Official Random Thoughts Thread - Part 3

[Rafael122]

It's cold again

These last couple of weeks and the next couple of weeks are the best weather DC has the entire year. Just beautiful weather.

[WallWithTheDime]

In light of the recent Vander Blue's sighing to training camp;


Oh, Ok, so to play Blue's clues... we gotta find a...
: Pawprint!
: Right 'cause that's the first...
: Clue!
: Yeah! And then we put it in our... (notebook!)
Cause they're Blue's Clues, Blue's Clues!
We gotta find another paw print, that's the second clue
We put it in our notebook
Cause they're whose clues?



We gotta find the last paw print, that's the third clue
We put it in our notebook
Cause they're Blue's Clues, Blue's Clues!
You know what to do!
Sit down in our Thinking Chair and think...think...think!
Cause when we use our mind, take a step at a time
We can do anything...that we wanna do

[Rafael122]

Guys if you're into playoff baseball, head over to the Nats board! Posted a thread on the NLDS already and will be updating it with game thoughts, and articles related to the series.
viewforum.php?f=124

[LyricalRico]

I really hate buying what appears to be a regular drink, only to experience a weird aftertaste that prompts me to look at the ingredients and see sucralose or aspertame. At least when you buy diet drinks, you know that taste is coming. It's worse when you're not expecting it because the label doesn't say anything.

[montestewart]

Maybe a gag order on the subject of __________________ for the time being, before everyone is banned for life? LyricalRico, guide us out of this madness, and I promise I'll finish those last three poems in your book by the start of the season.

Dats my two cents.

[Kanyewest]

Maybe a gag order on the subject of __________________ for the time being, before everyone is banned for life? LyricalRico, guide us out of this madness, and I promise I'll finish those last three poems in your book by the start of the season.

Dats my two cents.

LyricalRico will say the Redskins board is open for discussion on this topic.

[Kanyewest]

So in the summer in 1995 what should the Wizards have done? Should they have re-signed Brent Price? What would have been the wise salary to give Juwan Howard at the time? What would have been Juwan Howard's actual worth in PPA at the time? And what was he actually worth in retrospect? Why did the Bullets trade Rasheed Wallace for Rod Strickland after Juwan Howard had left temporarily? Why was I so happy when Juwan Howard re-signed with the Bullets?

[Chocolate City Jordanaire]

So in the summer in 1995 what should the Wizards have done? Should they have re-signed Brent Price? What would have been the wise salary to give Juwan Howard at the time? What would have been Juwan Howard's actual worth in PPA at the time? And what was he actually worth in retrospect? Why did the Bullets trade Rasheed Wallace for Rod Strickland after Juwan Howard had left temporarily? Why was I so happy when Juwan Howard re-signed with the Bullets?

Howard made the all star team as a very young player. I cannot recall if he already was an allstar when he got the new contract. I think the year Chris Webber hurt his shoulder Juwan put up some great numbers. You were not alone as a huge Juwan Howard fan back then.

The first year Rod Strickland for Rasheed Wallace didn't look like a bad trade at all. However, it backfired just like all the other big-for-small, young-for-old trades the Bullets/Wizards used to make. (Caron Butler for Kwame Brown is the noteworthy exception).

The Wizards kept Juwan but let both Webber and Wallace go.

As for Brent Price, my memory fades. I was more sad to see Robert Pack and Jim McIlvane get better deals elsewhere. Brent was a good shooter--I remember that much. That and his brother Mark was done by the time Washington acquired him. It was sad to see. Mark Price was one of my favorite players. I remember him from when he was at Georgia Tech, and they first entered the ACC. Mark was phenomenal from day one. Brent Price was a decent NBA player in his own right, but his brother was a monster on the court in his day.

Sent from my SGH-M919 using RealGM Forums mobile app

[Nivek]

So in the summer in 1995 what should the Wizards have done? Should they have re-signed Brent Price? What would have been the wise salary to give Juwan Howard at the time? What would have been Juwan Howard's actual worth in PPA at the time? And what was he actually worth in retrospect? Why did the Bullets trade Rasheed Wallace for Rod Strickland after Juwan Howard had left temporarily? Why was I so happy when Juwan Howard re-signed with the Bullets?

I think you're actually talking about the summer of 1996.

I don't remember what kind of money Price got, but I do know that 95-96 was the best season of his career. His production plummeted the following season and never got close again.

That contract for Howard was a colossal mistake. He was majorly overrated, at least according to my numbers. I had him with a rookie season of 87 and 100 in his second year. He scored a lot and made the All-Star team, but that was because he shot a lot. His efficiency wasn't good (lots of turnovers), and he didn't rebound much for a PF. His peak PPA was 115 at age 29 in Denver. That was also his last above average season.

In Washington, here's what Howard's season-by-season PPA numbers look like:

94-95 -- 87
95-96 -- 100
96-97 -- 106
97-98 -- 94
98-99 -- 109
99-00 -- 54
00-01 -- 84 (then a 101 for Dallas after the trade)

So, career PPA in Washington: 90. I don't have salary formula numbers back that far, but what he produced that season wouldn't have been worth the contract he got if he did it last season -- against a $58.7 million salary cap. The cap back then was around $16 million, if I recall correctly.

Why were you happy about Howard coming back? You bought the hype. Young. All-Star. Fab Five. He'd been signed by Pat Riley and Miami only for Washington to be given a do-over. As it turned out, NOT getting Howard was a HUGE stroke of good fortune for the Heat.

Why'd they trade for Rod Strickland? Panic move. Plus, Rasheed was a pain in the ass. Recall that they also ran out and signed Lorenzo Williams and Tracy Murray to seven-year contracts. Williams hadn't been much good at various stops, and would play just 41 games for Washington during those 7 years. Murray was coming off his first above average season (PPA: 112) when he signed with the Bullets. He'd have one above average season for Washington (PPA: 111).

The biggest blunder would come two years later, though when they traded Webber for Mitch Richmond.

[Ruzious]

And we won't mention the Ike Austin for Ben Wallace and 3 solid backup players trade - giving the Wiz the trifecta of lousy trades.

[montestewart]

I forget all the details, but I remember the Bullets played hardball with Howard, used up cap space, and then had only below market money to offer on his rookie contract. They offered an opt out after the second year as an incentive, and acquiring Webber seemed to cement the deal. A perfect storm. Had Howard gotten a typical rookie contract, things may have turned out much different, possibly including moving Howard for backcourt help while retaining Webber and the two Wallaces.

[Nivek]

I forget all the details, but I remember the Bullets played hardball with Howard, used up cap space, and then had only below market money to offer on his rookie contract. They offered an opt out after the second year as an incentive, and acquiring Webber seemed to cement the deal. A perfect storm. Had Howard gotten a typical rookie contract, things may have turned out much different, possibly including moving Howard for backcourt help while retaining Webber and the two Wallaces.

Abe Pollin and Wes Unseld decided that rookies were getting too much money. So, in quixotic fashion, they tried to change the system all by themselves. The going rate for Howard's pick was roughly 6 years and $24 million at the time, which is what David Falk and Howard wanted. What you remember from there is pretty much what happened. Howard signed a 13-year contract (or something equally ridiculous), but with an option to terminate after the 2nd year.

The Bullets were counting on having the right to match, BUT a new CBA went into effect and players were granted unrestricted free agency. So, they had to bid against the Heat.

It was one bad move in a series of them. I earlier mentioned Webber for Richmond and Thorpe as their "biggest" blunder, but trading Ben Wallace (and others) for Ike Austin was probably worse. Austin peaked with Miami in 97-98, and then declined in consecutive years BEFORE Washington traded for him. The argument at the time was that Austin was a "true" center. In fact, he was only about an inch taller than Wallace. In addition to Austin not being that good even when in shape, his Achilles heel was his conditioning.

Meanwhile, fitness freak Ben Wallace's least productive full season (after his abbreviated rookie year) was better than Austin's best season. And, Wallace would go on to a Hall of Fame career (induction pending)...at center.

[gambitx777]

FYI ! John wall is the 6th highest PG on NBA rank, behind Chris Paul, Russel Westbrooke, Stephen Curry, Tony Parker, and Damian Lillard.

[Chocolate City Jordanaire]

I forget all the details, but I remember the Bullets played hardball with Howard, used up cap space, and then had only below market money to offer on his rookie contract. They offered an opt out after the second year as an incentive, and acquiring Webber seemed to cement the deal. A perfect storm. Had Howard gotten a typical rookie contract, things may have turned out much different, possibly including moving Howard for backcourt help while retaining Webber and the two Wallaces.

Abe Pollin and Wes Unseld decided that rookies were getting too much money. So, in quixotic fashion, they tried to change the system all by themselves. The going rate for Howard's pick was roughly 6 years and $24 million at the time, which is what David Falk and Howard wanted. What you remember from there is pretty much what happened. Howard signed a 13-year contract (or something equally ridiculous), but with an option to terminate after the 2nd year.

The Bullets were counting on having the right to match, BUT a new CBA went into effect and players were granted unrestricted free agency. So, they had to bid against the Heat.

It was one bad move in a series of them. I earlier mentioned Webber for Richmond and Thorpe as their "biggest" blunder, but trading Ben Wallace (and others) for Ike Austin was probably worse. Austin peaked with Miami in 97-98, and then declined in consecutive years BEFORE Washington traded for him. The argument at the time was that Austin was a "true" center. In fact, he was only about an inch taller than Wallace. In addition to Austin not being that good even when in shape, his Achilles heel was his conditioning.

Meanwhile, fitness freak Ben Wallace's least productive full season (after his abbreviated rookie year) was better than Austin's best season. And, Wallace would go on to a Hall of Fame career (induction pending)...at center.

I recall getting almost apoplectic over the Ben Wallace/Ike Austin deal.

Back then I was posting on AOL. Stats Inc used to be free and it provided stats that I referred to a lot back then. I recall coming across a stat before that trade that listed Ike Austin as THE LEAST EFFICIENT scorer in the game. Perhaps there were other criteria, such as over a certain height, or other. I just remember thinking the guy takes a lot of shots, doesn't score well, and he's not a great rebounder. Sort of like Kevin Duckworth but not nearly as good as Duckworth was back in the day.

When the Wizards let absolute stud rebounder Ben Wallace go for Ike Austin, I knew that I knew that I knew that deal was going to be a really bad trade. Austin was a guy who worked himself into good shape one season down in Miami and parlayed being big into a big contract. Ben Wallace just had to wait his turn from playing behind Juwan and Chris Webber. Wallace didn't have offensive skills but he was always a great rebounder and shot blocker. Had there been strong emphasis on analytics back then, SOMEBODY in the Wizards organization probably would have valued Ben a lot more.

The ironic thing is that the Orlando Magic let Ben Wallace go to Detroit. I forget the circumstances, but they didn't realize what they had, either.

[montestewart]

I recall getting almost apoplectic over the Ben Wallace/Ike Austin deal.

I can't really recall anyone being excited about that trade, even if they didn't know much about Ben Wallace. Ike Austin just didn't look like it would end well, with his best years (never that good at his best) behind him. Beyond his rebounding, Wallace was already showing a less disciplined version of what would become some of the best defense in the league even when he was on the Wizards, with active hands, nose for the ball, and great natural anticipation and instincts. Back then, the Bullets/Wizards management was so maddeningly impatient and impulsive, trading away good players and rarely getting even close to comparable value.

[Wes_Tiny_Abe_]

http://www.nbcwashington.com/news/local ... 01902.html

He locked the doors of the cab and like, like, like, made me pay a higher fare and that was like, like, like, sooooooooooooo wrong everyone should like, like, like, be outraged, Yah.

[Kanyewest]

Lakers are well on their way to winning less than 20 games with Randle out with a broken leg.

[jangles86]

Howard hates Kobe bad

[montestewart]

http://www.nbcwashington.com/news/local/DC-Woman-Claims-Cab-Driver-Overcharged-Locked-Her-in-Car-280601902.html

He locked the doors of the cab and like, like, like, made me pay a higher fare and that was like, like, like, sooooooooooooo wrong everyone should like, like, like, be outraged, Yah.

In the old days, a feral dog would have pulled her bones out of a shallow grave eroding along the Anacostia. She saw Madam's Organ and ran into the Starbucks crying rape. She would have been perfectly safe in the Capital Center parking lot. All my friends are gay and they were dancing until it was torn down. What about them? CVS. Yup.

[Nivek]

Locking a woman in the cab is a crime. It's called "false imprisonment." For locking her in the vehicle, the cab driver probably wouldn't get hit with a felony (up to 20 years in prison), but he could get a misdemeanor charge, which would carry a fine, possible jail time, and probation.

And, the woman could sue the driver in civil court and potentially collect damages.