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Man there was like 5000 people at the Hornets/Wiz game. I have never seen that many open seats on a NBA Telecast.
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You have to ask yourself why Denver was so eager to let Nene go not even three months after signing him to a five year deal. They've been watching the same game film we have. They know McGee wants $14 million per year for leading the league in bloopers. Do you really think they said to themselves, "this kid McGee's gonna be an All Star! I don't care WHO we have to give up!"? No, Denver just wanted to dump Nene's contract.Originally Posted by Method Man
i wouldn't actually say Nene is "injury prone", he's played 70+ games the last 3 seasons while putting up nice numbers. yes, he has missed a lot of games in his career.. but remember now, that was because of his battle with cancer, not injuries sustained through basketball. you're absolutely right that his age is a problem, the Wizards will simply not get their money's worth out of him for at least 2 years of that contract. but what can you do? there are franchises who are able to squeeze the most out of every deal, but right now the Wizards simply aren't capable of doing that.
as far as EG goes, this is noooooowhere near the Arenas contract, the 5th pick fiasco with Minnesota, the Vesely pick, etc etc. this is nowhere near his best work, i'd say he actually showed some level of competence in this deal.
interesting that you brought up the ping-pong balls, because i just checked the standings and we are, in all likelihood a lock, for a bottom 3 finish trade or no trade. so that is encouraging as well.
It's minutia, but I don't really consider Nick/Javale "late" 1st round picks. Both guys were a few picks off of being in the lottery. Blatche went in the late 2nd tho.Originally Posted by DCAllAmerican
I was talking to somebody about Nick and McGee and Blatche being expected to do so much while here. People have to remember that these dudes were all later first round draft picks. If anything they have honestly over-achieved from what should be expected from them. People were saying that McGee should be doing this and that but why do you feel that way? Because he can jump and run? They are all role players. Most people in this league are role players so we should think about what we are expecting from these young players and stop being so quick to label them as busts when they shouldn't have high labels in the first place.
Nick can score yes, but nothing else.
Blatche is a versatile player but is isn't going to be the Top 3 player on a REAL team.
McGee shouldn't be starting on any team at this point.
We should just chill out with the expectations for these dudes.
Nene is up and down with his play (see Game 1 of the playoffs last year) It even changes at times from quarter to quarter.Originally Posted by Chrispcb15
you could the hustle that comes with NENE and it was contiguous.
"It was fun," Wall said. "It takes a lot of pressure off the guards if you can give somebody the ball in the low post that can score and also pass. We had to get used to cutting because we know we might get the ball back. Before, we just cut nonchalantly because nine times out 10, you wasn’t getting the ball back."
[Steve Buckhantz] DAGGERRRRRRRRRRRRRR [/Steve Buckhantz]
I was talking to somebody about Nick and McGee and Blatche being expected to do so much while here. People have to remember that these dudes were all later first round draft picks. If anything they have honestly over-achieved from what should be expected from them. People were saying that McGee should be doing this and that but why do you feel that way? Because he can jump and run? They are all role players.
But they don't want to be paid like role players and they refuse to be played like role players.
In that case, you'd damned well better play like an All Star. These clowns don't deserve $8 million plus per season - let alone the $14 million JaVale's asking.
The problem is, they THINK they're stars. That's Washington's fault. You put bad players on the floor out of necessity. You put young players on the floor to get them experience. However, you HAVE to yank them when they play selfish basketball. Washington never did, which led to this me-first, individual stat line oriented culture that's produced all these horrific low-lights. Of those three players, TWO intentionally missed shots to chase a triple double - and you know Nick would do it if he ever came close to getting 10 of anything other than points.
but Meth, it wasn't all about the money for Denver. The Nuggets FO was able to make the trade because of the stellar play of Faried. if Faried doesn't come out and beast, Denver is likely still stuck with Nene's contract (and their random assortment of mediocre big men). cap space moves and financial decisions don't just occur in a vacuum, they are predicated on the product you are putting out on the court.
So what happens if Washington falls backwards into a great player in this year's draft - and that player just so happens to be a big? The Nuggets would've traded Nene to you next year for expiring contracts if they wanted him off the books that badly. I'm sure they gave Grunfeld some used car salesperson line about how "uh oh, somebody else wants him, too, Ernie... you'd better hurry," but get real. Another, better GM could come in for Ernie and make this move next season, if not for Nene than for someone comparable. McGee wouldn't be involved, but, let's face it, he wasn't the real draw here for Denver anyway. If he works out, they'll consider that a bonus - but they're playing him the way he should be played: as a 20 mpg energy guy, not a starter. I doubt they'll fork over $14 million per to have him play that role.
Only a true bottom-feeder will pay McGee $12-$14 million, and, if they do, you know they'll want him to start. I'm glad we won't be the ones to make that mistake, but I'm still not convinced that taking back Nene at this salary is the right move. Sports cars are a lot of fun for that first year, too, until you factor in the depreciation hit and the maintenance costs.
that ties back to what i was saying about the Wizards not being able to get the most out of a deal right now. for example, Grunfeld drafted Vesely AND Singleton over Faried. when you consistently fail that badly in talent acquisition, you end up with a situation where you have a mediocre roster and will have to overpay for talent no matter who you get. if we had drafted Faried would McGee be running his mouth asking for $14million? hell no.. at this point, who are the other big men out there we could realistically obtain within 2-3 years who wouldn't cripple our cap space?
I don't see why Grunfeld being a terrible GM is supposed to excuse Grunfeld from being a terrible GM. "He made terrible draft picks, so he had no choice but to handcuff the team to mediocrity via trade to clean up after himself." I don't know about that.
Meth, i would like to know your thoughts on how the Wizards should go about the rebuild. it seems you think we should continue the tank for now while clearing a ton of cap space, hoping for some high draft picks, and trying to attract top FAs in a few years? it seems to be the way to go these days.. but when you look at teams like the Knicks, it hasn't done much for them.
Personally, I think that if you look at the most successful teams in this league - especially those who haven't been in "destination cities" with a recruiting advantage - the common denominator during the salary cap era is that these teams were built by accumulating assets. That means they draft according to the best available TALENT - not by "need" - and they let players go rather than overpay them. They also have to figure out, realistically, what that team's window will be and plan accordingly. If you're the Thunder, you don't go out and get Shaq - let alone for 30% of your cap space. If you do get a guy on the downside, you make sure his deal ends reasonably soon so you don't get stuck. That way, even if the production doesn't match the pay, the expiring contract still has trade value. Every move should be made with foresight. The problem is, most GMs aren't evaluated that way. It's win now or get fired, so there's little penalty, relatively speaking, for high stakes gambles. If it doesn't pay off, somebody else cleans up the mess. That's a problem. More bad trades are executed by GMs on the hot seat than by anyone else.
If you look at the way great teams have been built, many of them have either stockpiled young assets, which they could then move for PROVEN talent, or they've had TRADEABLE contracts like Dallas. You don't overpay for "potential" and you certainly don't lock yourself in to overpaying a guy when you'll only get production out of him for 2 of his four seasons.
Nene had a great game against the Nets - but, one, that's the NETS and, two, it's game one - not game 201. I just think they overpaid. If he were two years younger, no problem, but at this stage of his career it's like playing hot potato. Now we just have to hope that he remains productive throughout his contract, because we're pretty much committed at that position now. We'll just have to wait and see what happens in the draft to find out whether or not the pieces fit.
Originally Posted by DIOR PAINT
What the %+%# is this team's obsession with Cartier Martin?
yeah...it looks like he's mailed it in.Originally Posted by DIOR PAINT
Wall has gone back to looking like he did earlier in the year. I'm sure he's just ready to get the season over with at this point.
Originally Posted by DoubleJs07
yeah...it looks like he's mailed it in.Originally Posted by DIOR PAINT
Wall has gone back to looking like he did earlier in the year. I'm sure he's just ready to get the season over with at this point.He's been really bad since the Nene trade....
I really hope to God this team secures a top-3 pick.