Mitch Lawrence: Gil's deal is already done.

[NbdyBeatsTheWiz]

I would say let Gil go...start over..and try to win the lottery. This is not a championship team with gil at even 1000%.

Baloney. We "tried to win the lottery" for a good decade recently, and when we actually did it landed us Kwame Doo Doo Brown. Is that you, Michael Heisley???

I really hope Nate is right about the structure of the deal. But CCJ, I'm pretty sure EG and the rest have thought it through as much as Nate and gone through all sorts of considerations. I mean it is, well, their job. But like you said, whether or not they did it "as well" as Nate is what it boils down to, and if they screw this up royally (like Orlando did with Lewis) then the two of us can round up a petition to get Nate a job with the big boys.

[LyricalRico]

You wanna blame anyone for mediocrity. Blame EJ for feeding the notion that defense is of not great importance. That scoring takes priority over everything else. That giving up wide open 3s is better than giving up baskets within the paint. That milking 45 minutes out of your vets each night and wearing them down over the course of a season is more important than developing your young guys or your bench.

Blame Ernie for believing that a mediocre team can somehow reach elite status through continuity. Blame Ernie for overpaying when there was no market for AD, Songaila & Stevenson getting the salary & length of deals they got further restricting cap mobility. Blame Ernie for continuing the draft and acquire players with complete aversions to defense. Blame Ernie for not making a move when he had the 2nd biggest expiring contract last season with Jamison.

I'm not blaming Gilbert, but the fact is that we will not get far with him making the max money, if our goal is to win a championship. That's simply the fact unless we get some defensive-minded players on the team or if the team can internally improve by leaps and bounds. If our goal is 1st/2nd round exits every year then sure, resign him to max money.

I think both of you are right. Letting Gil go for nothing doesn't bring the Wiz closer to a title. But, as the team is currently constructed, they aren't winning a title next year even with Gilbert. So what do we do?

From management's perspective, if you're not winning a title either way, you might as well sell as many season tickets and as much merchandise as you can. That means re-signing Arenas.

From a fan's perspective, if you're not winning a title either way, do what you can to still make the playoffs and at least give yourself a chance. Maybe you need another piece to be a contender but at least you're halfway there. If you let Gil walk you'll need two pieces. It's hard enough to find one.

Also, just because Ernie is standing pat doesn't mean that there aren't deals out there to be made. We've discussed guys like Kyle Lowry, Mike Miller, and others who can give Arenas more help. Not to mention deals that can help with our luxury tax situation so that Gil's contract won't be hinderance to future moves. I'd like to make some of those moves before letting Gil walk for nothing.

[yungal07]

I would say let Gil go...start over..and try to win the lottery. This is not a championship team with gil at even 1000%.

Thanks Wes.

[Wizards2Lottery]

We blew our chance at tanking and landing a stud when MJ won us all those meaningless games before the 2003 draft. We were a few tanked games away from Carmelo, Wade, Bosh, Hinrich, TJ Ford or Chris Kaman.

[djsunyc]

From management's perspective, if you're not winning a title either way, you might as well sell as many season tickets and as much merchandise as you can. That means re-signing Arenas.

ding ding ding...we have a winner.

an owner's main objective is to make $$$$. gilbert makes the team $$$$'s.

[sascha]

It's going to be really frustrating when every Wizards' move over the next 3 years (at least) is dictated by the need to avoid the luxury tax. If Gil's getting $15M/year, AJ's getting $10M/year, and Caron's already making $10M/year, we're going to have a tough time adjusting to unforeseen developments.

I agree with the idea that it's better to be the 4th or 5th best team in the East next year than 8th or 9th best team, but these deals are not just about next year; they're about the next half-decade. And if Abe continues to refuse to surpass the luxury tax threshold, I just don't see how our team will have any financial flexibility for years to come. Sure, we have a bunch of contracts set to expire in 2010, but presumably we'll want to re-sign guys like Haywood and we'll need to replace roleplayers like AD and Songaila.

And there's one last thing -- what about Gil's declared willingness to take a paycut in order to help out his buddy AJ? I know it sounds implausible that a player in line for his first max contract would actually do that, but I think Gil's the kind of intensely loyal person who would seriously consider it. Are we going to at least explore his willingness to do that before we throw $100M at him?

[Silvie Lysandra]

Basically, I think Arenas can be the #1 player on a championship team. But you need to build the right team around him.

In my opinion, to build a championship team around Gilbert Arenas, you need:

A solid defensive frontcourt, with a consistent low-post presence at PF.

A versatile wing player with above-average to elite defensive proficency.

A SG who can guard both 1 and 2 at a high level.

A bench that is deep, skilled defensively, and athletic.

A coaching staff that will emphasize defense and keep freelancing to a minimum.

(interestingly, we already have some of that - (Haywood, Butler, and the bench is developing I guess. I dunno if Deshawn can guard the 1 full-time though.)

[sfam]

It's going to be really frustrating when every Wizards' move over the next 3 years (at least) is dictated by the need to avoid the luxury tax. If Gil's getting $15M/year, AJ's getting $10M/year, and Caron's already making $10M/year, we're going to have a tough time adjusting to unforeseen developments.

Lets be honest here - virtually every team is at the whim of unforeseen developments. Had Labron had his back spasms in our playoff series for instance, we might be having a very different conversation now. Had Allen's slump occurred in the finals instead of earlier in the playoffs, Kobe might not have been asked to do a taste test of Shaq's backside. And truly, we HAVE been stuck in unforeseen development land. Injuries have flat out doomed our chances, such as they were, these past few years. The real concern that most of us have now is whether Gil's knee recovers. Without his burst of speed, no way is he worth 15 mil a year.

It would be nice to be 8-10 million under the cap as the season starts, but we just aren't gonna be in that situation for a while, regardless what we do. I do agree with the frustration though, especially as the injuries pile up.

[sfam]

Basically, I think Arenas can be the #1 player on a championship team. But you need to build the right team around him.

In my opinion, to build a championship team around Gilbert Arenas, you need:

A solid defensive frontcourt, with a consistent low-post presence at PF.

A versatile wing player with above-average to elite defensive proficency.

A SG who can guard both 1 and 2 at a high level.

A bench that is deep, skilled defensively, and athletic.

A coaching staff that will emphasize defense and keep freelancing to a minimum.

(interestingly, we already have some of that - (Haywood, Butler, and the bench is developing I guess. I dunno if Deshawn can guard the 1 full-time though.)

I'm getting the sense that you think we need to improve our defense.

Seriously though, regarding the freelancing, I'm assuming you're talking about the defensive end. We do want some open-ended stuff on the offensive end. This plays more to Gil's strength than a structured, repeatable format. The other question regarding the freelancing concerns steals. We take a lot of chances (read freelancing) in trying to steal the ball. With Gil and Caron out there (both regularly in the top 10 in steals), the chances often end up going our way. We just need to have a solid defensive presence inside when we expose ourselves while going for the steal.

[newslowsad]

I guess Ivan's gonna be up late tonight.