Summer 2012 Free Agents Thread - Part II

[dandridge 10]

I know this might sound like heresy to some of you...but I think Crawford has the potential to get better. I think he has the ability to become a more discipline and efficient shooter.

That might sound like a tall order, but the kid is 23 years old and going into what is really only his second full season getting PT. And, while some might be dismissive of Jordan's street tough attitude and swag, I'll take a baller with a little toughness and fight anytime.

In comparison, Cartier Martin and Morris Allmond are 28 and 27 years old respectively and, imo, we've seen the best they have to offer. I don't think that either one has Jordan's upside, and they certainly haven't shown the fight and grit that I've seen from Jordan pretty much everytime he steps on the court, especially late in games.

Usually people that have a certain mentality when they come into the league stay like that throughout their entire careers. It would be a very tall order for him to become more disciplined and efficient.

The kid just has too many bad habits in his game that'll will take yrs to weed out, if ever.

Its kind of ironic you take this position about Crawford, but you still seem to believe in Dray. In any event, I agree with DCZards. Although Crawford's chucking has frustrated me to no ends, I have seen enough flashes of good play -- both scoring wise and passing wise -- that I would give the kid some more time. Its not like we are going to be contending for a championship anyway and he is not an expensive player. If he can improve his decisionmaking, he can be a valuable guy off the bench. And, despite his flaws, he seems to fit within the direction this team is taking regarding hardworking, tough, no-nonsense guys. Again, if he was older, I'd say get rid of him. But, he is way too young to take the position that he "is what he is". Seraphin should be a good example of why people should wait before making conclusions about what type of player young guys will be.

[7-Day Dray]

^

I don't believe in Dray anymore. I changed my username before last season.

But the difference between Dray and Crawford is that Dray actually has the talent to match his on-court mentality - JC doesn't.

[tontoz]

Crawford's chucking disgusts me as much as anyone but for the record Crawford's scoring rate went up by 2.3 pts per 40 minutes and his TS% went up by 3.2% compared to his rookie year, in spite of the lockout.

Some players just cant shoot, some just have bad shot selection, some have a combination of both. I am not convinced that Crawford can't shoot. Among 2s he ranked 4th in pts per minute.

It may be a reach to think that he can control his shot selection enough to get his efficiency to respectability, but we still have 2 years left on his cheap rookie deal. There is no urgency to make the final call on him now.

[Nivek]

^

I don't believe in Dray anymore. I changed my username before last season.

But the difference between Dray and Crawford is that Dray actually has the talent to match his on-court mentality - JC doesn't.

Aren't you the guy in the Blatche thread arguing that Blatche is an All-Star talent? Maybe I'm thinking of a different 7-Day Dray.

And no, Blatche does not have the talent to match his on-court mentality. If he did, he wouldn't be booed every time he touches the ball at home. If he did, he wouldn't be a league-wide joke.

[Nivek]

Crawford's chucking disgusts me as much as anyone but for the record Crawford's scoring rate went up by 2.3 pts per 40 minutes and his TS% went up by 3.2% compared to his rookie year, in spite of the lockout.

Some players just cant shoot, some just have bad shot selection, some have a combination of both. I am not convinced that Crawford can't shoot. Among 2s he ranked 4th in pts per minute.

It may be a reach to think that he can control his shot selection enough to get his efficiency to respectability, but we still have 2 years left on his cheap rookie deal. There is no urgency to make the final call on him now.

Most guys could score a lot of points if they shot a lot.

Think about this: over the past 10 seasons, 44 players have played at least 2500 total minutes and had a usage rate of 25 or higher. Crawford is 44th -- dead last -- in offensive rating.

Limit it to just guards, and Crawford is 23rd out of 23. 22nd is the 40-year old Michael Jordan -- who a) had an ortg 5 points per 100 possessions better than Crawford; and b) had the 2nd worst efficiency of his career (trailing only the previous season -- his 1st with the Wizards).

[DCZards]

Most guys could score a lot of points if they shot a lot.

Think about this: over the past 10 seasons, 44 players have played at least 2500 total minutes and had a usage rate of 25 or higher. Crawford is 44th -- dead last -- in offensive rating.

Limit it to just guards, and Crawford is 23rd out of 23. 22nd is the 40-year old Michael Jordan -- who a) had an ortg 5 points per 100 possessions better than Crawford; and b) had the 2nd worst efficiency of his career (trailing only the previous season -- his 1st with the Wizards).

So you're saying that JC has nowhere to go but up.

[Nivek]

I think that's what Hillary said when he looked up at Mount Everest.

[tontoz]

Crawford is a chucker for sure but the ORTG argument doesn't really mean much to me. when i looked at the top 10 in ORTG last season i laughed.

http://www.basketball-reference.com/lea ... op_10.html

[nate33]

I don't think it's quite so cut and dry. Yes, he is an inefficient player and we should not design an offense where Jordan Crawford consistently "creates shots" in one-on-one coverage. But that doesn't mean that his shot creation skills are completely unhelpful. There will be times when the offense breaks down, or when they are holding for a last shot, when it helps to have a guy create on his own. I'd rather Crawford take that shot than, say, Chris Singleton.

I'd rather the team just run its offense or a set play to get a shot than give the ball to Crawford and ask him to "create."

Amen, brother. And I don't see what could be more "cut and dry" than FG%. In case you haven't looked, nate, his is extremely low. When you "create" a shot that you miss, yes, that is "completely unhelpful" -- by definition.

If that's the case, then I don't see how we're going to have a meaningful conversation. Why don't you just assemble the following team and have the best offense in history:

PG Mario Chalmers (eFG% .541)
SG Kyle Korver (eFG% .575)
SF Jared Dudley (eFG% .547)
PF Matt Bonner (eFG% .590)
C DeAndre Jordan (eFG% .632)

I mean, it doesn't get any more cut and dry than FG%, Right?

[closg00]

The Washington Wizards are looking to keep Cartier Martin after he played well near the end of last season following a stint in China. They have reached out to Martin's representatives and there's a "good chance" he'll return, reports CSN Washington's Ben Standig.

His return isn't quite imminent, though, and other teams, such as the San Antonio Spurs and Orlando Magic, have also reached out to Martin. Standig also notes that Martin likely will not receive quite as much playing time as he did last year. Nevertheless, it looks like there's a good chance Martin will be back on the squad next year.

http://www.bulletsforever.com/2012/7/3/ ... #storyjump

Looks-like me more slot is accounted-for

[closg00]

Roger Mason Jr is currently slated to be an assistant coach for the Washington Wizards' summer-league team, but his return to the roster is still up in the air. The Wizards are interested in keeping him, according to ESPN's Chris Broussard, but two other teams -- the New Orleans Hornets and Oklahoma City Thunder -- are also in the mix.

http://www.bulletsforever.com/2012/7/3/ ... on-wizards

Last slot for Mason?

[hands11]

Why to bring it BruceO

Now thats what I'm talking about.

This team has come a country mile since Gil screwed them. It was only two years ago they were coming to camp with Gil and his contract and Wall the #1 and trying to figure out how it was going to work. How would they get through this.

Move ahead two years and I say they got through it amazingly well.

Now it really does kind of fall on Walls shoulders. He is the one player who if he advances like he is projected to advance, can take this team to a seriously competitive level.

I had to count to much on Beal at this stage of the game but I wouldn't be surprised at all if Beal has a short learning curve.

This year will be good. Next year will be even better.
And if they are willing to cut bait on Mack and bring in a vet PG like Kip, pop the cap of this mother. One smaller move like that would be huge.

Hey, I like the home grown story as much as the next person. It would be awesome if Mack could make it but .... he was only a 2nd rounder. He helped last year. And this team still has plenty of other young player. Just not sure if it worth the risk of keeping him. But they should know best since they are keeping tabs on these players over the summer. They should be able to read his progress and know what to do.

[hands11]

Most guys could score a lot of points if they shot a lot.

Think about this: over the past 10 seasons, 44 players have played at least 2500 total minutes and had a usage rate of 25 or higher. Crawford is 44th -- dead last -- in offensive rating.

Limit it to just guards, and Crawford is 23rd out of 23. 22nd is the 40-year old Michael Jordan -- who a) had an ortg 5 points per 100 possessions better than Crawford; and b) had the 2nd worst efficiency of his career (trailing only the previous season -- his 1st with the Wizards).

So you're saying that JC has nowhere to go but up.

So how is he with a lower usage rating and not shooting as many 3s, because that will be is role next year once Beal get his sea legs.

[nate33]

Crawford's chucking disgusts me as much as anyone but for the record Crawford's scoring rate went up by 2.3 pts per 40 minutes and his TS% went up by 3.2% compared to his rookie year, in spite of the lockout.

His TS% pre-Young-trade was an abysmal .475. After the trade, it was an almost-acceptable .510.

[tontoz]

Crawford's chucking disgusts me as much as anyone but for the record Crawford's scoring rate went up by 2.3 pts per 40 minutes and his TS% went up by 3.2% compared to his rookie year, in spite of the lockout.

His TS% pre-Young-trade was an abysmal .475. After the trade, it was an almost-acceptable .510.

I am not a fan and complained about him most of the year but i do feel better about him now than i did this time last year. I think he has the talent to be a legit 6 man type like Jamal Crawford. He needs to reach down and pull his head out of his ass though.

[AlohaWiz]

Most guys could score a lot of points if they shot a lot.

Think about this: over the past 10 seasons, 44 players have played at least 2500 total minutes and had a usage rate of 25 or higher. Crawford is 44th -- dead last -- in offensive rating.

Limit it to just guards, and Crawford is 23rd out of 23. 22nd is the 40-year old Michael Jordan -- who a) had an ortg 5 points per 100 possessions better than Crawford; and b) had the 2nd worst efficiency of his career (trailing only the previous season -- his 1st with the Wizards).

Now Crawford's quote from last season makes much more sense. He just forgot to refer specifically to the 40 year old Michael Jordan!

I don’t tell nobody, but I feel like I can be better than Michael Jordan,” Crawford said, without the slightest hint of sarcasm. “When I’m done playing, I don’t want people to say, Michael Jordan is the best player. I want that to be me. That’s how I am. That’s how I was built.”

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

[jivelikenice]

I don't feel good about Crawford at all. He's either going to pout about not starting or will accept the role as a 6th man. The problem with him accepting that role is what he envisions his place in that role to be. I'm afraid he'll view it as his time to shine and he'll jack shots up left & right. If he's on, great, but how many games will be shoot us out of or ruing our rhythm in if he takes the role with a bad approach? I see why they reached out potentially to Foye. It would give them someone who can start if Beal isn't ready right away, and can slide into a 6th man role w/o destroying the flow of our offense.

On a totally separate note, what happened to Alonzo Gee? I though we were going to reach back out to him & read that the Suns were ready to offer 4/16MM

[Wallbeliever]

I see no reason not to hope Crawford continues to develop. If he improves again next year he may even have value as a expiring trade chip along with Emeka or Ariza.

I don't have as much problem with his shot selection as his TO rate. He was one of the few that could create his own shot on this team last year and this may have caused just as many bad shots/turnovers as poor decisions. I feel comfortable with him as a third guard at this point in time..... much the same way i feel Vesely and Seraphin will improve I think the same is possible from Jordan, especially in a third guard role. Time will tell, we aren't going to contend for the eastern conference, I think this fits our model before the trade of cheap controlled talent with potential, even if it may be an outside shot.

[keynote]

Okay so somebody school me on Courtney Lee. I see the Wizards are one of the teams interested in signing him.

Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using Tapatalk 2

[sfam]

It remains to be seen how Crawford develops. He's young enough that the lightbulb can turn on, but he really seems like someone who never sees himself as others do. If he really thinks his career is on a Jordan-like trajectory, than his stint here won't be long. But if the brain engages at some point, perhaps his shot selection does as well. If so, he'll be a valuable player off the bench for us.