Report: Mavs S&T Blair to Wizards

[LyricalRico]

Unreal signing. $2,000,000 even for 3 years, with the third year 100% non-guaranteed is amazing. One of the best deals of the summer so far.

I think Sev posted in another thread that the Wiz showing they are on the rise last season may have begun to separate us from still-bottom-dwellers like Utah/Detroit/Orlando who have all had to overpay to get guys to sign there. Washington now has guys like Pierce/Humphries/Blair willing to sign with us for less than perhaps they could have gotten elsewhere because of the opportunity to be a contributor on a good team.

The next step is for us to be serious players for guys on bad teams who get buyouts after the All Star Break and look to sign with playoff teams. If we're a division leader come mid-season, I would expect some of those opportunities to also be available to us.

[Ruzious]

Ruz, to me, the most impressive and unexpected was the move to force that trade exemption. That was key and a move more complex, and more forward-thinking, than any move I've seen EG make.

And to be honest, making a move like that never occurred to me before EG actually did it. It totally caught me by surprise. And then actually using it... I'd really like to know who the mastermind was, because nothing EG has done before suggests it was him. Several of his assistants have left over the last year to take good jobs elsewhere, so I'm guessing it was someone recently hired.

[Dat2U]

If we're smart we'll sit Nene frequently. Just as the Spurs rest their older players. It makes too much sense. And now, for the first time in my life, we have enough depth down low to actually do something like this. I hope we actually do it.

Unreal signing. $2,000,000 even for 3 years, with the third year 100% non-guaranteed is amazing. One of the best deals of the summer so far.

I think you're going to see Nene get a a ton of DNP-CD. With the frontcourt depth that the Zards have acquired this summer I expect Nene to get a reduced minutes and lots of games off.

Hmm, good point. No back-to-backs. Cap his minutes at 30 a night at most. He might even last a whole season under those circumstances. It would even be more ideal if he doesn't start so were not always switching the starting lineup based on his absences.

I hope your right.

[Chocolate City Jordanaire]

Ruz, to me, the most impressive and unexpected was the move to force that trade exemption. That was key and a move more complex, and more forward-thinking, than any move I've seen EG make.

I would agree there. Totally unexpected and very un-Grunfeldian.

Still don't know how anyone could trust or celebrate Grunfeld like he's a hero... but admittedly, I'm seeing some things from him that indicates he's either got some inside help (any new hires in the past year to the front office?) or he decided to take his job seriously and FINALLY learned some of the tricks of his trade.

Speed Racer has a rival known as Racer X. No one knows the identity of Racer X. He is an excellent driver.

I think we have a GM X sitting at Ernie's desk.

(Yeah, I wondered as a kid how Speed wouldn't know his own lost brother.)

Sent from my SGH-M919 using RealGM Forums mobile app

[tontoz]

Ruz, to me, the most impressive and unexpected was the move to force that trade exemption. That was key and a move more complex, and more forward-thinking, than any move I've seen EG make.

And to be honest, making a move like that never occurred to me before EG actually did it. It totally caught me by surprise. And then actually using it... I'd really like to know who the mastermind was, because nothing EG has done before suggests it was him. Several of his assistants have left over the last year to take good jobs elsewhere, so I'm guessing it was someone recently hired.

I don't see how EG could force Houston to do a SNT since they had the cap space to sign him outright. it was probably more like a request and Houston was ok with it since they are in a different conference.

[LyricalRico]

Ruz, to me, the most impressive and unexpected was the move to force that trade exemption. That was key and a move more complex, and more forward-thinking, than any move I've seen EG make.

And to be honest, making a move like that never occurred to me before EG actually did it. It totally caught me by surprise. And then actually using it... I'd really like to know who the mastermind was, because nothing EG has done before suggests it was him. Several of his assistants have left over the last year to take good jobs elsewhere, so I'm guessing it was someone recently hired.

I don't see how EG could force Houston to do a SNT since they had the cap space to sign him outright. it was probably more like a request and Houston was ok with it since they are in a different conference.

I thought about that as well. It seems to me that the underlying reason was HOU/NOP needing a third team to make the Asik deal possible. Making it a 3-way that included Ariza got the numbers to work.

IMO this example lends itself to the point I repeatedly make when people decry the lack of certain moves from the Wiz - it's not just about what one team wants, it also depends on what's realistic given the scenario.

If New Orleans has enough cap space to absorb Asik without a third team, then Ariza may very well have just signed with Houston outright and we wouldn't be talking about a TPE. And that wouldn't have been due to a lack of competence on Washington's part - the circumstances just wouldn't have made a TPE likely.

But this time the circumstances were such that Ernie could take advantage of the situation, and he did.

[hands11]

How about we ask Gregg Popovich his thoughts on Booker vs Blair?

Wouldn't be shocked to see the Spurs sign Seraphin. Heck, their board was actually talking about signing Vesley, reasoning that the Wiz just don't have the infrastructure to properly develop guys.

Yes they are right, we obviously don't have arguably the best coach of all time...

Couldnt find Long Surfs post but in response to that I will continue to call bull hockey.

The best way to develop players is to have structure, a team identity, and vets to teach them. This is a huge reason SAS does so well with their picks.

Kevin, Singleton, Booker, Ves and Wall his first few years had very little of that. They had blow it up to rebuild. In that stage 1, the team was rudderless. Well they had Lewis and injured Howard but that wasn't enough.

But since then they have added Webster, Nene, Okafor, Gortat, Trevor A. So now Wall and Beal have been developing nicely and suspect Otto to develop nicely and more quickly as well.

And again, Singleton and Ves were both asked to change positions. Ves twice. That was what happened as a side effect of adding those other vets that helped Wall and Beal. Something CCJ pointed out as the downside of the moves several times.

I have a ton more faith that a young player like Birch getting added to the team would develop much more effectively. I have that same faith that Otto will develop more effectively and that Wall and Beal will continue on the development paths they are on.

I mean look at Beal. He is right on schedule for a player coming into his own going into year three. And thats even with all the time he missed due to injury.

So this "can't develop player" idea. Its only true if you ignore a lot of things.

[WizTom]

And to be honest, making a move like that never occurred to me before EG actually did it. It totally caught me by surprise. And then actually using it... I'd really like to know who the mastermind was, because nothing EG has done before suggests it was him. Several of his assistants have left over the last year to take good jobs elsewhere, so I'm guessing it was someone recently hired.

I don't see how EG could force Houston to do a SNT since they had the cap space to sign him outright. it was probably more like a request and Houston was ok with it since they are in a different conference.

I thought about that as well. It seems to me that the underlying reason was HOU/NOP needing a third team to make the Asik deal possible. Making it a 3-way that included Ariza got the numbers to work.

IMO this example lends itself to the point I repeatedly make when people decry the lack of certain moves from the Wiz - it's not just about what one team wants, it also depends on what's realistic given the scenario.

If New Orleans has enough cap space to absorb Asik without a third team, then Ariza may very well have just signed with Houston outright and we wouldn't be talking about a TPE. And that wouldn't have been due to a lack of competence on Washington's part - the circumstances just wouldn't have made a TPE likely.

But this time the circumstances were such that Ernie could take advantage of the situation, and he did.

Here's probably how it went:

Demps: "Explain it to him, Morey, so we can get this Asik thing out of the way."

Ariza's agent: "Yea, just go slow. We need this to go down, too. My client don't wanna pay no state income tax."

Morey: "Okay, here goes. Ernie, please open up the hand-out I gave you to page 1........"

[payitforward]

Ruz, to me, the most impressive and unexpected was the move to force that trade exemption. That was key and a move more complex, and more forward-thinking, than any move I've seen EG make.

Yes, it was terrific -- but how did we "force" it? Don't understand that.

[payitforward]

Blair at $2m a year is a terrific get.

Everyone here knows I argued for Booker as quite a productive player and excellent value for the $$. But Blair is even better value. And so is Humphries. All the more so if we rescind our offer to Kevin -- but if we haven't already done so, doesn't that make it seem unlikely?

We have 6 guys at the 4/5: Gortat, Nene, Gooden, Humphries, Blair, Seraphin. That's 40% of a full roster at 40% of the positions. Does this mean that Birch is on the outside looking in? I sure hope not. He has looked terrific.

[popper]

Blair at $2m a year is a terrific get.

Everyone here knows I argued for Booker as quite a productive player and excellent value for the $$. But Blair is even better value. And so is Humphries. All the more so if we rescind our offer to Kevin -- but if we haven't already done so, doesn't that make it seem unlikely?

We have 6 guys at the 4/5: Gortat, Nene, Gooden, Humphries, Blair, Seraphin. That's 40% of a full roster at 40% of the positions. Does this mean that Birch is on the outside looking in? I sure hope not. He has looked terrific.

This is my question as well. Could it be that we are working on a S&T with Seraphin? Wouldn't his offensive skill-set complement a team that has a dominant rebounder and rim protector that is not a scorer?

[nuposse04]

Blair at $2m a year is a terrific get.

Everyone here knows I argued for Booker as quite a productive player and excellent value for the $$. But Blair is even better value. And so is Humphries. All the more so if we rescind our offer to Kevin -- but if we haven't already done so, doesn't that make it seem unlikely?

We have 6 guys at the 4/5: Gortat, Nene, Gooden, Humphries, Blair, Seraphin. That's 40% of a full roster at 40% of the positions. Does this mean that Birch is on the outside looking in? I sure hope not. He has looked terrific.

I think if we can, we'll rescind seraphin's offer. Sign birch, and use Blair/Hump as trade chips with Webster in order to acquire another wing player when another team is desperate for a rotational big would be my plan of action.

[hands11]

Figured this would be dead after the Humphries signing.
If we add Blair on top of that our depth of big men will be quite nice.

The only possible downfall would be CCJ pounding the table incessantly for more minutes for Blair as he conceivably plays behind Nene, Gortat, Humphries, etc.! ;)

As for trading Nene it's probably not on our doorstep. But the new depth in the front court that would come with this seems to make it closer to a reality than it was a week ago.

I have thought about minutes ....

I don't see minutes for Gooden, because Humphries hits midrange shots and rebounds well, too.

Blair is going to be back in the depth chart, too. I could see Randy just playing Nene/Humphries at PF and Gortat/Blair at C.

Of course, then, all those who envision Paul Pierce as a PF are going to be very disappointed. There are 5 potential PFs (Nene, Humphries, Gooden, Blair, Pierce).

The thing about having quality players is they SHOULD WIN. Winning takes care of whining about minutes.

I will only complain if Wittman loses and uses a short, 8-man bench.

Sounds like its going to be a competition.

I agree in general. Seems like they have one more big that is at an age where they expect to get minutes, then they have slots available.

I could see it coming down to Blair or Gooden depending on what the team needs. Gooden is a little more mobile then Blair and Blair clearly thicker.

Hopefully Randy paces everyone through the season. I want to see Nene get a game off here and there. Same with Blair. And I want to see that vet front court have a rookie like Birch so they have someone to teach and keep them young.

I know word is AH would come back but I just don't see where.

[hands11]

Didn't realize that we gave up the rights to Emir "Bea Arthur's" Preldzic* in the deal.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/wiz ... mavericks/

Now, I'm fine with giving up the rights to Preldzic to get a solid bench player. And I know we're all still enjoying the high of watching EG string a few competent moves together in succession. But this is the exact type of deal that made me annoyed at selling our 2nd rounder this year. We could've just as easily drafted a random Eurostash guy for use as grist in a similar trade down the road.




*yes, I'm sure that joke wouldn't work if I knew how to pronounce his name.

Should we start a Bea Arthur shrine and/or a EG much be fired now because he lost Bea Arthur ?

Spoiler:

Who is Bea Arthur and when did we get him ?

[thinker07]

I think this sets up in a way that Seraphin will be traded out in a S&T. I think they held on to him until they were sure that they could replace him and now that they've done that - a trade will be coming. I also think that they were always quite prepared to move on from Booker and saw Seraphin more tradeable and that's why they gave a QO to one but not the other.

[montestewart]

Speed Racer has a rival known as Racer X. No one knows the identity of Racer X. He is an excellent driver.

I think we have a GM X sitting at Ernie's desk.

(Yeah, I wondered as a kid how Speed wouldn't know his own lost brother.)

Rex Racer (racer X unmasked) kind of looks like a young EG

[youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N8-h7JMO8fw[/youtube]
Whew! That's pretty OT!

$2 million per with 3rd year option seems a bargain for Blair. Would rather have more of a shotblocker instead of (or in addition to) Humphries, but barring injury, the Humphries and Blair contracts should be pretty tradable.

[Chocolate City Jordanaire]

LyricalRico can change his avatar, monte.

Sent from my SGH-M919 using RealGM Forums mobile app

[hands11]

Unreal signing. $2,000,000 even for 3 years, with the third year 100% non-guaranteed is amazing. One of the best deals of the summer so far.

I think Sev posted in another thread that the Wiz showing they are on the rise last season may have begun to separate us from still-bottom-dwellers like Utah/Detroit/Orlando who have all had to overpay to get guys to sign there. Washington now has guys like Pierce/Humphries/Blair willing to sign with us for less than perhaps they could have gotten elsewhere because of the opportunity to be a contributor on a good team.

The next step is for us to be serious players for guys on bad teams who get buyouts after the All Star Break and look to sign with playoff teams. If we're a division leader come mid-season, I would expect some of those opportunities to also be available to us.

The Winfall of Success

Exactly. This is what many of us spoke about last season and even seasons before about why getting to the playoffs and designing a team of the right players was so important. We are now out of the weeds where we had to over pay for players and offer extra year player options.

We are now getting the winfall of success where we get better value on better players and at contract lengths we want. And with team options sometimes instead of player options.

People like to track draft picks but this is a less visual asset that get accumulated. Its team goodwill/purchasing power. Whatever you want to call it. Places like LA have it with location and long historical success. It comes in different forms. But it is something some teams have and other don't.

What we saw this off season was a form of that. We have it because of a combination of reasons. Wall and Beal are not only talented team ball players, but they are real nice young men. They are level headed and focused. And having bigs like The Hammer Gortat and Nene helps as well. And Randy, while not a big name, players know he can coach a defensively focused team and preaches ball movement team ball on offense. Even Ted plays a part. They see what he has done in business and how he has patiently implemented a rebuild plan. Take all that and shine it up with 2nd round playoff, Beal challenging to make Team USA. Wall in an AS games and you get the winfall. The team now his getting respect.

This is a whole sale completely different franchise then it was just 4-5 years ago.

[hands11]

And to be honest, making a move like that never occurred to me before EG actually did it. It totally caught me by surprise. And then actually using it... I'd really like to know who the mastermind was, because nothing EG has done before suggests it was him. Several of his assistants have left over the last year to take good jobs elsewhere, so I'm guessing it was someone recently hired.

I don't see how EG could force Houston to do a SNT since they had the cap space to sign him outright. it was probably more like a request and Houston was ok with it since they are in a different conference.

I thought about that as well. It seems to me that the underlying reason was HOU/NOP needing a third team to make the Asik deal possible. Making it a 3-way that included Ariza got the numbers to work.

IMO this example lends itself to the point I repeatedly make when people decry the lack of certain moves from the Wiz - it's not just about what one team wants, it also depends on what's realistic given the scenario.

If New Orleans has enough cap space to absorb Asik without a third team, then Ariza may very well have just signed with Houston outright and we wouldn't be talking about a TPE. And that wouldn't have been due to a lack of competence on Washington's part - the circumstances just wouldn't have made a TPE likely.

But this time the circumstances were such that Ernie could take advantage of the situation, and he did.

Its seems to always come back to ... You need some luck. Not saying you don't have to set yourself up for it and don't have to take advantage of opportunities, but it does take some luck. Lottery luck. Health luck. TPE luck.

Had we not gotten that TPE, things would look different.

[payitforward]

I don't see how EG could force Houston to do a SNT since they had the cap space to sign him outright. it was probably more like a request and Houston was ok with it since they are in a different conference.

I thought about that as well. It seems to me that the underlying reason was HOU/NOP needing a third team to make the Asik deal possible. Making it a 3-way that included Ariza got the numbers to work.

IMO this example lends itself to the point I repeatedly make when people decry the lack of certain moves from the Wiz - it's not just about what one team wants, it also depends on what's realistic given the scenario.

If New Orleans has enough cap space to absorb Asik without a third team, then Ariza may very well have just signed with Houston outright and we wouldn't be talking about a TPE. And that wouldn't have been due to a lack of competence on Washington's part - the circumstances just wouldn't have made a TPE likely.

But this time the circumstances were such that Ernie could take advantage of the situation, and he did.

Its seems to always come back to ... You need some luck. Not saying you don't have to set yourself up for it and don't have to take advantage of opportunities, but it does take some luck. Lottery luck. Health luck. TPE luck.

Had we not gotten that TPE, things would look different.

"You need some luck" -- absolutely! And this is a perfect example. But, it's one thing to *have* luck and another to *take advantage* of the luck you have, and Ernie gets props for the deal he put together here.