The Wizards win the Lottery!!!

[MF23]

I think one or both will be unhappy with their role SOON if the Wizards lose a lot of games. For all his athleticism, how much better defensively will Wall be than Nick Young when it comes to defending SGs?

I'm not worried about Wall being unhappy because he can handle it. Who cares if Gil is unhappy? Has he ever not performed on the court because he's unhappy?

I can't wait to find out how much better defensively he is than Nick Young.

[Ji]

Im still in shock guys. This makes up for the Capitals collapse and the Redskins last season. We are getting the next "Chosen" one

[Consiglieri81]

One interesting thing is to listen to the experts. Cowherd suggesting that Wall's going to be irrelevant for seven years, dumb, dumber and dumbest on that espn roundtable news show suggesting our team is total garbage and wont accomplish much regardless of wall.

Let's see, w/ Gilbert, Caron, AJ, and Hayward the wizards were winning at basically a .344

After the trades, w/the roster emptied of our top 4 options, (gil due to suspension) and starting a collection of d leaguers, bench scrubs, and losing our trade acquisitions to injury we still managed to win at a .272 clip.

It's not hard for me to imagine this team becoming borderline playoff capable. Probably not yet, but the media, lazy and brain dead as always, hasn't even dug into any of this. They don't realize how well the Wizards actually played for long stretches in April w/a roster completely emptied of supposedly the best talent.

During that streak we realized that Thorton and Howard could be very useful, that Blatche though still a knucklehead, is easily a 20-10 player in this league, that McGee has loads of potential even if noone in the FO notices, and that Livingstone can be a point guard in this league. Add to that nucleus John Wall and Gilbert alone, and you've probably got a 35 win team. That team on its own, was capable of winning at least 24 games w/o Howard and Thornton, with them, and Wall and Arenas, its probably at minimum a 30-35 win team this year, and everyone seems to think we're a 20 win team. Interesting.

Anyway, as for what we should do, I think there should be a healthy debate, and I definitely think Gil shouldn't be dealt until February at the earliest, he may not be a part of our rebuilding plans, he may not even be tradeable w/his contract, but at bare minimum we should utilize time to ramp up his value. If nothing else, we need to do that. And please use those second round picks on talent w/upside, not on quick fixes for positional issues. We need talent, anywhere, we dont need to try to squeeze in players for roles when there is plenty of room for talent everywhere on this roster.

[montestewart]

With a roster of Wall, Arenas, Young, Ross, Thornton, Blatche, McGee, resign Singleton, possibly (still) Livingston, possibly Howard, possibly grab Haywood, add the other picks and fill out the roster, the Wizards will be potentially better on defense at every position than they were the last two openings days. Well, at SG, it depends on Arenas' attitude and how much he plays there. Overall, in ability and desire, I see a big uptick in defense from the beginning.

Maybe it won't mesh offensively (especially w/ Wall and Arenas together), but at least the Wizards will finally go into the new season not only without the modified Princeton Shuffle but also without the dreaded big-3 hero-ball teamwork-killing WTF-are-you-doing set-up-a-GD play offensive mindset.

I see better at both ends. I see an exciting season. Finally. The Wizards win the lottery. And there's someone there to make sure they don't blow it.

[Hoopalotta]

Call me weird but I've watched the draft lottery like 4 times on You Tube since Tuesday and it's still surreal.

I've watched it about 40 times.

And all the dorks who were b1tching about Irene Pollin being our representatives need to log off now.

We're gettin' Wall!

I must say I'm very impressed by everyone else's maturity level in that they've already stopped saying that.

I just can't stop, myself.

[Donkey McDonkerton]

Can we do away with all the bullshi*t about thanking Ji, when the real thanks goes to those truly responsible for making this happen -- Donkey, Swami, Jwiz, etc?

Don;t you all realize that after 19-63 with Blake Griffin on the horizon that there was no Day of Anarchy on these boards last year? Yet this year the boys painted the town brown with their own feces and lo and behold we win the lottery!?!

[Rafael122]

Call me weird but I've watched the draft lottery like 4 times on You Tube since Tuesday and it's still surreal.

I've watched it about 40 times.

And all the dorks who were b1tching about Irene Pollin being our representatives need to log off now.

We're gettin' Wall!

I must say I'm very impressed by everyone else's maturity level in that they've already stopped saying that.

I just can't stop, myself.

I say John F'N Wall every chance I get and shake my head. I still can't believe it. I wonder if this is how Cavs fans felt when they got Lebron.

[JWizmentality]

Can we do away with all the bullshi*t about thanking Ji, when the real thanks goes to those truly responsible for making this happen -- Donkey, Swami, Jwiz, etc?

Lol wut? Not that I'm so dignified as to not take credit I don't deserve, but what exactly did I do again? Please keep in mind that 95% of my posts are alcohol fueled, and my memory is wholly self serving.

[Kanyewest]

I'm trying to remember just one time when an NBA player of Gil's caliber was replaced by a better draft pick at his position, while that NBA player was still in his prime. Just one.

When the Spurs took Tim Duncan and they already had David Robinson

[Rafael122]

I think this thread needs to be put in the HOF. Just the reactions alone makes it worth reading over and over again.

[cdouglas]

Those of you who says Gil is injury prone, you really haven't been watching the Wizards. The only time I can remember Gil being injured was his knee injury. Hughes, Caron, and Jamison were injured more than Gilbert! I dont get the eagerness of having Gil traded. The guy is STILL a top player in this league and as a matter of fact he played better than anyone I've ever seen coming back from injury. I believe the whole team will benefit with the both of them on the team. I don't believe Gil's interested in the fame anymore, he just wants to play and win.

[Chocolate City Jordanaire]

I'm trying to remember just one time when an NBA player of Gil's caliber was replaced by a better draft pick at his position, while that NBA player was still in his prime. Just one.

When the Spurs took Tim Duncan and they already had David Robinson

Good one, Kw. Nice part about that one is Robinson sacrificed his game and had the ego to do so. Spurs kept both guys together for years, and Robinson stayed at C but was no longer the man.

The only example of a great player in is prime who had a better rookie drafted at his position that I could come up with was Mark Price when Cleveland drafted Kevin Johnson. They sent him to another team and kept Price.

(Cleveland traded the young PG, KJ, along with Dan Majerle to the Suns for Larry Nance--the guy McGee reminds me of).

[Chocolate City Jordanaire]

I think this thread needs to be put in the HOF. Just the reactions alone makes it worth reading over and over again.

+1

Not just the thread, but I've been so happy that the Wizards got the number 1 pick. The board's alive and everybody's so optimistic. We've had very little to cheer other than guys after the trades--Livingston, Gee, Blatche, McGee, Thornton, etc. But this pick of John Wall has a lot of foks who NEVER post anymore coming back in support of the Wizards.

I can't imagine how good it will be if Wall lives up to the hype, but I'm sure looking forward to it. Just the last few days have been a lot of fun.

[miller31time]

I think this thread needs to be put in the HOF. Just the reactions alone makes it worth reading over and over again.

+1

Not just the thread, but I've been so happy that the Wizards got the number 1 pick. The board's alive and everybody's so optimistic. We've had very little to cheer other than guys after the trades--Livingston, Gee, Blatche, McGee, Thornton, etc. But this pick of John Wall has a lot of foks who NEVER post anymore coming back in support of the Wizards.

I can't imagine how good it will be if Wall lives up to the hype, but I'm sure looking forward to it. Just the last few days have been a lot of fun.

It's nice knowing someone is going to be really good rather than crossing your fingers and hoping they'll turn out to be something.

We always seem to have those players you just hope the light will turn on (McGee, Young, etc), but none of us see these guys as surefire stars. But now, we finally have one and it feels good.

[sfam]

I think this thread needs to be put in the HOF. Just the reactions alone makes it worth reading over and over again.

+1

Not just the thread, but I've been so happy that the Wizards got the number 1 pick. The board's alive and everybody's so optimistic. We've had very little to cheer other than guys after the trades--Livingston, Gee, Blatche, McGee, Thornton, etc. But this pick of John Wall has a lot of foks who NEVER post anymore coming back in support of the Wizards.

I can't imagine how good it will be if Wall lives up to the hype, but I'm sure looking forward to it. Just the last few days have been a lot of fun.

It's nice knowing someone is going to be really good rather than crossing your fingers and hoping they'll turn out to be something.

We always seem to have those players you just hope the light will turn on (McGee, Young, etc), but none of us see these guys as surefire stars. But now, we finally have one and it feels good.

I'd guess we're just as hopeful now as the Clippers fans were last year when they realized they would be drafting Blake Griffin. Wait, um....

[Rafael122]

Griffin didn't come with this much hype though.

[NbdyBeatsTheWiz]

Nice to see this bumped. Watching the actual draft is going to be SURREAL.

Griffin also could still be the next Karl Malone. Just saying.
(anybody else laugh when they see him for .2 seconds in the new Subway commercial?)

[Hoopalotta]

After our seeming vanquishing in the glorious and heated tank battle with the Oakland Jihad, a nice spot of Schadenfreude can be found in the Warriors' draft lottery thread....

viewtopic.php?f=15&t=1011194&start=45

It goes rather off.

I saved you the pre-battle planning, so the link leads right to the moment when their frontal armor is pierced with a depleted uranium shell and the shame of an ignominious defeat is fresh in their bossoms.

I wouldn't normally dip so low as to revel in their dissapointment, but they was talkin' a pretty good bit of smack about us in particular, thus making it nasty enough to override my morals.

[verbal8]

Griffin didn't come with this much hype though.

I think Griffin was THE number 1 pick in last years draft. This year John Wall is A number 1 pick. What I mean by this was that last year Griffin seemed to be far better than the rest of the draft picks. However Wall seems to be the type of guy you hope to get when you have the number 1 pick, rather than say Kwame Brown(or even KMart or Bogut). Wall however seems to fit better in the group of Yao, LeBron, Dwight Howard, Allen Iverson and Tim Duncan - first picks who have a decent shot at the Hall of Fame.

[montestewart]

After our seeming vanquishing in the glorious and heated tank battle with the Oakland Jihad, a nice spot of Schadenfreude can be found in the Warriors' draft lottery thread....

viewtopic.php?f=15&t=1011194&start=45

It goes rather off.

I saved you the pre-battle planning, so the link leads right to the moment when their frontal armor is pierced with a depleted uranium shell and the shame of an ignominious defeat is fresh in their bossoms.

I wouldn't normally dip so low as to revel in their dissapointment, but they was talkin' a pretty good bit of smack about us in particular, thus making it nasty enough to override my morals.

Their mods allow more cussing, along with anti-Jewish slurs (directed at Stern). I can only speculate about the comments the mods actually deleted.