If you took over as GM today, what would you do?

[Nivek]

A team like OKC might get desperate especially if they flop in the postseason, which I fully expect. They need post scoring and they have some assets.

OKC has the league's 2nd best offense and 5th best defense. What would adding a post scorer do to help their offense?

They're a jumpshooting team. Very easy to game plan for as we saw in the finals. They only got there cause of ridiculous shooting in the WCF.

So far this season, 32.6% of OKC's FGA have been at-rim, which ranks 12th in the league. Basically about average. Same for their jumpers (shots from 10+ feet). The only place where they deviate significantly from the average team's shot selection (by distance) is from 3-9 feet (9.4% of OKC's FGA vs. 11.4% for the league) and from 10-15 feet (9.7% of OKC's FGA vs. 7.9% for the league).

As it has in year's past, the correlation between FGA by distance is strongest for 3pt attempts, suggesting that the right kind of jump shooting is actually a better predictor of overall offensive efficiency. The correlations this season:

- At-rim: 0.23
- 3-9 feet: -0.29
- 10-15 feet: -0.35
- 16-23 feet: -0.50
- threes: 0.54

OKC's shot selection by distance is very similar to Miami's:

Code: Select all

SHOT    MIA     OKC
At-Rim  32.2%   32.6%
3-9FT   9.1%    9.4%
10-15FT 7.5%    9.7%
16-23FT 23.1%   22.7%
Threes  28.1%   25.6%
Ortg    112.7   112.2


OKC isn't any more of a jump shooting team than any other team.

Teams that shoot more threes tend to have a more efficient offense.

If anything, the numbers suggest OKC might benefit by shooting MORE jumpers -- so long as they swap attempts in that 3-15 foot range from 3pt attempts.

[Nivek]

Jeez why couldn't we get Ryan Anderson last offseason!!!

Ernie and Ted are WAY too smart for that. The Wizards NEEDED veterans and Okafor is +6 on Anderson in that department.

[DCZards]

I like what the Zards have gotten from both Okafor and Ariza this season. Could the Zards have traded for/signed Anderson if they hadn't traded for Okafor/Ariza? Maybe...maybe not.

[Knighthonor]

Why not trade nene for a top 1st round pick?

[nate33]

Why not trade nene for a top 1st round pick?

Because no team with a top 1st round pick would trade it for Nene.

[hands11]

No, not happy with the scenario you laid out at all. My expectation is that for Nene's next season to be a success he would need to play more and play better. The hope is that with an offseason of rest and recovery that is possible. I recognize that it is far from a sure thing.

These are the risks the Wizards took on when trading for Nene. If he turns into a $13M albatross, further shame on Ernie, Ted and our supposed "brain trust."

I'm not worried at all.

Nene is going to have a beast year next year. He will show up in shape, lighter, rested and healed up.

He is going to have a Webster year next year.

[Chocolate City Jordanaire]

I was the sole person on this board that was screaming for us to trade Nene when he was playing like one the best big men in the league. I said there's no way he can keep this us. The wheels are going to come off at some point. I said being dependent on his health would eventually be a receipt for disaster.

It's not been a disaster yet, but his play has deteriorated significantly since earlier this season. His availability is consistently in question. I am the only one in here reading the tea leaves?

Whoa, hold on there. Let's trade Nene for any value we can get has been a constant refrain of mine since he got here. I know CCJ was on board with that. And Kevin's never wanted to keep him. Surely I'm missing others. I don't think "Nene is a long-term solution" has been a supermajority opinion on this board.

Very true, but I'm not saying everyone here wanted Nene to retire a Wizard. I just honestly didn't remember any posters being as vociferous as I was on needing to deal Nene ASAP, especially when he was playing well because I said his play was unsustainable.

And to be honest, CCJ's been on board with trading everyone at one point or another

Have I ever suggested trading Beal? Hmmm…. I really don't think so. I always wanted to stick with him.

Dat, almost everyone.

willbcocks didn't misspeak. Nene's a spiritual leader and when he is healthy he's a great player, much better than I thought. However, that injury is a chronic one and it would be wise to listen to reasonable offers. I value Nene but there is no reason not to listen to offers because at times he's been very ineffective and at others he hasn't been able to suit up. I have proposed Nene deals and am still open to the idea of trading Nene. I have said all along his injury was chronic even before he became a Wizard.

At times I think Okafor's deal is the far better deal because he is healthier than Nene.

If I knew Nene could play about 65 games or so at close to his best I would be reluctant to part with him for another long-term deal veteran.

[hands11]

And all the speculation about this chronic stuff ...stated as facts.. is still just speculation. No matter how many times it is posted.

We will know when we know and that will be next season. Though I will assume we will hear something about his plans after the season ends and we will get updates over the summer.

No Olympics this summer means he will have no reason not to fully rest up and then slowly work himself into game shape so he is ready to start the season.

From there, it will be up to Kevin, Ves and Booker ( maybe Singleton ) to up their game so they can keep Nene fresh during the season so he is ready for the playoffs next year. Drafting a center or two will help with that as well.

If things goes well, they should get two very productive season from Nene before needing to move him to the bench and/or entertain trade offers for his expiring contract where they can cash in and reload.

[willbcocks]

I was the sole person on this board that was screaming for us to trade Nene when he was playing like one the best big men in the league. I said there's no way he can keep this us. The wheels are going to come off at some point. I said being dependent on his health would eventually be a receipt for disaster.

It's not been a disaster yet, but his play has deteriorated significantly since earlier this season. His availability is consistently in question. I am the only one in here reading the tea leaves?

Whoa, hold on there. Let's trade Nene for any value we can get has been a constant refrain of mine since he got here. I know CCJ was on board with that. And Kevin's never wanted to keep him. Surely I'm missing others. I don't think "Nene is a long-term solution" has been a supermajority opinion on this board.

Very true, but I'm not saying everyone here wanted Nene to retire a Wizard. I just honestly didn't remember any posters being as vociferous as I was on needing to deal Nene ASAP, especially when he was playing well because I said his play was unsustainable.

And to be honest, CCJ's been on board with trading everyone at one point or another

That's why this was memorable. CCJ and I were consistently posting that we should move Nene. I think it was the most I have agreed with him on Wizards moves not related to the draft. After what seemed like an eternity of bickering over Flip Saunders, it feels nice to agree.

The best destinations for Nene are win-now teams that don't care about salary. Unfortunately, those teams tend to have little in the way of future assets, as they've already mortgaged their futures, so we're looking at no more than a late-first or a middling prospect coming back. But I still say we do it. Okafor's contract ends a couple years before and he's played well, so of Nene and him he's the one I'd prefer to keep. Move Nene to Brooklyn for Humphries and a pick.

[Kanyewest]

I don't see the appeal of trading Nene for an expiring contract. I don't know what we would do with the cap room given the free agency crop of 2014. I'd consider trading Nene for a talented young player plus a bad contract, but not merely for cap relief. Unfortunately, I don't think Nene's trade value is currently high enough to make any trades attractive. We would need Nene to get healthy first.

For what it's worth, I was in favor of "striking while the iron was hot" and shopping Nene last December when he was playing real well and guys like Eric Bledsoe may have been available. At the time, such a trade would have improved our future talent base while helping the tank. I don't think that's the case anymore. Tanking is no longer an option. Even a Nene who misses 20 games, and plays 20 more at a sub-par level is still a really good player for the other 40 games and a good leader the whole time.

How would the Clippers/Wizards make the salaries match? Looks like the Clippers would have to include DeAndre Jordan and a filler. Nene would be a slight upgrade over Jordan in short term, but I'm not sure it would be worth it for the Clippers to give up Bledsoe. The Clippers might even prefer Jordan outright to Nene given they have a younger core with Griffin and Bledsoe if they envision keeping him in their long term plans.

Not such if an opportunity for trading Nene when the iron was hot even existed. If the iron was hot for Nene, the iron must melted from the heat that the Clippers played with during their 17 game winning streak.

[nate33]

Odom was sucking at the time and was viewed as filler. It would have been Nene for Odom + Bledsoe. I'm not saying that the Clippers would definitely have pulled the trigger, but with the way Nene was playing at the time, they surely would have considered it. Nene was looking like a top 10ish big man. It would have solidified LA as the premier contender in the West.

But the real point is that that's the kind of deal that I would be looking for in a Nene trade.

[hands11]

viewtopic.php?f=35&t=1237918&start=225

“I really don’t want to worry about the draft. We’re going the right way with winning, so we need to keep going with veterans and not keep going to the draft and get younger,” Wall said, “but that’s how I feel. It’s not my decision. It’s upstairs and I think they’ll do a great job.”

Wall and Beal would both like to see the Wizards add a forward who can stretch the defense with his shot. Wall would also like to see the team acquire a scorer/go-to guy off the bench.

--

Awesome to hear Wall talking like this. What a relief.

Well for those that wanted a stretch 4, drink it up. Wall is asking for one.

What I also find interesting is his comments about not wanting to keep drafting and staying to young. I was just thinking about that last night.

Not that I would mind them picking the right kind of younger players but at the same time, Wall, Beal and whoever they draft this year will all be young. How many young players do you need.

I just posted in another thread this same kind of idea. Cash out on the young project bench you have and get a new players in. Get some solid mid aged pros in the 24-26 age range. Players that due specific things you want. They don't have to be ASs.

This team still has to many projects.

Wall and Beal are the young starts. Add one more that could start in the future like Len, Bennett, Otto, Dieng, or Tim Hardaway Jr. and then fill out the bench with veteran depth.

Its one way to go. Though I still want them to draft Muscala in the 2nd. And maybe Erik Murphy.

[payitforward]

The unfortunate end to an unfortunate season. Fortunately, however, those with a crystal ball know who is coming back healthy, etc.

Pay no attention to our record. Our 29-53 is a *good* 29-53. Sure it'd be better to actually field a team that wins lots of games, but hey we can explain our losses so it's really really ok.

Next year those that were overweight will be slimmed down. Those who were losing a step will find it again. Those who didn't improve in their 2d year will get a lot better in their 3d year. Those who didn't improve in their 3d year will make a big jump in their 4th year. We'll get more veterans, because veterans never come with injury problems. And...

...we'll go 29-53 again -- no wait, looking more closely into the crystal ball, I see we'll go 34-48. A really big improvement and a sign that oh yeah, we are on a roll, headed in the right direction, run by a tremendous FO that really knows how to build a team. And all those losses? We'll be able to explain so, hey, it's ok. It really is.

Unfortunately, you don't have a crystal ball (you know who you are). Unfortunately, we were terrible this year, as we were last year, as we were the year before, as we were the year before that. In fact, our fearless leader of a GM had his best year at the beginning of his reign, when most of the players had been supplied by the previous regime.

Still... things are really great. Why we *almost* played .500 ball after John returned. I believe that was Ted's indicator of success. Play .500 ball and it's all good. But... we didn't do it did we?

Do you think heads will roll? Of course not. We have an explanation. And if you don't succeed, it's still fine as long as you have an explanation.

What an awful franchise the Washington Wizards has become. One of the worst in the league.

[hands11]

The unfortunate end to an unfortunate season. Fortunately, however, those with a crystal ball know who is coming back healthy, etc.

Pay no attention to our record. Our 29-53 is a *good* 29-53. Sure it'd be better to actually field a team that wins lots of games, but hey we can explain our losses so it's really really ok.

Next year those that were overweight will be slimmed down. Those who were losing a step will find it again. Those who didn't improve in their 2d year will get a lot better in their 3d year. Those who didn't improve in their 3d year will make a big jump in their 4th year. We'll get more veterans, because veterans never come with injury problems. And...

...we'll go 29-53 again -- no wait, looking more closely into the crystal ball, I see we'll go 34-48. A really big improvement and a sign that oh yeah, we are on a roll, headed in the right direction, run by a tremendous FO that really knows how to build a team. And all those losses? We'll be able to explain so, hey, it's ok. It really is.

Unfortunately, you don't have a crystal ball (you know who you are). Unfortunately, we were terrible this year, as we were last year, as we were the year before, as we were the year before that. In fact, our fearless leader of a GM had his best year at the beginning of his reign, when most of the players had been supplied by the previous regime.

Still... things are really great. Why we *almost* played .500 ball after John returned. I believe that was Ted's indicator of success. Play .500 ball and it's all good. But... we didn't do it did we?

Do you think heads will roll? Of course not. We have an explanation. And if you don't succeed, it's still fine as long as you have an explanation.

What an awful franchise the Washington Wizards has become. One of the worst in the league.

I mean this constructively, not as an attack so I hope you don't take it that way.

You might want to see someone. Depression is a serious issue and it can be treated.

[queridiculo]

The same could be said about severe delusions in face of overwhelming evidence to the contrary.

[theboomking]

Have I ever suggested trading Beal? Hmmm…. I really don't think so. I always wanted to stick with him.

Dat, almost everyone.

willbcocks didn't misspeak. Nene's a spiritual leader and when he is healthy he's a great player, much better than I thought. However, that injury is a chronic one and it would be wise to listen to reasonable offers. I value Nene but there is no reason not to listen to offers because at times he's been very ineffective and at others he hasn't been able to suit up. I have proposed Nene deals and am still open to the idea of trading Nene. I have said all along his injury was chronic even before he became a Wizard.

At times I think Okafor's deal is the far better deal because he is healthier than Nene.

If I knew Nene could play about 65 games or so at close to his best I would be reluctant to part with him for another long-term deal veteran.

CCJ, we should have traded Beal for Harden. I think the odds that Beal winds up as good as Harden are 50-50 at best. Wall and Harden would have been the best back court in the league.

If I were GM, I would resign for gross incompetence after watching Curry set the record for most 3's in a season while we no longer have Foye or Miller on the team.

[Rafael122]

I wonder, if Bennett is off the board, would the Wizards turn to the Pelicans to see if they would trade Anderson for our pick?

5th pick + Vesely + Singleton + Booker for Anderson. If available, grab Myck Kabongo with our second round pick, re-sign Webster, Temple, and Price.

PG - Wall/Price/Kabongo
SG - Beal/Temple
SF - Webster/Ariza
PF - Nene/Anderson
C - Okafor/Seraphin

I don't see a future here for Singleton or Booker, and to a certain extent, Seraphin and Vesely. But Ernie will keep at least one around long term and my guess it's Booker. Ernie may be a flawed GM but he's not going to bid against himself and offer those guys extensions when it's not really necessary.

Bring Anderson off the bench even though he makes $8 mil a year but with Nene's health, Anderson may end up starting 15-20 games anyway.

[montestewart]

^
Like it, but wouldn't mind hanging onto Booker, especially with the nene-injured risk. Wonder what other value could be offered.

[nate33]

^
Like it, but wouldn't mind hanging onto Booker, especially with the nene-injured risk. Wonder what other value could be offered.

We are under the cap so we can take back up to 150% of outgoing salary. We would only need to send out $5.5M. Vesely + Seraphin alone is enough. Booker doesn't need to be included. Better yet, make it Vesely + SIngleton + a resigned minimum salary vet like Cartier Martin.

I really would like to get back a mid or late first rounder though. I wonder if Milwaukee would make the same trade with Ilyasova where we send out #7 + Vesely and Seraphin for Milwaukee's #15 and Ilyasova. We then draft McCollum at #15.

PG Wall/McCollum
SG Beal/McCollum
SF Webster/Ariza
PF Ilyasova/Booker
C Okafor/Nene

[jivelikenice]

How far under the cap are we?