Comment from GlingGling
Time July 1, 2009 at 10:59 AM

Gabbo, Caron is always the beacon of superlative hope for the Wizards.

Tom, I’m not concerned about Gilbert from a “coming back strong” standpoint. Every time he has “come back” he has done well. He also seems to be doing everything right including spending the summer in Chicago with Tim Grover. I think the only question with Gil is will the knees hold, which only the future will reveal.

Comment from jmpalomo
Time July 1, 2009 at 11:10 AM

Would Ernie have made the Randy Foye trade if he knew Gilbert would be 100%?
I don’t think so.
If Gilbert gets hurt again, the Wiz will have a scoring point guard to put in.

I want a pretty good Power Forward up front.

Comment from Wizfan4life
Time July 1, 2009 at 11:20 AM

What I would really like to know is, when we traded Daniels to get Mike James, why did Ernie see it necessary to trade a draft pick to get Crittendon as well? I mean, Crittendon is a project, and the Wizards already have enough projects theyre working on right now such as McGee, McGuire, Blatche, etc

Comment from Wizfan4life
Time July 1, 2009 at 11:22 AM

plus if you really think about it, Crittendon didn’t do much for us anyway……we still ended up with 19 wins……..not trading the draft pick for Crittendon would have still landed us with 19 wins, we would just be about $2 million more flexible with our roster

Comment from GlingGling
Time July 1, 2009 at 11:23 AM

jmpalomo, Foye is a backup. Every team has a backup point guard. Any GM would be an idiot not to have a semi-reliable backup at every position. There is nothing more to read into it then that. Remember Ernie is the guy who signed Gilbert to a $111 mil contract with the knowledge that he probably wouldn’t play most of last season (nobody try to tell me he didn’t know).

What point is there in doubting Gilbert? He is pretty much here to stay. Might as well be optimistic about it.

Comment from GlingGling
Time July 1, 2009 at 11:25 AM

wf4l, I can see the upside to Critt. Ernie must have been pretty impressed with him. He seems like a great kid who enjoys being active in the community.

Comment from jmpalomo
Time July 1, 2009 at 11:48 AM

Randy Foye is no backup. Show me another 16 point a game backup. (who is only 25 years old)
Your just fooling yourself if you think we traded the #5 pick for a 9 point a game, 9 year veteran Mike Miller “who is a free agent after this year.” If that’s the case then EG should be fired.

That’s right. I challenge everyone to look at Mike Millers stats for the last 3 years. He has gone down every year. From 18 points a game to 13 to 9 points a game as a STARTER. I know he was Rookie of the year “9 YEARS AGO.”
Averaging 9 points a game is horrible for a Starting Big Guard or Small Forward in the NBA.

Because he is a free agent after this year, the Wiz can use his $9 million dollar slot on a very, very good player next year.

Comment from SportzWiz
Time July 1, 2009 at 12:06 PM

Calling Tom Mandel….

I love the off-season. Great debating.

Comment from GrifonRacing
Time July 1, 2009 at 12:22 PM

Hey if finally let me log on. Now if this post goes through I’ll be elated.

Comparing Miller to Foye is apples and oranges. Miller is a 2/3 and Foye is a 1/2. Still even though Foye has been around a lot less time than Miller their career stats are fairly similar. Career stats…. Miller fg%=.462 Foye fg%=.420, 3p% Miller=.401 Foye=.374, Rpg Miller=5.0 Foye=2.9, Apg Miller=3.2 Foye=3.7, Ppg Miller=13.9 Foye=13.0.

Comment from GrifonRacing
Time July 1, 2009 at 12:27 PM

Thanks SportzWiz. What ever you guys did seems to have worked for me. Thanks for the suggestion Tom. Reloading it didn’t work for me though. For the last 2 days it wouldn’t even let me log onto the blog. I hope the worst is past lol

Comment from GrifonRacing
Time July 1, 2009 at 12:30 PM

Hey Tom lol.. Stats from me

Comment from Wizfan4life
Time July 1, 2009 at 1:05 PM

Jmpalomo- When looking at Mike Miller’s stats, you must also take into account several things:

1. his scoring average has declined after the 06-07 season because his minutes have declined from 39 down to 35 last season and 32 this season

2. his field goal percentage has more or less increased

3. with less minutes the past 2 seasons, he has averaged more rebounds and assists than he did when he was averaging 39 minutes a game

4. you have to take into account the major roster changes that occured while he was with the Grizzlies, and when he was traded to the T-Wolves

This guy is no Lebron James, but I would say he is a pretty efficient SG/SF that will more than likely help our team out offensively, but more importantly defensively……Mike Miller is the kind of player we thought Stevenson was going to be….only difference is Mike Miller is better than what we hoped for in Stevenson

Comment from Wizfan4life
Time July 1, 2009 at 1:06 PM

If Brendan Haywood performs well this upcoming season, expect him to demand about the same as he makes now, or possibly more

Comment from jsuh0
Time July 1, 2009 at 1:09 PM

^well said Wizfan4life

Comment from Wizfan4life
Time July 1, 2009 at 1:19 PM

ESPN.com just updated the trade machine page, and after plugging in the trade for Mike Miller and Randy Foye, we saved about $701,785…….if we had traded the 5th pick, Songaila, Stevenson, and Pecherov….we would have lost about $2,546,343…….but with James and Etan Thomas left on the roster, with their combined salaries we would have had $13,108,293 to still trade with…..as opposed to now where we have $9,860,165 to trade (this is of course assuming we trade James and Stevenson)………so financially I think we got ripped off by the trade, but at least we got 2 solid players out of the deal

Comment from dmac
Time July 1, 2009 at 1:21 PM

If EG is really trying to save dollars. Then why not sign Chris Wilcox.

Comment from Wizfan4life
Time July 1, 2009 at 1:23 PM

Wow and I just looked on ESPN.com and Chad Ford said that the NBA predicted the upcoming season’s salary cap was projected to be about $62 million if the economy hadn’t tanked…..now the league estimates it will be about $58.6 ………it’s kind of funny how just a few million dollars in a multi-billion dollar industry can screw teams over

Comment from SportzWiz
Time July 1, 2009 at 1:38 PM

Hey guys,

Just a few quick updates regarding players.

Was down on the practice court and saw Randy Foye doing some individual drills with a few of the coaches. By the time i got down there he was finishing up but he shot the ball very very well. Coach Sam Cassell was also going through a lot of minor pointers with him and little adjustments that he can work on.

After he finished up JaVale got in the gym and seeing him up close he definitely looks like he’s been in the weight room as his upper body looks much more filled out than last year.

Comment from Tom Mandel
Time July 1, 2009 at 1:45 PM

Salary cap is a non-issue — there are a zillion exceptions — it’s the “hard cap” or Luxury tax ceiling that’s a problem.

jmpalomo — I’m not going to go over the stats in detail again; I already gave you a too-long seminar on how to look at stats in a previous post.

Still, you are certainly right that Miller is in the last year of his contract, and that he is probably in the last 1/3 of his career — this’ll be his tenth year. He might slide — everyone does eventually.

But, he didn’t last year; he just took fewer shots. In fact, he had an adjusted .560 FG% (Randy Foye was @ .460 — back when I learned math, that wasn’t nearly as good).

As to Randy, I hope he improves. He has been a bust. That’s why Minnesota traded him, even though they’re rebuilding around youth. Now it’s true that he suffers from the fact that he was acquired by switching picks for Brandon Roy — a tremendous player. But, for a guy taken 7th in the draft, Randy hasn’t done anything.

Still, he’s young, and he might get better — I’m going to root for him.

Comment from GlingGling
Time July 1, 2009 at 2:12 PM

jmpalomo, long story short JR smith is a significantly better shooter in significantly less minutes than Randy Foye. He was simply inefficient last year. With the squad we have he can be nothing more than a back up unless he really improves over the course of the season. I’m expecting him to be fighting for minutes. But like Tom said I hope he does improve and he is a Wizard so he gets my support.

Comment from GlingGling
Time July 1, 2009 at 2:18 PM

WF4L, don’t trades have to be monetarily equivalent within 15%? I’ve heard that. From what I gather trades aren’t about saving money but simply moving pieces around. The only way to get ripped off in a trade is if the players aren’t worth their salaries. If anything we got the better end of the deal because Etan has not been worth his salary and neither has Pech. Darius was probably worth his salary.

Memphis is the team that got ripped off on their trade. Straight up.

Comment from GlingGling
Time July 1, 2009 at 2:59 PM

SportzWiz, keep the detail on JaVale coming if you can get it. Him filling out is very good news, he is athletic enough to afford to keep adding bulk which he is going to need. Thanks for keeping us update.

Comment from millie mill
Time July 1, 2009 at 3:04 PM

Sportwiz,

Thanks for the update on Foye and JaVale. I like Foye working with Sam I Am. Is McGee working with a big man coach or just hitting the weights for now?

Comment from millie mill
Time July 1, 2009 at 3:07 PM

Is Tony Massenburg still working with the Wizards?

Comment from SportzWiz
Time July 1, 2009 at 3:16 PM

McGee was working on the offensive sets and doing some conditioning with a few of the coaches which include Cassell and Unseld Jr.

Comment from SportzWiz
Time July 1, 2009 at 3:17 PM

not sure about massenburg.

Comment from millie mill
Time July 1, 2009 at 3:30 PM

I’m glad McGee is working with the coaches. It would be nice if he works out with a big man though.

Comment from Tom Mandel
Time July 1, 2009 at 3:45 PM

Yes, great to get the updates, and agreed that Randy Foye is our guy and we’re for him.

Comment from Rick
Time July 1, 2009 at 5:05 PM

are there any young, undrafted, muscle-bound big men that want to play for us in the summer league?

Comment from Babakism
Time July 1, 2009 at 5:49 PM

I beleive the crit trade was because memphis owed us a draft pick depending on what uan carlos navaro did. Navaro bolted back to Spain so I think the draft pick was going to be lesser so grunfeld just decided he liked the kid and he was cheap and wanted to take a chance.

Javale Mcgee makes me think of young Robert Horry who dunked all over Patrick Ewing and the Knicks in the NBA Finals back in like 95. The difference is that Javale is longer and might even be faster and quicker. I am very adiment that he has the ability with an improved 15-18 foot shot which he has the touch to do and improved ball handling that he can play all 3 front line positions in this league. I was at a game last year when he blocked a shot on D under his own basket and then proceeded to beat every player down court running behind the D for a half court oop. INCREDIBLE POTENTIAL

Comment from GlingGling
Time July 1, 2009 at 8:06 PM

Wow at Pistons on a spending spree. Good pickups.

Comment from Tom Mandel
Time July 1, 2009 at 8:48 PM

As I’ve been saying for months, the reason Dumars traded Chauncey for AI had *nothing* to do with wanting Iverson. It had *everything* to do with acquiring his enormous expiring contract, so that he could dump him at season’s end and rebuild this summer.

As I’ve also been saying, because of this you can expect to see Detroit right back in the thick of things next year.

That said, I’m not as big a fan of Ben Gordon as some people are, and Charlie Villanueva ain’t no Rasheed Wallace. Still, they should be pretty good.

Comment from Tom Mandel
Time July 1, 2009 at 8:52 PM

Rudy Fernandez is very unhappy w/ Portland’s aggressive attempt to land Turkoglu (Fernandez wants to initiate the offense, which is what Turk usually does). I think Fernandez is a really excellent player and would love to see him in a Wizards uniform if things go south out there in Oregon. He’s still cheap too.

Comment from neal
Time July 1, 2009 at 9:21 PM

Babakism, the pick Memphis owed us depended on how Memphis did, not on how Navarro did. The trade didn’t have anything to do with Navarro, although we originally got the pick for Navarro. That pick was very restricted for us and was worth more to Memphis to get it back unrestricted than it was to us restricted. That was the biggest reason why we could do the deal, IMO – Memphis wanted its pick back more than we wanted to keep it.

None of believe the Wiz will go into training camp with 7 guards on a roster of 13.

Ernie, the phone is ringing again!

Comment from getabigboyoffense
Time July 1, 2009 at 9:28 PM

SportzWiz – Who is our “big men” coach?…Please don’t say Jr.

Comment from kg
Time July 1, 2009 at 9:43 PM

i heard tyrese rice out of Boston College is on our summer league roster. Can anyone confirm?

Comment from getabigboyoffense
Time July 1, 2009 at 9:47 PM

neal, my friend, that was most insightful about Memphis, Navarro, and the pick. Thanks.

Tom M. – I can’t believe that you are advocating that we pick up Rudy Fernandez… yet another 6’6″ 185 lb guard. He’d be fighting just to get into our rotation. I think that you are a little off on spoting talented players that fit in with the Wiz, BUT, you are our resident expert on salary cap and all things GM-like that pertain to numbers and I appreciate the information that you provide in that regard.

Comment from getabigboyoffense
Time July 1, 2009 at 10:00 PM

I saw that EJ had a party last week to say goodbye to friends as he starts his tenure as head coach of the 76er’s. ..classy move. The article said that the only Wizard (player or management) in attendance was Eddie Tapscott. Since I don’t see the LOTTERY COACH mentioned anywhere in the Wizards org chart, could it be (please YES) that he is going to be the director of player development (or anything else) in Philly with EG…two birds with one stone.

Comment from SportzWiz
Time July 1, 2009 at 10:01 PM

summer league roster is posted in the next topic. Tapscott is working in the wizards front office.

Comment from getabigboyoffense
Time July 1, 2009 at 10:18 PM

Thanks SportzWiz.

Comment from Tom Mandel
Time July 1, 2009 at 10:26 PM

Getabig — no no, I wasn’t advocating anything!! But, if a guy is unhappy where he is, and is a *very* productive player (wch Fernandez definitely is), then you never know what trades might be possible. Obviously, we already have too many guards, though; we wouldn’t *add* one.

As far as spotting talented players, I actually think I’m pretty good. I’d be happy to point out the long list of guys who are developing into the top tier in the NBA, whom I “called” — when others on this blog were scoffing at them (Kevin Love, for one).

I like the things you write too, Getabig — even when I don’t agree with them. As far as the judging talent… well, you think we have the most talented roster in the NBA!! I don’t think you’ll find a lot of people to agree with that one!

(But, we do need someone advocating that position!!)