Countdown to Ernie Grunfeld Firing

[closg00]

Check-out the header on this two year-old article. Get a clue Ted.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/sports/wi ... ory_1.html

[DCZards]

You don't have an argument to stand on. Simple as that.

Ok...you win. Happy now?

[FAH1223]

Good fan write up on the lack of offensive system!

http://www.bulletsforever.com/2014/1/6/ ... -ernie-too

[Dat2U]

You don't have an argument to stand on. Simple as that.

Ok...you win. Happy now?

No. lol

[DCZards]

You don't have an argument to stand on. Simple as that.

Ok...you win. Happy now?

No. lol

Glad to hear it. lmao. I'd hate to think I'd do or say anything that would make you happy. It may be a new year, but it's not a new day.

Peace & love, Dat.

[tontoz]

The Okariza deal gave us a few more wins(assuming of course we didn't use our available capspace) but didn't elevate us above mediocrity. I can't see any logical argument that says that trade was worth the price tag.

[Ruzious]

Good fan write up on the lack of offensive system!

http://www.bulletsforever.com/2014/1/6/ ... -ernie-too

I agree - at least in the last 3 games, the Wiz halfcourt offense has been non-existent. And that shouldn't happen with their personnel. They clearly have 3 point shooting, they have 2 bigs who can score and pass reasonably well, and they have a penetrating PG. They score well when they run because of Wall, but good teams limit the amount of running you do on them. There's no reason they shouldn't be a better half court offensive team. Ultimately, that's on the coaches.

[queridiculo]

For the Wizards right now it seems all bad. Washington is wing heavy, weak in the front court, and the two credible bigs on our roster are well on the way to their decline.

On top of that we have no first rounder this year, are likely stuck with making Gortat a rich man over the length of his next deal and only have 4 legit NBA players under contract for the next season.

To say that Grunfeld's latest effort is a failure is putting it mildly. As an organization the sensible thing would probably be to liquidate some of our assets and to start over from scratch.

With Grunfeld likely being back in the fold following a "successful" playoff campaign however, the Wizards are likely going to continue pushing that boulder up the hill for the foreseeable future.

It's a pity really, Washington fans deserve better.

[Kanyewest]

I'm not giving EG any credit for Wall. He was the clear consensus #1 pick. Everybody, and I mean everybody, knew Wall was going 1st. There may have been some mention of Turner going #1 by reporters trying to add intrigue to the draft, but nobody believed it.

EG does get credit for tanking for Wall. Not sure how much of it was intentional.

[montestewart]

I'm not giving EG any credit for Wall. He was the clear consensus #1 pick. Everybody, and I mean everybody, knew Wall was going 1st. There may have been some mention of Turner going #1 by reporters trying to add intrigue to the draft, but nobody believed it.

EG does get credit for tanking for Wall. Not sure how much of it was intentional.

According to reports prior to Leonsis' purchasing the Wizards, offloading long term contracts (Jamison, Butler, etc.) appeared to be tied to the negotiations for the sale of the franchise. He was intentionally slashing payroll, and with Arenas out as well, playing the kids and scrubs and tanking was about all there was left to do. In this case, credit the owners (Leonsis and the Pollins), especially lucky Irene.

http://www.sbnation.com/2010/3/25/23145 ... se-wizards

[dckingsfan]

23 to 1

[montestewart]

23 to 1

Lets hear it for 1!

[verbal8]

I think the biggest problem with EG as a GM is the evidence points to him being a terrible negotiator.

The only concession I can recall him getting in recent memory was getting the final year of Webster's deal as a team option. Although Webster has outplayed his deal so far, you can argue that a full MLE was overpaying for him.

Every other negotiation he seems be clearly on the losing end -
Maynor contract
Got nothing for Jordan Crawford
Lewis deal - Giving up a pick to save NOP $37 million
I think the pick in the Okafor/Gortat deal was ok(although not the preferred resource to use) but taking on $5 million in dead weight salaries was not - if they hadn't take them on it would have created a TPE and left comfortable space under the luxury tax
got basically 1 late 1st for dumping Bulter, Jamison and Haywood
gave up the full BAE for a washed up Oberto
2009 "5th pick" trade

I would call the McGee/Nene deal a push
Trading up for Booker was a good move, but pick-wise about even

I will grant that he did well in the Hinrich deals

[dckingsfan]

EG got a second vote - hmmm, who from?

[closg00]

Great post Verbal about EG'a wretched negotiating ability, he seemingly always gets bent-over.

The talent scouting and how we "develop" who we draft speaks for itself. Not only does EG have to go, a purge of the scouting operation needs to happen also.

[Illuminaire]

It's possible there are some decent scouts within the organization. One would hope that the Wizards keep track of every scout's vote on prospects, call-ups, and free agents, such that a track record of decision making can be used for accountability.

Except I guess if they do that, EG has probably burned the records...

[Kanyewest]

I think the biggest problem with EG as a GM is the evidence points to him being a terrible negotiator.

The only concession I can recall him getting in recent memory was getting the final year of Webster's deal as a team option. Although Webster has outplayed his deal so far, you can argue that a full MLE was overpaying for him.

Every other negotiation he seems be clearly on the losing end -
Maynor contract
Got nothing for Jordan Crawford
Lewis deal - Giving up a pick to save NOP $37 million
I think the pick in the Okafor/Gortat deal was ok(although not the preferred resource to use) but taking on $5 million in dead weight salaries was not - if they hadn't take them on it would have created a TPE and left comfortable space under the luxury tax
got basically 1 late 1st for dumping Bulter, Jamison and Haywood
gave up the full BAE for a washed up Oberto
2009 "5th pick" trade

I would call the McGee/Nene deal a push
Trading up for Booker was a good move, but pick-wise about even

I will grant that he did well in the Hinrich deals

Maynor contract
This looks pretty bad right now. There were other options such as Collison, Robinson, and if the Wizards struck out they still probably could have resigned AJ Price. The Wizards could have gone after someone like DeJuan Blair.

Got nothing for Jordan Crawford
The Wizards basically got expirings and didn't have to deal with the headache of Jordan Crawford. This move wouldn't have been that bad if the Wizards used the roster spot on someone else. The same thing applies for amnestying Andray Blatche.

Lewis deal - Giving up a pick to save NOP $37 million
The key is $37 million over 2 years. EG did get a bit unlucky here because Okafor went down with a back injury, although Okafor's injuries were not unknown at the time.

I think the pick in the Okafor/Gortat deal was ok(although not the preferred resource to use) but taking on $5 million in dead weight salaries was not - if they hadn't take them on it would have created a TPE and left comfortable space under the luxury tax


I didn't like this deal at the time but I would say that I would judge the trade after the season. This is one of the stronger drafts in recent memories and the Wizards could have added a big to grow and develop with Wall. I thought this trade would be a relative success if the Wizards made it to the 2nd round- but that was before teams like Bulls and Hawks suffered major injuries and teams like the Knicks and Nets imploded.

got basically 1 late 1st for dumping Bulter, Jamison and Haywood
Josh Howard was decent before he got injured. James Singleton was a pleasant surprise- and I'm surprised EG didn't re-sign him. EG essentially got away with highway robbery by trading Jamison for a late first. I would actually consider the Butler/Haywood/Stevenson a wash. The Mavericks won a title with Butler and Haywood being in the NBA Finals. Haywood was due for an extension, and the Mavericks gave him way too much money and as a result couldn't afford to keep Tyson Chandler.


gave up the full BAE for a washed up Oberto
This was bad - also considering they sold their 2nd round pick for cash that could have been more useful.

2009 "5th pick" trade
EG would have had to make the correct pick here. Minnesotta screwed up twice with the 5th and 6th with Rubio and Flynn. Steph Curry would have been the correct pick. It was risky to make this trade because Arenas hadn't been shown to be back to 100%. While Miller and Foye have become 40% 3 point shooters- Arenas never became that go-to guy again. I wonder if this trade was pushed by ownership who wanted to get under the luxury tax.

Additional positives
I would also say that EG did make it out positively in trading his cap space for Hinrich and a first.
He eventually parlayed Hinrich into a first rounder and Jordan Crawford.
EG has really missed on those picks with Seraphin and Singleton.

More negatives
Blatche's extension
Hiring Flip Saunders
Jan Vesely
Not re-signing James Singleton

[hands11]

You guys work to hard to come up with reason to move on from EG. You minimize good moves he made and maximize things that didn't happen that were long shots. You don't need to do that to say its time to move on.

The Nene trade was a huge win for the Wiz.
The Kirk deal was also. But what did he do with the pick. Thats the problem.
Caron for Kwame was amazing.
Dumping Gils contract was magic. And taking on Trevor A/Okafor for Lewis was a solid move for what the team needed to do. We see how we miss Okafor and while he did have injury history, this last one came out of no where. Okafor was looking healthy and strong at the time. He played 79 games the year before and those game missed I think were barbecue he had the flue.

James Singleton was offered a contract. He rejected it. No other NBA team got him signed either. Hard to blame him for that. He hasn't played in the NBA since.

EG has made some good moves. You don't have to ignore that in order to feel like its time to move on. Its about all the other stuff.

1) Mostly its his drafting.

2) Its moves like Maynor and giving Maynor the 2nd year option. Filling the roster to 15 so you couldn't audition Kendall Marshall. It auditioning all summer for a PG and coming out of it with Price and Pargo as your PGs when you already had Crawford. Leading to total mismanagement of that asset and getting nothing for it. Its adding Livingston and then not keeping him. It's not adding a center from this last draft that had 15 of them.

3) Its that he is uninspiring and looks like Ron Jeremy.

Those 3 reasons are enough considering his contract is expiring. Key to being a good GM has to be good at drafting and he just isn't good at it.

[closg00]

Oh- well, he has already been traded.

[Jay81]

saw an article on twitter today that said McPhee is likely gone in the offseason if the caps have a bad playoff run. His contract is also expiring