243 replies to this topic

[SportsGuy]

http://espn.go.com/n... ... lewis-pick

Nothing but a positive deal for NO if they are able to re-sign Gordon.

[mweb08]

A tweet from a guy I respect:

Zach Lowe
Not really feeling this for the Wiz. Not good enough to play "win now" game.

[SBTarheel]

A tweet from a guy I respect:

Zach Lowe
Not really feeling this for the Wiz. Not good enough to play "win now" game.

He's right, but these two players will definitely help change the identity of the team. They weren't "winning now" regardless of anything that happens this offseason.

[SportsGuy]

He's right, but these two players will definitely help change the identity of the team. They weren't "winning now" regardless of anything that happens this offseason.

Right...What this trade + Wall + the #3 pick does is start to put together a team that could be in the playoffs and eventually, you start to attract the bigger name FAs.

What exactly were they going to do to "win now" anyway? You can maybe argue that they should have just gotten rid of Lewis with the amnesty clause I suppose...but then are you going to get players to come there?

[Nuclear Dish]

I think the Wizards are an improved team with this deal, but only improved enough to challenge for the final spot in the East. Assuming Wall's progression is what we all expect it to be, the improved defense and (hopefully) chemistry could possibly make them a playoff team, but not much more. Their ceiling is still well behind expected performances from teams like MIA/CHI and even IND.

The real problem with this deal is that Nene is owed $55M over the next 4 years and Ariza and Okafor are owed $43M over the next 2 years. So the team is pretty much stuck with this lineup for at least the next 2 years.

The team is also very shallow. They don't have the depth you'd like to see of a team that intends to contend.

[mweb08]

Right...What this trade + Wall + the #3 pick does is start to put together a team that could be in the playoffs and eventually, you start to attract the bigger name FAs.

What exactly were they going to do to "win now" anyway? You can maybe argue that they should have just gotten rid of Lewis with the amnesty clause I suppose...but then are you going to get players to come there?

His point was that they shouldn't be making a win now move. So I don't think he believes they were going to do anything to win now, just try to build towards the future.

[SBTarheel]

Right...What this trade + Wall + the #3 pick does is start to put together a team that could be in the playoffs and eventually, you start to attract the bigger name FAs.

What exactly were they going to do to "win now" anyway? You can maybe argue that they should have just gotten rid of Lewis with the amnesty clause I suppose...but then are you going to get players to come there?

Exactly. They can move these contracts if necessary later on..Especially a guy like Okafor who can play d, protect the rim...etc.

[Nuclear Dish]

And that is why I am hesitant to jump completely on the Barnes bandwagon.

With or without Marshall, he should have led that team to the final 4. He did nothing against Ohio and Kansas wasn't all that great. Barnes could and should have taken those games over.

I heard the same thing you did about his workouts though.

The guy has off the charts talent. He has that great mid range game which no one seems to have anymore. He has good height and is an excellent athlete. But does he have it between the ears?

Not sure how this became a Barnes thread, but I highly recommend watching this for a very fair scouting report on him.

... r_embedded

[Pedro Cerrano]

Don't forget, if this doesn't work, Okafor could be a great expiring deal to throw into a 3-way trade perhaps.

[SportsGuy]

His point was that they shouldn't be making a win now move. So I don't think he believes they were going to do anything to win now, just try to build towards the future.

Yea but you can argue that they are doing this very thing because they will start to look like an actual basketball team, which could help out with impending FAs down the road.

Plus, they may end up with the back young backcourt in the league in a few years.

I don't see anything wrong with the deal and like Seth said, I think either or both of these guys could easily be dealt.

[SBTarheel]

Not sure how this became a Barnes thread, but I highly recommend watching this for a very fair scouting report on him.

... r_embedded

Come on, Brian, I can turn ANY THREAD into a Carolina thread.

I don't like the fact that I agree with Chris Collins, but I do like the Glen Rice comp quite a bit..Don't know if HB is as good a pure shooter as Rice was, but he just might be the best comp I've heard..Rice got really heavy in his later years, and I think HB will keep himself in better shape.

[JHTerp01]

If they draft Beal, this actually feels like a .500ish team to me, which is the worst place to be in the NBA. The current team plus Beal has no shot at being actual contenders. What they really need is Wall to make a huge leap forward next year. That being said, to wind up with these two from the Agent Zero deal reminds me of the guy a few years ago who started with a paperclip and traded it several hundred times until he wound up with a house.

http://en.wikipedia....e_red_paperclip

[Adam Wolff]

This team would be very dependent on Beal to be the elite scorer he's been advertised as. If he can be that, who knows. However, if he's just average or struggles, this team is going to really, really struggle to score points.

[JHTerp01]

This team would be very dependent on Beal to be the elite scorer he's been advertised as. If he can be that, who knows. However, if he's just average or struggles, this team is going to really, really struggle to score points.

Agree. They would still need to add a scorer who can create their own shot in FA and amnesty that POS Blatche. character guys.

[Adam Wolff]

Mike Prada over at Bullets Forever laid out the salary cap implications:

http://www.bulletsfo... ... salary-cap

Basically, even if they amnesty Blatche, they'll have about 4 mil in cap space. So they've gotten better, for sure, but is it worth not really being able to do anything for 2 years in free agency? That's debatable.

[mweb08]

Mike Prada over at Bullets Forever laid out the salary cap implications:

http://www.bulletsfo... ... salary-cap

Basically, even if they amnesty Blatche, they'll have about 4 mil in cap space. So they've gotten better, for sure, but is it worth not really being able to do anything for 2 years in free agency? That's debatable.

Well they turned what was actually a pretty valuable asset in Lewis' expiring contract into two solid players who are being overpaid for the next two years. All while tying up their cap space as you point out.

[Pedro Cerrano]

Well they turned what was actually a pretty valuable asset in Lewis' expiring contract into two solid players who are being overpaid for the next two years. All while tying up their cap space as you point out.

Yes, agreed, but they're better off just keeping Lewis and letting his contract expire on the Wizards rather than trade him for more crap.

In this case, they are clearly not interested in treading water for the next few seasons and are trying to surround Wall with some sort of talent that can help the team win.

If they can add a scorer, they could be a solid team.

[mweb08]

The aforementioned Zach Lowe wrote an article on this.

http://nba-point-for... ... rds-trade/

[JeremyStrain]

Would have made a lot more sense if they had somewhere to flip Ariza or if they were about to bring in a superstar #2. Don't know enough about Beal to know if that's him or not, but I think they are going to be a guard based offense and struggle to score points, but they should be able to hold teams down pretty well too. I worry about the salary cap impact, but adding a good defensive C to pair with Nene in a tough front court isn't terrible.

Kind of a good and a bad move both.

[Ovechkin8]

Wiz basically decided that Nene was the best FA available last off season and they weren't getting anybody great to come here these 2 seasons. So now they can amnesty Blatche, draft Beal and build around him,Wall and hopefully Vesely. Then a year from now you have 2 attractive expiring contracts to deal or use the space to get a quality FA. This team was much better with Nene, add in these 2 and Beal and they can definitely make the playoffs.