Comment from rgz
Time July 21, 2008 at 10:32 AM

Question for the folks who were able to watch last night: what went wrong in the fourth quarter? I’m really curious, that 30-6 score could indicate some real problems.

Comment from ewoldtk
Time July 21, 2008 at 10:54 AM

Since when have the Wiz ever been able to play defense? Ha.

My big issue is that over the last 3 years the East has brought in some big name players (KG, Ray Allen, E. Brand, Rashard Lewis) yet the Wiz stay the same. Blatche, Etan, and Brenda are not the answer and it’s too much to ask for our big three to carry the load with no inside presence (on either side of the court).

Comment from Tom Mandel
Time July 21, 2008 at 11:40 AM

You know, I think this “Brenda” stuff is kind of offensive. That’s just my take. I thought it was behind us, too, given that Haywood is actually one of the better centers in the league and had quite a good season last year.

I’m also pretty clear that Grunfield has indeed changed the team; we haven’t stayed the same. But, maybe the gentleman above has forgotten that Caron didn’t get here all that long ago (i.e. in the “3 year” time frame he mentions).

That said, it is true that Kevin Garnett would help us, and it is quite astute of you to mention that. Any thoughts on whom we might acquire, how we might do that, and so forth?

Comment from Tom Mandel
Time July 21, 2008 at 11:54 AM

Ok, some thoughts on Summer League. I watched the first 4 games pretty closely, but I saw only the first quarter of game 5.

First thing — Dominic looks like an NBA player this year; we’ll see when the games are real, but his play is clearly at a new level. Nick, on the other hand… he doesn’t appear to have learned anything, and his play did not change over the 5 games.

I really like Javale McGee. Who knows when he’ll be ready to play NBA-level ball (this year, I hope), but there is no question he is a talent. On the other hand, had Speights been available I would have picked him over Javale (and I’m pretty sure Ernie would have too, given that he was trying to move up). Speights has every chance to be an all star in the league.

JJ Hickson, picked right after McGee, also looked very good; he’ll be a solid player, I think — but I *wouldn’t* have picked him over Javale. (Now, would i have managed this deep draft the way Ernie did? No. Does anyone *care* how I would have managed it? No. So lets just say we had a good draft and leave it at that.)

Comment from SportzWiz
Time July 21, 2008 at 1:05 PM

The Tom Mandel draft .

Wizards trade #18 to Minnesota for #31 and #34

Wizards take mario Chalmers and Joey Dorsey.

With the 47th pick the Wizards take either Richard Hendrix or Pat Calathes.

How did i do?

As for the other statements. I can tell you Dominic has been working on that mid range jumper since last year…CONSTANTLY. Everyday after practice and before every game practicing that shot. It’s definitely showing.

I know the views were mixed on McGee when the pick was made. And I think you see from the week why the team is very excited that they got him. At the same time he’s not a finished product and has some ways to go, but the guy definitely has the tools necessary to make a big splash one day in the league.

Comment from neal
Time July 21, 2008 at 2:44 PM

People talk about “basketball IQ”. I think I’m seeing more clearly what that means. Being in the right place at the right time. Not hurting your team with stoopid fouls or other bonehead plays. Making good decisions on the court. At the top of our list must be Daniels, and Jamison has to be up there too. At the bottom is Young, and Blatche still has some learning to do. I guess experience is very important in this regard. But maybe Nick will never make the adjustment. Seems to me he has to become a solid NBA player first – then he can add his ability to create shots after that. I wish he would just concentrate on learning how to play on both ends for now and not feel pressure to score.

Comment from Tom Mandel
Time July 21, 2008 at 3:14 PM

On basketball IQ — sometimes guys with terrific gifts don’t *have to* work on that early in their playing career; they are just better than everyone, so they can do what they want on the court. Seems like that’s where Nick is. He doesn’t have much understanding of the game right now. Maybe he will improve. I’m *very* critical of him, but that doesn’t mean I don’t want to give him the time. He’s going into his 2d year; he gets 3 years to become good.

Blatche is way ahead of Nick in understanding of the game, but no he is not Antonio Daniels! Still, I thought he showed floor leadership, determination, and a lot of crafty stuff with the ball — all of which showed me that he is in a stage of rapid development. We all know what the problems are with him. Get over the childish lifestyle issues, and maximize conditioning as much as you can.

Dominic *does* have “basketball IQ” — you could see it last year; by the last third of the season he seemed to have a very clear understanding of how the offense worked and where he was supposed to be. This summer, his game shows — as SportsWiz points out — how much he has worked on his weaknesses and capitalized on his strengths. He had a *terrific* summer league.

Comment from Tom Mandel
Time July 21, 2008 at 3:35 PM

SportsWiz — I never had a problem w/ the McGee pick. That is, if the way you manage a draft is that you wait until your pick comes and you grab the guy you think is best, then I never had a problem w/ McGee being picked. I would have preferred Speights, but he wasn’t there for us to pick!!

My “problem” — it would be better just to say that I had questions, however — were with the philosophy of the draft. The guys who have been extremely successful in the current era have figured out how to accumulate picks and a) spread their risk and b) package them to move where they wanted to be. The two premier examples of young GMs who do that are Kevin Pritchard of Portland and Daryl Morey of Houston.

The perfect example of what I *don’t* like to see us do is what we did w/ our 2d rounder this year. We sold #47 for cash. Run the business to make money, don’t sell player rights to make money. Another team, I forget which, traded #55 for what’s going to be a pretty high 2d round choice next year. *That* makes sense.

Note that Ernie was trying to trade up (maybe to get Speights?), but he had almost nothing to work with. All he had was the essentially worthless Memphis round 2 pick in 2013. If I’m a GM, that has *no* value for me — I’m probably not around in 5 years!

Houston turned the 25th pick into the 28th pick, the 33d pick, and (something around) the 35th pick next year. It was rumored that we could have had that 25th pick for ours and gotten Luther Head in the bargain. LH is a clone of Roger w/ 1 year left on his contract at $1.9m. Perfect.

Let me remind you, I love Javale — so why would I rather have made that set of trades? Statistics say that an 18th pick has @ 40% chance of being a solid rotation player in the league (or better). But, the sum of the statistical chances of being solid for a #28, a #33 and a #36 is *much* higher than that — not to mention that Luther Head is close to that already. The *value* is high in that kind of deal.

I still love Javale! He is a great kid, and I want him to be a great NBA player, a great Washington Wizard.

Comment from Tom Mandel
Time July 21, 2008 at 3:37 PM

I should say, btw, that I would make a terrible GM!!

Comment from SportzWiz
Time July 21, 2008 at 4:13 PM

I was just kidding with you tom . I just know you liked those guys when we kept talking about players using your Wins to Wages stats.

Comment from neal
Time July 21, 2008 at 5:12 PM

I agree Tom. Maximize the possibilities. The odds are no one after the first 10 is going to be good. So get as many bites at the apple as possible. And if you can trade this year’s pick for a higher one next year (or multiple ones), go for it. They’re all long shots anyway.

Comment from jeffmalone1990
Time July 21, 2008 at 5:46 PM

Well I loved McGee, Blatche and Dom’s game, it really seemed to me that Blatche has raised his level to another notch. And Dom if he can get that mid range shot consitent he will be a 2nd unit differance maker this year. McGee I know he is raw, but his basketball instincts always finds him by the ball, and he is very decisive with the rock. Although did not like him playing point forward from the top pf the key,lol.. He did look nice with his back to the basket and his D. Which brings me to Nick Young, he has the most talent on the Summer League roster, but he scares me because he only is locked in when his shot is going. His D is better and he passes more and does not force shots, when he is off, his ENTIRE game seems to be that way as well. Nick to me is the X Factor, if we can make a consistent jumo of the bench this year I really think we can do some Post season damage. Blatche, my thoughts are he will have a career year this year. Finally I still would love to dee who will be the 3rd PG off the bench.

Comment from gee wiz
Time July 21, 2008 at 6:18 PM

the brenda stuff is a little offensive. last summer he may have deserved the criticism but this year he has proven to be more valuable. lets face it there is a few good true centers in the nba, shaq, mourning (retired maybe), mutumbo (retired maybe), yao, oden, maybe even brad miller maybe even dampier. with that being said yao, bynum, camby,dalembert, miller and oden are the only true centers left in the nba with haywood included. so he is very valuable to us. not i did not mention dwight, stoudamire, and duncan cause truthfully their power fowards and u can add jermaine, rasheed, okefor, beidrins and bosh to that to. so out 29 teams i believe…… only 6 or 7 teams truely have a center. the game has speeded up now so dwight and crew can get away with playing center. but when the game is forced to slow down against teams like san antonio and detroit teams like phoenix struggle but now they have a center, and when phoenix plays teams like golden state they struggle cause shaq can’t really be effective offensively

Comment from gee wiz
Time July 21, 2008 at 6:23 PM

summer league went well as far as the purpose for summer league which is looking at the younger talent and finding that 13th-15th spot. dee brown did okay i dont think his game has really changed or improved since utah. javale has talent hands down. blatche always seems to come strong in summer league…. no surprise but hopefully he can keep that up during the season. young struggled. dominic did his thing. i really like that kid. the nba has been quiet lately as far as moving pieces around. washington doesnt seem like they are planning to switch cards so…… we will see what happens. but im glad boston losts posey whether we got him or not. that definitely makes them a little weaker.

Comment from wizfan and the kid
Time July 21, 2008 at 6:54 PM

Hey everyone!
Been gone on business and leave for a bit, so reading to catch up. Thanks to SportsWiz for posting the games. Would never have thought to look. We will watch and catch up on that.
Just want to say, clearly, that calling Brendan names is pretty sad and shows how little that person knows about the team. Brendan played very, very well last year. He thrived on people cheering him on, too. It is the best thing we can do.
The kid and I advocate doing the same for Etan, this year…
As many of us have said, this team has more than enough scorers. If we can continue to play defense better and have our bench improve, we can go far. Thus, cheer on those guys and cheer loudly. It works.
BTW, spent some time in Arizona and it seems like McGee got some decent press in the local press.

Comment from neal
Time July 21, 2008 at 8:06 PM

I think when Brendan was playing soft he was tired. Better conditioning made a big difference. And I’m sure the coaches will continue to limit his minutes. I don’t think we’ll see Blatche or Songaila spelling Haywood as long as Thomas is healthy. Therefore, there should be little dropoff at that position when he goes out.

I also think Blatche’s play will be better because of his conditioning. My impression is that last year he tended to play better in the early part of games. He certainly looked more energetic in summer league play. I understand he’s been at the Verizon Center every day this summer working out. Someone said some of his fouls were from reaching when he was too tired to play good defense. Quite possible.

Comment from Tom Mandel
Time July 21, 2008 at 8:28 PM

Even in this summer league, Blatche’s first half performances tended to be better than 2d half. So I think there are still conditioning issues. Let it be said, that sometimes a kid with a big body like that just doesn’t have the lung capacity to be a 35 minute per game player.

I’m glad to see people defending Brendan Haywood.

Coming out of Summer League, I’m not completely convinced by Dee Brown; I was delighted when we signed him, and I may be falling prey to the problem I pointed out earlier of looking for too much from a guy whio will only play spot minutes.

I still think we need a veteran 3. Matt Barnes just signed w/ the Suns for the Veterans minimum salary — why we didn’t sign him for that I don’t know. Ernie probably has his eye on someone. Oh, let it be Josh Childress!!

Comment from neal
Time July 21, 2008 at 9:01 PM

I’m more interested in a veteran 2. Isn’t Childress a 2?

Comment from GrifonRacing
Time July 21, 2008 at 9:50 PM

I’m ok with us selling our second round draft pick. They were probably making sure they would be able to fill the team bus up with diesel fuel all season?

I like the idea of Josh Childress and Caron at the 3 (he is pretty much a 6′ 8″ sf Neal). After how Dominic played I’m swaying a little more to Neal’s thinking. At guard we have Gil, AD, Dee, Deshawn (or was that Dwight – just kidding bud), and Nick. That gives us two true point guards, two true 2 guards, and Nick. Gil and Deshawn can both run the point, but, Dee and Ad can’t really play the 2. Given Nick’s play in summer league I’d like to have a little insurance at the 2.

Comment from GrifonRacing
Time July 21, 2008 at 9:58 PM

I love McGee’s game, but, someone has to tell him the idea is to take a “good” shot not just any shot. I think sometimes he shoots without knowing where the basket even is. He needs to SLOW DOWN a little. His atheletism is flat out off the charts. On a couple of plays last night his shoulder was even with the rim. That guy has some serious hops. He is quick, agile, seems to know where to be and what to do, and defends pretty well. I think we are going to see more of him before the this season is over.

Comment from GrifonRacing
Time July 21, 2008 at 9:59 PM

Speaking of big guys. SportzWiz… any news on Pesh’s ankle? Is it the same one that bothered him last year?

Comment from GrifonRacing
Time July 21, 2008 at 10:12 PM

On the Pesherov note. Everyone is selling him very short. We haven’t really seen his “game” yet. Since he broke his ankle in training camp last year he hasn’t been the Pesh I expected to see. It isn’t very encouraging knowing he has ankle issues again/still.

Comment from Tom Mandel
Time July 22, 2008 at 8:21 AM

Re: Josh Childress — read this. With the dollar the way it is now (thanks George!), you will see more top players head off to Europe.

Comment from SportzWiz
Time July 22, 2008 at 9:10 AM

I have heard nothing regarding pech’s injury. As i stated when it happened i would have been more surprised to see him play than not play. They aren’t goign to risk it getting worse. He’ll now have some time to recupperate and get back to 100%. The biggest thing now will be the mental game of trusting the ankle again.

Comment from neal
Time July 22, 2008 at 9:36 AM

Hard to see how we’re going to see much of Pecherov. He couldn’t get minutes from Songaila at PF or Blatche at C last year. Now Thomas is back at C (not to mention McGee) and McGuire looks like the primary back-up at SF. So he’s going to have to out-play both Songaila and Blatche at PF, both of whom should have better years than last.

Comment from SportzWiz
Time July 22, 2008 at 9:53 AM

The good part about everything you just said neal is the Wizards have big man depth. And the luxury to let younger guys develop if need be.

Comment from Tom Mandel
Time July 22, 2008 at 10:11 AM

Plus, he was injured last year, hence we don’t know whether he might have earned minutes. Until he’s healthy, he can’t compete (and for that matter he doesn’t contribute to our depth either until he’s healthy)

Comment from jeffmalone1990
Time July 22, 2008 at 11:26 AM

Ok Guys

Who will be the third guard on the roster when the season opens

Dee Brown or Jonathan Wallace?

Comment from jeffmalone1990
Time July 22, 2008 at 11:31 AM

And I know that we go back and forth do we need a 2 or a 3, but I am sure a former Wizard would love a call Juan Dixon. I know he may be undersized however I saw him truly grow his game in Toronta when he was forced to run the point and in limited time with Detroit. He would really add something to the second unit, and for his size apply some needed ball pressure. Thoughts?

Comment from Da_Big_Taba
Time July 22, 2008 at 12:01 PM

Mcgee will really have a big impact on defense when he comes off the bench. his long lengthy arms will bother ppls shot

Comment from Tom Mandel
Time July 22, 2008 at 12:02 PM

Juan is *not* a point guard by any stretch of the imagination. I don’t know that Wallace is even in the running. The fact that he played in LV is not in itself an indication.

Jamont Gordon has looked good on the Philly SL team, and he is playing for someone else (I think) in the Rocky Mountain Revue league. He brings size and strength, and he played good defense in Vegas.

As I’ve said above, I was glad when we signed Dee Brown; he is a good kid. But, he didn’t convince me in Vegas.

Comment from Tom Mandel
Time July 22, 2008 at 12:02 PM

Anyone else think Javale will see any playing time this year?

Comment from SportzWiz
Time July 22, 2008 at 1:49 PM

I think he will see spot minutes, but it depends on how quickly he picks up the defensive principles. While he obviuosly needs to learn the offense, the staff will give him more time if he can be a presence on defense.

Gil presser just finished we will have video later this afternoon.

Comment from neal
Time July 22, 2008 at 1:55 PM

I can’t see us picking up another young player. And the only obvious trade is Pecherov or Songaila for a veteran 2 as insurance in case Young isn’t ready. I really hope Young doesn’t turn out to be another Jarvis Hayes. I just don’t want him to lose his confidence while he’s learning the NBA game.

Comment from Gtown87
Time July 22, 2008 at 2:59 PM

I have a crazy idea. If we want depth at the 2….how bout taking a chance….DAJUAN WAGNER. Great player. he averaged almost 15 his rookie year in Cleveland. Been outta the league for a few years with SERIOUS health problems but I understand he played overseas last year and has been working out and looks GREAT again. He was supposed to be the next AI, and he’s only 25 yrs old. He’ll sign for the minimum because I’m sure he just wants to get back in the league. Why not take a chance for once? We can get a former lottery pick talent for VERY CHEAP. And if he doesn’t pan out its no big deal.

Comment from dopeboyfresh
Time July 22, 2008 at 3:14 PM

um…… i know that this is completely irrelevant, but i just wanted to know what my fellow wiz fans thought of my logo for the OKC team……………

link:file:///C:/Documents%20and%20Settings/Owner/Desktop/scan.jpg

Comment from dopeboyfresh
Time July 22, 2008 at 3:15 PM

file:///C:/Documents%20and%20Settings/Owner/Desktop/scan.jpg

Comment from dopeboyfresh
Time July 22, 2008 at 3:17 PM

sorry, that’s the wrong link…………

file:///C:/Documents%20and%20Settings/Owner/My%20Documents/My%20Pictures/scan001001.jpg

Comment from gee wiz
Time July 22, 2008 at 3:33 PM

im a little worried about the euro-league taking our players. childress if signed, would be the 3rd or 4th one this summer.

Comment from neal
Time July 22, 2008 at 3:37 PM

Sounds good, Gtown87. Give Ernie a call.

Comment from Tom Mandel
Time July 22, 2008 at 4:30 PM

dopeboyfresh — all these links are to files on *your computer.* Put the logo up on a photo sharing site, if you want folks to comment. http://www.flickr.com is the best, and it’s free.

Comment from Tom Mandel
Time July 22, 2008 at 4:44 PM

Golden State just acquired the Nets Point Guard, Marcus Williams, for a future 1st round choice. Williams was one of the guys we passed on in order to take Pecherov. He is a good player, and GS did well. On the other hand, he didn’t fit in to the Nets plans (they have Devin Harris as their starter and just acquired Keyon Dooling as a backup combo guard), so the trade is probably ok for them too.

I’m *not* worried about the Nets this year; they are unlikely to improve much if at all, even though they have made wholesale changes (8 new players including the draft!). They are heading directly sideways. I do think Philly’s acquisition of Brand makes them a lock for the top 4 and round 1 home court advantage in the playoffs (barring injury of course).

Comment from Gtown87
Time July 22, 2008 at 4:54 PM

Anybody got Ernie’s number? SportsWiz? Tell him grab Dajuan Wagner ASAP!!!

Comment from ChenierFan
Time July 22, 2008 at 7:37 PM

Some quick notes on the summer league play:

Blatche: He does look like he is starting to take a professional attitude about his game. He was playing much more physical – moving guys around when he boxed out. What I like the best was that he wanted to be the “go to” guy down the stretch of games

McGuire: Looks like his shooting has improved. That should get him more playing time.

Young: Can’t read too much into these games. He’ll play well starting in training camp. He was just out of sync with this group of players.

Dee Brown: Like Tom Mandel, I am not sold on this guy. I thought he got beat off the dribble quite often, had too many turnovers and didn’t run the offense that well at all. But if Ernie wants a guy who will be a practice player to mimic the short speedy guards, and who comes cheap, then he’ll do.

Vermenko: I would have liked to have seen him get more minutes. He does not look 6’10″, but he is a rock down low and has good skills. Maybe he will be back next year.

JaValle McGee: When he operated in the low post he did well, when he was in the high post he was lost. So the question is, why the heck was the coaching staff putting him at the high post? The guy’s a legit center! He had some impressive moments in summer league play.

Comment from Tom Mandel
Time July 22, 2008 at 7:57 PM

Vereemenko did not impress me. Yes, he is a professional basketball player. That’s it.

Comment from dopeboyfresh
Time July 22, 2008 at 8:37 PM

oh…….. uh thanks tom, i’m gonna fix that………..

Comment from dopeboyfresh
Time July 22, 2008 at 8:41 PM

NOW HERE’S THE LINK……..

http://www.flickr.com/photos/28867922@N06/2693647339/

Comment from Tom Mandel
Time July 22, 2008 at 9:09 PM

I thought they were going to be called the Thunder.

Comment from dopeboyfresh
Time July 22, 2008 at 10:29 PM

yeah, but i drew this before they named the team………

I think it sounds better than thunder though……………

Comment from GrifonRacing
Time July 22, 2008 at 11:00 PM

Jeff I was thinking that too. I’m not real against having Juan Dixon back. He did a fair job for us when he was here. He can shoot and he is a very scrappy defender. His only drawback is his size. He does kind of make up for that in heart. He played the 1 for us on occasion when he was here and did an adequate job. He fills a need?

Nobody has snagged Jamont Gordon yet???

Comment from Tom Mandel
Time July 23, 2008 at 7:25 AM

To my knowledge, Gordon does not have a contract. However, I think I was wrong about the Rocky Mountain Revue — he’s not playing for anyone there as far as I can tell. Philadelphia seems to have plenty of cap room and roster room to sign him, should they wish to.

Juan Dixon — “he can shoot”; no, not really. That is, he was a wonderful college player, but he is a career 41% as a pro, 34% from 3 point range. Yet, shooting is the thing he does best and most. He’s not what we need.

There does seem to be a *natural* desire to acquire someone who can score. Just as we somehow naturally think that the best players are those with the highest scoring average. That leads us to undervalue Daniels, for example, and to overvalue guys like AI and Gil, who are volume scorers (rather than super-efficient scorers).

Comment from Tom Mandel
Time July 23, 2008 at 7:59 AM

Chris Lofton, about whom we talked some before and after the draft, is off to play in Turkey.

Comment from GrifonRacing
Time July 23, 2008 at 8:17 AM

I wish Chris Lofton the very best! Anybody that goes through what that young man has deserves a tremendous break. I hope he has a long, healthy, productive career.

Juan is a sentimental choice I’ll admit. He does play pretty good defense though.

Comment from Tom Mandel
Time July 23, 2008 at 8:58 AM

Yes, good luck to Lofton! I hope we see him in the league one day.

Comment from jeffmalone1990
Time July 23, 2008 at 9:14 AM

Guys

I will admit I am a homer with this choice Juan Dixon, guilty as charged. I know what he lacks in size, but measure him also by his heart. And not to mention a veteran that will give the bench a solid spark. Noe I will admit when he first got into the league he was an undersized 2 and had problems running the poing. But guys I have watched him in Portland, Toronto and Detroit. He has developed into a nice combo guard, and his game has evolved. Yes he can shoot, but his handle has improved and his ball pressure. He would be a no brainer to round out the roster. I am sure Eddie and the team would welcome him back. I have heard in some of Gil’s comments in the past about Juan and what the team was missing when he left.

Comment from Tom Mandel
Time July 23, 2008 at 9:14 AM

Very nice story about Dee Brown. Really makes you want the guy to succeed with us.

Comment from Tom Mandel
Time July 23, 2008 at 9:20 AM

The Warriors have also signed Maurice Evans — one of the guys we were looking at here as a possible backup 3 for the Wizards.

Comment from RDOT51
Time July 23, 2008 at 10:31 AM

I think we have our backup 3 now that we saw Mcguire in Summer League. I was really excited last year when we drafted him but now I’m ecstatic that we got him. He has the drive he is becoming a professional he worked on his weakness “shooting” and he improved it dramatically. Don’t know what the year holds for him but if he continues improving he will be a vital part of the future of Zards.

Comment from RDOT51
Time July 23, 2008 at 10:49 AM

If people think Philly is going to automatically leapfrog us in the standings you got to be out of your mind… Yes philly might be a playoff team this coming year but I will not and I repeat will not say that they are a Top 4 Team in Eastern conference. They had a good run after the all star break and took the pistons to the brink of elimination in the playoffs but that will not happen this year. they have an inconsistent players ie (Dalembert, Miller, Iggy) they required a recently injured player in Elton Brand. Let me know if Elton Brand has won anything in the L since he has been there. He has been in the playoffs once and that was with the CLIPPERS. I heard this stuff last year when New York acquired Zach Randolph and look what that got them. As you can see I’m not sold on this team. It will be same teams on top of the division (Boston, Orlando, Detroit, Cleveland, Wizards, Atlanta, Philly) unless someone from one of the bottom teams goes crazy and decides to be more than a nba player then this will probably be the order it will be when the playoffs start. Philly a top team in the Eastern Conference thats a joke. Dont believe the hype…

Comment from Tom Mandel
Time July 23, 2008 at 10:55 AM

Childress signed w/ Olympiakos — for much more than $20m fully guaranteed over 3 years (and at much lower taxation rate than money earned here).

Comment from Tom Mandel
Time July 23, 2008 at 11:00 AM

RDOT51 — yeah, I remember people saying that there was no way Boston would dominate the East. Keep dreaming.

When a team that went 22-11 to close the season (after a big trade that changed their team) adds a big-time player like Elton Brand, they get better. Injuries can get in the way, of course. Otherwise, look for 50 wins from Philly.

I agree w/ you about Dom, however — he is much improved.

Comment from RDOT51
Time July 23, 2008 at 11:11 AM

Well yea Boston was exception they had 3 all stars that were stars on their own team before coming together. Kevin Garnett is on a different stratosphere than elton brand. 50 wins is a bit steep. Yes they went 22-11 down the stretch but overall they were 41-41 so they were 19-30 before the stretch… I don’t see any consistency in what they did last year and for that momentum to carry over to next year is unrealistic even with the acquisition of Elton Brand.

Comment from SportzWiz
Time July 23, 2008 at 11:29 AM

how about 20 million euros? He’ll be making some serious cash! Also I read somewhere the team is going to pay his taxes (or maybe that was another european player).

Comment from Tom Mandel
Time July 23, 2008 at 12:17 PM

No, that’s what I heard too — would they pay us to do this blog in Greece, do you think?

RDOT51 — Philly was *bad* until they traded AI. Then the team took a little while to get to know one another, and then they closed 22-11, and then they stretched Detroit. W/ *no* new pieces, they would expect to be better this year. Thadeus Young improved a lot over the season, and they picked up a young stud in this year’s draft.

As to acquiring Elton Brand — *everyone* wanted him (for good reason). Would you be so negative if he were in a Wizards uniform? I don’t think so. They are going to be a very, very good team.

On the other hand, here’s what I see in the rest of the East:

I think Toronto will not improve and will probably go backwards. I don’t see NJ as going anywhere. Atlanta’s moment in the sun is over; the loss of Childress will keep them out of the playoffs. The Bulls look like they are imploding over Deng and Gordon (and Rose will likely not be much of a factor as a rookie). Indiana will improve but not all that much. The Knicks have too far to go to get there in one season. Miami has no bigs. Detroit is looking to make roster changes, so we’ll see about them. Indiana will be somewhat better, and Orlando should continue to improve around their young superstar.

If we stay healthy, we should have a good season.

Comment from SportzWiz
Time July 23, 2008 at 1:21 PM

Tom if you can set it up i’ll go to greece .

Here’s the thing Philly added Elton Brand from a 40 win team
The Wizards are basically adding Gilbert Arenas from a 40 win team (ok 43).

The Sixers improved towards the end of the year, but the Wizards also played huge stretches without Caron (24 games missed) and AD.

Without AD (this also includes games he played less than 10 minutes in due to injury)
the Wizards went 3-12

I knwo everyteam has injuries but the Wizards had more than their fair share and that also doesn’t even include Etan.

Comment from Tom Mandel
Time July 23, 2008 at 2:58 PM

Well, of course in a sense wins and losses is a zero sum game, and how many the Sixers win affects how many we win — but really only in the games where we play them!

In other words, my saying that they’ll win 50 next year doesn’t mean that we won’t win 50 — if everyone stays healthy, and if management’s assessment of our roster is correct, we should do very well.

We already have one of the most productive starting 5s in the NBA; our problem last year was the play of our bench. There is no question that our bench ought to be much stronger — just from the presence of Etan and Antonio, let alone improvements in other bench rotation players (although we did lose one fairly productive bench player — Roger).

Clearly, we should have a much improved rotation at the 1 and the 5. We should be no worse — and hopefully somewhat better — in our bench minutes at the 4. Our problems will be at 2 and 3. I.e. if Nick plays all of Roger’s minutes from last year, and he is not *substantially improved* from his level of play his rookie year, we will give back whatever we gained at the 1 and the 5. Backup at the 3 remains a problem, and we have to hope that Dominic is much improved.

Comment from Tom Mandel
Time July 23, 2008 at 3:04 PM

All the folks who keep saying “trade Antonio Daniels” should look at that stat you provided, SportsWiz, of our record where he didn’t play. It’s *not* an accident.

It’d be interesting to know how many points we scored and gave up, how many rebounds we had, how many turnovers we had vs. steals, how many assists we had vs. fouls — in the games where AD didn’t play vs. those where he did play. Ditto for our FG % and how often we got to the line.

Comment from SportzWiz
Time July 23, 2008 at 3:13 PM

Sorry Tom, I’m not going to figure out all those stats . But there was a major difference when this team didnt have AD anybody that watched this team play those 10-15 games without him saw it.

It’s a big reason why Ernie went after a third point guard and signed Dee Brown

Comment from Tom Mandel
Time July 23, 2008 at 3:28 PM

What, you have something better to do?

Comment from SportzWiz
Time July 23, 2008 at 3:44 PM

you might be surprised but while its the off season we are still pretty busy.

Comment from neal
Time July 23, 2008 at 6:47 PM

No wimping out Sportzwhiz. 24/7 man!

I’m not worried about the 3. If McGuire regresses Blatche can play there. On the other hand, if Young doesn’t improve and we don’t add another 2 Arenas will be playing some 2. I don’t like what that means on the defensive end.

Comment from Tom Mandel
Time July 23, 2008 at 6:54 PM

Busy? That’s *our job* to keep you busy.

You do a great job, man.

Comment from Tom Mandel
Time July 23, 2008 at 6:57 PM

I *am* worried about a backup 3, neal — basically, because whoever backs up the wing will wind up playing 2 and 3, and I’m concerned about Nick’s game. Yes, I’m happy for the progress Dominic has made, but I’d like to see a solid veteran too.

I really would like to see Andray Blatche in *one* position, and learn to play it very well. I think that slot is power forward. (admittedly, the forward positions are getting closer and closer together)

Comment from dmac
Time July 24, 2008 at 6:39 AM

Whose left for us to pick from?
the guy’s we liked are all gone.
Childress, Barnes, Evans, Delfino, Posey

If NY ate part of Jeffries contract would you take him back?

Comment from S.E.
Time July 24, 2008 at 9:06 AM

I’m worried about our backup “2″ & “3″ as well. The Wiz will not win with young players playing a major role, they are not dependable. We have AD, Etan & Darius coming off the bench, but we don’t have that veteran wing player.

It will take a core of 9 good veterans to compete for Championship. The young players can be used in case of injury, fouls, matchups or to provide energy off bench. In two years they will be more important to the Wiz, as they replace the older players in the rotation. I do love the young nucleus and hope Eddie plays them together at times.

I love this team and the direction they are headed. Ernie has done a great job of assembling a team capable of competing now, as well as, preparing for the future. I have a lot of confidence in what he is doing and I’m positive if a veteran wing player with the ability to make a difference becomes available, Ernie will acquire him.

Only move that EG has made that puzzled me is the one for Dee Brown. I like his demeanor & competitiveness, but I believe there are more talented PG’s available. Aaron Miles for one.

The Wiz, as is, will be competitive in the East, at least one of the top 5 teams.

Comment from dmac
Time July 24, 2008 at 12:22 PM

Hoopsworld reports that maurice evans- Magic has changed his mind in accepting the 3.6 mil from the Warriors for 2 years. He wants more money. Maurice would be a good fit for us at the 2-3. He is a very good defensive player. I don’t know if we could afford him though.