PRESSURE ON NAVARRO OR THE WIZARDS?
According to several reports, Barcelona, Navarro’s current team, has imposed a deadline of Aug. 3 for the Wizards to complete a deal. That means the Wizards will have to decide until the end of next week whether to sign guard Juan Carlos Navarro or trade his NBA rights to another team.
In today’s Washington Post’s report, eight teams have contacted with the Wizards with interest in acquiring Navarro, including the Miami Heat and Memphis Grizzlies, so far, no offers have been to the liking of Wizards President Ernie Grunfeld.
Now that Mo Williams chose Bew City over South Beach, the Heat has more reasons to pursue Navarro. Accorrding to Navarro’s agent, Alex Saratsis, the Heat remains “a solid possibility” for the point guard if the Washington Wizards trade his rights. The two teams are in active negotiations
The Spanish team that Navarro played for has dropped his buyout number from $14 million to $3 million. However, if no deal is done between the Wizards and a team pursuing him, Barcelona will sign him to a new contract, and his buyout number will be prohibitive, at least $14 million again.
The bottomline is that he will not be playing in Washington. The Wizards are over the cap and only could have signed Navarro with money from their mid-level exception. Most of that money has now been given to DeShawn Stevenson, and the team still has to sign Andray Blatche.
So if Wizards President Ernie Grunfeld does not see a reasonable deal from teams like Memphis and Miami before Aug. 3, it might end up with Navarro playing his professional ball in Spain for a forseeable future.
Now with the clock ticking down and a complicated decision to make involving Barcelona, Navarro (and his agent), the Wizards and the team pursuing him, what do you think the Wizards will get before the deadline? Is the pressure on Navarro or Grunfeld?
Posted: July 26th, 2007 under Ernie Grunfeld, Free Agency/Trades, Juan Carlos Navarro, Wizards.
Comments
Comment from wizkid034
Time July 26, 2007 at 12:00 PM
The pressure is not really heavier on everyone. I think all parties have a fairly equal burden. If I had to say who had more pressure on them, I would say the Heat. They need guard depth, and Navarro is there if they do not try and jack the Wiz. They need to wake up and realize it…trade haslem and a first round pick to the Wiz for Navarro’s rights and Etan Thomas (or Brendan).
I really do not think the Wiz have any pressure on them. If they do not trade his rights, he goes back to Barcelona and has to fight through another big buyout. No skin off the noses of the Wiz, because he might not ever make it back to the NBA.
In terms of JCN, there is really nothing he can do. Unfortunately for him, he is at the whim of the Wiz and Heat. The only thing he can do is try to convince the Heat to give up more to the Wiz.
In the end, the HEAT is on the Heat!
Comment from THATSALLFOLKS
Time July 26, 2007 at 12:14 PM
YOU, DC TEAM, ARE GOING TO REGRET NOT SIGNING THIS GUY. YOU WILL TELL ME NEXT YEAR FOLKS!
Comment from americangaw
Time July 26, 2007 at 12:45 PM
I just say lets just pay the tax and keep him here this year and see how he does and next year we shouldn’t have to worry about the tax because Jamison contract will be coming off the books. If we do resign Jamison he will most likely only get about six million a yr which is ten mill less than he is getting this year. Add 6 of that to Gil’s Salary if he decides to stay leaving us 4 million under than we are this year. I would rather have JCN here because we don’t know if Gil is going to stay and it would be a nice insurance policy if he doesn’t. Ernie just sign him and pay the tax!
Comment from THATSALLFOLKS
Time July 26, 2007 at 12:53 PM
YOU ARE RIGHT AMERICANGAW. NAVARRO IS REALLY A PEARL. HE DESERVES A CHANCE IN WASHINGTON.
Comment from kg
Time July 26, 2007 at 1:21 PM
The news sound like the Wiz holds Navarro’s career. Even if we don’t do anything about the situation, everybody can’t blame on us (wizards) for not letting one of the best player from Europe play in NBA. Navarro’s team has responsibility too.
Comment from THATSALLFOLKS
Time July 26, 2007 at 2:03 PM
REMEMBER ARENAS WAS A 2ND ROUND DRAFT PICK. LIKE HIM NAVARRO HAS A GIFT PLAYING THIS GAME
Comment from wiz-skins07
Time July 26, 2007 at 3:21 PM
i think we should trade the rights of JCN to the Utah Jazz for Kyrylo Fesenko …he is regarded to be a hard worker on the boards and can get blocks but his offfense need a little work…
Full Name: Kyrylo Fesenko (KI-ree-low FEH-senk-o)
Position: Center
Height/Weight: 7-0 / 235
Birthdate: December 24, 1986 (Dnepropetrovsk, Ukraine)
High School:
Team: Cherkaski Mavpi
Country: Ukraine
he was picked 38 over all they drafted Morris Almond first because they are in real need of gaurds that where JCN would come in….they have Boozer and Kirilenko in the front court i dont think he will even see playing time here……i think we can make this trade and if they want to take haywood along with him they can or Booth (sign and trade)
http://www.nbadraft.net/admincp/profiles/kyrylofesenko.html
Trade
Wiz Get:
-Kyrylo Fesenko
Jazz Get:
-JCN
Comment from Nara
Time July 26, 2007 at 3:45 PM
that’s a loosing trade from the Wizards side. Navarro has proved his play throughout his career as supposedly best player not in the League. Not to mention against team USA in multiple international competitions. He’s a proven player while this Kyrylo guy isn’t. Just because he’s a center doesn’t mean we should give up proven commodity for him.
Also, screw JCN if he doesn’t want to play in the nba. If memphis and miami don’t want him bad enough, we don’t need to force our hand. We won’t get anything in return for him besides cap relief and maybe a draft pick or two so it’s not like our team’s going to be worse by him not being traded. He has the power to NOT SIGN the barcelona contract if he cared that much about playing in the NBA. Sounds like he’s thinking is more like “I’d like to try it out but I’m just as happy just taking the big money in Europe.” Don’t need him.
Comment from odawg
Time July 26, 2007 at 3:48 PM
Nara,
Navarro has to pay 3M this year to get out of his contract. How do you propose that he afford doing that if he doesn’t get paid this year?
He needs that large contract. 3M is nothing to sneeze at.
Comment from neal
Time July 26, 2007 at 4:36 PM
“The two teams are in active negotiations”. That’s great news. I would particularly like for EG to put one over on the Heat.
I like Haslem a lot but who has to sit down in order for him to play PF? Maybe Navarro and one of our PF’s goes to Miami for Haslem and a pick. What other trade with the Heat makes sense. Let’s hear from someone who knows their team well.
Comment from americangaw
Time July 26, 2007 at 7:48 PM
Odawg,
Navarro only has to pay 1 million this year. The buyout says that he has to pay 1 million a year for three yrs, plus the Wizards pay $500,000 of the buyout so he really is only paying 2.5 million. Also if Navarro really wanted to play he can play for a more reasonable price of 1 million the first year and have a back loaded contract that will fit with the wizards salary cap.
I really don’t understand why the Wizards don’t want JCN to play for the team. If Arenas, Stevenson, Young, or Daniels gets hurt we would be hurting for quality player for either the PG/SG spot which Navarro can play. Plus I believe the Wizards are really in position to make a push for a championship. We have a lot more balance this year with Pecherove, Young, McGuire, and JCN would be an excellent backup to Gil. Plus we don’t know how well Gil’s knee will hold up. Arena’s has been logging in a lot of minutes the past couple of years and JCN could keep the offense going allowing Arena’s more time to rest and to stay fresher through out the season, so he can have something left for the post season.
I would hate to see the Wizards get cheap, when we are so close to competeing for a championship this year allow a couple of million dollars in tax prevent us from having a player that can help get us to the next level!
Comment from Tom Mandel
Time July 26, 2007 at 8:01 PM
How many minutes are available to JCN, given that Gilbert plays almost 40/game? I’m sure the guy is a good player, but I don’t think anyone imagines that he is a team-changer in the NBA.
He is a 2 guard who needs the ball. I don’t see that as a big need for the Wizards. I hope we’ll trade him for a 1st round pick — that’s about the right level.
Our team on the floor this year will be a bit better than last year, I hope. But I don’t think it’ll be hugely different, and I think it’s likely a dream to think of us as championship contenders.
Pecherov can earn some minutes, but if Blatche earns them then where do they come from for Pecherov? And, if you watched the summer league, you know that Nick Young is a talented kid who is *not* ready to log NBA minutes. McGuire, on the other hand, can take Hayes’s minutes I hope. We’ll see.
A lot of the people who are all hyped up on Navarro have never seen him play, or they’ve seen a minute or so of highlights.
Comment from wiz-skins07
Time July 26, 2007 at 9:01 PM
i wonder if the Utah Jazz are one of those eight teams…i wish the were and that they would offer us Kyrylo Fesenko he could be a good player in the NBA
Comment from wiz-skins07
Time July 26, 2007 at 9:03 PM
so does anyone have any proposed trades they would like to mention on here that we can us to rade JCN and aquire somone
Comment from neal
Time July 26, 2007 at 9:35 PM
I’m hoping that we trade him for a first round pick that will probably be alottery pick. Alternately, we get some other first round pick. Then with two first round picks surely we can trade up and get a talented center.
However…..if the Heat and the Wiz are “in active negotiations” something is being considered more than just JCN for a pick. How much negotiating does that take?
Comment from americangaw
Time July 26, 2007 at 10:57 PM
Tom,
I think you would agree that the wizards would have been a different team with Caron/Arenas in the Finals. I do understand that Gil plays 40 min a night which was my point in the previous post if you can read–that we need to cut his min down. You are correct that Navarro plays SG spot but I think that Arenas is really a 2 guard playing the point, the same will be true with Navarro he is more of a Combo guard who can handle both positions.
We all know that summer league play provides NO confirmation on a player’s readiness for the NBA. Summer league play is just an opportunity for the coaches to accquaint new players to a team system and to put them in different situations to see how they adapt.
To say that the Wizards aren’t able to be a championship team when they clearly have the talent and now a better caliber bench to provide quality min and rest for the starters is moronic. The Wizards were in 1st place until the team was hit with all of the injuries which is more than enough reason to have a player like Navarro coming off the bench. If you are such a wise man and think that Navarro isn’t worth keeping, then why are so many teams looking for his services. It is true that there will not be enough minutes for Blatche/Pech/Haywood/Etan but the best player gets to play period. Personally I don’t see the need to resign Blatche and feel he would be a better player to trade for a draft pick. This team has more than enough talent to be a champion!
Comment from luvdanappy
Time July 26, 2007 at 11:36 PM
Stevenson’s resigning was one out of Unseld’s Dum-Dum Moves. DeShawn had the same opportunity as Jarvis and should have been shown the door. This signing reminds me of the money they gave to both Etan and Brenda. If they don’t make it to the second round Agent Zero is going to playing for MJ down South!
Comment from josephknowsbest
Time July 27, 2007 at 12:58 AM
it very simply lose etan and haywood keep jcn
Comment from Wizards_Fan_85
Time July 27, 2007 at 1:07 AM
I’ve always felt Tom’s comments were right on point. Everyone’s entitled to their opinion of how well the Wiz will be next season. I do believe the Wizards can get to the championship with the people they have, but it’s not far-fetched to think the opposite considering they haven’t got past the first round the past 2 seasons. Even with Caron and Arenas..Cleveland wouldn’t have been any cakewalk. I love the players we’ve added, but they’re all young and when you think of the past champions they all added experienced depth like the Suns adding Grant Hill, the Spurs adding Michael Finley and Robert Horry, the Heat added Alonzo Mourning. Maybe the most important offseason move will be Randy Ayers forcing players to play defense.
Comment from Wizards_Fan_85
Time July 27, 2007 at 1:09 AM
Also Fesenko does look pretty good from the few clips I saw. Top 25 pick next year or Fesenko this year…I like the pick next season b/c with Arenas and Jamison contracts up a new foundation could be made.
Comment from wizardsallday
Time July 27, 2007 at 1:43 AM
americangaw- yes, the wizards may have been up mid way through the season, but you have to keep in mind that the heat were effected buy injuries too. If they were health at that point we would surely be in second at that time.
As of the JCN issue I would not mind if we keep him but he will not get the min that he may want. If you remember that chucky atkins did not get the min he want so he as for a buyout. It will be interest to see what team EG will trade JCN to if they can reach a agreement in time. I would perfer memphis sence it a high chance of getting a draft pick that in the 10 and down.I just would not let JCN go back without a close agreement.
Comment from whoaitstu
Time July 27, 2007 at 4:18 AM
Alright, for Navarro to even get any minutes next year, the Wizards would have to trade Antonio Daniels .. and he is rumored to be on the block with Etan THomas and Brendan Haywood .. and even if Daniels DOES get traded .. that ruins the chemistry .. you look at Daniels .. who can run the offense .. and then a newcomer who will be a 27 year old rookie [i might be msitaken about his age] who will have a month to learn the offense .. and we would have to reallyw ait another year for another player to develope .. and plus .. i would rather have Gilbert stay at point beyond this year .. i dont get how some of you can say that Navarro is a good insurance policy when your saying he would replace a franchise player in Arenas .. he avg’s 29 .. 5 and 5 .. not many players at the point position get you all that .. and the Fesenko .. i dont think the Wizards need anymore projects .. yea he looks great .. 7 footer .. has a perimeter game .. good on defnse .. the Wizards already have Pecherov looking pretty nice .. they need a player who cancome in right away and take command of the paint on defense and offense .. get rebounds .. block shots .. consistently .. they dont need another longterm project .. [Ramos anyone ?] .. they are supposed to be contending now .. not just making the playoffs anymore .. its time for this team to make some moves .. and the pieces are starting to fall into place
Comment from whoaitstu
Time July 27, 2007 at 4:26 AM
wizardsallday .. good point .. but if you trade Navarro to Memphis .. look at their team .. they just got a good point gaurd in Conley jr. .. their team is looking pretty nasty with Gasol .. Conley jr. .. Rudy Gay .. Hakim Warrick .. Mike Miller .. that team is looking pretty nice now .. so trying to trade Navarro for a future 1st round .. it may not be a high pick .. and then of course you would trade him to Miami who is a division rival .. which most times is a no no .. but i wouldnt trade him away for picks .. i would trade him away for need .. and i say the Wizards could use a power forward .. Haslem ? or to memphis for Swift .. yea Swift is a bust but i still like him .. he still capable of getting 10/10 and a few blocks .. and a pick
Comment from Tom Mandel
Time July 27, 2007 at 7:10 AM
As americangaw says, everyone is entitled to his opinion. No problem.
I’m a die-hard Wizards fan; I’d love to see them win a championship. And I think Ernie is doing an excellent job of building the team. So far, we’ve had an excellent off-season — especially with respect to building the team long-term. We’ve got 3 new young players with potential to be impact players in the league — not role players. The players they will replace were role players, so this is an excellent result by any measure!
Americangaw’s enthusiasm is a good thing — and it raises a question we can all consider: what, in fact, *does* lie between the current Wizards team and being a championship contender on a regular basis? What are we missing, and how might we hope to *get* what we’re missing?
What do you all think?
Comment from Tom Mandel
Time July 27, 2007 at 7:13 AM
On the JCN situation, Ivan’s analysis more or less matches what I think and have been saying.
Worse comes to worse, we’ll probably get a 1st-round pick for Navarro’s rights. Ivan makes the point that Ernie would rather not do that deal with Miami, a division rival.
Comment from Reuben
Time July 27, 2007 at 7:53 AM
I think the Wizards just need a good defensive center. I hope we can get Marcus Camby
Comment from americangaw
Time July 27, 2007 at 8:13 AM
I would love to see Camby here, but he has a 3 mil trade kicker in his contract which brings his salary to around 12 million. Denver wants to cut their payroll and if Ernie can pull a trade this would be great one. Don’t know if a trade of Etan/Blatche would be enough and my second worry is how much Camby has left in the tank. But he does play good defense and is a good rebounder as well can play with this teams up-tempo style.
Comment from dmac
Time July 27, 2007 at 8:18 AM
As it was stated earlier EG hopefully will do the right thing by the WIZ. Right now I think EG is more concerned about resigning Blatche than being rushed to do anything with JCN. I have clips of JCN and my take on him is that he is a Juan Dixon type player. Only Juan is quicker than he is and JCN has a better 3 pointer than JD. JCN being a combo type player with defensive liabilities would have to be with a team he can fit in with.
Miami is a good candidate for him becuase of DWADE. But I don’t want DWADE driving the lane and kicking it back to JCN for a 3 unless I can get a first round draft pick for 08 or 09.
The Wiz are going to be okay with the talent that they have. Of course we have a few missing pieces. But I rather trust EG and build a contender that is going go deep in the playoffs year after year.
My fellow bloggers be patient, EG may be working on a ram in the bush kind of deal.
Comment from odawg
Time July 27, 2007 at 8:57 AM
“Navarro only has to pay 1 million this year. The buyout says that he has to pay 1 million a year for three yrs, plus the Wizards pay $500,000 of the buyout so he really is only paying 2.5 million.”
Where did you see that? Do you have a link, per chance? I was looking for specific terms and couldn’t find them.
“Also if Navarro really wanted to play he can play for a more reasonable price of 1 million the first year and have a back loaded contract that will fit with the wizards salary cap. ”
No, he can’t. Raises can only be 8% a year. So, it can’t be backloaded. And it’s preposterous that he would accept less money then a first round draft choice. If he’s really willing to do that, he’ll wait till August fourth. That’s like saying Arenas and Jamison should sign for 4M next year so we can get a good Center and win a championship.
“I really don’t understand why the Wizards don’t want JCN to play for the team. If Arenas, Stevenson, Young, or Daniels gets hurt we would be hurting for quality player for either the PG/SG spot which Navarro can play.”
If you presume that all four are good then that’s a lot of depth. It’s easy to tell an owner to pay 10M for another player but would you pay it if it was your money? And we’d be looking for someone that can play 10 minutes a game, not a quality player.
” Plus I believe the Wizards are really in position to make a push for a championship. We have a lot more balance this year with Pecherov, Young, McGuire, and JCN would be an excellent backup to Gil.”
We still don’t have a Center. I don’t think we can make a push for a championship with Etan Thomas as our starting center. Sure, we can do well in the regular season, but the playoffs are a whole different beast. Antonio Daniels is the backup to Arenas. Especially once Young can contribute. JCN would be the backup shooting guard and would play Youngs role of bench scorer.
” Plus we don’t know how well Gil’s knee will hold up. Arenas has been logging in a lot of minutes the past couple of years and JCN could keep the offense going allowing Arenas more time to rest and to stay fresher through out the season, so he can have something left for the post season. ”
But he’s one of those players that needs to play 40 minutes a game. Dude doesn’t get tired. Besides isn’t that going to be Youngs job? The whole scoring off the bench thing?
Comment from americangaw
Time July 27, 2007 at 10:20 AM
Comment from americangaw
Time July 27, 2007 at 10:33 AM
I still believe that Haywood is good enough to take us to the championship, when Haywood plays 28 min a game his numbers are pretty good at 10 pts / 8 rebounds a game. Haywood can play defense and isn’t a bad rebounder, but more than anything he needs to be play around 32 min a game to be his best. All that needs to happen is for him and Jordan to work things out! As far as Etan, he needs to be bought out of his contract or just be a overpaid bench warmer!
Comment from HGN
Time July 27, 2007 at 10:35 AM
I would like to see EG find a way to KEEP JCN…..He is a player that can play both guard positions. Versatility is the name of the NBA game these days. Navarro can’t be any worse that Taylor or Miles. PLus he has more experience. I think we all can agree that even though the Wizards will have 12 players under contract, with the signing of Blatche , ALL 12 players may not necessarily need to be here. We do have some weak links in the mix. Navarro can strengthen those links, I believe.
I just hope that regardless as to which way EG goes , that we are not hood-winked yet again, and we come out worse than before.
Comment from GrifonRacing
Time July 27, 2007 at 11:37 AM
The writing was on the wall for Mr. Navarro when the team resigned Mr. Stevenson. It became pretty apparent at that time that there wasn’t going to be a spot for Mr. Navarro. It sounds like EG may be trying to put a deal together with Miami that may consist of Mr. Navarro and Mr. Thomas for a draft pick and Mr. Haslem. If it were just Mr. Navarro for a draft pick I think the deal would have already been made.
Comment from dmac
Time July 27, 2007 at 11:38 AM
HGN you make some good points about JCN being a part of the WIZ. But they would have to trade AD and not many teams are willing to take AD at his salary. Also JCN would not be able to back up Gilbert at the point. It would have to be Aaron Miles or Donnel Taylor if he stays.
You also have to look at the unity and chemistry that the WIZ have now. Example: Even though Jamison makes a large amount of money he is worth it for this year when you look at the experience and leadership he brings to the team. Gilbert is our best player but AJ is the leader of the WIZ. So with all these variables everyone is suggesting don’t mean a bowl of beans if you don’t have the unity and chemistry needed to be a winner.
There are many teams more talented than the Spurs but they are the Champs. No disrespect to JCN but I think he or FC barcelona may have waited to late to get the best possible deal. It would have been a lot more interesting if something had went down on or before the draft.
Comment from GrifonRacing
Time July 27, 2007 at 11:44 AM
Dmac…. I agree. It would have been nice to have a little “heads up” on Mr. Navarro prior to the draft. Things may have turned out a lot differantly.
Comment from jmpalomo
Time July 27, 2007 at 12:38 PM
There is no pressure on Ernie to sign JCN. We don’t need him this year. JCN obviously wants to play in the NBA because he renegotiated his buyout. The problem for him is that there is no hurry for Ernie to sign or move him. If we trade him for a 1st round pick next year we can wait for next year. I love to see Ernie trade him for a Power Forward and get rid of Etan. I do not want to get rid of Brendan because his salary is really good for a serviceable Center. If a team really wants him then the pressure is on them to give the Wiz the BANK.
Comment from Wizards4Life
Time July 27, 2007 at 1:04 PM
yeah my point is that most the time we have to get EJ and a big stick to beat Gil off the floor and even then he is on the bench waiting to get back in so i don’t see where he fits in he may be good and all but EG has made it clear that DS is the best player for the team at that spot so there is no money for a back up! for our back up! and we will probably regret letting him go to another team at some point but that’s what has to be done to ensure the teams future is as bright 10 years from now as it is today.
P.S. i don’t always agree with people about the team but that’s what makes this a blog if we all agreed there would be nothing worth logging in here to talk about !
Comment from wiz-skins07
Time July 27, 2007 at 2:26 PM
I personally believe this is one of the most reasonable trades for us…we have a better shot at him than…Chris Wilcox, Marcus Camby (we dont want him he has a 3mil trade kicker), LaMarcus Aldridge…etc..
Comment from Wizzy
Time July 27, 2007 at 2:48 PM
Sign JCN and Trade AD. We are not the Def- team we are the Of-team so we need more scorer coming off from the Bench. So Sign JCN.
Comment from wiz-skins07
Time July 27, 2007 at 2:59 PM
but you can only trade AD and save cap space if a team has enough space to soak p a cntract like hi the only team that might is the Sonics but i dont think they would do it but if they would then go for it
What Do you Guys Think:
all we need is Fesenko he would be good and as most of you want a lottery pick next year…he would be a lottery pick in next years draft…he is an “aggressive rebounder ans shot-blocker and likes to operate from the perimeter offensively” he is all we need
Trade:
Wiz Get:
-Kyrylo Fesenko
Jazz Get:
-JCN (they need a scorer and a gaurd)
-draft rights to Vladimir Radmeenko or Calvin Booth (sign & trade)
he also has a buyout and it is worth $500,00….i was reading a scouting report on him and it says he had his best game of the season when he played agaisnt O-Pech’s team (he did a great job against O-Pech…he would be a good player for us and he and O-Pech would probably get along considering they have the same culture…etc..I personally believe this is one of the most reasonable trades for us…we have a better shot at him than…Chris Wilcox, Marcus Camby (we dont want him he has a 3mil trade kicker), LaMarcus Aldridge…etc..
Comment from middletonss
Time July 27, 2007 at 3:28 PM
I don’t know about you guys but I am glad Navarro’s current team is pushing the wizards to make a move. I’m tired of waiting.
Comment from Wizzy
Time July 27, 2007 at 3:36 PM
WS07 U must love this trading season huh? You are the busiest person in this Blog. Good.
Comment from Tom Mandel
Time July 27, 2007 at 4:29 PM
Fesenko is a prospect not a proven entity. I like him, to the degree that I know anything about him, but he isn’t likely to be a force in the NBA for some time, if ever.
Americangaw, despite calling me irrational! :), is correct that Haywood is our best center — and in terms of *talent* I agree that he is good enough for us to go far into the playoffs w/ him as starter. But… is that ever going to happen given the problems between him and the coach?
Re; JCN — I imagine a deal is available for his rights in exchange for a 1st round pick. I would guess it’d be in ‘09 or ‘10, but maybe next year. If nothing else develops (i.e. if no one bites on Etan’s contract), then probably that’s a deal that can and will be done.
Comment from Wiz034
Time July 27, 2007 at 5:32 PM
R U kidding? Smush Parker? I’m sorry but in my opinion he has no game.
Comment from Wiz034
Time July 27, 2007 at 5:34 PM
I still want EG to take a look at Camby. It maybe a long shot but I think he will fit in our system..
Comment from WestCoast Wizard
Time July 27, 2007 at 10:06 PM
I think Ernie is playing this brilliantly. He’s signed DS for a reasonable amount, which has both made Gil happy and has improved his team by giving the starting unit a chance to stay together for a change (if EJ and BH can make nice, that is). Navarro is his chip … the closer to the deadline, the more desperate these teams become >>cough>cough
Comment from GrifonRacing
Time July 27, 2007 at 10:55 PM
Yeah FantasticWiz (is that you Will?)… I just read that. Smush Parker? EG musta pushed too hard lol. Well there goes one of our options. I agree Tom. Now a draft pick seems like all that is left, and, we have exactly one week for that to happen. Who gives us something in return for Mr. Navarro now?
Comment from GrifonRacing
Time July 27, 2007 at 11:02 PM
Mr. Haywood is a servicable center, but, he could be so much better than he is! If we could put Mr. Thomas’ hustle and grit into Mr. Haywood’s body we would have the next Amare. My main concern with Mr. Haywood playing for us this season is that he took his name plate from his locker. I now question his desire to play for the team.
I still wouldn’t mind Mr. Haywood and Mr. Milicic (spelling optional lol) in the post for us?
Comment from BruceO
Time July 28, 2007 at 1:16 AM
smush has gone to the heat. Teams are seemingly getting tired of waiting for agreements from us. I don’t know if the heat have officially given up. I personally think navarro is worth the wiz retaining. If no deal is on the table we have to pony up the amount just to have an extra negotiating chip in the future. We might be about to get blatches bird rights maybe this year or next, so a one year contract might be worthwhile. Teams are running out of cap space so his price might be low. We still have the rest of the MLE, the biannual exception and the veterans exception to make use of
About navarro, Im sure they’ve watched him enough to figure out what his value is in this team and in the nba. If they’re asking for alot that means they feel he’s worth alot. They’ve probably scouted him and are still scouting him enough to make an informed decision. I hope the reason they don’t sign him is purely cheapness.
Also about haywood vs etan on a purely basketball perspective haywood outplays etan. This based on stats, efficiency, wages of wins stats and a 18-3 streak with him at the helm earlier this season. I don’t have any argument for playing etan before brendan. Haywood also has more height and no centers look like all-stars against him. In etans defense he did have that good game against dwight and a bunch of other things, But theres more value for price in haywood.
Comment from GrifonRacing
Time July 28, 2007 at 3:07 AM
Bruce.. as you know I’m not a financial guy. That sounded very good to me. Does that mean we could sign Mr. Blatche And Mr. Navarro given all the clauses stated above? How Cool would That Be!
Mr. Thomas AND Mr. Haywood are OURS. The rock-em-sock-em centers are both under contract. With the upgrades the team made in the draft and summer league, I think we have already gotten better as an overall team. With Pesh joining the team, Mr. Songilia healthy, Mr. Blatche about ready for a full season, and wonderful question marks like Mr. Young and Dmac.. I think we are fine as we sit.
If I’m reading what you said correctly, Bruce, and we can possibly sign both Mr. Blatche and Mr. Navarro… along with the other upgrades…. Ok I’m Psyched!
Comment from billtimore
Time July 28, 2007 at 3:34 AM
last season gilbert turned into a three point maniac, but i think if he charged the paint like he did the season before last and averaged around 11 ft attempts per game, we will be ok this season, and also daniels sort of slacked a lil on charging the paint, i remember the season before last when daniels would come off the bench and give you 10 pts on 4 of 5 shooting with a couple freethrows, that was when he had a personal vendetta against the painted area and the rim. maybe i just miss the season before last too much
Comment from BruceO
Time July 28, 2007 at 3:49 AM
not so fast. First off I don’t think we have blatche’s bird rights yet. I think maybe a year would do it.So theres a possibility he might do a year contract and negotiate the way stevenson did. The vets exception / minimum can only be used on vets I think, we used it on calvin booth last year and unless a better option comes up will likely go the same direction. and I don’t think the biannual exception can be used on any of those two. Beyond that everything looks like Ernie is doing a waiting game. Either considering his options and researching how he can utilize navarro as trade bait / trying to create space to sign him/ or waiting till close to the deadline to drive down the market price through lack of availability of funds from other teams on both of them to be able to keep them at a cheaper price tha would have otherwise been paid.
I’m waiting to see what will happen, kinda glad theres some deadline set by JCN’s people so I know within what period something may happen cause I’m dying to find out. Some people think even the lakers are a possibility for JCN’s destination. They just lost smush parker to miami and have crittenton, who we considered drafting at the point ,and jordan farmer who is good friends with nick young. He supported nick young when he was struggling with his SAT’s. They also have Sun yu who we also had at our workouts who’s like a tall point forward. So If navarro went there I think we can get crittenton, farmer, maurice evans (who I like), andrew bynum (who I really like), or draft picks. beyond these I don’t know who they might like there..(this is only if we are dealing with the lakers and is purely speculation). I don’t think we can get bynum without giving them some sort of big man but our centers fought with kwame in dc, the same thing is bound to happen to some extent again. It’d be great IMO to get bynum or evans. Maybe even crittenton. Beyond that the rest of them are blah.
I overall wish navarro would lower how much he wants to be paid when he’s unproven in this league so we can keep him. If we get something good for him, thats good too camby, leon powe etc etc
Comment from whoaitstu
Time July 28, 2007 at 3:55 AM
Smush Parker .. that fool is making bank .. hes pretty damn good for being undrafted .. and again .. Fesenko is NOT someone the Wizards need .. they need a big man who can control the paint consistently .. ALridge is nice but who would the WIzards give up for him ? i thought Magloire would have been a good addition to this team .. i wouldnt mind having desgna diop .. yea the guy sucks on offense but he can rebound and block shots
Comment from Tom Mandel
Time July 28, 2007 at 10:16 AM
Smush Parker is not much of a player. Plus, isn’t he - at least in theory - a point? They’ve been looking for a backup point guard for a while (not to mention someone to replace their starting point guard, jason williams, who is getting old). Navarro is a 2 guard.
Comment from americangaw
Time July 28, 2007 at 10:26 AM
There are only two teams that I know who looking for a PG, that being Cleveland and Denver. I know Denver signed Atkins but is still looking for another PG and Cleaveland failed to get Bibby. I think tradeing Etan/Navarro for Camby is possibility-of course I would rather trade Etan/Daniels for Camby which would work out as far as salaries. I wouldn’t mind tradeing Daniels to Cleveland for Drew Gooden which would create even more of log jam at the PF spot, but I think Gooden can play a center for the most part against teams without true centers which is 3/4 of the league! Also does anyone think that Nick Young can become a combo guard and play the PG spot as well?
Comment from americangaw
Time July 28, 2007 at 11:35 AM
Another trade thought,
Trade Etan/Daniels for Kenyon Martn–Martin should be 100% for 2007/2008 and salaries workout with Martin’s Salary around 13 mil next season and Daniels/Etan around 13.5 with trade kicker. I know we would have another PF but if Martin stays healthy he could give us the Defensive/Rebounding help we need.
Just another wish until the 2007/2008 season begins!
Pingback from Washington Wizards Blog » Blog Archive » WIZARDS TRUN THEIR FOCUS ON OFFERING BLATCHE
Time July 28, 2007 at 11:54 AM
[...] « PRESSURE ON NAVARRO OR THE WIZARDS? [...]
Comment from bchill
Time July 28, 2007 at 12:04 PM
Trade thoughts,
Obviously to make a trade you need 2 teams talking, but have we looked at the Mavs? Outside their starters, they have a team full of 7 footers. They are over the salary cap, so they should want to reduce their payroll, probably would be pretty open to some guard depth, and they aren’t in our conference.
Maybe a JCN/Etan trade for one of their developmental 7 footers (Diop) and a pick. The only real need the Wiz have is for an enforcer/rebounder at the 5. Etans been way overpaid - or outpositioned, for a couple years. I don’t know if Haywood is the answer, but we gotta do something cause right now he is too distracted. At least Haywood is right priced. Adding a tru Center as a backup incase Brenda flicks out and lowering our cap so we can re-sign blatche makes good buz sense to me.
Comment from BruceO
Time July 28, 2007 at 1:52 PM
lol oh are we supposed to figure out where the pressure lies? I think a little bit on both. It’s the last thing we need to take care of now that thers a blatche deal on the table. There’s pressure on navarro because if no deal is sufficient and his price is still high to cover a huge buyout he might never make it to the nba. By the time he does he’ll be a little too old. Less pressure on the wiz. It;s a deadline yes, but fortunately they already have suitors. If they didnt then we’d worry. Only reason its taking long is cause no one wants etan.
Comment from GrifonRacing
Time July 29, 2007 at 1:08 AM
The pressure lies squarely on the shoulders of Mr. Navarro and the teams that are interested in his services. If we only stay put, Mr. Navarro goes back to Europe for a very long time.
It’s not that no one wants Mr. Thomas, it’s that no one wants to absorb his “trade kicker”. We will see, at least until next Thursday, who is really interested in bringing Mr. Navarro to their team to be a perenial all star?
Bchill, Dallas is one of the teams supposedly in talks with the Wizards over Mr. Navarro.
People keep saying Mr. Navarro is a PG. He is not. He is a very good 2 guard and a very weak 3.
Comment from neal
Time July 29, 2007 at 1:14 PM
BruceO and others:
The Bird exception is for players having at least 3 years of continuous NBA experience. There is no salary limit when using this exception other than the maximum player salary ($18M for this year).
The Early Bird exception is for players having at least 2 years of continuous NBA experience (such as Blatche). The Early Bird exception allows us to sign someone for up to the “average salary”, which for this year is $5.356M. The bi-annual exception allows us to sign any FA to a 2007-2008 contract starting at $1.83M. Either could be used for either Blatche or Booth. The exceptions allow us to sign someone even though we’re over the salary cap, but are no relief from the luxury tax provision.
If Booth is signed he will undoubtedly get the minimum for an 8 year veteran ($1.1M). The league minimums for rookies with no NBA experience (Miles) is $427,163, with one year of experience (Hall) is $687,456, and with two years of experience (Taylor) is $770,610.
Comment from brian
Time July 30, 2007 at 2:52 AM
the pressure is on the wizards! since nobody answered the question. indeed eddie has made some good moves, but he can show us that he is the man by making a good summer a perfect summer. just make something happen, don’t just let JCN ’s talent go to waist in no man’s land. make a trade and bring some new faces in. CAMBY sounds excellent, darko is good. we missed out on a blockbuster with jermaine and zach! gilbert and twans contacts are up next season and there is no way we can sign both. make a trade with twan now and AD, ET. instead of in february, and/or the summer. do it now. so the team will have a full season with no distractions. we all saw the exciting show the wiz put on in december and january. but the group split up like outkast for sideline carttoons. keep gil and caron and get a new big three. notice the big three consists of a 3 point shooter, a mid shooter and a three point shooter? hell no we need some post offense up in there! call me eddie i got u
Comment from dmac
Time July 30, 2007 at 12:15 PM
Brian, Denver would probably want to get rid of kenyon martin’s contract before considering trading Camby to anybody. We still would have to get rid of ET to even consider that. I don’t think Denver would go for that. Unless you are trading Twan to his home state of nc for Okafor, I don’t see Twan going anywhere with his salary. No way Larry Bird would send Jermaine to the wiz for Twan and AD. We could not afford him anyway especially since we need to resign Gil next year.
Twan is is a consumate pro and should be kept for the fact that he is the leader of the players in the locker room and he is still a major contributor on the floor. All the Wizards would benefit from the advice and wisdom that Antwan can provide.
P.S. Can anyone predict what eg will do this week?
Will he trade JCN and to who?
Is this et last week as a wizard?
On a serious note if eg asked our advice what would you share with him
Remember you have to be serious about this. What would you do?
Comment from Tom Mandel
Time July 30, 2007 at 5:37 PM
If we can package the rights to jcn along w/ Etan for someone expiring sooner than Etan, that’s my first choice. If that doesn’t happen, and if the rumors about the Lakers have substance, then a package that brought Bynum would be great — but, being realistic, that’s not going to happen.
Hence my real second choice is to take a first round pick for his rights. Probably not from Miami; no need to give them any offense.
Naturally, everyone wants to trade Etan and get Marcus Camby — who wouldn’t? But, the people working for Denver are awake not asleep. They aren’t trading Camby for spare parts.
Comment from dmac
Time July 30, 2007 at 7:04 PM
One of the concerns I have about the NBA game now is a lack of interest from the bigs in the post game. I think that is what is so intriguing about Greg Oden, even though he is raw and needs time to reach his potential he gives the 5 spot hope. As a NBA fan I remember seeing Wilt, Russell, Thurmond, Kareem, Artis Gilmore, Wes, Willis, Walt Bellamy, Bill Walton, Robert Parish, Moses, Darryl Dawkins, Dave Cowens, Patrick, Zo, Dikembe, Akeem, David Robinson, Bob Lanier and Shaq and many more playing the post.
KG’s awesome gift didn’t help because they all began thinking they could be the second coming of KG. Like there is only one MJ, Magic, Bird or Kareem there is only one KG.
Seems like now most of the big guys coming into the league now mind set is that of a pg, sg and the wing.Remember Ralph Sampson. Kwame Brown had us salivating at his potential only to disappoint us greatly. What a physical specimen. 7 feet tall 250 that runs like a deer.
If Kwame had devoted himself to learning the post game ala g-town john thompson school of hard work we wouldn’t even be lookng for a low post presence.
What would be nice is if Andrew Bynum and his potential comes gift wrap to us this week. now that would be a miracle.
Comment from Bun91
Time July 30, 2007 at 7:34 PM
Would the lakers still be in interest in jcn as they just signed guard Coby Karl?
http://www.nba.com/lakers/news/070730_signkarl.html
Comment from brian
Time July 30, 2007 at 11:18 PM
how about we trade AD to indiani for jeff foster and troy murphy? or let’s sign PJ brown. trade for shareef abdur rahim, or stromile swift, hakeem warrick. darko. mike sweetney.
Comment from BruceO
Time July 31, 2007 at 1:20 AM
lol it’s funny how everyone signing away for point guards when they’re supposed to be interested teams. Soon they’ll be no one left to trade him to. I’d also really laugh if we trade his rights to someone else and then he says ok I’m going to play in barcelona again, I changed my mind.
Comment from brian
Time July 31, 2007 at 2:52 AM
is there any possibilty we could get the OLD guy antonio mcdyess? detroit does need a center or two! im not familiar with this cap room, or luxury cap stuff so im just gonna shut my mouth about it, but i am waiting on something! bruce u mentioned that the wizards are basically set, and they are going play with what they have. how far can that get them?
Comment from brian
Time July 31, 2007 at 2:54 AM
wow i said luxury cap! luxury tax! my bad, and u see why i have not officially finished college yet. thank god i do not need typing skills.
Comment from Tom Mandel
Time July 31, 2007 at 8:02 AM
brian — please *do* learn something about the cap and the tax; it’ll make it possible for you to suggest things that are more relevant.
Indiana isn’t giving us foster and murphy for AD — would you, if you were the indiana GM?
Naturally, we *all* want to trade away either Brendan or Etan (mostly Etan, because of his contract), but trades have to be good for *both teams* otherwise they don’t happen.
As to signing Brown or Sweetney, we don’t really have roster room, and we do have 4 power forwards!
Comment from brian
Time July 31, 2007 at 11:37 AM
true mandel. those comments were made out of desperation of improvement. im sure eddie is pulling his hair out right now with this JCN and blatche. AD and etan. and oh yea gilbert and twan next summer. how far can the wizards go this year? we have definitely improved overrall. but there were no eye catchers. we never do to good in the draft, but thank god for this year! so trades is where its at. chicago kicked our buts every game. detroit went 3-1 against. miami never feared us. hell shaq sat out a playoff game and we still got our buts kicked. lebron ran circles around us. boston added two new problems for us. twan cant gaurd any power foward so say hello to zach. and who is going to stop eddie curry? okay well i went to far on that one! but even the raptors kicked us around! orlando split with us and they just picked up rashard. and what did we do. we brought back a player, and added two rookies! WOW big deal neither one of them is durant or oden. there is no time to sleep eddie. i know i dont sound like a wizards fan, but i love the wiz, but i also hate to see them lose. u cheer all year and then u cry! MOTIVATION PLEASE!
Comment from Tom Mandel
Time July 31, 2007 at 2:01 PM
Dude, it’s a business — nobody is pulling their hair out!
You make the future sound frightening, my man — you need to chill; go get a burrito or something.
Cleveland is going to lose Gooden and Ilgauskas will be a year older. They aren’t improving; they’re going backwards. The Knicks will implode — no room for Randolph and Curry together, both of whom are black holes — and where does David Lee (their best player) play when the 2 behemoths are on the court? Detroit is over the hill. Toronto is an *excellent* young team on the rise. The Celtics — what a trade! But, who’s going to be on the roster now that they are giving away Gomes, Telfair, Jefferson, Green and Ratliff (and 2 first round picks!)? The Bulls are likely to be very good.
It should be a fascinating season; and we’ll do well. No we are not likely to be the NBA champs next year. But, hey, only 1 of the 30 teams will be!
Comment from odawg
Time July 31, 2007 at 2:28 PM
I wonder if Boston isn’t going to try and re-enter the JCN sweepstakes. Perkins has much more potential then Etan or Haywood, but Etan is better right now then Perkins and Boston really needs a veteran PG. Raldo is good, but I’d like to have a backup in their situation. I don’t know if I’d trust Tony Allen to be the player off the bench to score points. I’d rather have JCN.
I know that they’re trading the pick they got from Minnesota… but I wonder if they were able to convince Minn to take a 2010 First Rounder(I heard 2009 but just rumors). It would be worth the wait for Minnesota because it will probably be a better pick then they would get in 2008.
Comment from nohoarhay
Time July 31, 2007 at 3:13 PM
Alot of these comments suck!! What we as fans have to realize is that EG is doing his job .. Have some faith..Blatche has a tremendous upside but he isnt very productive as of yet.. He gets dogged by any true PF.. Chris Bosh is listed at 6′ 10 but he ollks about 2 inches taller than blatche as well as noticibly bigger around the shoulders & midsection.. I think the key is finding him a true posistion.. He could be like a tim thomas or reshard lewis , with better rebounding skills but i dont see much more than that ..
Comment from Tom Mandel
Time July 31, 2007 at 9:34 PM
Bosh looks bigger than Blatche? I hadn’t noticed that. Blatche is like a college sophomore just entering the league. He’ll fill out some.
Comment from brian
Time July 31, 2007 at 9:49 PM
bosh is a stick figure like garnett. blatche is a little more solid. eddie is doing his job, and i am going overboard with the upcoming season. but ever since the salary cap came in the league, staying on top is something that wont last long. every year somebody can sneak in. so win while you can. TAKE CHANCES EDDIE! Washington is all yours! the white house is boring unless u talk about gas prices, the skins suck and the nationals (uhh no!) the capitals get a capital L for losers. How do ya’ll think gilbert is going to perform this year. last year he stole the league for a few months from nash with all his last minute heroics, but this is his contract year. so will he come harder this time? I’m going Hibachi for mvp!
Comment from stevevu
Time August 1, 2007 at 6:36 AM
If you guys think of navarro so highly, I think the best thing to do is to do nothing with him this year and just wait out his contract like was originally planned and then sign him when we hopefully have room for him unless Abe decides he wants to go like 6 mil over the tax and sign him this year which is not likely to happen. If he really wants to play that badly in the nba, he wont sign an extension and his team in spain only said that if nothing gets done in the nba this year that they wont give him the generous buyout next year. they didnt say that they’ll automatically sign him to an extension that will keep him from coming here. If he does sign an extension though, its not like we lost anything because he never played. The only thing we lost is a 2nd round pick which every team seems to waste. So its only a win-win situation for us. either he gets traded in a deal that is to eg’s liking( dont trade him just to trade him), he signs with us when his contract is up in spain, or he stays in spain for the rest of his career. none of these can hurt us.
Comment from el lagarto
Time August 3, 2007 at 4:19 AM
La imagen de la N.B.A. y de los Wizards en particular está quedando en entredicho. Están empezando a surgir corrientes en favor de la no inscripción de europeos en los futuros drafts, además teniendo en cuenta que en muchas ocasiones no son fiables respecto a su calidad, competitividad,…
Por último señalar el daño que se está haciendo a la imagen de los W.W. en España y otros paÃses europeos; que Ernie Grunfeld mire por los intereses económicos y deportivos de su equipo es correcto, pero a dÃa de hoy puedo asegurar que ningún español comprarÃa una camiseta de los Wizards, ni cuando viajemos a Washington ir a ver un partido, ver sus partidos por t.v. de cable, …
Espero que todo se solucione de forma favorable tanto para los Wizards como para Navarro por el bien del BALONCESTO.
Un cordial saludo a todos los aficionados de este maravilloso juego que es el baloncesto.
Comment from Tom Mandel
Time August 3, 2007 at 7:25 PM
He concludes “I hope that everything is resolved in a way equally favorable to the Wizards and Navarro and for the good of BASKETBALL.
“A cordial hello to all the aficionados of this marvelous game - basketball.”
Unfortunately, before that he says (I think) “that Ernie Grunfield looks out for the economic and sports interests of his team is right, but from today I am sure that no spaniard will ever wear a Wizards jersey nor go to a game while visiting Washngton nor watch one on cable tv.”
Just goes to show you that spanish basketball fans are just as nutty as we are!
Comment from Tom Mandel
Time August 3, 2007 at 7:28 PM
On the other hand Ivan says “I’m hearing that all sides have agreed in principle to a deal that would send Juan Carlos Navarro’s NBA rights from Washington to Memphis in exchange for a lottery protected first round pick. Paperwork with Navarro’s Spanish team, Barcelona, needs to be finished and the NBA has to review the deal as well to make things official (I hear that is why the “deadline” was pushed back). As details come in, I’ll update.”
Comment from el lagarto
Time August 4, 2007 at 10:17 AM
Gracias al equipo de los W.Wizards en nombre de gran parte de los aficionados españoles.
Les deseo mucha suerte en el devenir de la nueva temporada y un cordial saludo a su afición; incluÃdo por supuesto Tom Mandel.
Comment from Tom Mandel
Time August 5, 2007 at 3:51 PM
Gracias!
Here’s hoping the trade works out for both sides.
Comment from tyrone20000
Time August 6, 2007 at 10:25 PM
Come on Wizards get that deal done with the Clippers. They can use Etan. The type of low post game they run. Give up that 1st rounder and Etan for Jermaine Oneal. I don’t believe Etan fits in with Eddie Jordans offense. Don’t give away your 7 footer Haywood! When you are playing against players that plays away from the basket that rebound have to go a long way to that defender. Fans just don’t understand that fact. All fans see is that scoring and rebounds. Other than Shaq, Duncan, Yao, Stoudemire, and maybe a few others 20pts and 10 rebounds at the center position is not the norm! By the way while Haywood was starting the Wizards were well above .500. At the beginning of last yr while Etan was starting they were bad and when he returned to the starting lineup towards the end of the season.
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Comment from BulletsFanFromBirth78
Time July 26, 2007 at 11:38 AM
In Ernie I Trust!!! He’ll do what is best for this team.
All in all, i do not want JCN traded to Miami.