The 'What do we do now?' Thread (merged)

[Severn Hoos]

So here's a salary cap question for anyone who wants to try it:

I know Bird Rights transfer with a player when he is traded. So we have Bird rights on Howard, although it's pretty much a moot point since we'll be under the cap anyway.

http://members.cox.net/lmcoon/salarycap.htm#Q25

So what if we sign him to a one-year deal? Do we still have Bird Rights next summer? And does it matter what his salary is relative to the current (expiring) contract or a future contract that could be signed in 2011?

For example, suppose the Wiz go to him and say that they love his attitude, hustle, etc. - but aren't ready to commit $30M or so to a guy who played 4 games for them and might miss half of his first season. So they sign him to a good faith deal, say 1 year at $3M.

Howard comes back next January and shows he's fully recovered, plays well on both ends of the floor, and (let's dream a little) leads the Wiz to the playoffs in 2011.

* Do we still have Bird Rights?
* Is the cap hold calculation based off of the $3M salary?
(this would be much better than a cap hold calculated on his current salary)
* Would a contract signed July 2011 be limited in any way by his 2010-2011 salary? Or could we then sign him to a 3-yr, $20M deal - after using any left over cap space)?

Not sure if that captured the thought process, but I was wondering if there could be a loophole there...

[queridiculo]

I love Joe Johnson, but he will be 29 heading into the 2010 season with over 700 games played and a career mpg of 37.

That's the kind of guy that can break your franchise if he doesn't stay healthy for the next 3+ seasons, I'd pass.

There are two guys that are worth max contracts this year and that's Lebron and Wade.

Bosh is another intruiging prospect, but his injury history raises all kinds of red flags for me.

Beyond those three guys I think we're much better of taking on 2011 expirings for picks and continuing the youth movement.

[fishercob]

I love Joe Johnson, but he will be 29 heading into the 2010 season with over 700 games played and a career mpg of 37.

That's the kind of guy that can break your franchise if he doesn't stay healthy for the next 3+ seasons, I'd pass.

There are two guys that are worth max contracts this year and that's Lebron and Wade.

Bosh is another intruiging prospect, but his injury history raises all kinds of red flags for me.

Beyond those three guys I think we're much better of taking on 2011 expirings for picks and continuing the youth movement.

+1

[ErikChowbay023]

If you look at all the big free agents on the market. There is one question to ask, who is the most likely to come here if you offered him the money...

Its Joe Johnson. He is a star in this league, but not a Lebron or Wade guy. He`s probably not better than Bosh in my opinion, but Johnson would seem to fit in better with a guy like Blatche, because Johnson, I dont think has a really big ego problem. I dont think, he would have to come here and be the man, because Blatche is the go to guy on the team.And he could ease into that role. I think it all matters how much money you pay him.

Wade nor Bosh would allow that.

I wouldnt mind

Arenas
Johnson
Thornton
Blatche
Mcgee?

[nate33]

I say open the wallet for Joe Johnson. Get Dan Snyder to lend his private jet. Arrange for a meeting with Obama. Ask Dray to open up his rolodex. Do all you can to recruit him this year.

I'm leery of signing a guy with 28,000 minutes under his belt to a long-term deal. I agree that SG is a weakness, but I'd like to address it with younger players. There are two young SG's out there who are good enough to start but are stuck behind other players: James Harden and Rudy Fernandez. I'd like one of them - preferably Harden.

I say we use our pick to address the SG position (probably via trade since there aren't any SG's in the #6-9 range) and use our cap room to address the center position. If we can land starter-quality players at those two positions, we should be in real good shape. Then we can use our late picks and leftover cap room to fill out our depth.

Haywood is the best free agent center available, but it's probably a long-shot to get him. If we can't get him, the next best option is to acquire a stop-gap center on a 2011 contract, and then go after a center in 2011 when more will be available (like Perkins or Marc Gasol, or maybe Dalembert or Pryzbilla on the cheap). As far as the stop gap centers, basically, we'd be talking about trading raw cap space for somebody like Jeff Foster or Nick Collison, or overpaying a geezer like Brad Miller for a one-year contract.

[queridiculo]

Wade nor Bosh would allow that.

I wouldnt mind

Arenas
Johnson
Thornton
Blatche
Mcgee?

See my comments on Johnson, signing him is too risky imho.

Going back to Wade and Bosh, I think both of them are prototypical team guys that know when to defer and when to take over a game.

The problem is neither of them has had much around them in the way of talent. Wade has carried Miami since the championship run just like Bosh has kept the Raptors in the playoff hunt for the past 4 years.

That said, I don't think signing Wade makes any sense with Arenas in the backcourt and the center position unsettled.

Tying up a whole lot of cap dollars is lunacy as long as McGee is the starting center of this team. I don't care who you are, you're not going to win with McGee right now, he's a catastrophe on the defensive end.

Signing Bosh would be the only move that makes sense if you're looking to put this team back in the playoff hunt.

Beyond that, let the chips fall where they may and continue to build through the draft.

[no D in Hibachi]

Haywood is the best free agent center available, but it's probably a long-shot to get him. If we can't get him, the next best option is to acquire a stop-gap center on a 2011 contract, and then go after a center in 2011 when more will be available (like Perkins or Marc Gasol, or maybe Dalembert or Pryzbilla on the cheap). As far as the stop gap centers, basically, we'd be talking about trading raw cap space for somebody like Jeff Foster or Nick Collison, or overpaying a geezer like Brad Miller for a one-year contract.

This should be our target. If McGee can't improve enough in the next year and a half I'd throw the rest of the cap space at Marc Gasol. Between now and then the Wiz can find an adequate SG to pair with Arenas. A front line of Blatche and Gasol would be the best young front court in the league, paired with Arenas the Wiz would be a championship caliber team.

[queridiculo]

I say we use our pick to address the SG position (probably via trade since there aren't any SG's in the #6-9 range) and use our cap room to address the center position. If we can land starter-quality players at those two positions, we should be in real good shape. Then we can use our late picks and leftover cap room to fill out our depth.

If I'm going to spend a pick on a SG I'm not going to take on somebody elses project.

My thinking is if Harden was any good, the Thunder wouldn't give him up, and if the Thunder are willing to part with him for a 6th, he's probably not worth it.

If we end up with the 6th, I'd much rather see us take the gamble and pick up somebody like Hassan Whiteside and then see if Andy Rautin can turn into a serviceable player at SG.

[ErikChowbay023]

I want either Gasol or Perkins... But Memphis is not gonna give up there guy that easy.

[ErikChowbay023]

So our payroll next year is only 29,183,101 ..thats not bad at all.. Considering..The Nets payroll is around 22,000,000.

Hoopshype is great for NBA salaries - http://hoopshype.com/salaries/washington.htm

[Dat2U]

The only guy I'd be willing to sign in free agency to a long term deal is Dwyane Wade. Otherwise, Bring Out Your Dead!

We ain't getting LeBron. Don't see that scenario playing out. Wade is a shot in the dark but I get the sense he's willing to leave Miami for the right situation. And depending on how you look at our roster he could be intrigued.

Which Blatche blowing up, Chris Bosh isn't really a need. I'm not sure how he'll fit with Dray.
Joe Johnson isn't worth the max and isn't young.

Rudy Gay is a 3rd option at best. At $8 mil per that's fine. At $10-12 mil per that's seriously overpaying and anything more is potentially franchise crippling.

We ain't getting Brendan back and honestly, considering what he's about to get paid, it might not be a good idea to try to re-sign him. I think unless we get a guy like Cousins or Favors in the draft, the best way to add an interior defender will be through the Bring Out The Dead strategy. Joel Przybilla (depending on health) and Jeff Foster are both good options on expiring deals.

Signing Josh Howard to anything more than a 1-year deal considering his injury concerns would be insanity.

Mike Miller is a fine role player but painfully passive (to the point where it hurts his effectiveness), injury prone & on the wrong side of 30.

I like what James Singleton brings to the table but I wouldn't give him a long term deal either. Energy/effort guys can always be found for cheap if you look hard enough. I'm shocked it took EG so long to get one.

[ErikChowbay023]

There aren`t a lot of Singleton`s around, and if there are the Wizards havent been lucky enough to get them on a frequent basis.

[Ruzious]

There aren`t a lot of Singleton`s around, and if there are the Wizards havent been lucky enough to get them on a frequent basis.

Yeah, considering lesser energy guys like Demarre Carroll and Renaldo Balkman (sp?) got drafted in the first round, I think the Zards were lucky to get Singleton and should hold on to him.

[BanndNDC]

The consensus plan seems to be for us to leverage our cap space for picks and young players while avoiding signing any established vets this summer. The logic is to suck for one more year in order to build up a stronger talent base for the next decade. It's a good plan that made sense when we dumped Jamison, Butler and Haywood.

The emergence of Blatche may change everything.

Think about it. If this team can play .500 ball right now, it stand to reason that we can play .500 ball after adding Arenas and a pick - even if Foye and Miller are let go. If we avoid adding any talent, we're still not going to end up with a high lotto pick in the 2011 draft, so why bother?

I'm still game for the Bring Out Your Dead strategy, but I'm not wedded to it. If we get an opportunity to add a good, youngish free agent for a reasonable price, there's no reason that we shouldn't pull the trigger. I say we do what we can to obtain whatever good players we can get at a reasonable price. But we start THIS offseason, not next offseason.

Essentially, we have $19M in cap space to go with Arenas, Young, Thornton, Blatche, McGee, #7, #29, #37. What free agents should we add to fill out that roster?

If we had kept Haywood, i'd be right there with you and advocate a resigning Miller, 'wood and choose between howard or gay strategy but i dont see how we can be really competitive without a bonafide wide body center. Arenas/Miller/Gay/Blatche/Haywood with Blake, Singleton, Thornton and McGee off the bench would have made me a very happy basketball fan.

the recent play has been encouraging but i really wonder about the motivation issue (for the entire team) and i am skeptical that they can sustain this type of play next year. i fear we got a bit of fool's gold with some of these guys trying to prove a point.

Arenas and Blatche is a solid foundation. Thornton, McGee and Singleton (and maybe even Foye) are solid rotation players but after that there are problems. Acquiring Harden, Gay and Foster (injury problem?) would be fantastic and i think we'd be right back where we were (supposed to be) at the start of the season. But putting that aside, resigning Miller at $7m per, signing Gay at $10m per, drafting Monroe, Kalin Lucas and the best rebounder on the board would be a good solid core and give us 2 years to find a shooting guard. I'd be pretty happy and optimistic about that group.

but now for the cynic. Miller's gonna want a 5 year contract since it's his last chance to cash in on the genetic lottery. gay is gonna want more than $10m and a big contract for him has the potential to be troublesome after a new CBA, drafting Monroe early isnt good value and Lucas will probably be drafted before the Cleveland pick (and the other points aren't the type of point we need).

hmm... yall will tell me what's wrong with this but the idea of doing a sign and trade with memphis revolving along the lines of Gay/S. Young/#14 (Monroe)/#27 (Lucas) for Foye/Ross/#7/#30 holds a lot of intellectual appeal to me if the current draft projections are accurate. basketball wise id be happy, consumer wise (value for assets) im agnostic (depends on the Gay situation and whether a sign and trade was needed), and financially i think it'd be ok long term (s. young a bit cheaper than ross, keeping the 2nd rounder is cheaper than keeping the #30, trading down from #7 saves money and gets the preferred fit, giving up Foye saves money, Miller is cheaper resigned, Gay replaces Howard). we would definitely have a new window.

PG: Arenas/Lucas/(NBDL point)
SG: Miller/N. Young/S. Young
SF: Gay/Singleton/(leave open)
PF: Blatche/Thornton/2nd Round rebounder
C: McGee/Monroe/(Oberto/P. Davis type)

the 1st team can score and distribute with team rebounding. The 2nd team runs has two passers, two gunners and a hustle guy holding them together.

[queridiculo]

There aren`t a lot of Singleton`s around, and if there are the Wizards havent been lucky enough to get them on a frequent basis.

Yeah, considering lesser energy guys like Demarre Carroll and Renaldo Balkman (sp?) got drafted in the first round, I think the Zards were lucky to get Singleton and should hold on to him.

I'm firmly on the resign Singleton bandwagon. Guys like him aren't dime a dozen, or the overall quality of play in the NBA would be much higher.

[ErikChowbay023]

Singleton is like an 80`s early 90`s NBA player.

I heard all this talk of Harden, and I am all for getting him if we can. How would actually go about doing that? Trade?

[BanndNDC]

I'm leery of signing a guy with 28,000 minutes under his belt to a long-term deal. I agree that SG is a weakness, but I'd like to address it with younger players. There are two young SG's out there who are good enough to start but are stuck behind other players: James Harden and Rudy Fernandez. I'd like one of them - preferably Harden.

I say we use our pick to address the SG position (probably via trade since there aren't any SG's in the #6-9 range) and use our cap room to address the center position. If we can land starter-quality players at those two positions, we should be in real good shape. Then we can use our late picks and leftover cap room to fill out our depth.

Haywood is the best free agent center available, but it's probably a long-shot to get him. If we can't get him, the next best option is to acquire a stop-gap center on a 2011 contract, and then go after a center in 2011 when more will be available (like Perkins or Marc Gasol, or maybe Dalembert or Pryzbilla on the cheap). As far as the stop gap centers, basically, we'd be talking about trading raw cap space for somebody like Jeff Foster or Nick Collison, or overpaying a geezer like Brad Miller for a one-year contract.

i like the idea and i think it's essential that we fill up one of our long term needs this offseason. SG is our biggest need but Miller can fill that role short term. The conundrum is that Miller is only worth resigning if the supporting cast is improved. Ideally id want to draft Monroe (love the passing skills and iq) and settle either SG or SF permanently. To me that's a choice of either trading for Harden/Fernandez or signing Gay. If it's Rudy Gay, the resign Miller and give up on Howard. If it's Harden/Fernandez then dont resign Miller and think about Howard (id probably just go with thornton unless howard signs a one year rehab cheapo).

want i want to know for the tradeniks is whether it is possible to trade for Harden or Fernandez while maintaining a pick that can get Monroe.

[Hoopalotta]

The 'actually decent' center I like best as far as absorbing with cap space is Turiaf from the 'Dubs.

He's got two more years at about $4 million each and wouldn't include incentive to absorb him as he's not actually 'dead'. But were the Warriors to draft a big, or even if they don't, they might send Ronny over for Vlademeer Veremeenko, just to save some change.

Specialties:
Shot blocking
Pick setting
Passing
Non-jerkyness

He's best as a 20 minute guy, so he wouldn't hold McGee back either.

[montestewart]

The 'actually decent' center I like best as far as absorbing with cap space is Turiaf from the 'Dubs.

He's got two more years at about $4 million each and wouldn't include incentive to absorb him as he's not actually 'dead'. But were the Warriors to draft a big, or even if they don't, they might send Ronny over for Vlademeer Veremeenko, just to save some change.

Specialties:
Shot blocking
Pick setting
Passing
Non-jerkyness

He's best as a 20 minute guy, so he wouldn't hold McGee back either.

+1 for cost-conscious big picture GM Hoopalotta. I've heard others suggest Turiaf too, and the roster needs to be filled out one way or another, and not just with dead weight. I could see him looking at the relative position of the Wizards vs. the Warriors and think he's entering a pretty positive situation, and if it doesn't work well, not too much is at stake.

[ErikChowbay023]

You guys dont like Chris Hunter from GS?