? I would think we would use the MLE for this. Do we trade Antonio? I am actually thinking this is kind of likely.

As for our second pick, I do like it. I am not sure who he is, but I remember reading about his defensive prowess. He will be a valuable defender and 9th/10th man. Maybe his offensive game can blossom and he can eventually give us more scoring depth. I like the defense though!

Comment from WizDom
Time June 29, 2007 at 9:36 AM

On Ivan Carter’s Blog, he received a text from (Gilbert Arenas, who informs me that Young used to play for Gil Sr’s AAU team as a younger cat in Los Angeles. “He is gonna help our bench out a lot,” the text reads. So, that’s where Gilbert weighs in. )

Hey.. sounds like Gil approves.

Comment from Tom Mandel
Time June 29, 2007 at 9:58 AM

If you look at the Draftexpress scoring for prospects at the 3, it looks like Dominic McGuire compares pretty well to both Thornton and Julian Wright, believe it or not. The main difference is that he turns the ball over an average of one more time/game than Wright. That can be fixed.

Here’s the link — start at *the bottom* of the page, with the “Win Score” stats; they are the most meaningful — http://www.draftexpress.com/viewarticle.php?a=2118

Comment from LilGil
Time June 29, 2007 at 9:59 AM

Well I’m pretty much happy about this draft too. I think the 16th pick was simply and obviously the best we could get, just as many said it. To the ones who spoke about getting a big man, you prefer to get a big man who isn’t worth it to take as a 16th pick or a guy like Young whose negative point is defense, I mean he seems pretty good at what he does and that’s what we expect from him. If we can keep DeShawn the bench production problem will definitly change next year cuz for me Young is the guy we needed to step up and produce something when our main scorer(s) are out. For the second pick I’m happy too, I mean we need some defensive guys, he is one of ‘em. For the rest I trust EG to find big guys on the free agency market, nothing is over it’s just starting right now. The wiz have to be happy with what they had considering the situation. When you see some teams who picked guys who won’t help ‘em at all, I mean we did the right choices.

Comment from wizkid034
Time June 29, 2007 at 10:01 AM

No doubt!

Gil is probably thinking, “hey someone else that can help draw double teams away from me.”

Nick will grow quickly, I believe. Adding more offense makes Gilbert that much more lethal. I think we all realize that he had trouble dealing with all the double teams last year.

We just went from averaging 100-105 points per game to averaging 110-115 points, easy! And we added a little defense too.

Comment from smchawk
Time June 29, 2007 at 10:53 AM

I love the Nick Young pick. I’m glad there are enough poor front office guys in this league that he was able to fall to us. I know nothing about Dominic McGuire, but I have no reason to doubt the Wizards front office. Three straight years in the playoffs has earned my trust, even though that seems to have happened mostly outside of the draft.

One other thougth on the draft. What was Boston thinking with that Ray Allen trade? How does that even make sense at all for them? I liked this line from Bill Simmons draft diary on the trade - “This feels like Mitch Richmond going to the Bullets for C-Webb all over again.” It makes me happy that we get to go against Boston a couple times a year.

Comment from BulletsFanFromBirth78
Time June 29, 2007 at 12:19 PM

I am so pumped about the Nick Young Pick. As for those who say we didn’t draft who we should have (namely Steven I Just Got My Show Cancelled Smith) i could care less, they don’t live here and don’t love our team the way we do as fans!

Go Zards, good draft and i can’t wait to see Pech and Young tear up Vegas in two weeks.

Comment from Wizards4Life
Time June 29, 2007 at 12:34 PM

well i did not like the pick as a single move but as far as the pick goes i like it if we keep DS and he comes off the bench as shooter that would be the best pick at 16 because you know as i know Gil wanted a scorer off the bench and as far as i can tell that’s exactly what he is.
on the fact that we did not get a big man….. we need a big that is NBA ready now not later and we need a F/A Center not a draft center unless we had the number 1 pick we had no chance so lets see EG go to work because he has never failed to bring Great off season moves and i am sure this season is no difference

Comment from malharden
Time June 29, 2007 at 12:40 PM

Still bummed about our second round pick. That second round kid played in a mid-major and could not score in that conference. Why does anyone think he is an impact player in the NBA?

Best possible comparison you could hope for is that he turns out to be like Jerome Williams (Junkyard Dog) who used to play at Georgetown then bumped around the NBA for awhile. Dog was lanky and athletic and that was all you could say about him. Know what, I would still prefer to have a Gasol brother than have a poor man’s Jerome Williams.

Comment from GrifonRacing
Time June 29, 2007 at 1:48 PM

Great pick at #16. Mr. Young was kind enough to fall to us unexpectedly. That addresses one key team need. Scoring off the bench. I’m not so sure about our 2nd round pick? We take another guy 6′ 9″? Yes he is touted as a shot blocker just as Mr. Thomas was coming out of Syracuse. But he is 6′9″. Gasol and Gray were still available. To be effective as a defensive player he must first get on the court. Given our present rotation where is Eddie going to find minutes for him? Mr. Thomas is too small and gets gobbled up by good centers in the league. I can’t see Mr. McGuire adding anything more than Mr. Thomas already has.

Does anyone know what is up with our 2nd pick last year….. Vladimir (not going to try to spell it)? He is a 7′ + guy.

Comment from smchawk
Time June 30, 2007 at 12:15 PM

Last I think I read about our second round pick last year is that he is under contract with his European team but holds a buyout. I htink they were trying to bring him to Vegas but not sure where they stand on that now.

Comment from wiz-skins07
Time June 30, 2007 at 3:06 PM

hey i believe that the wizards should trade Antonio Daniels and bring in Steve Blake…i believe he could do as good as AD…and it would be a lot cheaper….Steve Blake is a free agent!!…i would also like to see the Wiz make a move for Anderson Varejao, Mikkie Moore, Jason Kapono, Earl Boykins, and maybe PJ Brown…one or two guys of this list would be good if we need another scoring spark off the bench i would also like Jannero Pargo…I can already see the Wiz re-signing Andray Blatche, DeShawn Stevenson, and probably Donnell Taylor….here’s a list of all free-agents for this summer!!

Comment from Tom Mandel
Time July 1, 2007 at 9:59 AM

Grifonracing — Our 2d round pick is a combo forward, not a 4 and certainly not a 5. If he develops quickly, he’s part of the solution for backing up Caron. He’s an nba athlete (i.e. unlike gasol/gray) and has a chance to be an excellent player in the league. That’s *a lot* to get w/ the 47th pick.

I’m sure the Wizards were hoping Strawberry would slip through the draft, so they might sign him as a FA. But, there are a lot of guys to choose from if we really want a rookie guard.

Also, *someone* is going to bring Visser into the summer league and camp — he gets to pick the best situation. I hope Ernie grabs him, as we do have a roster spot for a backup center.

Comment from Tom Mandel
Time July 1, 2007 at 10:02 AM

Malharden — if McGuire turns out to be as good as Jerome Williams, we’ll be jumping for joy. Not everyone needs to be a scorer. In fact, scorers are over-rated in the league (though, obviously, you do need them!). Jerome was a *very* effective player.

As to Gasol, I doubt he’ll any kind of NBA career; anyway, he’s not much of a fit for an up-and-down team like ours.

Comment from wiz-skins07
Time July 1, 2007 at 12:22 PM

what do you think if the wizards signed Ron Lewis of Ohio State and Ikene Ebekwe from Maryland so that they can play in the summer league

Comment from GrifonRacing
Time July 2, 2007 at 1:08 AM

Tom…. since my post I’ve read more bio’s on McGuire. The first few had him listed at 6/9 and 259lb. The majority listed him at 6/8 and 210lb. 4 blocks a game did someone say? At 6/8 and 210lb I’m more inclined to think he could possibly guard a guy like Caron, and, having someone of that ability coming off the bench along with Mr. Young????? Hmmmm!! Very interesting. We still need a good Big. Our team doesn’t need a flashy Big. Just a consistent 10/10 guy a night that can defend and hopefully has a vertical leap of over 3/4″. I’m not speaking of anyone in particular lol.

Comment from Tom Mandel
Time July 2, 2007 at 3:25 PM

wiz-skins — could you not post the same comments/question, etc. on more than one item? They are good questions, but no need to find the same ones everywhere.

Comment from neal
Time July 3, 2007 at 9:14 PM

Why do we have to use the mid-level exception to sign Stevenson? Isn’t there an exception for signing your own free agents? Then we could use the mid-level exception to sign a FA center.

Comment from stevevu
Time July 4, 2007 at 8:53 AM

word is that navarro’s team has let him get out of his contract and will play for the wizards so that is good news. also in terms of centers look at the FA magloire and milicic

Comment from odawg
Time July 6, 2007 at 10:20 AM

There is an exception to sign your own free agents. The problem is that since Deshawn only played for the Wiz for one year, he can only be signed to a “No Bird Contract.” This basically means that all the Wiz can offer him is a deal worth 125% of what he received last year. Being as DeShawn wants much more money then that, we can’t sign him with that contract and would need to sign him with our Mid-Level. Just like we would need to use our mid level to sign Navarro.

Now on the other hand, Blatche was around for two years so he can be signed to an “Early Bird Contract”. That means that he can be signed to a contract up to the average salary(5.8M or so). Since he’s in his second year, other teams can only offer him a contract up to the average salary. Also, since he’s a restricted free agent, we can match any offer that he receives from another team.