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Michael Lee: Wizards Brass turned down Harden

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Re: Michael Lee: Wizards Brass turned down Harden 

Post#161 » by Mizerooskie » Thu Dec 13, 2012 2:22 pm

Dat2U wrote:Someone made a comment on Bulletsforever regarding the NHL lockout and how that might be effecting things on the Wizards side as far as spending is concerned. It makes the Okafor/Ariza trade look even worse.

The crazy thing is they how they jumped the gun, not just before free agency but long before the draft itself. They were apparently so scared of what might not happen that they guaranteed $43 million over the next two seasons before you could even blink an eye. It seemed liked they took the first deal offered. Had they been patient, just waited a bit, maybe up to the draft, maybe they'd get a better deal. Maybe NO would have offered the #10. Or better yet, OKC would have called and you'd have $22 million more (+$21 mil for Lewis' deal) reasons to consider the Harden trade. I never understood why they rushed into that deal. Something just doesn't quite add up there.

Now it's not just a bad trade. It's become the type that sets your franchise back for a few years.

Imagine what Wall is thinking right now. I think the dude is a special kid. Because of the restraint he's shown thus far. He hasn't said a negative word about the organization as of yet.

But I bet he's thinking a lot about free agency and hoping to get out of dodge.

And potential free agents now know for a fact Leonsis isn't serious about winning.

Oh, Michael Lee finally earned his salary this year (bout damn time!). Teddy is probably not a happy camper that this got out. This sounds like a rumor one of Grunfeld's associates would leak to take the heat off him. :lol:

Ted is one of the owners crying poor in the NHL lockout (i.e., he's claiming that he's losing money on the Caps).

So one would think the lockout would be beneficial to the Wizards financially.
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Re: Michael Lee: Wizards Brass turned down Harden 

Post#162 » by Nivek » Thu Dec 13, 2012 2:49 pm

I vented a bit about this on my blog.

I think the key factor in why so many looooooooooooong term fans are wondering the hell they're still fans is the crushing disappointment in Ted Leonsis. He was the guy who we expected to fix all this.
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Re: Michael Lee: Wizards Brass turned down Harden 

Post#163 » by Cramer » Thu Dec 13, 2012 3:00 pm

As for moving on, I've followed these guys since they were in Baltimore, and I just don't care anymore. I also moved over the summer from NOVA to a farm in NC. Yea, I get MASN and CSN but I haven't watched a second of this team this season. Being away from it on a daily basis makes it a lot easier to not care, not that not caring is taking a **** load of effort. I'm not listening to 980 for hours every day or reading the Post with my breakfast. But, I can't move on to another team, I was a Bullets fan, not an NBA fan, and my first love is college basketball anyway. I assume I'll get sucked back in if they manage to get competitive again, but really, I'm so far gone I'm not certain of that. What I miss is on a slow night I had something to watch I cared about to kill a couple of hours. Now, instead of the Wiz I'm watching my wife's recordings of Restaurant Impossible. If that isn't proof I've checked out on these guys, I don't know what is.

It's really kind of sad in a way. It's like having that great buddy that you just ended up growing apart from until there was just nothing there.
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Re: Michael Lee: Wizards Brass turned down Harden 

Post#164 » by GhostsOfGil » Thu Dec 13, 2012 3:01 pm

Nivek wrote:I vented a bit about this on my blog.

I think the key factor in why so many looooooooooooong term fans are wondering the hell they're still fans is the crushing disappointment in Ted Leonsis. He was the guy who we expected to fix all this.


Great read kev.
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Re: Michael Lee: Wizards Brass turned down Harden 

Post#165 » by sashae » Thu Dec 13, 2012 3:03 pm

We went from cheap and scattered and s___y marketing with Abe to cheap and scattered with great (Baghdad Bob level) marketing with Ted. Awesome.
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Re: Michael Lee: Wizards Brass turned down Harden 

Post#166 » by Nivek » Thu Dec 13, 2012 3:04 pm

Here's my version of what Cramer's talking about. I have a cold that's wearing me out. Not the first time, and when it's happened in previous seasons, I've lazed around in bed watching the full game before taking whatever medicine it is that's going to make me feel better and have me nodding off to sleep. Last night, I took the med in the 1st quarter. I managed to stay awake until halftime, but I saw not a moment of the second half. I have it recorded, but there's zero chance I'll go back and watch.
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Re: Michael Lee: Wizards Brass turned down Harden 

Post#167 » by DCZards » Thu Dec 13, 2012 3:14 pm

Rafael122 wrote:The crazy thing is Beal has been balling the last 4 or 5 games. Kinda unfair to the kid, IMO. We're sitting here with what if's, and we may already have a guy who could be on that Harden pedestal in a year or two.


I was kinda thinking the same thing. I guess folks would rightfully argue that Beal has a long ways to go before we can claim that he's a James Harden-level talent...at a much cheaper price. It is encouraging though that OKC was apparently hot for Beal, even interviewed the kid before the draft. That says something about how highly-regarded Beal is/was, even by a smart GM like Presti.

I'm disappointed that Harden is not in a Zard uni, but I fully expect to enjoy watching BB play and develop over the next few years.
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Re: Michael Lee: Wizards Brass turned down Harden 

Post#168 » by pancakes3 » Thu Dec 13, 2012 3:22 pm

Secretly this thread is for people to vent about the OkaRiza trade.
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Re: Michael Lee: Wizards Brass turned down Harden 

Post#169 » by Nivek » Thu Dec 13, 2012 3:26 pm

For me, what rankles about the Harden story has nothing to do with Beal. I've been writing all season that I think Beal will be fine long-term. His career has started like virtually all teenage rookie guards, including Harden. What rankles is the poor planning in the front office that closed off even the possibility of this kind of move.

Because the Wizards jumped so quickly to make the Okariza deal, they couldn't properly weigh the cost/benefit of acquiring Harden because of the salary he was going to receive.
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Re: Michael Lee: Wizards Brass turned down Harden 

Post#170 » by pineappleheadindc » Thu Dec 13, 2012 4:47 pm

.

Whoa.

If I were Ted or one of his minions, I'd be concerned if I read some of the more recent comments to this thread.

It's not that the Wizards are angering long-time members of their fan base. It's that the Wizards, through their own incompetence, are becoming irrelevant to folks who have long-term ties to the organization. I'd rather my fans be mad (and invested) than make me invisible in their lives if I were the Wizards brass.

Once a fan base moves on, can mere winning get them back? I don't think all of them. (And I'm not convinced this crew in the Wizards front office has the wherewithall to win within my lifetime). Once people move on from you, they develop new interests, new lifestyles. We become climatized to other things in our lives.

We all get older. We move on. We grow into families and kids. Or leave the area. Or get more demanding jobs. Or become baseball fans. And this total long-term legacy of losing isn't growing new fans among the young. At least not in the numbers that are healthy.

I think Ted Leonsis is a well-intentioned man. But perhaps a victim of his own press vis-a-vis the Caps. His plan was to purposefully suck for a while. Then, he lucked into Ovy. Not by design from years ahead of the draft, he just walked into a transformational player. But his only strategy was to suck and draft high.

Suck and draft high isn't a strategy for the Wizards when your GM can't draft well. Or you trade second round picks for "cash considerations". (Houston had a second round pick starting for them last night and beat us.) We've failed long enough to have enough high draft picks to be better than we are, with or without Wall.

Ultimately, like Kev, I didn't catch the game last night. It's on my DVR, but I doubt I watch it. The boxscore this morning was enough for me. The 121212 concert seemed like a better use of my time. And it was.

It speaks volumes that we had more interest in this team - and a livelier board - during the days of Chris Whitney, Laron Profit, Juan Dixon, and (yikes) Juwan Howard. What a sad state of affairs that have befallen upon the Wizards organization.

Sorry so long of a post,

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Re: Michael Lee: Wizards Brass turned down Harden 

Post#171 » by TGW » Thu Dec 13, 2012 5:05 pm

Nivek wrote:I vented a bit about this on my blog.

I think the key factor in why so many looooooooooooong term fans are wondering the hell they're still fans is the crushing disappointment in Ted Leonsis. He was the guy who we expected to fix all this.


Would you mind if I posted this on Ted's blog? I want him to know what someone who actually knows WTF they're doing would have treated our offseason.
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Re: Michael Lee: Wizards Brass turned down Harden 

Post#172 » by montestewart » Thu Dec 13, 2012 5:06 pm

Good post, pineappleheadindc. Based on the pr coming out of the Wizards, I don't think they'll be able to understand the information in front of their eyes.
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Re: Michael Lee: Wizards Brass turned down Harden 

Post#173 » by Nivek » Thu Dec 13, 2012 5:11 pm

TGW wrote:
Nivek wrote:I vented a bit about this on my blog.

I think the key factor in why so many looooooooooooong term fans are wondering the hell they're still fans is the crushing disappointment in Ted Leonsis. He was the guy who we expected to fix all this.


Would you mind if I posted this on Ted's blog? I want him to know what someone who actually knows WTF they're doing would have treated our offseason.


Feel free. :)

And I agree completely with pine's post. This happened with me and the Orioles back when Ripken retired. I'd grown so disgusted with Peter Angelos and the way the team was being run, that when Cal hung 'em up, I stopped paying attention. I essentially fell away from baseball completely -- totally casual fan. And this from a guy who knew the O's entire 40-man roster, plus.

I'm more interested now with the Nationals in town, but I still don't regularly watch games. It looks to me like there's real potential for something similar with die-hard Wizards fans.
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Re: Michael Lee: Wizards Brass turned down Harden 

Post#174 » by GhostsOfGil » Thu Dec 13, 2012 5:31 pm

pineappleheadindc wrote:It speaks volumes that we had more interest in this team - and a livelier board - during the days of Chris Whitney, Laron Profit, Juan Dixon, and (yikes) Juwan Howard. What a sad state of affairs that have befallen upon the Wizards organization.

Sorry so long of a post,

Pine


O Jahadi White.. those were the days.
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Re: Michael Lee: Wizards Brass turned down Harden 

Post#175 » by The Fax » Thu Dec 13, 2012 9:26 pm

I never thought I'd say this but I would be extremely happy if Dan Snyder bought this team. At least Dan eventually got it right with the Skins by firing Vinny Cerrato and the circus. I just don't think Leonsis has the balls.
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Re: Michael Lee: Wizards Brass turned down Harden 

Post#176 » by Knighthonor » Thu Dec 13, 2012 9:54 pm

pancakes3 wrote:Secretly this thread is for people to vent about the OkaRiza trade.

This. let it out...

but dont hate.
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Re: Michael Lee: Wizards Brass turned down Harden 

Post#177 » by dandridge 10 » Thu Dec 13, 2012 10:47 pm

Nivek wrote:I vented a bit about this on my blog.

I think the key factor in why so many looooooooooooong term fans are wondering the hell they're still fans is the crushing disappointment in Ted Leonsis. He was the guy who we expected to fix all this.


Nivek,

This was an awesome post. I would strongly recommend sending it to the Washington Post so that they can print it as an editorial.
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Re: Michael Lee: Wizards Brass turned down Harden 

Post#178 » by tontoz » Thu Dec 13, 2012 10:59 pm

There is no chance Nivek's blog makes it past the mods on Ted's Take. I don't think Ted is ready to accept blame .....yet. Hopefully he will at some point. Until then we can probably expect more f ups.
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Re: Michael Lee: Wizards Brass turned down Harden 

Post#179 » by payitforward » Fri Dec 14, 2012 3:24 am

Nivek wrote:For me, what rankles about the Harden story has nothing to do with Beal. I've been writing all season that I think Beal will be fine long-term. His career has started like virtually all teenage rookie guards, including Harden. What rankles is the poor planning in the front office that closed off even the possibility of this kind of move.

Because the Wizards jumped so quickly to make the Okariza deal, they couldn't properly weigh the cost/benefit of acquiring Harden because of the salary he was going to receive.

+1
Breaking News: In a shocking development, Wizards owner Ted Leonsis has sold the NBA franchise to a consortium of participants in a discussion board devoted to the team on realgm.com. Details to follow....
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Re: Michael Lee: Wizards Brass turned down Harden 

Post#180 » by payitforward » Fri Dec 14, 2012 3:31 am

tontoz wrote:There is no chance Nivek's blog makes it past the mods on Ted's Take. I don't think Ted is ready to accept blame .....yet. Hopefully he will at some point. Until then we can probably expect more f ups.

Doubt Ted even sees the more intelligent, analytical versions of negativity. Too challenging. His gatekeepers peel those off before he weighs in.

Ted has a man-crush on... Ted. He thinks every idea he has is good, really big.

As to Ernie, think about it this way -- whenever this job ends is when he retires. He knows that; how could he not. And he's in his 60s, ready to retire. So, how can he possibly motivate himself to rebuild the FO in a 21st century manner? No way. All he does is jolly his boss. All he needs to do.
Breaking News: In a shocking development, Wizards owner Ted Leonsis has sold the NBA franchise to a consortium of participants in a discussion board devoted to the team on realgm.com. Details to follow....

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