**Washington Wizards Offseason Thread** Blatche re-upped....5 years/35 mil

[im not you]

If it takes bringing back some awful contracts to get Gil off this team then so be it.

 

[doublejs07]

Originally Posted by Proshares

After two years of horrors, it looks like the Wizards' fortunes are finally starting to turn. Wall, the presumptive top pick, becomes the cornerstone of a Washington rebuilding project, and this time don't expect the Wizards to try cutting any corners.

Incoming new owner Ted Leonsis broke down the Washington Capitals and built them back up when he took over the city's NHL team, and he is widely expected to do the same with his basketball operation. In some ways, adding Wall makes that job easier, as Washington can rest assured it will still sell tickets this coming campaign.

However, the Wizards' plentiful cap space isn't likely to become a prominent factor in the summer free-agent frenzy, even with Wall coming aboard. There are simply too many holes up and down the roster and too strong a mandate from ownership to keep the powder dry for coming seasons.

Instead, Wall's arrival starts the clock on the eventual departure of Gilbert Arenas. While it's possible for the two to play together in the backcourt, especially if Arenas is willing to play off the ball as a spot-up shooter, it makes little sense for a rebuilding Wizards squad to cling to a declining 28-year-old who ties up $80 million over the next four seasons.





Amazingly, given his history and contract, there may still be a market for Agent Zero. The most likely scenario would have Washington take on an equally unpalatable contract with a shorter expiration (say, Eddy Curry from New York, or a combination of Erick Dampier and Matt Carroll from Dallas, or Marcus Banks and Jose Calderon from Toronto) in return for Arenas, who was reasonably effective on the court last season but needs to move on for the sake of both sides.

The net effect, however, is to make the rebuilding plan much more tolerable in D.C. The Wizards were looking at being a truly awful team next season; with Wall, they're more likely to just be run-of-the-mill terrible, and they'll at least have a defined centerpiece for the future.

Enlarged for emphasis....I'm still going by my gut feeling that there is no way Gil plays for the Wizards again.  He may be on the bench in street clothes to start the year, but I don't think that this pairing of Wall/Arenas ever comes to be. 

 

[proshares]

No homerism but you're more likely to get that Dallas trade to go through than the Curry deal. That's if it ever came down to the two.

 

[scott frost]

NOBODY IS GOING TO WANT GILBERT ARENAS

 

[ryaneff23]

Originally Posted by Im Not You

Well damn. I'll keep my sig until we figure out what # he'll choose. And if moving Young meant netting some more picks...I'm all for it. I wanna keep McGee though.

It will be interesting to see how we go about getting more picks, if that's what we really end up doing.  I like Young, but he's so damn inconsistent.  He will drop 25 one night, then 6 the next night.  It's a good draft to have a lot of picks, though.  It's crazy the makeover this team has gone through over the last year or so, and it's not over yet.  

What do you guys think we're going to do with Miller and Foye?  

 

[doublejs07]

Originally Posted by ryaneff23

Originally Posted by Im Not You

Well damn. I'll keep my sig until we figure out what # he'll choose. And if moving Young meant netting some more picks...I'm all for it. I wanna keep McGee though.

It will be interesting to see how we go about getting more picks, if that's what we really end up doing.  I like Young, but he's so damn inconsistent.  He will drop 25 one night, then 6 the next night.  It's a good draft to have a lot of picks, though.  It's crazy the makeover this team has gone through over the last year or so, and it's not over yet.  

What do you guys think we're going to do with Miller and Foye?  

With the Wizards getting the #1 overall, I think the writing is on the wall for Foye.  Foye had a lot of chances to prove himself this season, but never did anything to dispel doubts that people had about his game.  It says a lot that a guy like Shaun Livingston who basically came off the scrapheap turned out to be our best PG in the 2nd half of the season.  The 1 spot was Foye's to lose once Gil went down...and he lost it. 

Miller.....when healthy, he's effective.  Dude can stretch the floor with his shooting and is very versatile.  I'd like to see him stick around, but I have a feeling that this season really wore on him and he'd like to play for a winner.  I think Miller would be a good fit on a team like Chicago. 

 

[rook]

Ya notice holidays face in that picture when he found out Sixers were picking 3rd? Dude was BEYOND happy that John Wall wasn't coming in running that PG spot for years to come lol

 

[ryaneff23]

Originally Posted by DoubleJs07

Originally Posted by ryaneff23

Originally Posted by Im Not You

Well damn. I'll keep my sig until we figure out what # he'll choose. And if moving Young meant netting some more picks...I'm all for it. I wanna keep McGee though.

It will be interesting to see how we go about getting more picks, if that's what we really end up doing.  I like Young, but he's so damn inconsistent.  He will drop 25 one night, then 6 the next night.  It's a good draft to have a lot of picks, though.  It's crazy the makeover this team has gone through over the last year or so, and it's not over yet.  

What do you guys think we're going to do with Miller and Foye?  

With the Wizards getting the #1 overall, I think the writing is on the wall for Foye.  Foye had a lot of chances to prove himself this season, but never did anything to dispel doubts that people had about his game.  It says a lot that a guy like Shaun Livingston who basically came off the scrapheap turned out to be our best PG in the 2nd half of the season.  The 1 spot was Foye's to lose once Gil went down...and he lost it. 

Miller.....when healthy, he's effective.  Dude can stretch the floor with his shooting and is very versatile.  I'd like to see him stick around, but I have a feeling that this season really wore on him and he'd like to play for a winner.  I think Miller would be a good fit on a team like Chicago. 

Good points on both.  I agree that if we don't resign Mike Miller, I'd love to see him with the Bulls.  

The only reason I was curious with Foye is because he is more of a combo guard who was put in a position where he had to play the point.

 

[mustbetheshoe58]

i say we keep gil, he'll have to earn his way back into the lineup, including the trust of his coach, teammates, and fans.

im true wizards fan since the bullets days. i really hope we get john wall

 

[mustbetheshoe58]

i say we keep gil, he'll have to earn his way back into the lineup, including the trust of his coach, teammates, and fans.

im true wizards fan since the bullets days. i really hope we get john wall

 

[mustbetheshoe58]

i say we keep gil, he'll have to earn his way back into the lineup, including the trust of his coach, teammates, and fans.

im true wizards fan since the bullets days. i really hope we get john wall

 

[dt43]

Foye wasn't even a good combo guard towards the end of the season. Flip gave him more than enough chances to prove his worth as a scorer and he bricked them away. there is no reason for him to be on the roster next year.

 

[vabigpoppa]

secured my draft tickets today, cant wait 

  

 

[TheGift23]

Originally Posted by Deuce King

 The Wizards are a dead last organization with no driver behind the wheel, and Stern was VERY good friends with Polin, Polin's wife up there on the podium representing her late husband, all signs leads to Stern doing a great service for DC last night.

My thoughts too...good luck to that franchise though in turning things around.

 

[nycknicks105]

With all the BS you guys had to deal with this season, you guys better not do something stupid and trade down. Draft John Wall and call it a day.

 

[damysteryman]

I wouldn't mind seeing Foye gone either...as mentioned above Shaun Livingston outplayed him

I always liked Nick Young and Javale McGee...but Nick Young is just not consistent

 

[doublejs07]

From Mike Wise...

To whet the palate, think Baltimore native Carmelo Anthony next summer. (Kevin Durant is staying in Oklahoma City. Trust my Post colleague Michael Lee: Durant is basically Duncan in San Antonio, happy as pie in small-market heaven. He can't do wrong and his family loves the town.)

Now, for the money game. If the Wizards renounce all their free agents, they would have six players under contract and three draft picks to be paid. They probably would be about $20 million under the salary cap. Given that a max contract comes out to about $16 million a year, they could go after a big fish now.

But that's probably not how their money will be spent. Look for high-salaried, one-year guys to essentially use Wall and the Wizards to build their free agent value. Look for the Wizards to use those players' contracts to get way under the cap next summer and compete for 'Melo. Look for Flip Saunders to keep using his two-guard front to suit the talent of Wall and Arenas.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dy...5/19/AR2010051902121.html?sid=ST2010051900009

Hmmm....Melo in a Wizards uni after next season...interesting. 

some more stuff...

In the first 12 hours after the lottery, the Wizards sold nearly 400 season-ticket packages, according to a team spokesman.


http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/05/19/AR2010051904696.html

The Wizards have enough salary-cap space to offer James a maximum contract, a provision that was made possible when the Wizards traded Antawn Jamison to the Cavs last winter. But James, who has a harsh relationship with the Washington franchise, isn't believed to have Washington on his short list.


http://www.cleveland.com/cavs/index.ssf/2010/05/new_jersey_nets_worth_to_lebro.html

I don't think it's too likely that Lebron comes to DC...but what the article failed to mention is that Lebron does have a good relationship with Ted Leonsis.  On top of it all, no one knows what Lebron's plans are...so until July 1, you can't really rule out any teams that have a significant amount of cap space in the #6 sweepstakes. 

 

[westcoastsfinest]

bron to the wiz!

 

[i nasmatic i]

John Wall and Rudy Gay alley-oops

 

[ryaneff23]

That would be bitter sweet seeing Lebron as a Wizard.  After the playoff series we've had against him, I've built up a lot of hate for him.  That being said, if we can get him, DO IT!  I can learn to love him.  Lebron and Wall together would be nasty.

 

[ryaneff23]

The dancing would be OD, though.

 

[doublejs07]

More notes...

From Michael Lee's twitter:

John Wall's wingspan (6-9 1/4) is larger than Evan Turner's (6-

. Might not sound like much - except Wall is 6-4 & Turner is 6-7.

According to one source with intimate knowledge of the team's plans, the Wizards front office, headed up by President Ernie Grunfeld, doesn't want Arenas - released earlier this month from a Washington DC halfway house after serving 30 days for a felony gun conviction - anywhere near Wall, whom the team has already decided it will select with the top pick in the June draft. After Arenas was convicted Grunfeld traded away four starters.

One source tagged Arenas as "the reason why a core of players that reached the playoffs" on multiple occasions had to be broken up, "and it was entirely due to what he did. He poisoned the team. He is a cancer."

The Wizards' options include trying to trade Arenas, who has four years and more than $80 million in salary remaining on his contract. But that is not the only option. According to a source the team will "definitely consider buying out" Arenas' contract. This flies in the face of the public position the Wizards have taken with Arenas.



http://www.thegrio.com/sports/will-the-washington-wizards-axe-arenas.php

[h3]Arenas still in Wizards plans?[/h3]
MSNBC on Thursday published a story citing two highly placed sources who said the Wizards are committed to getting rid of embattled guard Arenas because they don't want him negatively affecting Wall, who is projected to be the No. 1 pick. The story went on to say that the Wizards would consider a buyout of Arenas' contract if they could not trade him.

Two sources here strongly denied the story and questioned its veracity, citing the money that Ted Leonsis will pay to buy the remainder of the team from Abe Pollin as a deterrent to paying additional money to buy out Arenas' contract, which has $80 million left on it.



http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2010/writers/frank_hughes/05/21/draft.process/index.html?eref=sihp

 

[dt43]

^those are valid concerns.

Gilbert is a guy who will d*ck around with younger players instead of helping them mature.. he basically convinced Nick Young, Blatche, McGuire, etc that the NBA is a game and to take nothing seriously. i'm afraid of him hanging around Wall.


i dont like all the dirt being thrown on Gilbert's name, though. people are talking about him like he is a cancer in the vein of Steve Francis, Latrell Sprewell, etc.. he's actually a kind, funny dude who has pretty much gotten along with everybody. he's not out there cussing his teammates out. he's just a clown, thats all.

 

[airmaxpenny1]

Do you think Dallas would really take on Arenas???

Cuban would be the only owner I coudl even see considering it.

 

[proshares]

Dampier's contract is one of the most valuable assets of the offseason. If Cuban can't land any of the upper echelon FA's during the summer, he may get desperate and do a S&T with Washington.

Why he would think Arenas would fit that team is beyond me though...