Wiz trade Shard and 2nd rounder for Okafor and Ariza

[Upper Decker]

I can definitely imagine what Ernie is gonna say during the press conference.

its a process....

but he cant say his line about "using our powder" anymore

I can't even imagine how many 'obviously's' he'll drop either. He's the grand-daddy of starting every sentance with 'obviously'.

[Jay81]

i used to think Okafar would of been a good player for us years ago when we had Gil/Caron,etc. I actually wanted us to trade for him...

in 2008

[WizarDynasty]

just got to keep reminding myself drummond or barnes will be there at 3.

[fishercob]

FWIW, Okafor is a FAR better defensive rebounder than Booker and Seraphin. That does help address one of the team's most glaring weaknesses.

[W. Unseld]

I definitely see problems but silver linings:
1)Aren't we only hamstrung this year? Aren't these expiring deals after this season? If you can move Shard then Okafor can be moved when he's an expiring ditto Ariza.

1. No those contracts last 2 more years. They come off the books in Summer 2014.
.

But don't they have potential value as expiring contracts in year two? I know they don't come off the books until two years from now but don't they have value as expiring contracts in year two? Am I wrong and we would have to wait three?

Also Severn, I agree that this dramatically increases the chances that Barnes is the pick. I think it's Beal first, Barnes second.

[GhostsOfGil]

just got to keep reminding myself drummond or barnes will be there at 3.

Seriously WizD? Even after this trade, your still onboard for picking Drummond?

[fishercob]

just got to keep reminding myself drummond or barnes will be there at 3.

And 4.

[fishercob]

Also, what's the backup plan in case someone falls in love with Beal and jumps up to 2 to take him. How do you draft MKG with Ariza on this team?

I really, really hope there is more coming that improve this. That's an all too familiar feeling; I think we're effed.

fish, is this a rhetorical question? Is there any doubt that in that scenario, the Wiz would take Barnes?

Come on, man...

[mohammed10]

One other explanation:

The NBA owns the Hornets. Maybe there's a nod-nod wink-wink deal for us to land a top 3 pick next year.

nate - this lineup is just a bit too good to land a top 3 pick. Try lottery bound, but outside of the top 8 - ugh

[Ruzious]

just got to keep reminding myself drummond or barnes will be there at 3.

Seriously WizD? Even after this trade, your still onboard for picking Drummond?

We will be hurting for depth at center if our top 3 centers all go down at the same time.

[tontoz]

We could still turn right around and trade Okafor, right?

I know Ariza isn't going anywhere because nobody with any sense would want him.

[Wizardspride]

Is it just me or would this trade look better if we could trade down and acquire Portland's 1st rounders?

Get two shooters and I'd feel ok.

[BruceO]

I would have liked the tenth pick but to be honest we don't know whether or not that was on the table. About the current players we acquired keep in mind we got them for rashard lewis who was going to contribute nothing this year. So we are not getting worse offensively because emeka plus ariza is greater than rashard. I actually love this trade, would really love it with the tenth but c la vie.

I am excited about what we can be defensively. In the past nba you find players eg Shawn Marion looking really bad because of the team situation they are in. Then go to another team and you wonder when did this happen th,m getting better. Emeka was basically shut down this year, he and Kaman but before this season he has played many games and missed few and you can see a player like garnett playing at an old age at a high level. Emeka was a franchise player and not too recently he returned a value of Tyson chandler. He shows well with a good pg and hasn't really had that luxury other than when they brought him in for Chris Paul.another thing is his contract is much shorter than nenes and hr has also not had the luxury of playing with another big as good as nene, so together that combination defensively is going to be great. Another thing is they all have very good fg percentages. Nenes weaknesses were rebounding and shot blocking. Now go look at emeka older game logs and see if he can make up for this deficit. Some say he is undersized, which east coast team bigs can dominate ours or cause mismatches?
Also as far as the ok'd model we are still following that somehow. Nene And emeka are both better than Perkins. We are still waiting on vessels to become ibaka type or something equally as good. Wall is Russell Westbrook and beal is James harden. In fact beal is the better shooter and hardens handle and passing amity is overrated but they are equal. Trevor ariza is going to be thabo sefolosha We are missing the rare player in Durant though. If the old adage is true that defense wins championships we can go with nene, emeka, wall, ariza and mkg or beal. With two players we like Charlotte can't use this move for any leverage.
Some ask who is going to score but when you look at the Chicago team who other than wall was a scorer? I am happy about this move because we are signaling we are trying to make moves to get better and the front office has recognized we can't get free agents clean so e are acquiring them via trades. Bottom line is those two players in a good situation will provide solid play.

[jimij]

We've got to look at the silver lining for this deal - if Okafor and Ariza both completely suck this year (which is a definite possibly) and we are stuck in late lottery hell again next year its about the only chance I can see that Ted might consider axing EG next spring.

If we do nothing then I'd think EG would be more likely to serve out the remaining two years on his deal but by making a move, he opens up the slightest possibility (and I'll take what I can get) that he may be canned next year.

[Rafael122]

If there is a better deal out there, I will eat my words. However, my guess is that it will most likely be a combination of players (very similar to Okafor + Ariza, mid-level veteran players who are overpaid) and unless both players are on the caliber of Blatche (player wise and contract wise) I don't see how we get assets back. Since Okafor and Ariza aren't chopped liver like Rashard (and have very favorable deals for flexibility next year), we didn't get additional assets back.

I want to see concrete trades for Rashard that actually work for both sides, and less of this theoretical "flexibility" which might not even exist.

The only teams I can think of off the top of my head are Memphis and Houston. Luis Scola, Rudy Gay, maybe Z-Bo, Kevin Martin. But then you ask yourself, we're probably not gonna get any of those guys for Lewis straight up. Their contracts are probably longer than 2 years (again I can check), and to trade for a guy like Gay would mean trading our lottery pick.

So we could do nothing like Dat suggested, have all this cap space, overpay for a middle tier free agent and complain that this is the exact same move that got us in cap hell years ago. Or make a move like this, that isn't popular, people are going to complain about it anyway,, but at least it's something and it doesn't hurt the team long term anyway.

[GhostsOfGil]

just got to keep reminding myself drummond or barnes will be there at 3.

Seriously WizD? Even after this trade, your still onboard for picking Drummond?

We will be hurting for depth at center if our top 3 centers all go down at the same time.

[miller31time]

Sometimes, I feel like Ernie makes these trades so he can be universally hated, only to make a semi-competent trade and say "see, I'm fixing this team one move at a time!"

[TheNetsFan]

I don't get the hate for this trade. I think it's a win-win for both teams. Yes Okafor & Ariza are overpaid, but they're talented. Okafor, if healthy, is a defensive anchor. Big men always get overpaid, and with only 2 years left on his deal, it's not exactly an albatross contract.

My guess is that you start the season with both Okafor & Nene, but at some point one gets traded. Perhaps for value, if not for expiring contracts. There will always be teams looking for frontcourt help, and you now have one of the deepest frontcourts in the league. I know as a Net fan, I'd offer all of our crappy expiring deals (Morrow, Farmar, Petro) for either Nene or Okafor (if they're healthy). Miami could use frontcourt help. If the Lakers moved Gasol I could see them having interest in one of those guys via a 3 team deal.

Of course it's a bigger win for NOLA, simply because of their situation. With Gordon+Davis+max salary cap space, they could get very good very quick.

[jimij]

Hell, if we're really lucky, maybe Stern will step in and veto it......

[tontoz]

The only way this trade makes any sense at all is if they plan on trading Okafor before opening day. If both guys are on the opening day roster this trade is a disaster.