The 2013 NBA Free Agency Thread

[Dat2U]

I just can't believe the need to keep Ariza and Webster trumps the need for a viable third guard after our start last season.

It doesn't, unless you think Martell Webster is a great human being and you can't bear the thought of him wearing another team's uniform.

[fishercob]

I know I'm in the minority on this, but really hope we aren't trying to bring back Webster AND keep Ariza. No matter how much love there is for Webster, folks have got to realize that's poor allocation of the limited resources we have this offseason.

Webster and Ariza are separate and should be considered separately. While I don't think that having both guys on the roster this year is the very best allocation of resources, I would not sacrifice any piece of the future in the name of this year's roster.

A year from now Ariza is going to be a 29 year-old free agent. He's not going to be a part of our long-term plans given the ages of Wall, Beal and Porter (and Porter's position). He's gone in a year at most. The Wiz wouldn't keep him at anything close to his current salary. Guys in that situation move of 99% of the time.

If Webster is willing to sign a reasonable contract, we should sign him. He has value. Teams may want to trade for him in the future. He'll help our team on the floor and in the locker room.

With Webster re-signed it would be great if we could trade Ariza for someone who would be of more use to the team -- a S&T for Paul Millsap, or a trade for Ilyasova, or a something else. But even if we can't pull that off this summer, and EVEN if we can't get anything for Ariza at the deadline, we should still keep Webster for the right price.

The worst case scenario for this season just isn't that bad. Ariza has strong incentive to behave himself and be a good team guy -- he's heading into free agency. While today there would appear to be a glut of wings, how can we as Wizards fans forget for a moment that guys get injured? Depth is important and you can't predict where you'll need it. This may also force Wittman to be a little more creative with lineups to get minutes for everyone. Again, not the worst thing, particularly if the net effect is spreading the floor and giving Wall more room to operate. Our offensive woes last year were heavily related to spacing.

Worst case scenario is a bit of a crowded roster/rotation and a mess of cap room next summer. Given the history of this franchise, that's a huge success. Sign Webster, explore opportunities to trade Ariza. If a good move is there, great. If not, wait. If we have depth and another team has a key injury, they may come calling. Hoard talent and assets and wait for your opportunity!

[Rafael122]

Every time I think about Webster coming back, Dat takes me off the ledge. And he's got me sold on Robinson as well. I'd split the MLE on a combo of Robinson, Delfino and Copeland.

Then trade Singleton or even Booker to a team like Boston who needs to get to the cap floor.

[DCsOwn]

I know I'm in the minority on this, but really hope we aren't trying to bring back Webster AND keep Ariza. No matter how much love there is for Webster, folks have got to realize that's poor allocation of the limited resources we have this offseason.

I am in favor of retaining Webster at a reasonable cost. It does crowd the SF position, but he also looks like a good option as a back-up SG.

I think Ariza can get enough PT early in the season to have some trade value. It would be ideal to trade him for a big or back-up guard, but a future pick and cap space or expiring contract would be fine also.

A 3rd guard can slide over to SG as well. If you have 3rd guard, you really don't have a need for backup SG outside of someone like Garrett Temple for depth purposes.

Webster isn't really a 2 anyways. He can play there in a pinch, but that's not his ideal position in terms of ball skills or lateral quickness. I'd say the same goes for Rice, he's ideally a SF.

My problem is if you throw money at Webster and keep Ariza, that's going to leave us looking back at A.J. Price or having to settle for a 3rd guard types like John Lucas III or Eric Maynor as your first guard off the bench and IMO that's not satisfactory depth for a team with real playoff aspirations. I would have hoped lessons would have been learned from last years debacle due to no legit depth behind Wall.

I don't see any reason why Rice jr can't play sg for long stretches or full time even. He's longer and had better agility and sprint times at the Combine than McLemore. Ditto with McCollum. Same with Terrance Ross. Same with Nick Young. He had the same agility time as Jeremy Lamb etc., and it translates to the court in my judgment. He has a gliding quality about him on the floor and he can get lazy with his feet defensively and that allows people to get around him in some instances more than they should given his physical ability, but I've seen him flash the ability to stay in front of very quick players on defense, and he has fantastic recover ability given his length and leaping ability. I think the Wizards drafted him with belief that he can play the two guard with the versatility to back up both spots.

[fishercob]

I just can't believe the need to keep Ariza and Webster trumps the need for a viable third guard after our start last season.

I would fire any GM who told me that those two pursuits were mutually exclusive.

[GhostsOfGil]

This is one reason I preferred Noel. We have a proven 5 year guy with Webster. This entire dilemma would be moot if we had just picked Noel. Basically if we resign Webster, we will be unable to bolster out backcourt which is in dire need of depth. Now in order to add any significant contributors, we have to let our best shooter and locker room guy walk. Or we can resign him while taking a huge (aging) risk with our injury prone front court.

[Kanyewest]

I know I'm in the minority on this, but really hope we aren't trying to bring back Webster AND keep Ariza. No matter how much love there is for Webster, folks have got to realize that's poor allocation of the limited resources we have this offseason.

I am in favor of retaining Webster at a reasonable cost. It does crowd the SF position, but he also looks like a good option as a back-up SG.

I think Ariza can get enough PT early in the season to have some trade value. It would be ideal to trade him for a big or back-up guard, but a future pick and cap space or expiring contract would be fine also.

A 3rd guard can slide over to SG as well. If you have 3rd guard, you really don't have a need for backup SG outside of someone like Garrett Temple for depth purposes.

Webster isn't really a 2 anyways. He can play there in a pinch, but that's not his ideal position in terms of ball skills or lateral quickness. I'd say the same goes for Rice, he's ideally a SF.

My problem is if you throw money at Webster and keep Ariza, that's going to leave us looking back at A.J. Price or having to settle for a 3rd guard types like John Lucas III or Eric Maynor as your first guard off the bench and IMO that's not satisfactory depth for a team with real playoff aspirations. I would have hoped lessons would have been learned from last years debacle due to no legit depth behind Wall.

The thing with Ariza though is that he can play shooting guard because he does have the lateral quickness. Webster might be more ideal at times at the 2 guard offensively because of spacing.

[DCsOwn]

I know I'm in the minority on this, but really hope we aren't trying to bring back Webster AND keep Ariza. No matter how much love there is for Webster, folks have got to realize that's poor allocation of the limited resources we have this offseason.

Webster and Ariza are separate and should be considered separately. While I don't think that having both guys on the roster this year is the very best allocation of resources, I would not sacrifice any piece of the future in the name of this year's roster.

A year from now Ariza is going to be a 29 year-old free agent. He's not going to be a part of our long-term plans given the ages of Wall, Beal and Porter (and Porter's position). He's gone in a year at most. The Wiz wouldn't keep him at anything close to his current salary. Guys in that situation move of 99% of the time.

If Webster is willing to sign a reasonable contract, we should sign him. He has value. Teams may want to trade for him in the future. He'll help our team on the floor and in the locker room.

With Webster re-signed it would be great if we could trade Ariza for someone who would be of more use to the team -- a S&T for Paul Millsap, or a trade for Ilyasova, or a something else. But even if we can't pull that off this summer, and EVEN if we can't get anything for Ariza at the deadline, we should still keep Webster for the right price.

The worst case scenario for this season just isn't that bad. Ariza has strong incentive to behave himself and be a good team guy -- he's heading into free agency. While today there would appear to be a glut of wings, how can we as Wizards fans forget for a moment that guys get injured? Depth is important and you can't predict where you'll need it. This may also force Wittman to be a little more creative with lineups to get minutes for everyone. Again, not the worst thing, particularly if the net effect is spreading the floor and giving Wall more room to operate. Our offensive woes last year were heavily related to spacing.

Worst case scenario is a bit of a crowded roster/rotation and a mess of cap room next summer. Given the history of this franchise, that's a huge success. Sign Webster, explore opportunities to trade Ariza. If a good move is there, great. If not, wait. If we have depth and another team has a key injury, they may come calling. Hoard talent and assets and wait for your opportunity!

I agree with this completely.

[tontoz]

This is one reason I preferred Noel. We have a proven 5 year guy with Webster. This entire dilemma would be moot if we had just picked Noel. Basically if we resign Webster, we will be unable to bolster out backcourt which is in dire need of depth. Now in order to add any significant contributors, we have to let our best shooter and locker room guy walk. Or we can resign him while taking a huge (aging) risk with our injury prone front court.

You don't make a top 5 draft pick based on a role player who is a UFA.

[AFM]

CBA gurus: Anyway we pick up Darren Collison?

[tontoz]

I would throw the full MLE at Nate and see if he bites. If not my next target would be Collison. I would offer him maybe $4 million for 3 years.

If we get neither guy THEN i would consider resigning Webster.

[Kanyewest]

I agree with rockymac on this. In theory, letting Webster go and using the money to fill a need makes sense, but it doesn't work with this crop of free agents. There isn't a full-MLE stretch four that interests me, and the only full-MLE combo guard I like is Jack. Outside of Jack, I'd rather have Webster at 3 years $10-12M than anyone else at the full MLE.

I'd REALLY like to see Ariza bulk up with the goal of being a fill time PF. I think he could be as effective as Shawn Marion or Robert Horry if he did so. If he did so and it worked out, I'd be willing to resign him next summer. He's got a long term home here if he's willing to do what out takes.

All else being equal, I would prefer Jack to Webster but I have the feeling that Jack would cost more due to how well he played in the postseason.

Bulking up could be tricky for Ariza because still has to maintain his lateral quickness to guard guys on the perimeter.

[keynote]

FWIW, Webster didn't fly to DC to meet with EG/Ted for a traditional July 1 courtship meeting; he flew in for a meeting with the team's trainers. At least, that's what he's saying for now:

http://www.csnwashington.com/basketball ... tart-nears

With the league-wide financial frenzy set to commence, those interested welcome any clues indicating what will transpire. Webster returning to Washington at this exact moment is not one, so says the player himself. At the same time, Webster acknowledges there is a potential silver lining within the trip itself.

"Nah, I'm just coming to here to meet with the trainers," Webster told CSNwashington after arriving at Reagan International Airport. That's not to say he won't meet with Wizards owner Ted Leonsis or team president Ernie Grunfeld, just nothing formal, not planned anyway.

"I mean, I'll show my face, say hi to Ted [Leonsis] if he's here, Ernie [Grunfeld]," said a grinning Webster, adding there is no established time frame for resolution even if the NBA madness is about to start in 3,2,1...

"Not at all. Playing the game. It's just a numbers game. Got to make sure circumstances are right."

Even if there is no specific discussion of contractual terms on this trip, Webster sees the positive in that the trip to work out with the team's training staff is taking place at all.

"Right now I just want to come here and get a grasp of what it's going to take to get me back to where I want be," Webster said. "My goal is to come in training camp for whatever team I'm playing for in shape. The fact that these guys are so hands on in the situation I'm in now let's me know how much that they want me back here, which is amazing.

"Like I said before, I just want to be wanted and be valued for what I bring to the table."

Webster wouldn't divulge that value in financial terms. The Wizards don't have much room under the salary cap, but have the mid-level exception ($5.15 million) and bi-annual exception ($2.016 million).

"I know my number and I know the number it's going to take for me to walk away from what's going on here," Webster said. "Right now, my hopes are coming back here. I love it here. It's a great situation for me, especially in the locker room, the camaraderie, the chemistry that we built with our teammates was - it couldn't be broken. That's the simplest way to put it."

[fishercob]

Nate Robinson IMO is the absolute perfect fit. Were a defensive minded team that's going to need scoring off the bench. Who better than a guy that can handle a heavy workload and hit big shots when needed?

Nate's not that high on my list. He's 29 and so small that any loss of athleticism is likely to have a significant impact on his effectiveness.

He's not that durable. He played every game last year, but before that played 51/66, 59/82, 56/82. That's an average of 65 games a year over an 82 game season.

I'd take him on a reasonable two year deal, but I think there are plenty of better options for the (likely) money -- particularly since signing Nate would probably cost us Webster.

I think I'd rather have a guy like Udrih, CJ Watson, or Aaron Brooks AND Webster than get Nate and lose Webster.

[pancakes3]

+2 for Fish and then some. Webster is a younger, cheaper, and better option and should have priority contract-wise to Ariza. Talent is a commodity in the NBA. Just because your team can't use it, doesn't mean it's useless. Fireselling our talent for inferior talent in the name of superior fit is how teams end up mired in mediocrity.

[GhostsOfGil]

This is one reason I preferred Noel. We have a proven 5 year guy with Webster. This entire dilemma would be moot if we had just picked Noel. Basically if we resign Webster, we will be unable to bolster out backcourt which is in dire need of depth. Now in order to add any significant contributors, we have to let our best shooter and locker room guy walk. Or we can resign him while taking a huge (aging) risk with our injury prone front court.

You don't make a top 5 draft pick based on a role player who is a UFA.

All signs point to Webster being resigned. The question is are we in a better position with no capspace, a logjam at the wing, and an aging front court? IMO I think our future is brighter and our roster is more balanced with Webster and a high potential defensive big. Apologies for rehashing this since it's been a cyclical topic over the past few days.

[Dat2U]

A year from now Ariza is going to be a 29 year-old free agent. He's not going to be a part of our long-term plans given the ages of Wall, Beal and Porter (and Porter's position). He's gone in a year at most. The Wiz wouldn't keep him at anything close to his current salary. Guys in that situation move of 99% of the time.

If Webster is willing to sign a reasonable contract, we should sign him. He has value. Teams may want to trade for him in the future. He'll help our team on the floor and in the locker room.

Ariza is our backup SF. Who cares if he leaves in a year? He's a backup SF for goodness sakes! You know what we'll likely do? Get another backup SF. Hopefully one that's less than $7 mil per.

There are plenty of backup SFs on the market every year.

Why are we so worried about keeping two of them?

[jivelikenice]

I just can't believe the need to keep Ariza and Webster trumps the need for a viable third guard after our start last season.

I would fire any GM who told me that those two pursuits were mutually exclusive.

Either a big chunk of the MLE or a trade chip like Ariza has to be used to solidy the backcourt. A Nate Robinson type isnt' signing for the bi-annual exception IMO. You can keep both and sign a guy like Maynor as a backup guard, but I don't think that solidifies us in terms of backcourt depth.

[Dat2U]

Nate Robinson IMO is the absolute perfect fit. Were a defensive minded team that's going to need scoring off the bench. Who better than a guy that can handle a heavy workload and hit big shots when needed?

Nate's not that high on my list. He's 29 and so small that any loss of athleticism is likely to have a significant impact on his effectiveness.

He's not that durable. He played every game last year, but before that played 51/66, 59/82, 56/82. That's an average of 65 games a year over an 82 game season.

I'd take him on a reasonable two year deal, but I think there are plenty of better options for the (likely) money -- particularly since signing Nate would probably cost us Webster.

I think I'd rather have a guy like Udrih, CJ Watson, or Aaron Brooks AND Webster than get Nate and lose Webster.

Good arguments against Nate. I can't necessarily disagree with those points. Two years would be fine by me. But the other suggestions including Udrih, Brooks & Watson are just bad NBA players right now. They don't help teams, they hurt them with their on court play.

[Dat2U]

+2 for Fish and then some. Webster is a younger, cheaper, and better option and should have priority contract-wise to Ariza. Talent is a commodity in the NBA. Just because your team can't use it, doesn't mean it's useless. Fireselling our talent for inferior talent in the name of superior fit is how teams end up mired in mediocrity.

Huh, what exactly makes Webster a superior talent? He had exactly one respectable season prior out of six before making the most of his veteran minimum contract this past season.

I'm guessing you didn't view him as a superior talent prior to last year.