Comment from gee wiz
Time June 10, 2008 at 9:56 AM

ok, lets play GM! aside from tha draft cause there are 17 other teams picking before u so u have no idea who is left yet…… if u were GM what would u do with arenas and jamison. arenas is asking for more in spite of his horrible season, he erks u by saying if u dont sign jamison u wont sign me, and on top of that u could be the laughin stock of the nba if he never recovers from is injury then making u stuck without being able to trade that big contract.

Comment from gee wiz
Time June 10, 2008 at 9:57 AM

do u think eddie is seriously considering drafting these guys??

Comment from Gprep21
Time June 10, 2008 at 10:05 AM

Looks like a real solid group of players. I really like Chalmers and CDR; I could see them possibly fitting in nicely in DC.

I saw a couple posts in another thread about moving Arenas to SG and trying to go out and land a PG via free agency or the draft. I definitely am not opposed to moving gil to the 2 spot but if we did make that move then why not just start Daniels at 1. I love AD’s game; the ball moves around great when he is in the game, and he can create for himself as well as others. Hes got great size at 6’4″, 6’5″ and plays decent defense. People may be concerned about Arenas being an undersized 2 but its not like the dude is locking up guys on D anyways so you really would not be losing much. Plus, AD is big enough to check the opposing team’s 2 and we can keep Gil on their PG. It is just a thought but I think it could really help this team out. Here is what it would look like:

1.) AD
2.) Gil
3.) Caron
4.) Jamison
5.) Haywood

Off the bench you can bring Stevenson and Young in at either guard position. If one of them comes in for AD you move gil back to 1. If they come in for Gil then you leave AD at the 1. At the 4 spot we can bring Blatche in for AJ and I think we should draft Hibbert with our 18 pick and bring him in for haywood. I still have doubts about Songalia coming in at the 3 or 4; The dude seems to get swatted every time he takes it to the basket. I really want to try and get rid of Etan also. Pech can come in at the forward/center spot too from time to time. If D-Mac really improves I would not mind him coming in for Caron. Also, with our 47 pick I think there is no doubt we should draft Kyle Weaver. This kid can lock people up on the perimeter at either the 1, 2, or 3. These are all VERY realistic off season moves and I think it could really help

Comment from gee wiz
Time June 10, 2008 at 10:10 AM

ya’ll know im down here in central florida rumor has it the magic really wants arenas

Comment from SportzWiz
Time June 10, 2008 at 10:20 AM

The salary cap for next year will be around 58 million. Based on their contracts the Magic have 3 million dollars available Magic salaries.

The only way they could get arenas would be a sign and trade. There are VERY FEW teams with money under the cap.

As for drafting these guys. All these players that are brought in the Wizards have some interest in otherwise they wouldn’t waste their time.

Now that means some guys could be seen as 1st or 2nd rounders and other players could be seen for future drafts and others could be looked at as summer league players.

Comment from Bridge
Time June 10, 2008 at 11:27 AM

Whoa that’s crazy gee wiz – I think that he’s pretty acquainted with the GM down there…That’ll be a CRAZY but COOL/KILLA combo!!

I know that this will sound crazy, but can’t the Wiz do something like waive Etan then pick him back up, but for a lesser contract amount? That 6 mil that he’s making is just crazy…My ideas might sound bizarre to people, but this is what I think: sign Gil at $15 mil for 6 years; sign Twan at about 12 mil (and lock him in a bit); Mason at 3 mil; someone like Ramon Sessions at Mason’s current; someone like Alonzo at 3 mil; take Etan down to about 3 mil (if possible)…

I’m pretty SURE that Gil will “come back” from injury; if anything I’m more worried about Etan (we dealing with something like a limb [knee] over an organ [heart]. I know that I always use this example, but take a look at Amare – he seems better than ever. He’ll be back; I had a dream that he scored another one of those rec highs coming off of injury – 54 points. Yeah, it’s JUST a dream, but most have served me well…

That Orlando rumor is like “whoa” though …

Comment from Tom Mandel
Time June 10, 2008 at 11:36 AM

Do you have to be under the cap to sign a FA? Is that part of the CBA?

I thought the issue might rather be about the luxury tax ceiling. Orlando *might* be able to scrape under that and still get Gilbert.

I don’t really understand the idea of “switching” Gilbert to SG, btw — he is going to play the same way in the Princeton offense. All you’re doing is deciding to start AD over DS, which means giving up size and defense and some offense in return for… what? Well, for one thing in return for fewer turnovers and some better fall movement. Still, although I love Antonio, and he had a great season for us, we need DeShawn’s defense in the starting lineup.

Comment from Tom Mandel
Time June 10, 2008 at 11:53 AM

A very interesting group being brought in today, and I’m looking forward to hearing what people think of them — although, of course, *we won’t,* unlike in ’06 when we *did* hear at least what Glenn’s observations were.

Beaubois is supposed to be very talented. I didn’t know he was a factor in this year’s draft at all, however — thought he was projected to enter next year.

Charles Rhodes is sort of like Darnell Jackson but not quite as good a rebounder. He is thought of as an undersized power forward. He doesn’t bring super athletic skills or a huge wingspan or anything that’d make you project a big upside for him. But… Carl Landry was a physically similar guy who turned out great; Leon Powe too. Doesn’t mean much, however.

Hendrix is the guy who interests me most, along with Chalmers. He’d be a reach at 18 probably, and he won’t be there at 47. So, he is there in case we make a trade, or so that we can compare him to someone else we’re bringing in… something like that.

Chalmers too would probably be a reach at 18. A lot of people have him going in the late 1st or early 2d. I *like* Mario Chalmers.

Comment from Bridge
Time June 10, 2008 at 11:59 AM

“Orlando *might* be able to scrape under that and still get Gilbert.” – yeah Tom, I was thinking this too…

You know, it’s all gee wiz’s fault for bringing something like this up lol…If there’s any truth to that rumor, maybe it’ll be great for him to go to a team where he’ll be fully appreciated -

Comment from Gprep21
Time June 10, 2008 at 12:22 PM

Tom all your points are probably right. I just like AD better than Stevenson I guess.

Comment from SportzWiz
Time June 10, 2008 at 12:25 PM

Just got back from the workout, we didn’t get to see that much, but just a few observations.

Chalmers and Douglas-Roberts played on the same 3 on 3 team and won on a Douglas-Roberts tip-in.

Beaubois is 6’0 170 lbs, but his wingspan is crazy. His arms dangle to his knees.

Big men are tougher to judge in these drills, but both guys handled the ball pretty well and finished well.

Chalmers shot 3′s after workouts and has a pretty good stroke.

Courtney Lee has a frame that reminds me of a slightly shorter CB3.

Comment from SportzWiz
Time June 10, 2008 at 12:26 PM

3 on 3 video will be posted shortly.

Comment from jomega32
Time June 10, 2008 at 12:56 PM

Hello everyone I’m new to the scene as far as posting my comments so here we go.

I’ve noticed a reference to player salaries and wasn’t sure if you all knew of Draft Express’ player salary page. It seems to be a little more up to date than Hoopshype.

http://www.draftexpress.com/nba-player-salaries/

For now I’ll keep reading an keep up the good work SportzWiz.

Comment from Tom Mandel
Time June 10, 2008 at 1:13 PM

Yeah, Beaubois is known for his long arms! Can’t *wait* to see that on video!

Comment from Wizfan4life
Time June 10, 2008 at 1:17 PM

Ive been saying it the past couples days and im gonna keep saying it again: the wizards need more depth on their bench……the average age of the wizards is currently 26.6 ……now get a load of this: only 4 teams that had a lower average than that made the playoffs this season…..one of them being the la lakers at 25.9. so having young players isnt always a bad thing; except when the players arent that good or do not contribute alot……. then u got ur spurs, suns, and detroit whose average age for their players is more than 27 each……so all im saying is if a team wants 2 be good and has a young team, they should at least be good players that contribute, and if ur team is an older veteran team, they best be doing the same thing……..which i think is the wizards problem: they have songaila who is pretty much now a veteran player and doesnt contribute much, d-mac, who is a young player but i can honestly say just wont be good for another 4 or 5 years, and etan thomas, who is a veteran player who is so so………now im not saying the wizards need old veteran players or need young players who can score 50 points but are selfish players; im saying the wizards need 2 find players that can contribute, have skill, and will better the team…….honestly i would like 2 see us get rid of d-mac, thomas, or songaila or a combo of them…….and get some skill on our bench, whether they r young or old…..they just need 2 be basketball smart

Comment from Wizfan4life
Time June 10, 2008 at 1:17 PM

theres nothing wrong with the wizards starting lineup, its their bench and it needs some more depth in it

Comment from Wizfan4life
Time June 10, 2008 at 1:18 PM

1 thing about the wizards starting llineup though: i do think the depth of our bench would increase if we had stevenson as our 6th man, arenas moves 2 sg, and we sign (or trade) for a skilled passing point guard

Comment from Tom Mandel
Time June 10, 2008 at 1:19 PM

Great… they missed virtually all their shots, and Beaubois bit on every fake thrown his way!

Hendrix looks a fair bit bigger than Rhodes.

Comment from SportzWiz
Time June 10, 2008 at 1:24 PM

Putting your hands up when a guy takes a hesitation dribble is biting on fakes? He stayed in position, got over the screen got his hands up when it looked liked Chalmers was going to pass then got back enough to cut Chalmers off the baseline.

And they took 3 shots and your mad cause they missed a couple?

Comment from Tom Mandel
Time June 10, 2008 at 1:30 PM

Our bench — of course the biggest problem last year was that Gilbert was injured. This forced us to play a very raw rookie, Nick Young, 1000 minutes and also created more minutes for Mason, who is not raw but isn’t all that great either. OTOH, it led to more minutes for AD, who is one of our very best players.

2d biggest problem was Etan being out all season, which meant that Songaila had to play more minutes than we’d have preferred and that Blatche had to play multiple positions, which may account for at least some of his excessive fouling. Etan is about the same level player as Haywood, which means he is better than either DS or AB.

I guess I’m saying that w/ a healthy Gil and Etan, we should expect to see a more productive bench. If Nick and Dmac improve, that’s a plus. I do expect Dmac to improve, because he got better as the season went along. Not so sure that was true of Nick.

Comment from Tom Mandel
Time June 10, 2008 at 1:31 PM

You are right — on the other hand, I’m a fan: if I’m gonna see 90 seconds of video, I want highlights!!

Comment from SportzWiz
Time June 10, 2008 at 1:33 PM

I understand. I should have told you that we got in to see the final posession of the game. So that’s all we saw.

Comment from SportzWiz
Time June 10, 2008 at 1:36 PM

FYI – two more videos coming.

Comment from Gprep21
Time June 10, 2008 at 1:57 PM

I agree Tom; I think our bench will be much stronger regardless of whether we make any changes or not. However, I also agree with Wizfan that we could use one or two more skilled players who have knowledge of the game. Songalia just is not the answer. Etan is a scrapper and who knows maybe if he sticks around he will help us out but I would love to see hibbert backing up haywood instead of thomas.

Comment from SportzWiz
Time June 10, 2008 at 2:00 PM

All three videos are now up.

Comment from SportzWiz
Time June 10, 2008 at 3:11 PM

Here are the players coming in tomorrow

Robert Vaden – UAB
Danny Green – UNC
Deron Washington – Va. Tech
Taj McCullough – Winthrop
Sundiata Gaines – Georgia
Darris Nichols – West Virginia.

Comment from SportzWiz
Time June 10, 2008 at 3:19 PM

Welcome aboard jomega, thanks for the link and if you have any questions let me know.

Comment from Tom Mandel
Time June 10, 2008 at 3:22 PM

Kosta Koufos has been getting raves for his workouts — any idea whether we’re bringing him in, Sportswiz? Apparently he chewed up Kevin Love the other day out west somewhere.

Comment from Tom Mandel
Time June 10, 2008 at 3:23 PM

SportsWiz — do we have any folks at the Treviso euro-camp? E.g. is Ernie there?

Comment from SportzWiz
Time June 10, 2008 at 3:35 PM

Ernie is not there he has been at our workouts. But I do believe we have scouts over there however I can’t confirm one way for or the other.

As for Koufos I have not heard of the Wizards bringing him in. The one knock I have h seen is he is not the most athletic big man or the most physical. Do you have a link to the article on him vs. K. Love?

As for my knowledge on college hoops I would say the two college teams I have watched the most are Ohio State and Indiana (one school i cheered for as a kid and i attended the other one) Koufos showed that at times he could be the dominant player OSU thougth they were getting out of high school. However, lots of times he was playing out of position playing the center or low post spot. His strength is his outside mid range jumper and his ability to beat bigger slower men off the dribble. He improved as the year went on, but I think he would’ve shown a lot more had he stayed another year with the Bucks because he would’ve been playing across from B.J. Mullens who is regarded as the top big man prospect in the country coming out of high school.
I think he could turn into a solid pro but I dont necessarily feel as though he fits in as well as other big men could with the Wizards. But you never know.

Comment from Tom Mandel
Time June 10, 2008 at 3:49 PM

Ty Lawson video after his Wizards workout.

Comment from Tom Mandel
Time June 10, 2008 at 3:52 PM

Here’s an article on Kosta Koufos. I have lost the reference to his workout against Love.

Oh wait a minute — it’s right in this article! Duh…..

Comment from Tom Mandel
Time June 10, 2008 at 4:00 PM

Just looked at the video of 10 backboard taps followed by dunk attempt — I tell you what, Lester Hudson’s performance on the first workout day is *really impressive* — CDR could barely get to the rim today, and Courtney Lee didn’t make it. Neither Beaubois nor Chalmers came anywhere near dunking. Lester is a leaper!

Comment from SportzWiz
Time June 10, 2008 at 4:06 PM

your not wrong Tom.

I think Beaubois could’ve had a shot. He didnt really get down and explode, I think that’s partially because neither Lee nor CDR dunked it. All of the guys had dunked it before Hudson and he didn’t want to be left out .

I also thought Rhodes was pretty impressive. Again he doesnt really bend down and explode to dunk and yet he throws it in. That’s so tough to do, look at every other guy and how they gather themselves, he doesn’t do it and still gets over the rim.

Comment from Tom Mandel
Time June 10, 2008 at 7:26 PM

Yes, he looks like he has very good hops. Not sure he is really an NBA player, however. He’ll make a living playing basketball, all the same.

Rhodes is from Mississippi State, where Jamont Gordon was his teammate. He is another guy w/ terrific athleticism and good guard skills too. Unfortunately, he pulled out of Orlando. He may not get drafted because of that bonehead move.

Comment from gee wiz
Time June 10, 2008 at 9:34 PM

lol yea bridge i made that up lol! naw, seriously “rumor has it” orlando wants gil…… gil is somewhat appreciated round here, but u know how it is… when ur ballin we love ya, when ur hurt we hate u…… im not sure gil still has it, but im hoping he does only if he stays in washington. im just not convinced that signing both of them is the answer. i like the baron davis trade for arenas. baron has the total package, d and offense. ron artest……. NAW! thats two players suspect in the starting lineup if he and stevenson starts together. their offense is okay but their defense together is killer. plus artest can gaurd lebron. josh smith .. i like. elton brand, hell yea. but aye, enough of that, the real off season starts july 1st after the draft…….. but hopefully the wizards can do an awesome job with the draft and free agency.

Comment from gee wiz
Time June 10, 2008 at 9:39 PM

did u hear tom….. he said he would like deshawn to start (over AD) WOW. etan, is more of a concern as far as healthy compared to gil. chalmers is ok……. and bridge pulled a slick one with ramon session, i know he is a bucks player… he is ok, he really aint do much except embarrass gil this year

Comment from Tom Mandel
Time June 11, 2008 at 6:15 AM

Sessions didn’t have many minutes, but he was surprisingly productive — not to mention what he did to us.

As far as who starts: I might start AD over Gil! Realize that we have a very strong *offensive* starting 5, maybe too much offense, too many guys who need the ball. Yet, we have a problem w/ offense from the bench. Remember that when Caron got here, we were thinking of him coming off the bench in a 6th man role.

Just a thought…

Comment from Tom Mandel
Time June 11, 2008 at 6:22 AM

It’s interesting that we don’t have senior guys in Treviso — Ernie is at home. You have to wonder whether that means we *don’t* really have much of an interest in Batum? Or else, we feel we already know him.

Here’s DraftExpress coverage of the last 2 days of the camp, including Batum’s play.

Comment from dmac
Time June 11, 2008 at 6:58 AM

It will be 3 weeks before the WIZ or any other teams can negotiate contracts.
If I was EG and I made a offer to GIL and AJ this is what I would offer if I really wanted to keep them together.

AJ- 3 years 30-36 mil
GIL- 5 years 90 mil or 6 years 108 mil= 18 mil per season

I believe we are the only team that can pay out the most money.

Say for instance if this is not enough money being offered do I give more?
No. If they are not happy with that then I am looking to to do a draft day trade with
possible suitors like the Clippers and Warriors.

If I am EG and I have to trade GIL then I want something in equal value for him Like Baron Davis and Andris Bierdrins fro Gil, AB and NY and I would still resign AJ

or
Gil, AB and NY for Elton Brand and the Clippers seventh pick in the draft.
I would not resign AJ and I would pick Jordan, Alexander or Randolph.
I would try to sign FA Chris Duhon to share pg duties with AD.
I also could send the seventh pick to GS for Monta Ellis. Anybody else want to give it a shot or have any comments.

Comment from Tom Mandel
Time June 11, 2008 at 7:10 AM

Ummmh, to *trade* Gil, you have to *sign* Gil. If *we* don’t sign him, someone else will sign him. They won’t have to trade for him.

Comment from Reuben
Time June 11, 2008 at 7:58 AM

I like CDR as a player he could be a good fit.

Comment from SportzWiz
Time June 11, 2008 at 9:07 AM

Tom I would say these guys have a good feel on most of these players and I doubt there are many gm’s over in europe. At the same time I bet almost every team is sending one of their top scouts over there. Remember the Wizards saw enough out of Dominic McGuire to draft him in round 2 without seeing him at a private workout.

Reuben, CDR is a nice player and I definitely like his game, the one thing as I have mentioned before is CDR is a scoring 2 guard, and we took one of those last year in Nick Young.

Dmac you can do a sign and trade of Gil in which you could sign him to the max and deal him, but you can’t do that before the draft, and those things get very tricky with having to match salaries.

Comment from FLOYDBT
Time June 11, 2008 at 10:09 AM

If u guys want a young PG then trade the 18th pick and the memphis pick for Ramon Sessions the guys a beast. Then that way if gilbert ends up leaving we have a back up plan. Resign Jamison and roger and try and bring in Emeka Okafor to solidify our defense and some one else like Robert Horry to bring us his good luck charm and help us win a championship.
Plan B line up
PG)Antonio Daniels,Ramon sessions,Roger Mason
SG)Deshawn,Nick Young,draft kyle weaver with our 47th pick
SF)Caron,Andray,Dominic
PF)Jamison,Robert Horry,Songaila
C)Emeka Okafor,Brendan,Etan
Just imagine how good our bench would be also that would mean that we would have two veterans in the rotation with a ring AD and Robert Horry but he has like 50 already lol

———-only a thought you guys———–

Comment from wiz-skins07
Time June 11, 2008 at 10:09 AM

SportzWiz — What if we have the deal set and we tell them to take who we want. We can file the trade papers after the draft.

Comment from Tom Mandel
Time June 11, 2008 at 10:09 AM

Right, and of course I’d love to have Biedrins. Baron Davis is a terrific player too, but i don’t know if he fits the system we play.

If you think about it, there is little reason to sign Gilbert in order to deal him. You have to take back salaries to match the *new* maxed out salary you just gave him! Why would you want to do that?

If for some reason, we didn’t want Gil back (I’m not suggesting this, and I don’t believe it’s true), it would probably be better just to have the cap room. Whether this year or next, you can then sign the FA you want.

Comment from wiz-skins07
Time June 11, 2008 at 10:12 AM

Ramon Sessions is not a beast — If anything he is a decent back-up. He is not nearly as good as AD, or Roger Mason. Before getting him I would try to get Jose Calderon if we lose Gilbert. Calderon would only require about 8 – 10 mil a year. Much cheaper and less riskier than Arenas.

Comment from Tom Mandel
Time June 11, 2008 at 10:15 AM

Oh right, a first and another choice for Ramon Sessions who wasn’t thought good enough even to draft a year ago! Holy moly, what a deal! Yikes. And, btw, Emeka Okafor is *not* available; give it up.

Sportswiz — you are saying we have one or more senior scouts in Treviso? Good. I’m sure we know Batum and the other guys who will be in this draft pretty well.

Comment from Tom Mandel
Time June 11, 2008 at 10:18 AM

Calderon is sure to get a big contract — he is a *tremendous* player, and I would love to have him. But… Toronto is not letting him get away, no chance of that. They can offer more/longer for their own FA than anyone else, and they’ll do it.

TJ Ford will be available, however. He makes $8m next year. You want that contract?

Comment from wiz-skins07
Time June 11, 2008 at 10:21 AM

Yea, we can wait till LeBron is a FA. Then give him the most money we can. Then he and DeShawn can become best buds.

Comment from wiz-skins07
Time June 11, 2008 at 10:23 AM

TJ Ford — I love this guy. I love his game. He is just to injury prone. We already have enough injuries to deal with. But if we can get him at a bargain, I would accept the deal.

Comment from wiz-skins07
Time June 11, 2008 at 10:31 AM

I think we should let Gil go. Try to get a productive PG under the Wages of Wins. (Can you say Jose Calderon?) Then we should go after a big witht 1st Rounder. Then we hope Kyle Weaver is there in the 2nd.

Comment from gee wiz
Time June 11, 2008 at 10:58 AM

i don’t want to stir up trouble….. now thinking back to last year do u think eddie made the right decision on choosing deshawn over navarro??? ne way navarro is available why not get him….. tj ford yes, but we would definitely have to get more…. he is not enough to replace gil. for tha most part i dont think this european things is working out unless u get crown jewels…… u really have to make smart choices. gasol, kirlenko, dirk, ginobli, stojakovich, turkgulo, kleiza, sasha, tony parker, toni kukoc all turned out to be steals. but darko, tschvilli lol (the denver draft pick 2 seasons ago), pecherov, benelli, shavlik randolph, fazekas…. for the most part these picks have worked but many have not. if were going european we need to take notes from tha spurs. if we replace mason, i would like salim stoudamire as our gun slinger. what do u all think of cory magette????

Comment from SportzWiz
Time June 11, 2008 at 11:54 AM

Wiz-skins that is against the league rules. We cant negotiate with Gil until July 1st. Corey Maggette’s goin to want serious coin.

Tom I’m not sure if anyone is there, however, I can tell you our #1 scout hasn’ beent at the workouts.

Ok now onto today, just got back, looking over the vids I’ll post them in a new topic. Fire away with questinos.

Comment from Tom Mandel
Time June 11, 2008 at 12:03 PM

Eddie? He doesn’t choose players; Ernie does. Navarro was and is no big deal. He sure doesn’t fill the role DS fills (defense — makes me smile to think of jcn guarding LeBron!!).

Salim Stoudamire couldn’t earn minutes on the Hawks.

Shavlik Randolph and Nick Fazekas — are they European? Randolph doesn’t seem like much, but Fazekas was *very productive* in limited minutes. He is cheap and available, and I’d certainly bring him onto our summer league team if possible. Remember that I said this — he will have a solid NBA career! I’d like it to be w/ us.

Comment from Tom Mandel
Time June 11, 2008 at 12:07 PM

There are busts from Europe and busts from the US too: anyone remember a guy named Kwame Brown?

SportsWiz — if we don’t have *anyone* at Treviso, then we must really think we know those players. Seems pretty short-sighted to me, but then Ernie does seem to know what he’s doing — w/o my help!

Comment from SportzWiz
Time June 11, 2008 at 12:21 PM

WHen did i say we didnt have anyone there? What I said is Ernie is at our workouts along with Milt Newton, but our top scout isn’t at the workouts. I know it’s vague but it’s all i know. I would venture to guess that someone from our organization is there.

Believe me they are not short sighted.

Comment from Tom Mandel
Time June 11, 2008 at 12:25 PM

I’ll be happy to go next year; I like Italian food… i mean basketball.

Comment from SportzWiz
Time June 11, 2008 at 12:28 PM

Hoenstly I wasn’t impressed with the food in italy as much as I expected to be…. Ok back to basketball.. The second video is loading now, should be up in a few.

Comment from Tom Mandel
Time June 11, 2008 at 12:28 PM

SportsWiz — I read you wrong. When you said our top scout hadn’t been at the workouts, I mistook you to mean that he hadn’t gone to Treviso. My bad.

Don’t forget what I said about next year. I’ll bring back a list of the best restaurants… I mean players.

Comment from Tom Mandel
Time June 11, 2008 at 12:28 PM

Ok, you need to come w/ me — I’ll show you some of the great places.

Comment from SportzWiz
Time June 11, 2008 at 12:30 PM

If its on your dime I’m in. That euro is killer right now.

Comment from Gprep21
Time June 11, 2008 at 12:36 PM

any food in florence is money dude

Comment from SportzWiz
Time June 11, 2008 at 12:37 PM

I was in florence for 4 days and I ate at all these supposed great places, I just wasn’t that impressed for what i was spending. Maybe I got the wrong stuff. Considering that was 5 years ago maybe my memory is just bad .

Where’s treviso?

Comment from gee wiz
Time June 11, 2008 at 3:14 PM

tom or anybody….. tell me how this works. y would we have to sign gil in order to trade him????? there are restricted and unrestricted free agents (the difference) under the cap an over the cap??? alot of people don’t get these things?? and im tired of them asking me about things i cant answer lol

Comment from gee wiz
Time June 11, 2008 at 6:13 PM

what about michael finley?

Comment from GrifonRacing
Time June 11, 2008 at 10:13 PM

Gee Wiz… An unrestricted free agent has no ties to any team and can be “bid on” by any team without consequence. A restricted free agent can get offers from any team, but, the team they are currently with can “match” the offer and retain that player.

After he opted out of the last year of his contract Gilbert became an unrestricted free agent (meaning he has no ties to any team including us). Because he no longer has any Wizards ties (however the Wizards can offer him the largest contract simply because he was “our” player) the Wizards would have to sign him to a contract (making him a Wizard again) before they were able to trade him.

Tom, Neal, and others are the numbers people on here and understand the salary/luxury tax stuff. I don’t have a clue about that stuff.

All I really know about the luxury tax is that Abe isn’t gonna pay it.

Comment from gee wiz
Time June 11, 2008 at 10:30 PM

oh ok. well with him having no ties to us….. shouldnt we have more money to offer others now?? im just trying to figure out how much they have to work with in order to bring in others

Comment from GrifonRacing
Time June 12, 2008 at 12:39 AM

If He signs somewhere else…… we have a lot of cash to spend on whatever Ernie decides. How much “cash” you will have to ask the numbers guys. But… it’s a lot. I think we signed him at 60M, but, I might be wrong.

Comment from GrifonRacing
Time June 12, 2008 at 12:41 AM

whatever that comes out to in his last year numbers.

Comment from Tom Mandel
Time June 12, 2008 at 6:31 AM

I think Gilbert was due to make 12.8m. Yes, we can offer him more and longer (at least longer). If both he and Atawn come back, their combined salaries will probably be about the same as this year.

Wizards salaries here. Note that there are no salaries listed for the coming year for dmac or blatche (or mason obviously, as he is unrestricted; ditto Antawn).

Luxury tax ceiling we won’t know until later this summer. Figure somewhere around 70m.

Comment from dmac
Time June 12, 2008 at 11:24 AM

It seems that the ball is really in the Wizards court in regards to keeping Antawn and Gil.
Gil is suppose to be traveling in Europe for the first two weeks of July. Which means he is giving the Wiz plenty of time to negotiate with AJ. With Gil representing himself the Wiz have to make sure they approach this situation correctly. I remember how it was when they offered Larry Hughes too low of a opening bid.
I think it is in the best interest of the Wiz to take care of AJ. He had his best season as a pro. He basically carried the team when Caron was out hurt, his character and locker room presence is awesome. He was an all star again this year. The thing is does AJ deserve what he made this year (16 mil) or close to it for 3 years. Even his defense was better.

Tom could we resign AJ say for 3 years and 45 million and still sign Gil to a max deal?

If we do that then I really think we should dangle the 18th pick and AB and bring in a seasoned vet that can really help us down low.

Comment from TED_ROSEVELT
Time June 24, 2008 at 12:11 PM

TAKE YOUR TIME IN THE DRAFT AND HAVE A GOOD ONE KNOWING WE NEED A BIG MAN OR A BIG GUARD THAT CAN HANDLE THE BALL PLAY D” AND PASS (REMEMBER THIS PEOPLE DO MAKE MISTAKES) …….