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Induveca wrote:Sadly I can confirm that from friend of a friend here in the DR (his father is from here, and they own a home close). Ariza apparently indeed hates DC and wants out.....

Sucks being a Dominican, was excited for him there....but it is what it is.....

Great! I invite him to opt out this summer and he can go sign wherever he pleases. I'm sure he could average double figures in the Dominican league.

If the Wiz could sign him that cheap, sure...why not? But there's no rush with Webster. He's been good so far, but it's preseason and 3 games, and he has a lengthy record of subpar play.

Apparently he thinks the city is "boring". No freaking clue how he considered New Orleans more appealing. Maybe his New York and LA stints ruined him, he has in fact been all downhill after leaving LA.

Too bad, millions of people are rooting for him down here. First Felipe Lopez, now this....sigh.

Induveca wrote:Apparently he thinks the city is "boring". No freaking clue how he considered New Orleans more appealing. Maybe his New York and LA stints ruined him, he has in fact been all downhill after leaving LA.

Too bad, millions of people are rooting for him down here. First Felipe Lopez, now this....sigh.

I am rooting for him too, rooting for him to get benched and/or get out of town.

Just wanted to bump this thread. Webster is our one glimmer of light in this miserable year.

Per 36, he is averaging 14.7 points, 6 boards, 2.3 assists, .9 steals and .7 blocks while maintaining a TS% of .639%, a 3P% of .405 and a PER of 15.5 on low usage. He is also a very good defender. Basically, he is doing everything we wanted Nicolas Batum to do, but for about 1/8th the cost.

The encouraging thing is that his improved play over his career averages might be somewhat sustainable. He started his career very young and logged several seasons before he understood the game. By the time he figured the game out, he got hurt. This might be the first time we've seen a mature Martell Webster who is injury free. Also, one of the main reasons for his improvement in efficiency is that he has nearly doubled his FTA rate from his career averages - something that might be sustainable.

And he has done it all with no PG play. Hopefully, he'll get an opportunity to start and prove that his numbers aren't a fluke. He might even improve once Wall gets back.

nate33 wrote:Just wanted to bump this thread. Webster is our one glimmer of light in this miserable year.

Per 36, he is averaging 14.7 points, 6 boards, 2.3 assists, .9 steals and .7 blocks while maintaining a TS% of .639%, a 3P% of .405 and a PER of 15.5 on low usage. He is also a very good defender. Basically, he is doing everything we wanted Nicolas Batum to do, but for about 1/8th the cost.

The encouraging thing is that his improved play over his career averages might be somewhat sustainable. He started his career very young and logged several seasons before he understood the game. By the time he figured the game out, he got hurt. This might be the first time we've seen a mature Martell Webster who is injury free. Also, one of the main reasons for his improvement in efficiency is that he has nearly doubled his FTA rate from his career averages - something that might be sustainable.

And he has done it all with no PG play. Hopefully, he'll get an opportunity to start and prove that his numbers aren't a fluke. He might even improve once Wall gets back.

I think he may crack the starting lineup tonight. I hope he does.

I really love this guy:

Martell Webster? He's new. And so, in the aftermath of his first Wizards "road" home game of the season, he had a message he wanted to convey.

"Did you guys not hear the announcements?" he asked rhetorically. "It's like, [when they called] Chris Singleton, it's like (he says yay softly). They call LeBron's name, and it's like, jeez."

A reporter finished his sentence to say, "the house came down." Then, Webster continued with the punchline.

"Tonight was an away game, and we won. We won on the road at home. Crazy."

Later, he was asked how those loud cheers for James made him feel.

"I mean, it's horrible. It's a horrible feeling. You want your fans to be loyal. You want to see more red, white and blue jerseys out there in the stands than you do the away team," he said.

Webster is hardly the first player to express his frustration at the bipartisan Washington Wizards crowd, and he certainly won't be the last. Such is the nature of being a bad basketball team in a transplant city made up of fans of all NBA franchises. But of all the players that have spoken out, Webster seemed most determined to change the narrative.

"It's not going to happen [overnight]. Rome wasn't built in a day. We have to continue to win," he said. "Next time Boston comes in here, there will be green jerseys up in here. When Chicago comes in, there will be red jerseys up in here. We have to take advantage of these games. That builds loyalty with the fans. When we do that, more times than not, they'll be roaring when our names are called instead of theirs."

http://www.bulletsforever.com/2012/12/4 ... -heat-2012

I always knew he would amount to something.

Go Web. He is a true leader. Let the man lead.

Really love this guy. He can ball and is passionate. When was the last time he took a play off?

Better keep him Ernie.

Excellent signing by Ernie. It's hard for me to believe this guy came straight out of high school.

His post game comments after today's game, if you read/listen past the first remark, is something I've been waiting to hear a player say for quite some time.

I like Martell a lot. Glad he realizes that fans are going to continue to come out to see the other teams until the Wiz start winning. If they want to change the atmosphere at games, they need to do it by starting to win.

don't disagree with any of the above except that MIA fans were NOT
a majority last night or any other MIA@Wiz game I've attended.
Far too many MIA fans for my taste to be sure and too much applause
and cheers for good Heat plays but there were more Wiz fans and they
made more noise.

Martell is right about winning generating enthusiasm though. We could
definitely use more. Of BOTH!

The Wiz fans got loud late in the game but given the way this team likes to string its fans along for losses I am not surprised that Wizards fans were mostly reserved in the beginning.

Cheers for Miami plays were out of control the half or so it seemed, but after that I don't recall hearing too much anymore.

Love the way Webster has played all year, about time he gets into the starting lineup.

I'm excited to see what Martell can do with starter minutes. He seems to have the physical tools and skillset to be a very solid wing scorer, but I can't peg what i think his upside is. He has a good shot, attacks the rim off the pump & go game, and his defense has been ok. Can he become a 13-15ppg scorer as a starting 3? With him, he looks like he's solid all around, but just has to do it consistently and put it all together at once.

He's okay...again he's a semi-bright spot on a terrible team. We have to be careful about heaping praise because he is in a contract year.

TGW wrote:He's okay...again he's a semi-bright spot on a terrible team. We have to be careful about heaping praise because he is in a contract year.

Exactly. He's okay. Good for him. I hope he can parlay this in to a long term deal, with someone else.

While we focus on finding the next Martell on the cheap in free agency.

Very happy he is on our team. Smart guy and he plays hard. He should start at the SF spot, he gives us the outside shooting and hustle we need.

When Wall returns, I'd like to see how a Wall/Beal/Webster/Singleton/Nene lineup performs (With KS in w/ Nene against teams with bigger front lines.

Dat2U wrote:

TGW wrote:He's okay...again he's a semi-bright spot on a terrible team. We have to be careful about heaping praise because he is in a contract year.

Exactly. He's okay. Good for him. I hope he can parlay this in to a long term deal, with someone else.

While we focus on finding the next Martell on the cheap in free agency.

If Webster were to keep playing at his current level over the next few years, he'd be a great long-term sign at a reasonable price.

Why don't GMs sign guys like this w/ a year-two option? I never understand that. Not just Ernie, btw -- see it all the time when the potential little bump in the cost of the current year makes the option a bargain. It's critical to put yourself in a position to benefit from positive surprises.

Wouldnt mind giving him a longer contract. Dude has earned more than the 1M a year we're paying him now