Official Countdown to Firing"NoLowPostOffense"Grunfeld

[Ruzious]

I find the idea that those who have been critical of Ernie are going to have to 'eat crow' rather ludicrous. I was one of the few who actually didn't mind the Dallas trade at the time as I didn't want to resign Haywood, was sick of Butler, wanted to go all in on youth and grudgingly accepted that the market sucked for teams selling 'former all stars'.

But that deal hardly exonerated Ernie as some degree of foresight would have had Butler dealt over the summer at much higher value (and we're not talking epic vision here; sounds like the organization knew that Butler and Gil had problems together amongst other things).

Anyway, that's just one point....

I'm ready to move on and think Ernie will do alright so long as Ted is laying down the strategic mandates in a stern manner. So long as Ted sticks to his guns on how things are going to be done and NOT done, we should be alright. In other words, we're either going to be patient or we're going to get Bron and we're not going to compromise with some wobbly footing in betwixt that involves Kyle Korver and $5 million dollars a year.

But we've got a consensus 1st, a pair of late round picks and job security with no shortsighted mandates as to our record next year, so we're pretty well in a position that plays right into Ernie's capabilities.

Despite my tongue in cheeky bit before about being worried of free agents, I'm actually not so much, mostly based on what Ted has said.

However, none of that means that either of the two hardline Ernie fans are in position to start cock-strutting about in 'I-told-you-so' mode.

(OK, in fairness, Lyrical keeps his sense of humor about it all)

I think that's probably right. The Caps had very limited success with George McPhee - who seemed to be a very mediocre GM. But when Ted gave him a very clear direction, GM GM developed the strongest franchise in the NHL. Not only did the Caps have the best regular season record (with a young roster), but their minor league team is going for their second straight minor league championship (The Calder Cup).

I'd still fire EG, but he could have success with Ted's most excellence.

[fishercob]

I find the idea that those who have been critical of Ernie are going to have to 'eat crow' rather ludicrous. I was one of the few who actually didn't mind the Dallas trade at the time as I didn't want to resign Haywood, was sick of Butler, wanted to go all in on youth and grudgingly accepted that the market sucked for teams selling 'former all stars'.

But that deal hardly exonerated Ernie as some degree of foresight would have had Butler dealt over the summer at much higher value (and we're not talking epic vision here; sounds like the organization knew that Butler and Gil had problems together amongst other things).

Anyway, that's just one point....

I'm ready to move on and think Ernie will do alright so long as Ted is laying down the strategic mandates in a stern manner. So long as Ted sticks to his guns on how things are going to be done and NOT done, we should be alright. In other words, we're either going to be patient or we're going to get Bron and we're not going to compromise with some wobbly footing in betwixt that involves Kyle Korver and $5 million dollars a year.

But we've got a consensus 1st, a pair of late round picks and job security with no shortsighted mandates as to our record next year, so we're pretty well in a position that plays right into Ernie's capabilities.

Despite my tongue in cheeky bit before about being worried of free agents, I'm actually not so much, mostly based on what Ted has said.

However, none of that means that either of the two hardline Ernie fans are in position to start cock-strutting about in 'I-told-you-so' mode.

(OK, in fairness, Lyrical keeps his sense of humor about it all)

I think that's probably right. The Caps had very limited success with George McPhee - who seemed to be a very mediocre GM. But when Ted gave him a very clear direction, GM GM developed the strongest franchise in the NHL. Not only did the Caps have the best regular season record (with a young roster), but their minor league team is going for their second straight minor league championship (The Calder Cup).

I'd still fire EG, but he could have success with Ted's most excellence.

Maybe Ernie should send a fruit basket to Bruce Boudreau or perhaps Alex Ovechkin. If Bruce hadn't righted a sinking ship three years ago, McPhee probably would have been fired after the season. Of course GMGM made the switch, so he does deserve the credit, but my point is that were it not for the Caps experience, Ted might come in here guns blazing. I've been in touch with some people who know Ted and do not get the sense that axing Ernie is his first priority. I think he wants to see him up close to evaluate him, rather than make a decision based on what he did under his old boss.

And this is where I agree with Hoopalotta and Handsy -- Ernie under Ted may produce a lot better results than under Abe. I think a lot of us here would agree that our ability to succeed in our jobs can be heavily influenced by the people we're working for. As Dat has said, Ernie's probably an average-or-so NBA GM. Well if you suddenly increase the tools at his disposal -- give him a stats department, a D-league team, and the ability to BUY picks instead of selling them -- he's probably going to look a lot smarter. And there will probably be good and strong internal checks and influences that will prevent trading Steph Curry for Mike Miller and Randy Foye.

[closg00]

Folks, we need to demand A LOT MORE out of the new ownership. Hoping that Ted will give Ernie stronger marching-orders just won't cut it IMO. As Wiz Dynasty posted, we in-effect will have not made a single FO change since 2003, we move forward as-if the last 7 years did not happen.

Perhaps there will be a shake-up, but there doesn't appear to be one happening anytime soon.

[fishercob]

Folks, we need to demand A LOT MORE out of the new ownership. Hoping that Ted will give Ernie stronger marching-orders just won't cut it IMO. As Wiz Dynasty posted, we in-effect will have not made a single FO change since 2003, we move forward as-if the last 7 years did not happen.

Perhaps there will be a shake-up, but there doesn't appear to be one happening anytime soon.

What do you mean by demand? Bitch on a message board? Picket? Somewhere in between?

I have full confidence that new ownership has really high standards and they're going to hold all their employees, Ernie included, to them. I don't believe in punitive firings, and completely understand if Ted doesn't want to ax Ernie for sh*t that went down on someone else's watch. I trust Ted to determine Ernie's fitness for the job, not you closg00. No offense.

[Dat2U]

As much as love Teddy I think his first mistake as Wizards owner is keeping EG & company on. Even with Teddy's leadership EG is still going to be given the responsibility on making the final basketball decisions. And I just don't trust his judgement. And his last decade as a GM has given me enough evidence to feel strongly about it. He's not going to draft or acquire the right types of players that win championships. I don't see any evidence that he knows how to put together a championship caliber team. Wall is a no-brainer. Ernie can't mess that up. It's everything else I'm worried about.

[nate33]

As much as love Teddy I think his first mistake as Wizards owner is keeping EG & company on. Even with Teddy's leadership EG is still going to be given the responsibility on making the final basketball decisions. And I just don't trust his judgement. And his last decade as a GM has given me enough evidence to feel strongly about it. He's not going to draft or acquire the right types of players that win championships. I don't see any evidence that he knows how to put together a championship caliber team. Wall is a no-brainer. Ernie can't mess that up. It's everything else I'm worried about.

I continue to maintain that EG is competent. He may not be in the top 10 among GM's, but he's not in the bottom 10 either. And as you said, Wall is a no-brainer so we're really only focused on the late picks. EG has a pretty good track record with late picks.

I also think that EG deserves a bit of a break because his job was to find player that could fit EJ's system. It's rare to find tough-nosed defensive-minded bigs and forwards who are also capable of running the Princeton offense effectively. I think it will be easier for EG to find two-way players that fit into Flip's system.

I admit I'm a bit nervous with EG at the helm when it comes to free agency. Hopefully, Teddy will help reign in EG's tendency to overpay.

[closg00]

As much as love Teddy I think his first mistake as Wizards owner is keeping EG & company on. Even with Teddy's leadership EG is still going to be given the responsibility on making the final basketball decisions. And I just don't trust his judgement. And his last decade as a GM has given me enough evidence to feel strongly about it. He's not going to draft or acquire the right types of players that win championships. I don't see any evidence that he knows how to put together a championship caliber team. Wall is a no-brainer. Ernie can't mess that up. It's everything else I'm worried about.

+1 It's the equivalent of Obama letting Dick Cheney continue to be Vice Prez after winning the election. I am hopeful that we will some see changes because of Ted.

[fishercob]

As much as love Teddy I think his first mistake as Wizards owner is keeping EG & company on. Even with Teddy's leadership EG is still going to be given the responsibility on making the final basketball decisions. And I just don't trust his judgement. And his last decade as a GM has given me enough evidence to feel strongly about it. He's not going to draft or acquire the right types of players that win championships. I don't see any evidence that he knows how to put together a championship caliber team. Wall is a no-brainer. Ernie can't mess that up. It's everything else I'm worried about.

+1 It's the equivalent of Obama letting Dick Cheney continue to be Vice Prez after winning the election. I am hopeful that we will some see changes because of Ted.

That might be the dumbest thing you've ever written here.

[LyricalRico]

[montestewart]

As much as love Teddy I think his first mistake as Wizards owner is keeping EG & company on. Even with Teddy's leadership EG is still going to be given the responsibility on making the final basketball decisions. And I just don't trust his judgement. And his last decade as a GM has given me enough evidence to feel strongly about it. He's not going to draft or acquire the right types of players that win championships. I don't see any evidence that he knows how to put together a championship caliber team. Wall is a no-brainer. Ernie can't mess that up. It's everything else I'm worried about.

+1 It's the equivalent of Obama letting Dick Cheney continue to be Vice Prez after winning the election. I am hopeful that we will some see changes because of Ted.

That might be the dumbest thing you've ever written here.

That move might have kept Cheney's criticism of Obama to a minimum.

[Hoopalotta]

Am I somehow on the Ernie bandwagon as a supporter now?

Let the historical record show that "I ain't trippin' that he hasn't been fired" is my main point. I can live with it. But that's not the same as an actual endorsement. Under an owner saying "get us in the playoffs next year or you're fired" we'd be doomed.

More than anything, I just don't want to stymie the good cheer with Ernie kvetching. It's kind of a drain. I'm not going to say that he absolutely deserves more time, but he's got it, so there it is.

But this is the time for a consensus 1st and a few patented GMEG-GEMS late. And no Kyle Korver.

[montestewart]

Am I somehow on the Ernie bandwagon as a supporter now?

Let the historical record show that "I ain't trippin' that he hasn't been fired" is my main point. I can live with it. But that's not the same as an actual endorsement. Under an owner saying "get us in the playoffs next year or you're fired" we'd be doomed.

More than anything, I just don't want to stymie the good cheer with Ernie kvetching. It's kind of a drain. I'm not going to say that he absolutely deserves more time, but he's got it, so there it is.

But this is the time for a consensus 1st and a few patented GMEG-GEMS late. And no Kyle Korver.

Man, you trippin

EG doesn't need to make the playoffs, and he probably wouldn't better achieve particular results under threat of unemployment (and he's not stupid, so he surely recognizes that possibility anyway).

If he's going to stay, then he needs to show more of what you mentioned in the last sentence. Every move doesn't have to be gold and every pick doesn't have to be perfect (well, he better not blow the first pick), but please EG, restore confidence in your fans by not creating the appearance of transactional impropriety at every turn. Keep picks and use them, draft two-way players that are more fully developed, don't overpay role players, use stats better, monitor medical staff, keep better control of you staff and locker room, show that you deserve to be in charge.

I'm sure I forgot a thing or two EG, but you get the idea. Remember, terminal suckiness is continuity too.

[Chocolate City Jordanaire]

As much as love Teddy I think his first mistake as Wizards owner is keeping EG & company on. Even with Teddy's leadership EG is still going to be given the responsibility on making the final basketball decisions. And I just don't trust his judgement. And his last decade as a GM has given me enough evidence to feel strongly about it. He's not going to draft or acquire the right types of players that win championships. I don't see any evidence that he knows how to put together a championship caliber team. Wall is a no-brainer. Ernie can't mess that up. It's everything else I'm worried about.

I think it is a mistake to keep EG on.

I think Wall is not as good as made out to be. All Star in about 3 years? Yes. Greatest PG of all time? No way, no how. EG will pick Wall, but I don't think Wall wins rookie of the year. I think he'll be the 3rd or 4th best rookie. I'm also very skeptical that other PGs in the league won't play him even many nights. Wall could struggle at PG. I see other guys like Avery Bradley doing some things better than Wall.

I think Turner will be a real stud in year one. Cousins will make folks say, yes he can play but too many red flags. One other player will come out of nowhere to have a monster rookie season. Could be James Anderson or Larry Sanders or Dominic Jones. Favors, Monroe, Aminu each have potential to be all stars.

I like Wall's athleticism but I'm not buying the hype because I go by what the stats tell me. He'll be very good but that's all I'll commit to.

[closg00]

:lol:

Hey! You're the one proudly sporting a pic of Ernie Grunfeld Mr. Melodius_Thunk at the Post, THAT is pretty funny to me

[WizarDynasty]

Vince carter for gilbert arenas....get ernie out of here now OMFG.
Arenas is untouchable....ernie should be fired on the spot if he isn't bringing in a two way starter allstar 27 years old.
Please ted fire ernie now hold onto arenas at least one more year and veto anything ernie does with arenas. Arenas is three notches above caron..haywood and jamison. He is the hidden engine of the wizards. Don't trust grunfeld..he lucked into arenas and grunfeld doesn't understand hidden dynamics of what it took to gain the respect of the immature wizards. The worst thing leonsis can do now is get rid of arenas. Leonsis Grunfeld's time to go is now.
If we are going to get a player to play with wall and arenas it should be hedo turkoglu. Raptors don't even want him.

[DaRealHibachi]

What does "No Low Post Offense" have to do with *the rumor* of Gil being traded...??? And don't have have Blatche in the post...???

[WizarDynasty]

What does "No Low Post Offense" have to do with *the rumor* of Gil being traded...??? And don't have have Blatche in the post...???

blatche is not a dominant post player. He's a ten times better than haywood but he's got a long way to go in terms of proving he can do it for a full season. I feel better having a post player that has been consistent in the post his entire career. Blatche is an improved version of jamison but blatche can't grind consistently in the post. Fire ernie! I trust arenas taking it to hole and scoring more than vince or blatche. Arenas is a once in a lifetime franchise player that is threat inisde and out and has done it against the best of the best playoff teams...blatche is a great complimentary player. Trading arenas sets us back ten years. We will never find the inside out scorer of arenas. In Ted we trust...fire grunfeld and trade for hedo turkoglu keep arenas.
Stay away from carter. Nick young is a bench player because he a worst standing reach than arenas and he is soft. Arenas the only all all nba allstar on this team that is under 30. Whatever u do don't trade arenas.

[DaRealHibachi]

I can agree about not necessarily trading Arenas and Blatche needing to get in the post more... I have hope Dray will improve his offensive game, in the post and otherwise...

But why the hell would we want to trade for Hedo...??? Didn't you see him play past season...???

[Silvie Lysandra]

Dirk and Bosh aren't dominant low-post grinders, but I agree we need one.

Hedo circa 2007 would be great for us - great ball-handler, passer, okay defender with his length and quickness.

Anyway, Arenas for Carter should get Grunfeld fired instantly, even though it'd be a popular move.

[Hoopalotta]

If the Grunner actually traded Gil for Carter, it would be under the guidance of Ted Leonsis. No deal is final until you have the owner's approval.

Are there people who really think they'd just say "guess what Ted, we traded Gil today!" like it was a big surprise party with balloons and strudel? That's just not how it works.