Paul Pierce will forego his Wizards option; (Updated) Signs with the Clippers

AFM · Post #101 » by **AFM** » Thu Jul 2, 2015 12:09 am

TGW wrote:LOL at how much effort JMichael put into trying to convince people PP was going to be back.

J Michael is a clown

Good thing we drafted Oubre

DCZards · Post #102 » by **DCZards** » Thu Jul 2, 2015 12:14 am

nuposse04 wrote:Lets all be a little honest, Pierce was the biggest name FA we have signed in a long time, and he is out after one season. Yah we are making the playoffs as a treadmill team but I'm not so sure we have turned the corner and being as attractive a franchise as say, the Rockets, mem, ATL, heat....and that is mostly for basketball reasons... If the only plan here is KD2DC, we aren't going to get anyone worth a damn until after '16 FA w/o overpaying. :/

So what if we had only one season of PP. Being attractive to a 37 year old Pierce who has one, maybe two seasons left should not be the goal of franchise built around youngin's like Wall, Beal and Porter.

Yes, it would have been nice to have had Pierce for at least another season...but I don't consider this a major setback. It's not like the Zards lost a star in his prime.

Happy for you PP. Thanks for the memories!

crackhed · Post #103 » by **crackhed** » Thu Jul 2, 2015 12:16 am

Induveca wrote:Good move on Pierce's part. Real championship possibility next year in LA. And he gets to retire at home.

You have to assume Ballmer promised him a position with the team after retirement as well.

all due respect i disagree. the clippers ain't going to conf championships w/or w/o pierce. his best chance was on the east coast. just my opinion. godspeed

edit
the real issue here is a gm who has no strategy

PaulGaston · Post #104 » by **PaulGaston** » Thu Jul 2, 2015 1:08 am

Celtic fan here. You guys expect Otto Porter Jr to start next year? I like that kid. Looks like he has talent.

cdouglas · Post #105 » by **cdouglas** » Thu Jul 2, 2015 1:08 am

Time to be realistic about KD coming here..Do you honestly believe he's coming to DC with this roster, GM and coach? I would hate for you to get your hopes up too high.

TheBlackCzar · Post #106 » by **TheBlackCzar** » Thu Jul 2, 2015 1:13 am

cdouglas wrote:Time to be realistic about KD coming here..Do you honestly believe he's coming to DC with this roster, GM and coach? I would hate for you to get your hopes up too high.

Yes I do. And I do primarily because I'm from DC born and raised. And for that fact alone, the chances of him coming back are very realistic. Not because I'm a homer, but because I'm a native of the urea, and honestly it has an attraction that is hard to define to people not natively from here, or who lived in the suburbs. It just wasn't the same. But that right there is definitely giving us at least a 25% chance is the magnetism of the Washington DC urea to it's local residents.

DCZards · Post #107 » by **DCZards** » Thu Jul 2, 2015 1:29 am

TheBlackCzar wrote:
cdouglas wrote:Time to be realistic about KD coming here..Do you honestly believe he's coming to DC with this roster, GM and coach? I would hate for you to get your hopes up too high.

Yes I do. And I do primarily because I'm from DC born and raised. And for that fact alone, the chances of him coming back are very realistic. Not because I'm a homer, but because I'm a native of the urea, and honestly it has an attraction that is hard to define to people not natively from here, or who lived in the suburbs. It just wasn't the same. But that right there is definitely giving us at least a 25% chance is the magnetism of the Washington DC urea to it's local residents.

Not to mention that KD's mom, family and friends would much rather be going to see him play in downtown DC than in OK City.

Also, I don't think KD's mom is a fan of Westbrook's style of balling. I sat a few rows from her when OKC played the Zards at the Verizon Ctr. earlier this year and KD's mom spent almost the entire game yelling (loudly) at Westbrook to "pass the ball."

Not saying that KD will be coming to DC next year, but I certainly think there's a 50-50 chance at least.

long suffrin' boulez fan · Post #108 » by **long suffrin' boulez fan** » Thu Jul 2, 2015 2:06 am

Does this mean we lose Exculpatory too?

sfam · Post #109 » by **sfam** » Thu Jul 2, 2015 2:50 am

Really enjoyed having PP for a year and wish him the best. But I think his impact will be greater than that. PP taught the Wizards how to compete at the next level. I'd like to hope this is reflected in improved playoff performances next year.

And in Truth, the Clippers need PP more than we do now. PP is exactly what that team needs to prevent epic collapses. Otto Porter has grown enough to do fine with the starter role. We also have a rook needing minutes, so let's just concentrate on a realistic stretch 4 option, through trade or FA.

hands11 · Post #110 » by **hands11** » Thu Jul 2, 2015 4:10 am

crackhed wrote:
Induveca wrote:Good move on Pierce's part. Real championship possibility next year in LA. And he gets to retire at home.

You have to assume Ballmer promised him a position with the team after retirement as well.

all due respect i disagree. the clippers ain't going to conf championships w/or w/o pierce. his best chance was on the east coast. just my opinion. godspeed

edit
the real issue here is a gm who has no strategy

What part of the strategy are you confused about ? Seems they have been pretty clear to me.

WallToWall · Post #111 » by **WallToWall** » Thu Jul 2, 2015 4:12 am

well, nice to have had PP with the Wizards. I am sure he was a good influence on our players. I understand his desire to get a 3 yr deal and play in LA with a coach he knows. I really wanted him to return because we needed him on our bench. Porter will be our starter, and I can see why PP's reduced minutes may have not sat well with him. Now that PP has moved on, so should we. Lets some trades going to get us a good piece.

hands11 · Post #112 » by **hands11** » Thu Jul 2, 2015 4:14 am

cdouglas wrote:Time to be realistic about KD coming here..Do you honestly believe he's coming to DC with this roster, GM and coach? I would hate for you to get your hopes up too high.

Why wouldn't people get their hopes up ?

This is a legit possibility for lots of reasons. Is there a downside to fans embarrassing it ?

Actually. If anything. Paul going home would seem to support the idea.

Kind of a win win there. He stays. Great. We get another year of Truth. He leaves. Good also. Another star going home.

hands11 · Post #113 » by **hands11** » Thu Jul 2, 2015 4:19 am

sfam wrote:Really enjoyed having PP for a year and wish him the best. But I think his impact will be greater than that. PP taught the Wizards how to compete at the next level. I'd like to hope this is reflected in improved playoff performances next year.

And in Truth, the Clippers need PP more than we do now. PP is exactly what that team needs to prevent epic collapses. Otto Porter has grown enough to do fine with the starter role. We also have a rook needing minutes, so let's just concentrate on a realistic stretch 4 option, through trade or FA.

Agreed. He left his lessons.

Now you can't judge that on just wins next year though. Anything can happen. But you should see it throughout their careers.

exculpatory · Post #114 » by **exculpatory** » Thu Jul 2, 2015 6:47 am

You guys are a VERY classy group of posters. And insightful as well.

Wish the Wiz success!

krii · Post #115 » by **krii** » Thu Jul 2, 2015 9:32 am

I wish you could stay here a bit longer Exculpatory, it was great to read your posts around this forum.

cdouglas · Post #116 » by **cdouglas** » Thu Jul 2, 2015 12:10 pm

Do you think KD would want Wittman as a coach?

sfam · Post #117 » by **sfam** » Thu Jul 2, 2015 6:12 pm

cdouglas wrote:Time to be realistic about KD coming here..Do you honestly believe he's coming to DC with this roster, GM and coach? I would hate for you to get your hopes up too high.

If an honest range of probability for KD coming here is somewhere between 10-40%, I think the Wizards should shoot for the fences. KD, Wall, Gortat, Beal and Porter together makes a potential contender in the East.

sfam · Post #118 » by **sfam** » Thu Jul 2, 2015 6:13 pm

cdouglas wrote:Do you think KD would want Wittman as a coach?

I'd imagine KD could have input into this, but honestly, given his playoff record, Wittman probably looks passable to KD as a coach, and seems to be improving, if slower than we would like. If only we could say the same thing about EG.

sfam · Post #119 » by **sfam** » Thu Jul 2, 2015 6:15 pm

hands11 wrote:
sfam wrote:Really enjoyed having PP for a year and wish him the best. But I think his impact will be greater than that. PP taught the Wizards how to compete at the next level. I'd like to hope this is reflected in improved playoff performances next year.

And in Truth, the Clippers need PP more than we do now. PP is exactly what that team needs to prevent epic collapses. Otto Porter has grown enough to do fine with the starter role. We also have a rook needing minutes, so let's just concentrate on a realistic stretch 4 option, through trade or FA.

Agreed. He left is lessons.

Now you can't judge that on just wins next year though. Anything can happen. But you should see it throughout their careers.

I think we can absolutely judge Pierce's impact by looking at next year's playoff run. If we close out games and maintain poise in the last 5 minutes of key games, I think we can give them passing grades for Pierce's course. If they choke like Wizards, then Pierce's impact was fleeting.

daSwami · Post #120 » by **daSwami** » Thu Jul 2, 2015 8:38 pm

cdouglas wrote:Time to be realistic about KD coming here..Do you honestly believe he's coming to DC with this roster, GM and coach? I would hate for you to get your hopes up too high.

Curious as to why losing Pierce to the Clippers has any bearing whatsoever on our chances of landing KD? I mean, I get your point re: the GM and coach, but this thread is about PP and I don't think losing him affects our KD pursuit at all.