Washington Wizards Blog

Comment from Wizards4Life
Time July 16, 2007 at 9:55 PM

yeah i don’t see how its going down its like we are keeping AB but we are close if not over the cap if we do! we need to keep JCN or trade him or i don’t know sell him and then we need more 5 power! that’s why i wanted the DS deal to hit so i can see what EG had in his head all summer because right now i am lost in all the what ifs and buts

Comment from brian
Time July 16, 2007 at 11:11 PM

this is great news for the wizards! with deshawn u have consistency, playing in all 82 games 2 seasons straight. someone who understands their role. he is not trying to be a star. he understands that the big 3 are the scorers so he has to do the little things to put the pieces together. sort of like ben wallace,raja bell and bruce bowen. he brings character and personality, hustle, defense, okay shooting and most of all he wants to be here. he not trying to cause trouble. and each season he gets better. let’s remember he is 26 and came straight out of high school, we have yet to see the best of him. in his 7 year career he has played along side john stockton ( of which he was suppose to replace! “failed mission” but only because jerry sloan was impatient. but just the thought being that replacement says alot about his potential). karl malone, tracy mcgrady, steve francis, dwight howard, and now the big 3. he has the potential to grow so stay tuned. this roster has depth now in the PG, SG, SF position when dominic gets signed. lets focus on the big men. defensive minded with hustle and heart, and helpful on offense. make some trades i am tired of the suspense! lol

Comment from LilGil
Time July 17, 2007 at 5:47 AM

Great. Now that it’s done, we gotta focus on Blatche and the JCN situation, for me a possible package trade. Since we don’t have the details on DeShawn’s deal (something around 4 year 15mil) we can’t be sure about how far we are from the cap right now. The next week(s) is(are) gonna be interesting.

Comment from Wiz034
Time July 17, 2007 at 6:22 AM

Well Gil spoke and he got his wish. I remember him saying he wanted the same team mates..Why not? They were the number #1 team in the East before injuries took them down..

I’m glad they re-signed DS…I wasn’t so sure about the amount but hey, I can live with it…

Just in suspense about the Center position.

Comment from Wizards_Fan_85
Time July 17, 2007 at 7:38 AM

EG is the man and he hasn’t done much if anything wrong in his tenure. The next move will probably be a Navarro trade to the Heat. Possibly for a draft pick and cash since JCN has no contract right now. This might be necessary for the Wiz to sign Blatche (the cash that is). The center position isn’t that important in the east. We can win even with Thomas and a disgruntled Haywood. As long as they rebound and keep their hands up on defense we should be fine.

Comment from stevevu
Time July 17, 2007 at 8:23 AM

when the worst thing that you can say about a gm is that he has overpayed for a couple of people, that gm has done a very good job. however i think that with our current roster we could only make the the conference finals, maybe finals if lucky. so i think that one of the centers has to go because the fighting is a distraction to the team.

Comment from Wizzy
Time July 17, 2007 at 8:36 AM

EG is doing a great job so far. Now he will show the fan a trick from his hat. I personal think that we should cosider signing AB. I agree with you Steveu that we need to trade one of the centers. We need 10-10 guy for our center. I believe that AB can do a 10-10. We dont need to worry about PG-SG-SF-PF for right now. The only thing we need to upgrade big time is the C. I said C for Camby.

Comment from wiz-skins07
Time July 17, 2007 at 8:54 AM

here is a great site you should visit i think the 5 and 6 are from JCN!!!

http://www.hoopshype.com/rumors.htm

Comment from wiz-skins07
Time July 17, 2007 at 10:02 AM

as of now we have to sign Andray Blatche imagine if the Wizards staff could develope him into another Amare Stoudemire…the compare very well…both cam from High School…same height…same stature…long and athletic…all Amare has on him is muscle and more skills…im sure the Wizaards staff could develope him in to anoter STAT….just let Andray put on about 15 to 20 pounds of muscle and we would be good

Comment from wiz-skins07
Time July 17, 2007 at 11:11 AM

or even a Dwight Howard they also compare well…both cam from High School…same height…same stature…long and athletic…all Dwight has on him is muscle and more skills and 20 more pounds …just let Andray put on about 15 to 20 pounds of muscle

Comment from Tom Mandel
Time July 17, 2007 at 11:26 AM

I like Andray — but, no, he is not another Amare Stoudemire in the making. Amare *dominated* from the minute he hit the floor.

Players are *people* not bodies. These 2 guys have different makeups.

Comment from dc_gq08
Time July 17, 2007 at 12:04 PM

What the hell is Ernie thinking? We can have the next Ginobili but instead they give Stevens a contract he hasn’t even earned yet. Makes no sense. This organization can never hold on to a star player. Juan Carlos Navarro can be the next to slip out of our hands….And when are the Wizards going to finally get a true center on the team? We have our shooters set, now we need someone who will throw it down peoples’ throat in the low post…..And my boy Brian Chase better ma the team

Comment from wizkid034
Time July 17, 2007 at 1:03 PM

DeShawn is dedicated, hard-nosed and he is out there every night (you cannot underestimate this in the NBA). He and Gil have obviously forged a nice friendship. This will help convince Gil to stay here long term. I like the signing, and the consistency it brings.

Now, for the Andray Blatche situation. After listening to a discussion yesterday on Sportstalk 980, I agonized over it last night and did some analysis. The guys were discussing Andray and the likelihood that to re-sign him we will have to go over the luxury tax threshhold. They were questioning how highly thought of Andray was in Eddie’s eyes. That, combined with the apparent talents of D-Mac, begs the question how many minutes will there be for Andray? And is that enough for him to grow properly?

I have always thought that we need to definitely sign Andray long term. Then again, I also thought that the 2007 Playoffs would be an excellent opportunity for him to get some exposure and experience. Obviously, EJ disagreed. The way I worked out the numbers for next year, Andray only gets 5 minutes a night between both forward positions. I am thinking, given their skills, Pesh and D-Mac will deserve more minutes. Then there is CB3, Tawn and D-Song, The forward is very packed. I would love to re-sign him, but the cost might be too high. I have come to the realization that we might lose him, and, given our roster and our GM, I am okay with that.

Comment from wizkid034
Time July 17, 2007 at 1:46 PM

dc_gq08…you say we have our shooters set, then why do you want JCN. He is an offensive minded guard who does not defend too well. DeShawn is a defensive minded guard, and we need that. Plus, DeShawn is a proven comodity, JCN is not. What you see from DeShawn is what you get, and that is what we need. Plus, we also need consistency. I am totally in favor of signing Stevenson in lue of taking a chance on Navarro. We are going to deal JCN’s rights along with Haywood or Etan, that should get us something…Maybe Marcus Camby.

Comment from wizkid034
Time July 17, 2007 at 1:47 PM

btw…Aaron Miles will get the invite to camp, not Brian Chase…sorry!

Comment from skinny4awiz
Time July 17, 2007 at 2:10 PM

i am so happy he’s back we really do need deshawn and we got him and we do truely have a 01234 team i cant wait to see him this year

Comment from kg
Time July 17, 2007 at 2:21 PM

If DMac takes Number 5 it’ll be 0123456 (including AD)

Comment from smchawk
Time July 17, 2007 at 2:47 PM

I htink they overpaid for Deshaun, but oh well. I would have rather had Juan Carlos Navarro for that price. Now I just don’t see how we can sign him. I suppose packaging him and one of our big men could result in something nice, though I just hate the thought of watching him become a star for someone else in the league. Deshaun does play his roll well, and hopefully he can keep up the 3 ball shooting this year and we can kick it out to him a bit more.

I was impressed with McGuire in the summer league. Looks to me liek he will be able to come off the bench for Jamison pretty seemlessly. Two solid draft picks from the Wizards. Nick Young reminds me a little of Kobe.

Comment from Tom Mandel
Time July 17, 2007 at 2:50 PM

Ah — so what we need to do, obviously, is trade for center who wears #7. Anyone know of one?

Comment from Tom Mandel
Time July 17, 2007 at 2:54 PM

Wizkid — we do have a logjam at the 4, but I doubt Andray is going anywhere.

Comment from nohoarhay
Time July 17, 2007 at 3:16 PM

Ok good now that that deal is done , make a trade already .. Everybody’s screamin for a 27 yo rookie ? get out of here.. Deshawn has 7 years exp next to allstars.. no comparison now lets get somethin 4 him.. As far as Blatche every year 3 or 4 guys come out in the draft with his basic body frame and skill.. No way he is worth the midlevel exception 5 mil yeah right EJ dosent even put him in the game. Last thing we need is another 5 mil $ bench player. Trade Navarros rights ,get rid of a bum to go along wit him,and lets get ready for camp ok……….

Comment from winnow07
Time July 17, 2007 at 3:18 PM

One thing to be happy about Wizards fans…Michael Ruffin could be done with the NBA for good. I couldn’t imagine anyone signing him anyhow. How crazy would that be if five of our players from last season were not good enough to make a team? Ruffin, Hayes, Taylor, Stevenson, and Hall.

Comment from winnow07
Time July 17, 2007 at 3:18 PM

Not stevenson, I meant Mason

Comment from winnow07
Time July 17, 2007 at 3:31 PM

Efficiency per 48 minutes:
Arenas 26/441
Etan 64/441
Butler 65/441
Jamison 67/441
Haywood 122/441
Songaila 133/441
Blatche 149/441
AD 194/441
Booth 211/441
Stevenson 293/441
Taylor 314/441
Hayes 317/441
Lang 327/441
Mason 404/441
Ruffin 415/441
Hall 428/441

http://www.nba.com/statistics/player/Efficiency.jsp?season=22006&league=00&conf=OVERALL&qualified=N&position=0&splitType=9&yearsExp=-1&sortOrder=7&splitDD=All+Teams&pager.offset=0

Comment from winnow07
Time July 17, 2007 at 3:32 PM

Any opinions out there on whether Haywood steps up his performance once the Wizards trade Etan Thomas.

Comment from neal
Time July 17, 2007 at 3:44 PM

Maybe, winnow07. In order for EG to be shopping Thomas instead of Haywood, he must have had a serious talk with both Haywood and Jordan and decided they can play nice next year. Maybe w/o Thomas around and wi another year of maturation Haywood will just play ball.

He has a habit of inconsistency. Maybe he gets physically or mentally tired. My idea is that he might play better if he played less. I would like to have another good center with whom to divide the minutes (even if Haywood started), provided Haywood wouldn’t be feuding with him.

Comment from Wizards_Fan_85
Time July 17, 2007 at 4:01 PM

I would really like to see Blatche back. As far as minutes go next season..(48 minutes per position on court and 5 players on court at once = 240 minutes a game; not counting overtime)

I’m gonna round off everything

Arenas= 40 min (last year)
Stevenson= 30 min (last year)
Butler= 39 min (last year)
Jamison= 38 min (last year)
Haywood= 23 min (last year)

Thomas= 19 min (last year)
Songaila= 19 min (last year)
Daniels= 22 min (last year)
Young=
Blatche= 12 min (last year)
Pecherov=
McGuire=

that comes to 242 minutes right there…EJ will have a good problem

Comment from wiz-skins07
Time July 17, 2007 at 4:01 PM

well our team as it is of now we could have made it to the finals if healthy

we would have beat Cleveland, we would hae had a tough time with the Nets, then we could have beat the Pistons, we have a good squad….i know we would have most likely gotten swept by the Spurs…because of our Big Men problem and bench scoring…now this year we ugrade on Defense (D-Mac) and ugrade to a better Bench (Nick Young, D-Mac, Pech) and hats not including JCN which we may not sign….but we really upgraded this year…maybe if we can get Camby or Aldridge we are headed start towards the NBA Finals (everyone is healthy)

Comment from wiz-skins07
Time July 17, 2007 at 4:02 PM

GO WIZARDS

Comment from wiz-skins07
Time July 17, 2007 at 4:12 PM

nice vid…does anyone know when Training Camp Starts??

Comment from wiz-skins07
Time July 17, 2007 at 4:32 PM

Gasol’s just starting to knock down the doors to get out of Memphis. When they don’t get Navarro, and they won’t come up with the package to do it. Gasol will use that as his excuse to demand a trade again.
Which will be fine with their owner because he’s failed to find a cash buyer and he’s going to operate on the cheap for awhile til some group or somebody shows up with alot of cash and a yearning to own a team in a second rate pro sports town. Which maybe never.
Gasol wants out, their owner wants to dump the 63m he’s owed plus a couple of other bloated contracts. Boston and Chicago seem to be drying up as trade destinations. And the new coach and GM are talking about playing an uptempo wide open style of basketball. Doesn’t exactly fit a 7′ power forward who’s not the quickest of foot.
Somebody’s going to get a bargain if they can sit tight long enough. And it appears Ernie is sitting there holding the card that somebody needs to make it happen. Jaun Carlos Navarro, Pau Gasol, and all you Wizards fans may as well settle in for the summer. Ernie’s playing poker, he’s got a good hand, and he’s in no hurry to play it.
As long as Dallas doesn’t force his hand with a Blatche signing he can sit tight and take his time looking at deals. We’re dealing from a point of strength so Grunfeld is in no hurry.

Comment from wiz-skins07
Time July 17, 2007 at 4:34 PM

this is perfect for us all Gasol has to do is demand that they get JCN and we will see what happens from there we may get a good player or a top 10 protected pick if the front office is willing to listen to him

Comment from wiz-skins07
Time July 17, 2007 at 4:34 PM

I don’t understand the logic of trading JCN for a draft pick. The only way it makes sense is if it’s a top ten first rounder. The only reason we should trade him before we sign him, and see what he’s all about, is to get rid of a bad contract like Etan’s.

The rationale for not having him on the team was that we can’t afford him (because of the luxury tax), but we’re almost certain to go over the luxury tax once we resign Blatche and fill out the roster. We’re something like 3.5m away from it right now.

If the strategy is to resign Blatche and then make some move to cut salary before the end of the season (and avoid the end of season application of the luxury tax) then how does trading JCN for a pick help with that?

We might as well sign JCN and Blatche, and bite the bullet on the luxury tax this season. We’re going over it anyway unless:

1) we move JCN *and* a contract (we might still go over it even then since we have to take back salary within 25% of what we send)

Comment from wiz-skins07
Time July 17, 2007 at 4:38 PM

http://www.hoopsworld.com/article_22783.shtml

Comment from Wiz034
Time July 17, 2007 at 5:29 PM

Has anyone notice in the video and in print, that EJ and Grunsfeld are both saying we will have our starting five (5) back this season?

Does hat mean Etan will not be traded? Or will we keep Haywood?

Comment from LilGil
Time July 17, 2007 at 5:56 PM

Thank’s for the vid, good to see the guys again. I actually also heard the starting 5 allusion such as “now our starting five knows the offense”… I think Haywood’ll stay, and Etan could if we can’t figure out a package deal with JCN.

Comment from wizardsallday
Time July 17, 2007 at 7:16 PM

First, i’m happy that the wizards resigned DS, now they don’t have to find another backcourt that has to help gilbert. My question is what are we going to do with the blatche issue? If we do match an offer this will diferentley place us in luxury tax area, and who really wants to be in that area. I guess it best for the team future. next, come the JCN issue. If we do some how trade JCN and ET to memphis who are we going to get in return. It not going to be that 5 we need in the paint. It be dum of memphis to trade paul a franchise player for some incomplete piece that really not going to help there franchise. so what good of a trade if we don’t anyone that will help our team. It really two thing we can try to do.
1. try to sign JCN for a small amount.
2. If the teams really want to do this to get him trade him for a draft pick.

Comment from Tom Mandel
Time July 17, 2007 at 8:52 PM

Neither Brendan nor Etan will be easy to trade — although it would be easier to move Brendan than Etan (costs less, better player).

Comment from Gillster
Time July 17, 2007 at 8:55 PM

Well i’m going to try and make this as simple as possible, if we want a championship here in Washington we need to get up close and personal with Indiana because they have the center that fits in well with what we are trying to do. Dont trade JCN into our division put him in a package deal with AD, ET and that other guard that wears the long sox (Taylor) ship them to Indiana for their starting center #7. if he comes to the wizards it makes them 12 games better than last years final results.

Comment from ChenierFan
Time July 17, 2007 at 9:33 PM

Good move to get Stephenson back without overpaying. Stephenson wanted much more than the 3.75MM he got. Who knows, he still may wind up being traded. But, as he found out last year, there is not a lot of demand for him.

As far as trades go, let’s see if Grunfeld can upgrade the 5 position. How about JCN and Haywood/Thomas to Philly for Dalembert, or for Hunter and a draft pick. There aren’t really that many centers who are a noticable upgrade over Haywood/Thomas. However, because of the bad blood between the two, they have to be split up. That can’t help the team to have them fighting for another year.

Comment from neal
Time July 17, 2007 at 9:33 PM

We’ll never sign Navarro unless it’s a sign and trade deal. He’s not a good fit, we don’t need him now, and it would subject us to much more luxury tax than Polin would want to pay. If we can’t package him with one of our centers, better to trade him to Memphis for their 1st round pick next year.

Comment from wizardsallday
Time July 17, 2007 at 10:13 PM

i don’t think we will trade JCN to memphis

Comment from winnow07
Time July 17, 2007 at 10:49 PM

How EG handles signing Blatche and trading JCN + Etan will be the true test of his skill as GM. We should be able to make something happen with JCN and Etan. Miami just missed out on Mo Williams and now is desperate for a guard, and its options are basically limited to Brevin Knight, Steve Francis, JCN, and Devin Brown. I think Stevey Franchise wants to go to the Clippers and besides he’s old, so JCN is the best by far out of that remaining batch of players, so he’s their top candidate.
Also, the Cavs are interested in JCN.
Most importantly Pau Gasol is incredibly interested in JCN and is all but pulling a Kobe and demanding that they bring him in.

Oh and if the Mavericks offer Blatche the full mid-level exception of $5.4 million, the Wizards should pony up and resign him, even if they will dip $1.6 mill into the luxury tax which will cost them an added $1.6 mill. He’s worth betting on.

Comment from Wizards4Life
Time July 18, 2007 at 12:02 AM

i wonder if we could get Darko form the Griz they just got him but they want JCN bad! what do you guys think? Tom you think this is posible at all and if so how? and if now why?

Comment from wizardsallday
Time July 18, 2007 at 12:05 AM

First, i’m happy that DS is resigned. My qusetion is what is though what is EG going to do with the blache issue. If he does match a offer that would place us in the luxury tax area and who really want to be in that area. Well I guess it is worth it since you can find 6′10 guy like him who can play 3 diffifent postions. then, come the JCN issue. Let say we do some how trade JCN and a ET what are we going to get in return not that 5 that we need in the paint area. Memphis isn’t really going to trade a paul (a franchise player) for player that wont help their franchise. Maybe other teams will offer that 5 we need but until then we have three option.
1. sign JCN for a small amount.
2. try to trade JCN for a draft pick if a team want him that badly.
3. keep what we got.

Comment from GrifonRacing
Time July 18, 2007 at 12:23 AM

I’d take a Darko for JCN and Mr. Thomas trade, but, I dream at night too. Mr. Gasol’s recent words in the press make it a possibility though? Darko and Brendan in the post. I could easily live with that lol.

Comment from GrifonRacing
Time July 18, 2007 at 12:27 AM

Most of the guys coming in this year are rookies or summer league players. They will be replacing players with substantially larger contracts. That should give us enough breathing room to keep Mr. Blache. Again, as all of you already know, the financial thing is not my thing. Am I right Tom, WD, or Eric?

Comment from Wizards_Fan_85
Time July 18, 2007 at 1:03 AM

There has got to be a trade in my opinion like JCN and Etan for some expensive player whos contract will expire after this upcoming season…a draft pick and some cash. Without signing JCN we trade him and Etan for a player who costs about 6 mil next season. The trade wouldn’t help us for next season probably, but it could free up some needed cash to sign Blatche. Plus a draft pick would be nice. Being any GM though I would think that Etan’s big contract outweighs what JCN brings your team. The Cavs, Heat, and Grizzlies are interested in JCN and if we were to attach one of the centers the only trade possibilities I see are

JCN/Etan for Donyell Marshall $6,016,965 (2 yrs left) and a 1st round pick from Cavs

JCN/Etan for Udonis Haslem $6,050,000 (3 yrs left) and a 1st round pick from Heat

JCN/Etan for Stromile Swift $5,800,000 (1 yr left) and a 1st round pick or Brian Cardinal $5,850,000 (3 yrs left) and a 1st round pick from Grizzlies

The best of these options looks to be the Swift trade b/c his contract expires and the Grizzlies are the poorest team.

Comment from stevevu
Time July 18, 2007 at 7:46 AM

even though haywood is better and has a better contract, i think he is the one that needs to go. except if we get a star center, haywood will always fight with the other center and ej because he will probably think that he deserves to start over the other guy. i mean etan is not the only guy haywood has fought with so there not exactly special bad blood between him. haywood just does not like the competition and does not like coaches that do not start him. Though, i do not know if he will cool down and play better knowing that he is the unquestioned starter. I dont think he will improve by that much.

Comment from wiz-skins07
Time July 18, 2007 at 8:40 AM

well our team as it is of now we could have made it to the finals if healthy

we would have beat Cleveland, we would hae had a tough time with the Nets, then we could have beat the Pistons, we have a good squad….i know we would have most likely gotten swept by the Spurs…because of our Big Men problem and bench scoring…now this year we ugrade on Defense (D-Mac) and ugrade to a better Bench (Nick Young, D-Mac, Pech) and hats not including JCN which we may not sign….but we really upgraded this year…maybe if we can get Camby or Aldridge we are headed start towards the NBA Finals (everyone is healthy)

does anyone think we can trade JCN rights + Brendan Haywood a Draft Pick (either 1st or 2nd) for Emeka Okafor he’s is a good 15 ppg – 12 rpg guy thats all we really need and he brings in some defense to the low post (good for 2-3 bpg)

This would be a good trade..but i am afraid if we trade JCN to the same Divsion he will come back to haunt us

Comment from Wizards_Fan_85
Time July 18, 2007 at 9:36 AM

I like Emeka Okafor and that trade seems reasonable considering how Michael Jordan wants to start winning now. They have Raymond Felton starting so JCN might not seem all that needed in Charlotte. I’d try to aim for Samuel Dalembert of Philly b/c he’s purely a dunker and shot blocker who can run the floor. WAIT I take that back because he makes $10,351,435 next season and still has 4 years remaining on his contract. Steven Hunter of Philly is a better option for $3,248,000 (3 yrs remaining) I know the Wizards need help at center, but there aren’t many attractive contracts. Considering we’re paying Haywood and Thomas next season combined almost the same amount as Samuel Dalembert makes me feel a little better.

Comment from wiz-skins07
Time July 18, 2007 at 10:05 AM

thats why i want to get Emeka

Comment from middletonss
Time July 18, 2007 at 10:30 AM

I think the Wizards should try to trade the rights of JCN and Thomas for Udonis Haslem and a 1st round pick from Heat.

Comment from BobbyDfan
Time July 18, 2007 at 10:32 AM

I like the job the Grunfeld is doing so far. Too often, here in DC, we build on something, and, for whatever reason, it falls apart. We had Webber, Howard, Strictland, The Wallaces(Ben and ‘Sheed), Cheney, etc., and were a playoff team the Michael Jordan, while still on the top, called “the future.” Then Wes, and Susan, and Abe saw fit to dimantle the team.

I am not an NBA Gm, but can imagine how difficult it could be to negociate with other teams that you are competing against to make your team better and still keep the boss’ pockets content. We go into this year with the same starting 5 with role players, and players groomed to begin contributing more. We have the “steal” of the draft in McGuire, and Nick Young is more of what we wanted in Jarvis Hayes-an athletic scorer off the bench that will maybe one day florish into an all star.

I like Etan better than Haywood, but you can’t teach somebody to become 7′ tall. Besides that Etan averages, what, 50 games a year, and has a huge contract (the boss’ pockets…). JCN is the leverage that is needed to make another team happy, and keep the boss content by dumping what can be considered a waste. JCN can certainly contribute on this team. But in order to pay the big three, and now Stevenson, their money, you have to have people on your team like Donnell Taylor (or one of the Summer League point guards). KEEP UP THE GOOD WORK ERNIE!!!

Comment from wiz-skins07
Time July 18, 2007 at 10:33 AM

why would we need Udonis Haslem we are already loaded at the 4 (Blatche, Jamison, O-Pech, Songaila) we already have 4 PF 2 of them which can play SF (Blatche, Jamison), but wont see much time there because tahts Carons spot and D-Mac will win ROY this year

so as i said if we are going to make any off-season moves it will be to get Emeka Okafor or Marcus Camby

Comment from wiz-skins07
Time July 18, 2007 at 10:36 AM

and if we cant get any of these to work i might just say give Blatche a shot at the 5…he’s 6-11, long and athletic….he will most defenitly get points when AD is in the game and he can get us some boards…just give him time maybe he can develope into and Amare or Dwight Howard

Comment from middletonss
Time July 18, 2007 at 10:41 AM

Wiz-skins07 you are right we are stacked at the PF position. But out of all of them who do you conceder to be a hard nose PF? I think it would be nice to have Camby or Emeka, but what do we have to offer? Denver just signed a PG and the Bobcats don’t need anyone we have.

Comment from wiz-skins07
Time July 18, 2007 at 10:57 AM

JCN rights + Brendan Haywood a Draft Pick (either 1st or 2nd) for Emeka Okafor

or

JCN + Brendan + Draft Pick for Camby (most likely use Etan because contarcts would match)

but if we trade JCN by hiself we should get a Top 10 Protected Pick (If Pau Gasol pushes Memphis to get JCN this may be a steal) and if we can do that we maybe in the running for Roy Hibbert

Comment from wiz-skins07
Time July 18, 2007 at 11:04 AM

Centers Brook Lopez, Marreese Speights, and DeAndre Jordan are seen as Lottery Picks and seem to be ahead of Roy Hibbert in ESPN’s Insider (you will only be able to see Top 10 if you dont have ESPN insider, but if you to have it you will be able to see Top 100) can anybody tell me what place Roy Hibbert is in??

Comment from Tom Mandel
Time July 18, 2007 at 11:18 AM

Yikes — all these one-sided trade ideas are driving me nuts, guys!

We are in a mode where we’d like to *get rid of* someone; that’s not a powerful position to trade from. JCN’s rights is a sweetener that makes it possible… maybe. But, we’re still going to get someone back that we don’t really need.

Comment from Tom Mandel
Time July 18, 2007 at 11:22 AM

http://www.draftexpress.com has Hibbert ahead of lopez and jordan and doesn’t even list speights for the ‘08 draft.

Comment from odawg
Time July 18, 2007 at 11:43 AM

Tom,

How about Stro, Damon and a conditional pick/first round swap based on Memphis record next year for AD, Etan and the rights to JCN?

That deal should allow us to sign Blatche(even to the average salary), DMAC, Hall and Miles while being just under the luxury tax.

Comment from Tom Mandel
Time July 18, 2007 at 12:22 PM

We can’t take back less salary than we give in a trade — that’s the way the cap rules work. Stromile Swift and Etan have similar salaries (w/in the required 15% of each other), so you could trade them straight up. JCN’s rights don’t affect the trade $$, so you could sweeten the deal with them — and of course that is what Memphis might really want, so that JCN could play w/ Gasol.

I don’t see why we’d want to make the trade more complicated than that, or why Memphis would want AD (or why we’d want Damon St. either). For that matter, we don’t want Stromile Swift either! It’s not a great trade except that Swift only has 2 years left under contract, one fewer than Etan.

But, it looks like Memphis hasn’t been able to find a way to deal w/ us for JCN’s rights, so they must be resisting the idea of taking on Etan. Maybe if Zo retires, Miami will be willing to take him?

Comment from ricklevinenyc
Time July 18, 2007 at 12:25 PM

Hey TomMandel, we are trying to “get rid of” Etan because he is not the right fit for our team right now. However, he would be a valuable piece for a lot of teams and in a league where players make 20million a year, his 20m mil contract is not so hard to swallow and when packaged with JCN I think is quite attractive for a lot of teams.

that said, most of the proposed trades on here are even more ridiculous than Kwame for Caron

lets focus on a deal with memphis that gets us stromile swift (sorry calvin booth) and perhaps a draft pick for JCN’s rights. memphis prolly wont make the playoffs anytime soon, so that draft pick could be valuable.

Comment from odawg
Time July 18, 2007 at 1:02 PM

I bet they’re saying no to giving us a First Round Pick and taking on Etans contract. And I bet we’re saying no to getting just a Second Round Pick and Stro. It’s going to get very complicated to decide which of their picks we would get in a trade.

The major pieces for us is the salary difference(2M in salary money saved would help us) and the pick we get for Navarro. If we end up having to take a Second Rounder, knowing that we saved cap room and don’t have to pay the luxury tax well help take some of the sting off.

As you’ve said, we’re not going to get anybody we want if we trade players that nobody else wants. You don’t get a Mercedes if you’re trading spare parts. So, none of the players in the trade are going to be very good. But the purpose of the trade is to save cap room. I want to make it more complicated for that extra 700 or so K that trading Daniels for Damon would save us. 700K seems like a little, but that’s DMAC and Vissers? salary right there. I think it makes the difference between going over or not.

The trade just works out salary cap wise. Washington gives 12.17M and Memphis gives 10.15.(125% of 10.15 is 12.7 or so).

Memphis takes Daniels because he’s a better veteran PG then Stoudamire. After all, he didn’t have to fight with Atkins for his job. It would be nice having a veteran that didn’t suck that could help contribute as opposed to just having rookies with potential.

Washington takes Damon because he’s cheaper, and has one less year on his contract. He’s not as good, but we don’t need a good backup with Arenas at the point.

Comment from ricklevinenyc
Time July 18, 2007 at 2:08 PM

In my opinion, now is the time to move Daniels. His stock is only going to go down. I’m a little upset that we let Steve Blake go. He was starting to develop into a solid NBA guard even before he left Washington. Even if we have Aaron Miles running the backup point (he looks undersized, but so is Blake), our biggest problem by far is that we have 4 guys that want to start at the 4 spot, and no one worthy of starting at the 5.

Comment from stevevu
Time July 18, 2007 at 2:15 PM

espn has hibbert at 11, hardin at 13, and hasheem thabeet at 16

Comment from stevevu
Time July 18, 2007 at 2:20 PM

I agree with espn except for speights. I think that lopez is definitely a better prospect than hibbert.

Comment from neal
Time July 18, 2007 at 4:11 PM

I think there’s a good chance we end up just trading JCN’s rights for Memphis’s first pick next year. That works for me.

Comment from nohoarhay
Time July 18, 2007 at 4:34 PM

EG is contemplating. He knows AB might leave so dont expect a trade until after we find out what Blatche does.. There is no question JCN will be trsede so I guess that means EG is simply waiting to see what he is trading him for.. If Blatche stays its no way weel take Stro. but if he goes Stro could help up this year.. As for the other teams .. If we trade JCN in the east we better get somethin serious like Emeka or no deal.. why shoot yourself in the foot.. But if he goes out west we cant demand as much because of the caliber of competition.. So its just a waiting game

Comment from Tom Mandel
Time July 18, 2007 at 7:25 PM

Rick — Etan has a 15% kicker in his contract for a trade. He’ll cost whoever trades for him $7.3m this year. That’s hard to swallow for a 6′8″ back up center. You gotta really want JCN.

We’ll see…

Comment from wizardsallday
Time July 18, 2007 at 10:11 PM

How about we just trade JCN for just a draft pick because we not going to get a player we need maybe some cap room but not highly about that or we can just try to sign him for low cost if possiable.

Comment from wiz-skins07
Time July 19, 2007 at 8:15 AM

YES ive been saying this for a long time we should trade JCN for a Top 10 Protected Team (trust me when Pau see’s we are close to dealing JCN he will demand the front office to do anything to get JCN…and i believe the front office will) if we have this we are in the running for Centers Brook Lopez, Marreese Speights, and DeAndre Jordan and even Roy Hibbert….hope EG can pull off some magic…remember i might be dreaming BUT there are some dumb and when i say dumb i mean dumb GM’s in this league….if we can get that then Pay the Luxary Tax about 1-2mil only one year..come on Abe we could have a Championship Squad

Comment from Wizards_Fan_85
Time July 19, 2007 at 9:09 AM

well i would love to trade JCN for an expected high draft pick next year, but EG is definately worrying more about the salary cap issues of the future first. We could have all this talent here, but if we have Thomas, Haywood, Songaila, and Stevenson sucking up tons of cap space then all this young talent will go to waste. I’m so excited for this upcoming season b/c the East looks somewhat more competitive and the Wizards look far deeper than last year. EARLY PREDICTIONS (too early)
1. Chicago Bulls
2. Washington Wizards
3. Detroit Pistons
4. Toronto Raptors
5. Cleveland Cavaliers
6. Miami Heat
7. New Jersey Nets
8. Orlando Magic
Possibly Boston contending for the 8th spot at around .500

Comment from Wizards_Fan_85
Time July 19, 2007 at 9:10 AM

Millwaukee could also contend for the 8th spot and maybe even higher if they can get Yi Jianlian to play.

Comment from Tom Mandel
Time July 19, 2007 at 1:12 PM

Actually, there are *no* dumb GMs; you don’t get to be GM of an NBA team by being dumb.

Comment from wiz-skins07
Time July 19, 2007 at 1:34 PM

well then TM there are some that make VERY VERY VERY BIG mistakes

Comment from wizardsallday
Time July 19, 2007 at 8:00 PM

Since France sign with Houston we can try to trade etan and jcn to the heat for Haslem and a future first round pick. The draft pick may not be so good and Haslem may want 15-20 min but that get us another rebounder. Plus i think blache can play a little 5 since he 6′10 that if we match or sign him.

Comment from dmac
Time July 20, 2007 at 7:20 AM

Patience, Patience, Patience. EG knows what he is doing. Even though he would love to accomodate JCN by possibly sending him to Miami the WIZ will have to do what is in their best interest. We don’t realize on paper how much better the WIZ are right now. By having Pecherov and Young on the team it is like we received 2 First round picks this year. Add the potential steal of Dominic in the secound round, a healthy Songalia and possibly resigning AB we have improved our depth tremendously. Yes we need a number 5, but just maybe BH or ET will step up in light of the negative comments they have gotten because of inconsistent play.
I beilieve if ET or BH were to seriously check their attitudes and look at how fortunate they are to to make the $$$$ they receive it would make EG and EJ’s job that much easier. Rome was not built in a day. Be patient.
Believe me if EG knows that BH and ET together are a incurable cancer then one of them is gone. We have to be patient. I believe that the Wizards will do well if they can produce the chemistry and learn to play team defense.
The team needs to take the hard work that Gil, AJ and Caron put in to become solid players as an inspiration.
My fellow bloggers I know you wish we had a young Wes or Moses. But sometimes you have to use what you got until you get what u need. Nobody can tell me that Cleveland will be better than the Wiz if we stay healthy.
Last and not the least I believe that EJ is salivating over the fact that he has a depth of 9 to 10 players who can play regularly.
Tom Mandel the Wiz need to hire you.

Peace

Comment from Tom Mandel
Time July 20, 2007 at 8:38 AM

dmac — tell that to Ernie!!

We have *definitely* improved our *future* by adding 3 quality kids — no doubt about it. And, if Miles is as solid as he looked in Vegas, you can make that 4 — he’ll never be more than a solid backup point guard, but few teams have that commodity!

How it’ll play out this season really does depend on whether Ernie can make one more quality move to break up the whining at center. Even if not, it’ll be a very interesting season.

Comment from odawg
Time July 20, 2007 at 1:47 PM

I wonder if the Wiz could get Jay Williams(8.99M 1 yr left) and Chris Quinn(S&T, 1 Year ~850K contract) and a 2008 Draft Pick for AD, Etan and JCN. Save the Wizards 2.4M(exactly 125%) and gives them an expiring large contract for next year.

Comment from neal
Time July 21, 2007 at 12:31 PM

wizards_fan_85 I hope you’re right. But it will all have to come together for us to be better than the Pistons, Raptors and Cavaliers. Best chance: EG gets rid of a center and it turns out Pecherov can play center as well as either Thomas or Haywood.

Comment from neal
Time July 21, 2007 at 1:51 PM

Stevenson only costs us $3.35M this year. That’s good news. So we’re on the hook for $63,823,006 for 10 players. Then:
450,000 McGuire (according to the Post)
1,100,000 Booth (minimum for 8 year vet)
1,830,000 Blatche (bi-annual exception)
427,163 Miles (rookie minimum)

That’s a total of $67,630,169 for 14 players, or $234,831 under the minimum. We could go with only 14 players (a 15th player wouldn’t be playing anyway). Then if we have a rash of injuries, we could sign someone who knows the system. The minimum for Mason would be $798,328 and the minimum for Hall would be $687,456.

But it’s all just speculation. Something’s going to happen to change things.

Comment from Tom Mandel
Time July 21, 2007 at 2:18 PM

Where did you get the $3.5m for DS this year? It sounds right.

I don’t think we’ll get blatche for the bi-annual exception. Still I can see why not to sign the 15th player unless needed, inasmuch as every $1 costs you $2. Tough for Hall, who really *should* make an NBA team. In fact, if he looks like going to someone else’s camp, we may add him in spite of the extra cost?

neal — maybe something will happen to change things. We all know what we want to happen, which is for Etan to be shipped out. But, even if that does happen, the rest of the calculation you make may remain the same.

Comment from neal
Time July 21, 2007 at 6:18 PM

According to hoopshype, Songaila will make $3,942,000 this year.

I’m a little puzzled by the delay in signing McGuire. My speculation is that EG is delaying in case someone wants McGuire’s rights instead of Navarro’s in order to swallow the Thomas contract. McGuire would cost them $450,000 instead of approx. $3,000,000 for Navarro, making Thomas more affordable.

Comment from Tom Mandel
Time July 21, 2007 at 9:25 PM

It’s a thought, neal — I hope not. Moreover, as excited as we are here about McGuire, it’s hard for me to imagine he has much value around the league. But… who knows?

Comment from neal
Time July 22, 2007 at 7:52 AM

OK Tom. Let’s say tomorrow Grunfeld fires Jordan and names you to replace him. Who is your starting PG? Backup? Who is your starting SG? Backup?

Comment from neal
Time July 22, 2007 at 8:09 AM

I feel like day dreaming. We swap Arenas and one of our centers for Mr. Wonderful: a proven big center who can do it all and a young PG with lots of potential. Daniels becomes the starting PG and Stevenson or Navarro the starting SG.

Comment from Tom Mandel
Time July 22, 2007 at 1:56 PM

Right now, I wouldn’t change the guard rotation from last year. I think Nick is *very* far from ready to play in the NBA. But, of course, I’d be looking at him very closely in camp.

Your other idea is interesting. I love Gilbert — a great player and a great person – but just as a ‘what if’ it’s an interesting exercise. But, it’s more trouble than it’s worth to work out salaries as if this would really happen. The only center in the league I *really* want right now is LaMarcus Aldridge. Would I trade Arenas and e.g. Haywood for him and e.g. Jarrett Jack. Maybe. Make it Brandon Roy and it’s a done deal! In fact, it’s quite one-sided.

Comment from Reuben
Time July 22, 2007 at 2:57 PM

thats a TERRIBLE trade
are you kidding me

Comment from Tom Mandel
Time July 22, 2007 at 9:04 PM

Reuben — nobody is suggesting trading Gilbert. This is just a product of idle minds waiting to hear about *some* kind of trade to finalize the roster for the upcoming year.

On the other hand, gilbert and brendan for aldridge and roy would *not* be a terrible trade for the Wizards. Portland would never *make* that trade, but if it happened it’d be just fine.

Comment from americangaw
Time July 23, 2007 at 8:22 AM

I would rather see us trade Gilbert/Thomas/Blatche to the Griz for Gasol/Conley and let Daniels start at PG for the first year while Conley learned the system. Then we would actually have a low post player and more balance team.

Comment from Wizards_Fan_85
Time July 24, 2007 at 11:24 AM

I don’t think Gasol plays the 5 or defense.

Comment from americangaw
Time July 25, 2007 at 12:00 AM

Yes Gasol does play the 5 & 4, as far as defense I think you could agree that he would be better than Haywood. Also Gasol can step out of the box and open up space for Daniels/Butler to get to some easy buckets. This would be a GREAT trade, plus Gil is going to leave next year no matter what he says and no matter what people want to believe!

Comment from Tom Mandel
Time July 25, 2007 at 7:55 AM

Daniels can’t start on an up-and-down team, that’s not his style. Anyway, this is one of those wild trade ideas that don’t really mean anything. About as significant as someone who thinks he can see into the future and *knows* what Arenas will do.

Comment from Wiz034
Time July 25, 2007 at 7:19 PM

Did you guys read the article on RealGM that says that JCN has to be signed by August 3rd or else he’s going back to Europe? I hope this link works..

http://www.realgm.com/src_wiretap_archives/47327/20070725/barcelona_navarro_must_be_dealt_by_august_3rd/

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