Wizards sign Gary Neal for BAE

[Kanyewest]

Neal's poor play as of late could be explained away by having poor teammates.

Neal didn't fit in with whatever Milwaulkee was trying to build as they were one of the worst teams in the league. Neal was decent to close out the 2013-14 season after he was traded to Charlotte.

Then Charlotte imploded for various reasons, the loss of Josh McRoberts, Kemba Walker and MKG getting injured, and Lance Stephenson imploding. The Hornets then traded Neal and a 2nd rounder for Mo Williams (which seems like a poor trade for the Hornets given that they missed the playoffs and failed to re-sign Williams). Neal found himself in a poor situation in Minnesota- similar to the one that he found with the Bucks.

We will have to see if Neal is simply a player on a downward spiral or if he was just in a bad situation.

I would suspect that the Wizards think they can rehabilitate Neal's value in a similar way that they were able to salvage Sessions. Sessions also found himself in a poor situations like Milwaulkee and Sacramento and did much better when arriving to Washington. Weirdly enough, the Hornets traded Sessions for Gary Neal in 2014.

Neal seemed to play above average against the Wizards, which may have played a role in the Wizards signing him. I would have preferred that they go for someone like Wayne Ellington but perhaps a new situation will be what it takes for Neal to succeed. Still, I wouldn't dismiss the possibility of Neal rehabilitating his value and playing better since he would have better teammates and less responsibility in Washington. It seems like a low risk move.

[LyricalRico]

Exactly, negotiations aren't one sided. And they couldn't risk a player option since they want to maximize 2016 cap space. I like it as a short term depth signing.

I am not saying I hate the signing, and a player option would have been even worse(even at a lower salary figure). My point was that the structure is a poor use of the BAE. If Neal won't sign for it with a team option at this point, then let him wait. It isn't like he is that much better than the next best option that he has a ton of leverage.

And you said it well. It's an inefficient way to use the BAE. If you want to get someone like Neal, use a different way to get him.

One thing about Neal, people think he's a PG, but he's not. He might have been used as an emergency PG in the past, but he doesn't have the skills to play the position adequately - from what I've seen.

Any other year, I'd agree with you about using a 2 year exception to sign somebody to a 1 year deal. But they'll have to renounce all of their exceptions summer of 2016 to have cap space anyway, so it doesn't matter how they used the BAE or if they used it at all. Either way, they wouldn't have it again until 2017.

If you're not a fan of Neal, that's a different argument IMO. But I don't see any reason to take issue with the concept of using the BAE as a 1 year deal this specific summer.

[TheSecretWeapon]

I am not saying I hate the signing, and a player option would have been even worse(even at a lower salary figure). My point was that the structure is a poor use of the BAE. If Neal won't sign for it with a team option at this point, then let him wait. It isn't like he is that much better than the next best option that he has a ton of leverage.

And you said it well. It's an inefficient way to use the BAE. If you want to get someone like Neal, use a different way to get him.

One thing about Neal, people think he's a PG, but he's not. He might have been used as an emergency PG in the past, but he doesn't have the skills to play the position adequately - from what I've seen.

Any other year, I'd agree with you about using a 2 year exception to sign somebody to a 1 year deal. But they'll have to renounce all of their exceptions summer of 2016 to have cap space anyway, so it doesn't matter how they used the BAE or if they used it at all. Either way, they wouldn't have it again until 2017.

If you're not a fan of Neal, that's a different argument IMO. But I don't see any reason to take issue with the concept of using the BAE as a 1 year deal this specific summer.

Yep -- they weren't going to be able to use the BAE next year anyway so it didn't matter. On the other hand, perhaps they could have signed someone worth keeping for two years. Although, that could have affected their ability to make a max offer to someone.

To me, the bigger issue is WHO they signed with both the BAE and MLE. There were better players available who have signed for less.

[Ruzious]

Gotcha - they wouldn't have the BAE anyway cuz they got cap. I'm learnin - slowly but sorely as hands might type.

[keynote]

Bump.

I noticed this tidbit in the CSN article:

http://www.csnmidatlantic.com/basketball-washington-wizards/talk/pierce-put-rest-whether-or-not-wizards-desirable-situation

If Beal isn't in a groove or banged up, that's where a shooter (Jamal Crawford-type) viewed more of a team player than Gary Neal, who generally wasn't well-received by teammates in the locker room, can be that instant offense.

Add Neal to the list of 1-year mercenaries that tainted the locker room atmosphere.

[TheSecretWeapon]

Bump.

I noticed this tidbit in the CSN article:

http://www.csnmidatlantic.com/basketball-washington-wizards/talk/pierce-put-rest-whether-or-not-wizards-desirable-situation

If Beal isn't in a groove or banged up, that's where a shooter (Jamal Crawford-type) viewed more of a team player than Gary Neal, who generally wasn't well-received by teammates in the locker room, can be that instant offense.

Add Neal to the list of 1-year mercenaries that tainted the locker room atmosphere.

J.Michael...where Alan Anderson, an aging end of the rotation guy who topped out at "way below average" transmogrifies into a "coveted veteran."

Then he quotes that utter nonsense from Grunfeld about the Wizards being "playoff-ready."

It gets worse from there.

He's really a horrible "analyst."

[BigA]

Bump.

I noticed this tidbit in the CSN article:

http://www.csnmidatlantic.com/basketball-washington-wizards/talk/pierce-put-rest-whether-or-not-wizards-desirable-situation

If Beal isn't in a groove or banged up, that's where a shooter (Jamal Crawford-type) viewed more of a team player than Gary Neal, who generally wasn't well-received by teammates in the locker room, can be that instant offense.

Add Neal to the list of 1-year mercenaries that tainted the locker room atmosphere.

J.Michael...where Alan Anderson, an aging end of the rotation guy who topped out at "way below average" transmogrifies into a "coveted veteran."

Then he quotes that utter nonsense from Grunfeld about the Wizards being "playoff-ready."

It gets worse from there.

He's really a horrible "analyst."

J. Michael is a shill for the Wizards in the same way Larry Michael is a shill for the Redskins. Maybe they're related?

[payitforward]

Has to be the dumbest article in quite some time.

Grunfeld quoted that "very few teams are playoff-ready." More than half the teams in the league are in the playoffs! You want to check again how many repeated from last year? 12 of the 16 I believe.

[BigA]

Has to be the dumbest article in quite some time.

Grunfeld quoted that "very few teams are playoff-ready." More than half the teams in the league are in the playoffs! You want to check again how many repeated from last year? 12 of the 16 I believe.

But all those teams that are in the playoffs by definition aren't "playoff ready." That's a smaller, more select group.

[ozthegap]

Has to be the dumbest article in quite some time.

Grunfeld quoted that "very few teams are playoff-ready." More than half the teams in the league are in the playoffs! You want to check again how many repeated from last year? 12 of the 16 I believe.

Yeah but last year really shouldn't count. Everyone started off joining the tank war until the perennially mediocre teams realized it was the year they could trick their fans that they were following a decent team...