I've Got it All Figured Out

[Chocolate City Jordanaire]

Excerpts for another post on the General Board:

==========================
Vlade and Ewing need to be there to mentor, cuss back at, and to positively orient franchise player Boogie Cousins.

The Kings need to make an obscenely good trade offer to the Wizards for John Wall, who needs to leave Leonsis and Grunfeld--because they are NOT winners IMO.

My rooting interest of 45 years, the Bullets/Wizards need to draft Kris Dunn and start Coach Brooks with a nasty group of talented youth, which he did expertly before at OKC.

Leonsis needs to grow a pair of Sam Cassell sized cojones and hire OKC's Troy Weaver to be the new GM. Promote Grunfeld to whatever ... Is out of the way.

(KD 2 DC happens this way in 2017-2018. )

Then I can be happy rooting for Wall, Cousins, Ewing, AND the Wizards.
=====================

P.S.

Scott Brooks has more power/leverage than John Wall now. I think the smart move is to FREE JOHN WALL. (Does Durant want to be Wall's teammate? Are his mom and John's mom friends??). The move to make is to let John Wall go WIN elsewhere. The Wizards can rebuild with a Kris Dunn.

P.S. #2
My next Morris Almond? Pick one: Isaac Fotu, Roderick Bobbitt, or Dez Wells (Others I would root for vociferously: AJ English Jr, Jameel Warney, Josh the PG for Wyoming, Kay Felder).

[queridiculo]

The likelihood of the Wizards trading Wall is about as low as Cousins getting his head out of his derrière long enough to finally realize his potential as a member of the Sacramento Kings.

[dckingsfan]

I really think we do need a reset - not sure that Kings have the draft picks we want though.

[Chocolate City Jordanaire]

I really think we do need a reset - not sure that Kings have the draft picks we want though.

I didn't investigate/consider the Kings' draft status. They do have a lottery pick, right?

[Chocolate City Jordanaire]

The likelihood of the Wizards trading Wall is about as low as Cousins getting his head out of his derrière long enough to finally realize his potential as a member of the Sacramento Kings.

True on Wall but I think way off on Cousins.

I've been right about Cousins on the court and he's the better baller between him and Wall IMO. I also think Cousins is an outspoken LEADER. Big black man with attitude strikes fear with some but not Brendan Malone; the coach who the Kings fired after Boogie missed games due to his bout with meningitis. Certain people can get the best out of Cousins and not feel threatened or intimidated by his passion/antics.

Pat Ewing might be great coaching Cousins particularly because he's Jamaican and a rough customer himself IIRC. Boogie is a throwback C/PF who is twenty-five years late from the great era of Cs. His head is on straight and he's been much more on point than George Karl.

Wall needs to play with Boogie because the latter is the beast. John is wasting away with the Wizards IMO.

[dckingsfan]

I agree that Wall is wasting his time on the Wizards... stinks. But even if we get picks, it would be EG making the picks - and he has shown himself to be past incompetent in that area. So, I think it will be N number of seasons until Ted finally pulls the trigger and they do a complete reload.

[Chocolate City Jordanaire]

I agree that Wall is wasting his time on the Wizards... stinks. But even if we get picks, it would be EG making the picks - and he has shown himself to be past incompetent in that area. So, I think it will be N number of seasons until Ted finally pulls the trigger and they do a complete reload.

Agreed.

I just as soon see them pull the trigger in year one for Brooks.

[dckingsfan]

I agree that Wall is wasting his time on the Wizards... stinks. But even if we get picks, it would be EG making the picks - and he has shown himself to be past incompetent in that area. So, I think it will be N number of seasons until Ted finally pulls the trigger and they do a complete reload.

Agreed.

I just as soon see them pull the trigger in year one for Brooks.

Well then - have Ted grow a pair. We know nothing changes until EG is gone...

[TGW]

http://www.csnmidatlantic.com/washington-wizards/george-karls-cautionary-tale-beware-demarcus-cousins

Cousins, however, still hasn’t shown a shred of maturity after six years as a pro. There’s a reason as the best player on the Kings he has never led them to the playoffs (or more than 33 wins) despite playing for multiple coaches (Paul Westphal, Keith Smart, Mike Malone, Ty Corbin and Karl). Supposedly, if he’d gotten a coach with a track record for winning and accomplishment in Karl, an NBA Coach of the Year winner, he’d behave. That didn’t happen. Instead of going into the 2015-16 season on a good note, he childishly chose to keep the tensions high:

Divac walked into the crowded gym during the Las Vegas Summer League, accompanied by Cousins, other players and assistant general manager Mike Bratz, while Karl sat at the other side of the facility. When Karl approached, Cousins only reluctantly shook his hand and then turned away, embarrassing his coach in front of dozens of his NBA colleagues and thousands of viewers following the drama on NBATV. “Vlade thought he was helping me,” said Karl, “but that looked really bad.”

A blowup happened Nov. 8 when Cousins cussed out Karl after a game. The coach wanted a two-game suspension while Divac opted to fine him in a more diplomatic decision. Said Karl:

That night the bomb went off. Vlade was right there. When they supported Cousins instead of me, I felt, ‘OK, I’m in the compromise position. Cuz has the power. They sent that message many times, too many times sent it to the players. And the players wanted someone to stand up to Cuz, and they wanted it to be their coach. But at that point, I realized that you either you compromise or you blow it up, and my job was to make us a better basketball team and get to the end of the year.

There's a reason why successful franchises such as the San Antonio Spurs and now Golden State Warriors are where they are. They don't consider free agents or trades with Cousins' coach-killing reputation and attitude. When the draft comes around, certain players who are more talented than others won't even make their way on their draft boards. They're not even up for discussion. And if that Trojan horse sneaks into the locker room, he's quickly shipped out for little or nothing in return. It's addition by subtraction.

That sort of perspective takes discipline from the top down. Teams that lack it tend to be in the lottery each year. For the Wizards, who fired coach Randy Wittman and brought in Scott Brooks for a fresh start after missing the playoffs, Cousins isn't an option nor should he be. Brooks' presence as a players' coach is to change the tone of a locker room that developed friction with the previous coach. Adding a volatile personality such as Cousins won't help that. It'll make it worse. And Markieff Morris, who the Wizards acquired in a trade with the Suns in February after having a blowup with his coaches, is nothing like Cousins personality-wise and has had a clean record before that (and those coaches vouched for his character to the Wizards, something Karl or previous coaches won't do for Cousins).

As Karl said, Cousins wasn't liked by a lot of players in his own locker room. Earlier this season, when the Kings were at Verizon Center, Cousins led a spirited pregame debate on whether or not Tupac Shakur was alive. Contrast this to four years ago, when I was in the Kings' locker room in Minnesota, and Cousins led a similar goofy discussion 90 minutes before tipoff while then-rookie Jimmer Fredette rolled his eyes in disbelief that he was part of such an incredibly unprofessional atmosphere. This was a group in which when Smart was coach, players would look at their phones and text during film study (yes, Cousins was one of them).:francis:

Go in most locker rooms before tip off, players are reading scouting reports, looking at scouting video on the big screen, quietly focusing in with their music, stretching in the trainer's room or studying their concepts for that particular game. In Sacramento, it always has been a comedy show much like the product put on the floor.

The best player on a team, especially one with All-Star caliber talent, should at least be able to lead his team to a winning record once in six years. His stats should translate to something beyond fantasy league basketball wins. That hasn't happened with Cousins and in those six years there has been one constant in Sacramento.
Click to expand...​

LOCK THREAD

[Chocolate City Jordanaire]

http://www.csnmidatlantic.com/washington-wizards/george-karls-cautionary-tale-beware-demarcus-cousins

Cousins, however, still hasn’t shown a shred of maturity after six years as a pro. There’s a reason as the best player on the Kings he has never led them to the playoffs (or more than 33 wins) despite playing for multiple coaches (Paul Westphal, Keith Smart, Mike Malone, Ty Corbin and Karl). Supposedly, if he’d gotten a coach with a track record for winning and accomplishment in Karl, an NBA Coach of the Year winner, he’d behave. That didn’t happen. Instead of going into the 2015-16 season on a good note, he childishly chose to keep the tensions high:

Divac walked into the crowded gym during the Las Vegas Summer League, accompanied by Cousins, other players and assistant general manager Mike Bratz, while Karl sat at the other side of the facility. When Karl approached, Cousins only reluctantly shook his hand and then turned away, embarrassing his coach in front of dozens of his NBA colleagues and thousands of viewers following the drama on NBATV. “Vlade thought he was helping me,” said Karl, “but that looked really bad.”

A blowup happened Nov. 8 when Cousins cussed out Karl after a game. The coach wanted a two-game suspension while Divac opted to fine him in a more diplomatic decision. Said Karl:

That night the bomb went off. Vlade was right there. When they supported Cousins instead of me, I felt, ‘OK, I’m in the compromise position. Cuz has the power. They sent that message many times, too many times sent it to the players. And the players wanted someone to stand up to Cuz, and they wanted it to be their coach. But at that point, I realized that you either you compromise or you blow it up, and my job was to make us a better basketball team and get to the end of the year.

There's a reason why successful franchises such as the San Antonio Spurs and now Golden State Warriors are where they are. They don't consider free agents or trades with Cousins' coach-killing reputation and attitude. When the draft comes around, certain players who are more talented than others won't even make their way on their draft boards. They're not even up for discussion. And if that Trojan horse sneaks into the locker room, he's quickly shipped out for little or nothing in return. It's addition by subtraction.

That sort of perspective takes discipline from the top down. Teams that lack it tend to be in the lottery each year. For the Wizards, who fired coach Randy Wittman and brought in Scott Brooks for a fresh start after missing the playoffs, Cousins isn't an option nor should he be. Brooks' presence as a players' coach is to change the tone of a locker room that developed friction with the previous coach. Adding a volatile personality such as Cousins won't help that. It'll make it worse. And Markieff Morris, who the Wizards acquired in a trade with the Suns in February after having a blowup with his coaches, is nothing like Cousins personality-wise and has had a clean record before that (and those coaches vouched for his character to the Wizards, something Karl or previous coaches won't do for Cousins).

As Karl said, Cousins wasn't liked by a lot of players in his own locker room. Earlier this season, when the Kings were at Verizon Center, Cousins led a spirited pregame debate on whether or not Tupac Shakur was alive. Contrast this to four years ago, when I was in the Kings' locker room in Minnesota, and Cousins led a similar goofy discussion 90 minutes before tipoff while then-rookie Jimmer Fredette rolled his eyes in disbelief that he was part of such an incredibly unprofessional atmosphere. This was a group in which when Smart was coach, players would look at their phones and text during film study (yes, Cousins was one of them).:francis:

Go in most locker rooms before tip off, players are reading scouting reports, looking at scouting video on the big screen, quietly focusing in with their music, stretching in the trainer's room or studying their concepts for that particular game. In Sacramento, it always has been a comedy show much like the product put on the floor.

The best player on a team, especially one with All-Star caliber talent, should at least be able to lead his team to a winning record once in six years. His stats should translate to something beyond fantasy league basketball wins. That hasn't happened with Cousins and in those six years there has been one constant in Sacramento.
Click to expand...​

LOCK THREAD

HATERS WILL HATE

[TGW]

http://www.csnmidatlantic.com/washington-wizards/george-karls-cautionary-tale-beware-demarcus-cousins

Cousins, however, still hasn’t shown a shred of maturity after six years as a pro. There’s a reason as the best player on the Kings he has never led them to the playoffs (or more than 33 wins) despite playing for multiple coaches (Paul Westphal, Keith Smart, Mike Malone, Ty Corbin and Karl). Supposedly, if he’d gotten a coach with a track record for winning and accomplishment in Karl, an NBA Coach of the Year winner, he’d behave. That didn’t happen. Instead of going into the 2015-16 season on a good note, he childishly chose to keep the tensions high:

Divac walked into the crowded gym during the Las Vegas Summer League, accompanied by Cousins, other players and assistant general manager Mike Bratz, while Karl sat at the other side of the facility. When Karl approached, Cousins only reluctantly shook his hand and then turned away, embarrassing his coach in front of dozens of his NBA colleagues and thousands of viewers following the drama on NBATV. “Vlade thought he was helping me,” said Karl, “but that looked really bad.”

A blowup happened Nov. 8 when Cousins cussed out Karl after a game. The coach wanted a two-game suspension while Divac opted to fine him in a more diplomatic decision. Said Karl:

That night the bomb went off. Vlade was right there. When they supported Cousins instead of me, I felt, ‘OK, I’m in the compromise position. Cuz has the power. They sent that message many times, too many times sent it to the players. And the players wanted someone to stand up to Cuz, and they wanted it to be their coach. But at that point, I realized that you either you compromise or you blow it up, and my job was to make us a better basketball team and get to the end of the year.

There's a reason why successful franchises such as the San Antonio Spurs and now Golden State Warriors are where they are. They don't consider free agents or trades with Cousins' coach-killing reputation and attitude. When the draft comes around, certain players who are more talented than others won't even make their way on their draft boards. They're not even up for discussion. And if that Trojan horse sneaks into the locker room, he's quickly shipped out for little or nothing in return. It's addition by subtraction.

That sort of perspective takes discipline from the top down. Teams that lack it tend to be in the lottery each year. For the Wizards, who fired coach Randy Wittman and brought in Scott Brooks for a fresh start after missing the playoffs, Cousins isn't an option nor should he be. Brooks' presence as a players' coach is to change the tone of a locker room that developed friction with the previous coach. Adding a volatile personality such as Cousins won't help that. It'll make it worse. And Markieff Morris, who the Wizards acquired in a trade with the Suns in February after having a blowup with his coaches, is nothing like Cousins personality-wise and has had a clean record before that (and those coaches vouched for his character to the Wizards, something Karl or previous coaches won't do for Cousins).

As Karl said, Cousins wasn't liked by a lot of players in his own locker room. Earlier this season, when the Kings were at Verizon Center, Cousins led a spirited pregame debate on whether or not Tupac Shakur was alive. Contrast this to four years ago, when I was in the Kings' locker room in Minnesota, and Cousins led a similar goofy discussion 90 minutes before tipoff while then-rookie Jimmer Fredette rolled his eyes in disbelief that he was part of such an incredibly unprofessional atmosphere. This was a group in which when Smart was coach, players would look at their phones and text during film study (yes, Cousins was one of them).:francis:

Go in most locker rooms before tip off, players are reading scouting reports, looking at scouting video on the big screen, quietly focusing in with their music, stretching in the trainer's room or studying their concepts for that particular game. In Sacramento, it always has been a comedy show much like the product put on the floor.

The best player on a team, especially one with All-Star caliber talent, should at least be able to lead his team to a winning record once in six years. His stats should translate to something beyond fantasy league basketball wins. That hasn't happened with Cousins and in those six years there has been one constant in Sacramento.
Click to expand...​

LOCK THREAD

HATERS WILL HATE

That's all you can say because you can't refute anything that was said in that article.

[Chocolate City Jordanaire]

http://www.csnmidatlantic.com/washington-wizards/george-karls-cautionary-tale-beware-demarcus-cousins



LOCK THREAD

HATERS WILL HATE

That's all you can say because you can't refute anything that was said in that article.

TGW, I didn't read the Sacramento hearsay because I recall how Karl accepted the job pledging to develop Cousins but he lied first. From that point on their relationship was toxic.

Reminded me a lot of Doug Collins crying about how the players mistreated him. Also reminded me of Flip Saunders calling guys out, calling players knuckleheads, and coaching like ass (may that good man R.I.P.--I just hated his DC tenure with the Wizards, but I really was pulling for Flip to live and to succeed huge in Minny).

My post wasn't about Cousins in the first place other than to say it's LEGIT to consider trading Wall west. That's all.

My real MAIN IDEAS:
1. REPLACE GRUNFELD with Weaver or Ferry
2. SEE IF WALL IS BOUGHT IN or would rather bounce. IF HE's NOT ON BOARD, bounce via trade sooner than later
3. CONSIDER, not do, REBUILD AROUND KRIS DUNN. Just got a feeling about the guy
4. MY BAD if Sacramento doesn't have a draft pick that could select Dunn.
5. HAVE A NICE DAY, TGW!

[payitforward]

I read CCJ's main point as being this -- trade Wall, who is at or near his peak trade value, for as much as you can get in future assets and young assets. Rebuild from there, but with Troy Weaver as GM.

Sounds good to me. The Cousins stuff is a side light to CCJ's main point.

[WallToWall]

I read CCJ's main point as being this -- trade Wall, who is at or near his peak trade value, for as much as you can get in future assets and young assets. Rebuild from there, but with Troy Weaver as GM.

Sounds good to me. The Cousins stuff is a side light to CCJ's main point.

I, for one, would like to see Wall traded. He will not be winning any championship with the Wizards, as they are currently constructed. The humane thing to do would be to trade him to a team that actually can contend and win. Right now, we can get the best value for him. A buncha first rnd picks and perhaps a good young player to boot. Do a sign and trade for Beal...perhaps get a 1st rnd pick for him in the process. Eventually, Gortat and Morris to the bench, as the new youngens take hold.

Reboot 2.0 or are we up to version 6.0?

[Chocolate City Jordanaire]

I read CCJ's main point as being this -- trade Wall, who is at or near his peak trade value, for as much as you can get in future assets and young assets. Rebuild from there, but with Troy Weaver as GM.

Sounds good to me. The Cousins stuff is a side light to CCJ's main point.

It was also more about Kris Dunn than Cousins. Build around a defensive ball-hawk. He cannot disappoint too much.

[80sballboy]

At least you're consistent about your dislike for Wall. However, the issue with Cousins is not whether he's "outspoken". We know he's a big-time offensive talent and can rebound. But on the other end of the floor, he looks disinterested. I want my big man protecting the rim, not chucking up 3-pointers and bad shots. Maybe a change of scenery would help but he played with Rondo this year. Still couldn't win.

[TGW]

I read CCJ's main point as being this -- trade Wall, who is at or near his peak trade value, for as much as you can get in future assets and young assets. Rebuild from there, but with Troy Weaver as GM.

Sounds good to me. The Cousins stuff is a side light to CCJ's main point.

I, for one, would like to see Wall traded. He will not be winning any championship with the Wizards, as they are currently constructed. The humane thing to do would be to trade him to a team that actually can contend and win. Right now, we can get the best value for him. A buncha first rnd picks and perhaps a good young player to boot. Do a sign and trade for Beal...perhaps get a 1st rnd pick for him in the process. Eventually, Gortat and Morris to the bench, as the new youngens take hold.

Reboot 2.0 or are we up to version 6.0?

Trading Wall to the Kings with Cousins is not humane...that's a career deathwish.

[Chocolate City Jordanaire]

At least you're consistent about your dislike for Wall. However, the issue with Cousins is not whether he's "outspoken". We know he's a big-time offensive talent and can rebound. But on the other end of the floor, he looks disinterested. I want my big man protecting the rim, not chucking up 3-pointers and bad shots. Maybe a change of scenery would help but he played with Rondo this year. Still couldn't win.

Nowhere in here have I disparaged Wall. I think the Wizards ain't winning jack any time soon. FREE WALL TO GO WIN NOW, while the team is clearly rebuilding and Wall's trade value is at its apex.

Mostly 80s, I just don't see winning until Grunfeld is gone. Why not try to let this new coach do it right from the ground up?

80s, your post IMO is CLASSIC projection. I could have responded, "At least you're consistent about your dislike for COUSINS."

[DCZards]

Nowhere in here have I disparaged Wall. I think the Wizards ain't winning jack any time soon. FREE WALL TO GO WIN NOW, while the team is clearly rebuilding and Wall's trade value is at its apex.

Mostly 80s, I just don't see winning until Grunfeld is gone. Why not try to let this new coach do it right from the ground up?

80s, your post IMO is CLASSIC projection. I could have responded, "At least you're consistent about your dislike for COUSINS."

Why not wait and see if Brooks can help Wall (and possibly Beal) improve as a player? Brooks says he sees the current Zards as a playoff team. I don't think he's at all interested in blowing the team up and starting from the ground up.

[Chocolate City Jordanaire]

DCZ, Wall has peaked and IMO the ONLY things that Wall can improve on with emphasis are his FT frequency and his halfcourt decisionmaking (TOs/forced jumpers). One needs to go up the rest down. Brooks could try and foster in Wall a better sense of when to attack and when to trust teammates more/defer.

Beal hasn't shown anything to suggest he can improve a lot; but he is young and he did have a great playoff run. I think Beal is injury prone and about to be overpaid, but I concede he's going to be the SG of the future. Let's hope Brooks encourages Bradley to improve both the frequency and accuracy of his FTs. Brad also needs to clean up his mid range shooting. If he were to stay healthy and to step up like he did against Toronto; I'll be happy. I don't think Brooks improves Beal (either, him or Wall).

The players who I think Brooks can REALLY HELP are Porter and Oubre. Porter is the guy I EXPECT will take a huge leap this season. Also, Kelly Oubre will probably feel better than a freed slave (hope that doesn't offend) now that Wittman's been fired. Oubre can play. He just needs PT and repetition/consistency.

But as for waiting to see what Brooks/Wall do together, that's what WILL happen. NOTE: I think AFTER IT DOESN"T WORK WELL, we'll come back to my idea of tearing it down NOW.