Martell Webster has back surgery -- OUT 3-5 months

[nuposse04]

Ideally the could have had the surgery a month ago since the season ended May 15th.

The quickest they could have done it was last week, when it was injured. There isn't any pressing need to rush him back. He wasn't playing D or shooting as well towards the end of last season and we got by...albeit on excellent play from Ariza. Question now becomes if we have to pony up 9-10 mil for Ariza, wouldn't we rather do some poison pill **** with Parsons than Ariza?

Injured last week?

He played as if he were injured for quite a while through the playoffs.

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I think he probably was injured in the playoffs but w/e he did last week probably exasperated it to the point where it needs surgery now. If surgery was needed before they would have done it. I give the wiz credit now a days in that they actually try preventative and cautious approaches. Now, it very could well have been Webster was selfish and mum about this whole thing :I

[Kanyewest]

The quickest they could have done it was last week, when it was injured. There isn't any pressing need to rush him back. He wasn't playing D or shooting as well towards the end of last season and we got by...albeit on excellent play from Ariza. Question now becomes if we have to pony up 9-10 mil for Ariza, wouldn't we rather do some poison pill **** with Parsons than Ariza?

Injured last week?

He played as if he were injured for quite a while through the playoffs.

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I think he probably was injured in the playoffs but w/e he did last week probably exasperated it to the point where it needs surgery now. If surgery was needed before they would have done it. I give the wiz credit now a days in that they actually try preventative and cautious approaches. Now, it very could well have been Webster was selfish and mum about this whole thing :I

I haven't seen that he was injured last week. I agree with CCJ that he didn't look like he was healthy throughout stretches of the regular season and playoffs. Maybe the Wizards were waiting to see if he could recover with rest before opting for surgery.

[dckingsfan]

My guess is it will be the entire season... Now all we need is for Nene to get hurt playing for Brazil

#soWizards

[dckingsfan]

So we have $46M against the following player that should play next year (with 1/2 Nene - my guess)... sigh.

Code: Select all

PG   Wall      Miller
SG   Beal      Rice
SF   Porter
PF   Nene   
C      


[80sballboy]

(from Kevin Pelton's chat on ESPN.com)

Matt (DC)

What do the Wizards do now with them announcing Martell Webster is out 4-5 months with back issues? Can they afford to resign Gortat and Ariza?

Kevin Pelton
(3:20 PM)

Affording Ariza and Gortat shouldn't be a problem. Whether it's prudent to re-sign them with John Wall's extension kicking in and Bradley Beal a couple years away from big money is the issue, and Webster's injury gives them that much less leverage when it comes to Ariza.

Frederick (Austria)

If you're Washington, why re-sign Ariza? Wouldn't it be very easy to pay another wing half the price and tell them "Mr. Wall will get you your money next year" ?

Kevin Pelton
(3:25 PM)

Definitely a viable option if the Ariza bidding goes too high. One thing I did not realize until looking it up was how little Ariza played without Wall on the floor last season.


Joe (Washington DC)

Hey Kevin, With the news that Martell Webster is going to be out for 3-5 months with a back injury and Trevor Ariza and Gortat being a free agent, do you think the Wizards should have been more stingy about giving away last night's pick or is the financial flexibility they got for the pick more advantageous.

Kevin Pelton
(3:30 PM)

I don't think it really makes a difference. They were unlikely to draft anyone more talented than Glen Rice, Jr., frankly. Also, the Wizards have been linked to Birch, who would have been the best player available on my board when their pick came up.

[truwizfan4evr]

My guess is it will be the entire season... Now all we need is for Nene to get hurt playing for Brazil

#soWizards

Good idea. Tank city!

[queridiculo]

Not surprised by this when he was playing SF just sped up the process. Not sure if Otto can play the 2 so just start Rice.

Huh?

[thinker07]

This is a really WOW. It means that IF Gortat and Ariza both resign we won't have a single proven reserve wing. This would seem to guarantee that the Wiz will have to sign a veteran wing. Otherwise if Ariza or Beal get hurt we'd be looking at Otto or Rice as starters and the other one as the only wing backup.

[dckingsfan]

This is a really WOW. It means that IF Gortat and Ariza both resign we won't have a single proven reserve wing. This would seem to guarantee that the Wiz will have to sign a veteran wing. Otherwise if Ariza or Beal get hurt we'd be looking at Otto or Rice as starters and the other one as the only wing backup.

We really can't do that. We only have 1 FC player signed right now. Nene who is going to play during the summer. We need to put our FA $$s into the FC and hope that Rice and Porter grow up in a hurry. I guess that means EG will sign an expensive wing.

[nate33]

This is bad news but it's not the end of the world. Webster is likely to come back from this in better shape. In the meantime it'll add to the 62 games he'll need to miss to knock a year of his contract.

The biggest drawback is that he can't be moved this summer. But it may not be necessary if Ariza and Gortat combine to make $17-18M a year instead of the $21M I was bracing for. Just move Nene and we'll be in good shape.

[80sballboy]

This is bad news but it's not the end of the world. Webster is likely to come back from this in better shape. In the meantime it'll add to the 62 games he'll need to miss to knock a year of his contract.

The biggest drawback is that he can't be moved this summer. But it may not be necessary if Ariza and Gortat combine to make $17-18M a year instead of the $21M I was bracing for. Just move Nene and we'll be in good shape.

Don't rain on people's parades Nate. People want to see this team fail because of their hate of EG/RW/TL. Four-to-six months is not the entire season. It's half at the worst and Webster was terrible for most of the year and now we know why. I think Porter could be a better option, at least defensively, behind Ariza (assuming we re-sign him). Yes, the Webster contract has come back to haunt us but now we know we need Ariza more than ever and that Porter and Rice have a chance to play if they improve.

[Dark Faze]

This is a really WOW. It means that IF Gortat and Ariza both resign we won't have a single proven reserve wing. This would seem to guarantee that the Wiz will have to sign a veteran wing. Otherwise if Ariza or Beal get hurt we'd be looking at Otto or Rice as starters and the other one as the only wing backup.

do people really expect guys that get under 4 minutes a game on the year to just come in and shoot 50% from the field and play elite defense or something

guys are going to struggle playing minutes that are basically nothing

[hands11]

I wouldn't pay TA any more then I was before.

If he wants to walk or take advantage of this situation, let him walk and go to plan B.

He isn't the only SF out there.

One thing is for sure, Otto has to be highly motivated right now.

We are about to find out of Trevor A is really a Wizards or not. They have something going on here so is he about lip service or does he want to be a part of this thing.

http://www.bulletsforever.com/2014/6/27 ... ett-temple

While Harrington has said that he wants to play for the Wizards this fall, his health is another issue:

Right now, I think I want to play, but my body’s going to tell me the story. As the summer goes along, I guess the Wizards will give me a deadline of letting them know….I don’t see myself playing anywhere else. I like what’s going on there, I like the environment. The cast of players we have there is perfect for me to be around.

Gooden will stay at his residence in North Bethesda for the summer. He also talked about the positive culture during his time with the team:

I have a comfort level there like no other right now. I can’t see myself wanting to go play with another team, to prove myself again for another coach in another organization, doing all those things again. I feel like what we did last year and the potential of what we could build on, I think that’s something I want to be a part of.

[dckingsfan]

This is bad news but it's not the end of the world. Webster is likely to come back from this in better shape. In the meantime it'll add to the 62 games he'll need to miss to knock a year of his contract.

Wahoooo - although my guess is he will try to come back to early. He really should sit the year out and get himself back in shape.

Edit: Kind of interesting that the Webster/Maynor FA signings aren't really in dispute now.

[dckingsfan]

No thank you to Harrington...

[nate33]

I still don't hold the Webster signing against EG. At the time, I don't think it was foreseeable that Ariza would become such a ridiculously good shooter. We were essentially platooning Webster and Ariza based on our need for offense or defense. Both guys were pretty critical. Yeah, in hindsight, Webster looks pretty expendable, but that wasn't the case when he signed his contract.

[RussellandFlow]

I do not see Webster deciding to sit out the season, he wants that $$$$$ and I expect he will do everything in his power to make sure he comes back as soon as he is able to.

[Dat2U]

I still don't hold the Webster signing against EG. At the time, I don't think it was foreseeable that Ariza would become such a ridiculously good shooter. We were essentially platooning Webster and Ariza based on our need for offense or defense. Both guys were pretty critical. Yeah, in hindsight, Webster looks pretty expendable, but that wasn't the case when he signed his contract.

Completely disagree. Ariza's performance didn't need to be forseeable. The fact you had Ariza under contract and just spent a 3rd pick on another SF should have been enough reason not to sign Webster to a MLE sized contract for 4 years.

Giving EG a pass because you would have done the same thing... lol. Lots of people strongly argued against his resigning last offseason.

[Hidden Eye]

Not surprised by this when he was playing SF just sped up the process. Not sure if Otto can play the 2 so just start Rice.

Huh?

Webster had no business playing SF just adds more stress. Otto and Rice Jr time to play but Temple plays better D and has better ballhandling. You can't have it both ways. 2 Unit gotta get juiced up next season if the Wiz wanna get more tv time.

[Ruzious]

Gee, what a shocker that Webster has a serious back problem. We never knew that before Ernie extended him, except that we did. It was obvious. And yet, here we are,