Goodbye Mack...hello AJ Price

[JWizmentality]

Who?

[nuposse04]

hooray futility....

[closg00]

Isn't Jordan Farmar still available? He would have been a much better option than a guy who shot 34% from the field last season.

He signed with an overseas team IIRC.

[Ed Wood]

This isn't exactly what I had in mind when I said I'd prefer a different sort of bad, though it is different and certainly bad. Now I know the value of specificity.

[verbal8]

It is interesting that AJ Price looked somewhat promising as a rookie, but has been roughly the same as Mack the last 2 years(his 2nd and 3rd).

I think it is fine on a minimum deal with not much guaranteed, but I don't see much of an upgrade over Mack.

[Cal_Bears]

I actually think that he's better than Mack. He was a somewhat solid backup for a much better Pacers team. He's more of a true PG and provides a little more veteran leadership (albeit he's only 25) than Mack. Not a bad signing if its for the minimum.

[Dat2U]

Sundiata Gaines, Jonny Flynn, and Nate Robinson were better choices. I would have rolled with Scott Machado.

The only name that I'd say is clearly better is Robinson, but he played 23+ mpg last season averaged double figures, so you're assuming he'd want to play 8-10 mpg and make near the minimum as John Wall's caddy. Do you really think he'd settle for that?

I didn't see any contract numbers yet, so we'll have to see if it's just a minimum deal or something more. If it's a small deal, then it doesn't necessarily mean that they won't look to other options as the offseason play out.

So does this only apply to the Wizards? Are backup PGs across the league also doomed to only play 8-10 mpg per night? Is John Wall the only PG in the league that will play high starters minutes?

This move just speaks to lack of ingenuity, creativity and flexibility when it comes to Ernie Grunfeld's roster moves and your line of thinking. I think with the Nene and the Okafor/Ariza moves it's obvious that were pursuing an all-in strategy of trying to win but it's like he's still trying to stick dried chewing gum in a crack of a water levy.

We really need a combo guard more than a pure backup PG. Someone that has the ability to play alongside Wall. Someone with an aggressive scoring mentality, but unlike Crawford, can score efficiently and display respectable shot selection. He'd be the 3rd guard, he'd get about 20-24 minutes a night behind Wall and Beal, maybe more if Beal struggles. Lou Williams would have been perfect. Nate Robinson would have been imperfect but he'd be an upgrade. Eric Bledsoe should have been a potential target, considering his synergy with Wall from the UK days. '

Instead we got A.J. Price... Was Kevin Ollie not available?

[Chocolate City Jordanaire]

This reminds me of when the Wizards signed Fabricio Oberto. Clearly, he had very little game when the Wizards acquired him. Washington seems to love to take risks or take on guys who do not have upside relative to their contract or recent performance. EGs' timing seems all wrong to me.

Washington acquired Nene after many injuries and a new 65M contract. They acquired Okafor after he experienced his worst pro season and was out injured. He has been in decline for years and will make 14M this season. They acquired Ariza after three down years in a row, following his contract. He hasn't performed up to the deal. Now, they've acquired AJ Price, who has played behind 6 other Gs on the Pacers the last 3 years. Earl Watson, Luther Head, TJ Ford, Darren Collison, Leandro Barbosa, and George Hill have all played more and better IMO as Pacers than Price.

Dat, put it well:

This move just speaks to lack of ingenuity, creativity and flexibility when it comes to Ernie Grunfeld's roster moves ...

I hope AJ Price comes in and proves me wrong. He did hit the three and score better as a rookie, under Jim O'Brien. He's more offensive-minded than Shelvin. Let's hope as we should with both Ariza and Okafor, that Price plays better than he has the past two seasons.

[Chocolate City Jordanaire]

I actually think that he's better than Mack. He was a somewhat solid backup for a much better Pacers team. He's more of a true PG and provides a little more veteran leadership (albeit he's only 25) than Mack. Not a bad signing if its for the minimum.

Hope so, Cal_Bears.

[TGW]

Whoa, whoa Dat2U.

Kevin Ollie >>>> AJ Price. Do not soil the legacy of Kevin Ollie by comparing him to a scrub like Price.

[tontoz]

Is this EGs idea of a veteran backup pg?

[closg00]

Is this EGs idea of a veteran backup pg?

Mike Lee's headline is "Wizards add veteran point guard A.J. Price" I LOL'd.

[Hoopalotta]

Does this sort of move mean that Wall's available for the right offer?

[Bickerstaff]

First of all, not goodbye Mack. There's ZERO indication he's gone. AJ Price is just a more experienced version of Mack. Yes, an uninspiring move to be sure, but so would any other possible move, really. Not a lot of worthy candidates. People here seem excited about Machado, but a) we have no idea if he'd actually sign with Washington, and b) maybe AJ Price is a steadier backup. I really don't know, but it seems like that's what they were looking for, rather than another developmental project, which personally sounds right to me. I think it's very easy to get enamored with youth, but there's always talent coming into the league. I think people get too caught up in the one that got away, even when it's not a terribly impressive one. On that note, Mike Lee says they wanted Sean Livingston back, but couldn't wait to find out if Houston is keeping him.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/wiz ... _blog.html

Also, sounds like Mason's gone. One thing this signing did not address is 3 point shooting.

[jimij]

I'm hoping that we still go after Shaun Livingston as our true backup if Houston releases him and that we just cut Mack leaving Price as the 3rd string PG.

[miller31time]

I like that we picked a guy who has only gotten incrementally worse each season of his NBA career.

That's the kind of ingenuity I want out of my GM -- thinking outside the box!

[LyricalRico]

Man, so quick to hate. Apparently it's just a one year deal, and we don't even know if it's guaranteed or not. Just because Lee is playing up the story of line of Price automatically being Wall's backup doesn't make it so. We could still see other players signed to compete for the job.

[tontoz]

On that note, Mike Lee says they wanted Sean Livingston back, but couldn't wait to find out if Houston is keeping him.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/wiz ... _blog.html

Just like the Lewis trade i don't get the sense of urgency. Guys like AJ Price can be signed at any time. If they waited and weren't able to sign him it isnt like they would be missing out on a gem.

[jivelikenice]

Man, so quick to hate. Apparently it's just a one year deal, and we don't even know if it's guaranteed or not. Just because Lee is playing up the story of line of Price automatically being Wall's backup doesn't make it so. We could still see other players signed to compete for the job.

I don't mind the pick-up as long as its not a guaranteed deal and it doesn't inhibit us from exploring other options as the market develops. My guess is they wanted and still want Livingston, but needed a fallback in case Houston doesn't let him go. Now we have someone who can compete with Mack, and if Livingston does become available later in the summer, we can still go that route.

As for those who say this is no upgrade to Mack, Mack couldn't even get us into offensive sets in summer league. He is not an NBA player at this point. Price has regressed as a shooter, but had some moments in meaningful NBA games and has shown the ability to at least get the offense into sets. Mack has shown that he can't shoot, has no speed, and can't get you in the offense. All he has shown is the ability to pund the rock for a majority of the 24 second clock while failing to make the right reads. I'm not excited about his move, but I'd be happy to see anyone other than Mack running point for us. Hopefully we still end up w/ Livingston.

[Zonkerbl]

Well, I imagine Mike Lee gets his information from the agent, so of course he's getting the line the agent was using to try to sell his client.