How do you fix this team?

[colts18]

-Trade Blatche and McGee. They are losers who you can't trust
-Resign Young only if its cheap. He isn't a championship caliber SG.
-Tank this year
-Draft Williams or Sullinger
-Tank next year
-Draft best SG/SF
-Buy out Lewis
-Offer Howard as much as you can because the Wizards will be the only team with cap space when there is a hard cap
-Sign Wall to the Max

Wall
Young
2012 draft pick
Sullinger/Booker
Howard/Seraphin

Then add in the picks you get for Blatche and Mcgee (Hopefully a star perimeter player). That should be enough for a championship contender.

[nate33]

Sounds close to the plan I laid out so sounds good to me.

I think in my version I have us trading Lewis exp, a first, McGee and something or another but they are in the same ball park.

The only problem is that Lewis is completely untradeable. Nobody is going to take on his final season at $22M, or take on his next-to-last season at $20M while also having to spend $10-17M just to buy him out.

My epiphany was the idea of Richard Jeffersoning Rashard Lewis. If his buyout fee proves to be $17M, we can ease the burden by renegotiating. Instead of buying him out at $17M and then watching him play somewhere else on a 2-year $8M contract, we go ahead and agree to sign him to a 2-year $24M contract. It's the same basic salary, only it reduces our 2012 cap hit by $5M (while retaining a player who is good friends with Howard).

I also like the idea of trading McGee for a 2012 (hopefully) lotto pick. There are so few star-caliber players in this draft that somebody is bound to be intrigued if we dangle McGee. Maybe Cleveland sends us their 2012 unprotected first for McGee. Or maybe Golden State or Minnesota. The key is to have two lotto picks in the 2012 draft to use as trade bait for Orlando.

[pcbothwel]

I really lean towards taking Jonas Valanciunas as I think his ceiling is quite high and their are no other Center prospects that stand in 2011/2012 drafts. That being said he might not be available when we pick and/or EG might want a player that is a bit more of sure thing while having the youth to still improve and grow with Wall.
The 3 players that stand out in this regard are Barnes, Williams, and Sullinger. All three guys are 19 years old with decently high ceilings, but most importantly in this draft, very high floors.

BTW, are the any players you all see that could fall to our ATL pick that would force the hand of a team to give us their 2012 pick (ie CHA pick from Bulls, Pacers, etc.) With all the youth we have right now we should not force another rookie if we dont love a player.

[hands11]

Here's a plan:

* Draft Derrick Williams
* Trade McGee for a 2012 lotto pick
* Resign Nick Young to a massively frontloaded contract of $12M followed by $3M a year for the next 3 years.

Roll next year with: Wall, Young, Lewis, Williams, Blatche; with Crawford, Booker and Seraphin off the bench. The team still won't be very good, but hopefully with improvement from Wall, Booker and Seraphin, plus some better health out of Blatche, they'll be a 35-win team.

Next summer, instead of buying out Lewis for $17M, extend him two years at $12M a year. With Lewis resigned with a lower cap number, McGee off the roster, and Young with a cheap 2012 salary, the team should have $20M in cap room. Trade our two 2012 lotto picks, our 2014 pick, and one of Booker/Seraphin/Blatche for Dwight Howard + Chris Duhon's contract. (Dwight might be interested if Wall improves, Williams looks like the real deal, and his buddy Lewis is still on the roster).

2012 lineup (assuming Seraphin is the one sent to Orlando):
PG Wall/Duhon
SG Young/Crawford
SF Lewis/2011 ATL pick
PF Williams/Booker
C Howard/Blatche

That's great balance in the front court. Each unit has one defensive/rebounding grunt and one skill player. And the beauty is that Lewis comes off the books when it's time to extend Wall and Booker.

And it's not even that far-fetched (Dwight 50/50 atleast)... Great job Nate!!!

Now can we just fire EG and recommend Nate for his position...???

You are to funny. I posted basically the same thing two pages ago and I didn't see you

[hands11]

Sounds close to the plan I laid out so sounds good to me.

I think in my version I have us trading Lewis exp, a first, McGee and something or another but they are in the same ball park.

The only problem is that Lewis is completely untradeable. Nobody is going to take on his final season at $22M, or take on his next-to-last season at $20M while also having to spend $10-17M just to buy him out.

My epiphany was the idea of Richard Jeffersoning Rashard Lewis. If his buyout fee proves to be $17M, we can ease the burden by renegotiating. Instead of buying him out at $17M and then watching him play somewhere else on a 2-year $8M contract, we go ahead and agree to sign him to a 2-year $24M contract. It's the same basic salary, only it reduces our 2012 cap hit by $5M (while retaining a player who is good friends with Howard).

I also like the idea of trading McGee for a 2012 (hopefully) lotto pick. There are so few star-caliber players in this draft that somebody is bound to be intrigued if we dangle McGee. Maybe Cleveland sends us their 2012 unprotected first for McGee. Or maybe Golden State or Minnesota. The key is to have two lotto picks in the 2012 draft to use as trade bait for Orlando.

So no one would want him expiring trade deadline for a two month rental ?

[hands11]

Looking at Crawford, I'm thinking he would fit at PG better than SG. He shows good instincts for setting up his teammates and he has decent handles. Also, he may not jack as many ill advised shots if he is running the offense.

That would have Masufa inactive. Get Martin more minutes at back up SG. Ultimately I think we need a stronger back up SG if Martin doesn't step it up big time before the season is done.

Wall/Crawford
NY/Martin
Mo and whoever else is healthy Howard or Lewis until Lewis gets shut down
Booker/McGee/Yi
Dray/Seraphin/ Call up Hamady

Its about evaluating and tanking so why not call up Hamady while looking at McGee at PF and Crawford at PG.

[dangermouse]

Im in the camp that also thinks Crawford can become our backup PG/SG combo. Hes the next Flip Murray.

[Dat2U]

Just because a guard has a decent enough handle and can make the extra pass doesn't mean he can play PG. Crawford is an SG through and through. I don't think he's even got the mindset to run a team, especially in Flip's offense. Crawford's first, second and third option is to score.

[DaRealHibachi]

Here's a plan:

* Draft Derrick Williams
* Trade McGee for a 2012 lotto pick
* Resign Nick Young to a massively frontloaded contract of $12M followed by $3M a year for the next 3 years.

Roll next year with: Wall, Young, Lewis, Williams, Blatche; with Crawford, Booker and Seraphin off the bench. The team still won't be very good, but hopefully with improvement from Wall, Booker and Seraphin, plus some better health out of Blatche, they'll be a 35-win team.

Next summer, instead of buying out Lewis for $17M, extend him two years at $12M a year. With Lewis resigned with a lower cap number, McGee off the roster, and Young with a cheap 2012 salary, the team should have $20M in cap room. Trade our two 2012 lotto picks, our 2014 pick, and one of Booker/Seraphin/Blatche for Dwight Howard + Chris Duhon's contract. (Dwight might be interested if Wall improves, Williams looks like the real deal, and his buddy Lewis is still on the roster).

2012 lineup (assuming Seraphin is the one sent to Orlando):
PG Wall/Duhon
SG Young/Crawford
SF Lewis/2011 ATL pick
PF Williams/Booker
C Howard/Blatche

That's great balance in the front court. Each unit has one defensive/rebounding grunt and one skill player. And the beauty is that Lewis comes off the books when it's time to extend Wall and Booker.

And it's not even that far-fetched (Dwight 50/50 atleast)... Great job Nate!!!

Now can we just fire EG and recommend Nate for his position...???

You are to funny. I posted basically the same thing two pages ago and I didn't see you

Happy now...???

(Probably just read over your post hands, my bad... )

[verbal8]

* Resign Nick Young to a massively frontloaded contract of $12M followed by $3M a year for the next 3 years.

Would this be possible because the Wizards would be under the cap(similar to OKC's deal with Collison)?

[nate33]

So no one would want him expiring trade deadline for a two month rental ?

No, because he's not an expiring contract. He still has another year left at $22M, it's either that or pay him a whopping $17M buyout fee. No team is going to do that without MASSIVE incentive.

[hands11]

So no one would want him expiring trade deadline for a two month rental ?

No, because he's not an expiring contract. He still has another year left at $22M, it's either that or pay him a whopping $17M buyout fee. No team is going to do that without MASSIVE incentive.

I had him playing for us next year and getting traded 2012/2013 which is his last year and Howards last year.

[hands11]

Hey it happens. I forget to do that hand chopping motion thing that seals the deal.

I just found it a little strange that I had written the same basic outline even including the renegotiating the Lewis contract idea, though I worded it differently. Granted, Nate put a little more detail into the idea with numbers and picked a slightly different direction. With mine we got to evaluate McGee one more year. Still seems to early to give up on the kid.

One twist to either is that I think Crawford proves to be a better back up PG than a back up SG. I think they need to get busy this year looking at him there more. No need to keep Mastufa active right now. Well, unless we want to hedge toward loosing more than they want to evaluate the future.

I doubt Matfufa is on the team active next year. I would rather them look at Martin more as the back up SG.

For what it is worth. This article says he is eligable to expend his contract right now but I don't see anything happening until after the new CBA. If it turns out to no be as favorable for the players, Howard could ink his player option instead.
http://basketball.realgm.com/wiretap/21 ... With_Magic

A lot will be learned next year with the Wiz if they are actually playing. Adding another strong front court player, Dray and McGee with another summer to improve their bodies and moves, plus Booker and Seraphin doing the same.

This team wont have players like Yi and Armstrong playing with two other project rookies. They should be a lot better. Plus Wall has been amazing in year one, year two should be very good.

I think they should be a lot better next year.

[TGW]

How to fix this team IMO:

1.) Get rid of Andray Blatche asap. His loser mentality and inefficiency hurt this team. Maybe we can get Batum in return? Trade him for the best available young small forward we can get.

2.) Draft the best power forward in this upcoming draft, whether it be Sullinger or Williams. We need some frontcourt studs that can score and rebound. Both of these guys should be instant upgrades over Blatche.

3.) Draft Jordan Williams with the Hawks pick. He and Seraphin can battle for backup minutes at the 4/5.

4.) Bring in a positive front-court vet. We need an old vet that can teach these kids how to play the right way.

5.) Bring in a vet backup point guard for cheap. I'm not sure who's available, but preferably someone that can run a team properly.

6.) Hopefully resign Young for cheap. The Wizards seemed to have made their choice regarding Young and the future with the team -- they chose not to get assets for him, so it looks like they have to retain him.

Next year you have:

Wall/vet backup
Young/Crawford
Lewis/young small forward via Blatche trade
Sullinger/Booker/vet bigman
McGee/Seraphin/Williams

[fishercob]

How to fix this team IMO:

1.) Get rid of Andray Blatche asap. His loser mentality and inefficiency hurt this team. Maybe we can get Batum in return? Trade him for the best available young small forward we can get.

I see a lot of this. "Blatche is a loser and must be traded at all costs, but get me a young SF in return." Nico Batum? Blazer fans are reticent to even trade him for McGee, let alone Blatche. If Blatche is truly cancerous and trading him would be addition by subtraction, you can't expect much in return. It's not like his attitude and disappointing season are secrets to the rest of the league. You need to be prepared to take an expiring contract and/or a marginal pick or prospect for him.

2.) Draft the best power forward in this upcoming draft, whether it be Sullinger or Williams. We need some frontcourt studs that can score and rebound. Both of these guys should be instant upgrades over Blatche.

No argument here, though we need to bear in mind that there are two ends of the floor. Just because someone is an upgrade over Blatche doesn't mean he's a long term solution (i.e. a true second star on a contender). Our two relatively promising big-men prospects are undersized -- at least by height standards. Do we really want to add a third to the mix? Enes Kanter could be the better long-term play.

Next year you have:

Wall/vet backup
Young/Crawford
Lewis/young small forward via Blatche trade
Sullinger/Booker/vet bigman
McGee/Seraphin/Williams

I have a hard time seeing that team winning more than 30 games. I'm OK with that, but that's still a very raw and green group.

[Zonkerbl]

That looks awfully close to what next year's starting lineup will look like.

Kinda scary. Will they EVER be any good? 'Cause once you reach mediocre you are not improving significantly, and that's your core, right there. Frightening prospect.

[Halcyon]

I don't think that group wins 30 games to be honest. They will still will be pretty poor defensively without a solid defensive big, and while it may be slightly more efficient on offense, I can't imagine a rookie Sullinger being a beast right off the bat.

That group probably still gets us 20-25 wins and we'll be right back in the lotto.

[nate33]

I had him playing for us next year and getting traded 2012/2013 which is his last year and Howards last year.

you keep glossing over this critical point that COMPLETELY undermines your strategy. I'll try this one more time. Lewis is owed $20M next year. He is owed $22M in his final year which can be bought out for $17M. So, I order to dump him and get cap room in 2012 for Howard, you must find somebody next year who will be willing to trade a $20M expiring contract for Lewis' $37M remaining salary obligation (or $44M if they plan on actually keeping Lewis through 2013). That's simply not going to happen. Your plan WON'T WORK.

[verbal8]

I had him playing for us next year and getting traded 2012/2013 which is his last year and Howards last year.

you keep glossing over this critical point that COMPLETELY undermines your strategy. I'll try this one more time. Lewis is owed $20M next year. He is owed $22M in his final year which can be bought out for $17M.

Has his production increased the guarantee for his final year to $17 million?

I have seen a figures as low as $10 million guaranteed, which makes him a potentially valuable trade chip at that point for shedding salary.

[eitanr]

Here are my thoughts...and I know I'm not exactly loved on this board (ahem Nate ahem), but I'll give it a try.

1) As everyone mentioned above, I do agree that moving Blatche is step 1. The question is how. As I see it, there really is one team that does have an immediate and potentially long term need for Andray Blatche and that is the Memphis Grizzlies since they'll need to retain Marc Gasol long term and Z-Bo could easily bolt elsewhere via free agency (Joe Dumars is rumored to be looking to ink him for a lucrative offer) thus Blatche could be a nice long term option to replace Z-Bo for them, is younger and is half the cost. I see Memphis willing to deal Mayo to get such a deal done. Now, unlike before, I will not vouch for a Mayo to Washington deal. However, Indiana was reportedly interested in Mayo right before the deadline. I feel they would at least be receptive to dealing their pick (if it's not in the lotto) for Mayo, or if their in the lotto (i.e. 9ish area) maybe Washington takes on Dahntay Jones as a fee for the higher pick. Either way, the deal ends up being Blatche straight up for the 15th pick (Indy's selection).

2) Draft a legit low post presence with that first pick. I'm on the Jared Sullinger bandwagon all the way through. Heck, if the Wiz get the number one pick, I say swap it with a later one and get Sullinger plus future incentive. Either way we should be poor enough and in decent positioning on draft night to be able to snag Sully.

3) Add another pick (either a valuable one this year, or perhaps next year) by asorbing more short term cap space, hopefully a vet that could have a nice short term need. My idea is to absorb Mehmet Okur's salary which is around 10.5 mill, but expires at 2011. Utah in exchange can trade Washington their protected GSW pick in 2012. Utah could then re-sign AK47 and perhaps add necessary further pieces to their lineup while still staying under the cap. If Washington could combine this deal with a potential Indy deal (see 1 above) they could still re-sign their talent (Nick Young) and some. Okur could be very useful in Washington as a nice spacing big off the bench which could be useful considering the potential post tandem of Sully, Seraphin, Book, and even McGee.

4) Find a way to move up in the draft to snag a pick in the 8-11 range if one of Terrence Jones or Harrison Barnes is there. I feel these two SFs could be a terrific long term fit with J. Wall running the show and one of which will be available in that range. Washington can try this by either dealing a combo of their picks in previous deal (especially if they do idea with Indy and Utah) to move up to that selection. They could also absorb a deal (probably wouldn't do this notion along with the Utah notion) to move up via the draft. Truth is the latter is far more difficult as it may take Washington to absorb Carrol or Diop for the Bobcats pick for example, to move up and take such a selection.

Most realistically....I think Indy does deal 1, Utah may reject the other deal...So let's say Washington has picks 3, 15, 23 and 34 heading into draft night. I'd probably be willing to absorb Carrol's deal to move up from 15ish to 9ish if Terrence Jones or Harrison Barnes were there. Carroll is paid only 3.5 mill in 2013 and does expire along with Shard. I don't love it, but I feel it's worth the risk to nail down Barnes. I obviously select Sully at 3. At 23 and 34 I'd look more for those veteran rookies, i.e. 4th yr seniors coming out from big programs who could fill in the rotation immediatley. I see Nolan Smith and Kyle Singler potentially being available there. They could suffice nicely in the backup combo guard and backup future 3 slots. Then I still have enough cap to re-sign Nick Young and maybe go for a nice backup big who can be a stop gap option until Seraphin or Booker are ready to be that 3rd legit big in the rotation. I also need insurance for Sully who may not be as ready as I hoped in the starting PF role. I like Josh McRoberts as the short term signee. I'd give him a solid 2 yr deal, 2nd yr team option at around 3-4 mill per. And here is my final roster for the Wiz going into the season:
PF J. Sullinger/ J. McRoberts
SF H. Barnes/ R. Lewis/ K. Singler
C J. McGee/ T. Booker/ K. Seraphin
SG N. Young/ J. Crawford/ M. Carroll
PG J. Wall/ N. Smith