Wiz trade Shard and 2nd rounder for Okafor and Ariza

[tontoz]

I'm now convinced this was a GREAT trade. The Wizards got SOMEONE who will be able to put on the uniform and play games for them next season. And maybe the season after that too! Hey, TWO SOMEONES, actually, which makes this trade double extra special awesome! And it's only going to consume what was left of the team's cap space for the next two offseasons?! Triple extra special awesomeness!

I'm psyched. I'm stoked. I'm hyped. The Wiz now have SOMEONE(S).

No other deal was possible now or in the future. No other deal would have emerged. No team would have paid the Wizards for the use of their cap space. Not possible.

Can't wait until Blatche comes back next year playing to his full potential. That will be quadruple extra special awesome!

Sucks that Ernie was extended for only two more years. Ted should give him a lifetime deal immediately. Then the Wiz would be quintuple extra special awesome forever! Just like they've been throughout Ernie's tenure at GM.

Step back off the ledge. This deal isn't that bad......... ok well maybe it is but....... think about your family. Who is going to advise your kids on the horrors of sports radio when you are gone?

[Ruzious]

How dare people have opinions and actually express them. That's not what an internet message board is for, people! Speaking of which, I sent Ted a T-mail expressing why I didn't like the trade, and he already responded - nothing earth-shattering or inspiring - saying he "obviously disagrees" and thanking me for "caring and sharing" - but it's nice to get an e-mail from the owner's e-mail account.

[Nivek]

What ledge? I LOVE this trade. The team now has a couple guys who contractually will be required to suit up for the Wizards the next two years. And all they had to give up was the rest of their cap space for the next two offseasons. Small price to pay. Ernie is a genius. Ted too.

[manifested]

We are like a **** version of Chicago

I read through a portion, but not all, of this thread so apologies if this has already been mentioned. This is all about John Wall. It appears to be a double down on Wall taking the next step and becoming something close to a superstar. Ted has been talking all offseason about how the team is ready to win, not going to be back in the lottery position next year, etc.

Wizards made a short term move for some stop gap players to try and win a little now in the hopes that Wall can feel like he's part of something and won't just bolt when his first contract is up. This feels like a panic move. Wall hasn't been happy. You could see it for most of the last two seasons. Losing has worn on him and I think the Wizards are terrified he's already looking around and counting down the days until his rookie contract is up. The only possible remedy for that is winning. And while even that guarantees nothing, losing like the Wizards have guarantees he's gone.

The question is, is Wall a superstar? Some great athleticism, some sick transition buckets, yes. But the ability to control a game, play your game and get yours even when people know stopping you is the key? Not yet. He's certainly a good piece but I'm not sure if betting extra hard on Wall growing into a Lebron/Wade/Durant/Rose level superstar is the way to go. If Wall "just" turns out as good as Westbrook or Rondo, that's not good enough given the new situation and it's right back to the full rebuild in two years. Since you need at least two, the Wizards will need #3 to reach all star level with the team displaying elite defense in order to contend like the Bulls. I'm rooting for it to happen, but there's too many ifs. Late lottery hell looks more realistic to me.

[willbcocks]

How dare people have opinions and actually express them. That's not what an internet message board is for, people! Speaking of which, I sent Ted a T-mail expressing why I didn't like the trade, and he already responded - nothing earth-shattering or inspiring - saying he "obviously disagrees" and thanking me for "caring and sharing" - but it's nice to get an e-mail from the owner's e-mail account.

Don't worry about Spence--he just doesn't understand the trade yet.

[tontoz]

What ledge? I LOVE this trade. The team now has a couple guys who contractually will be required to suit up for the Wizards the next two years. And all they had to give up was the rest of their cap space for the next two offseasons. Small price to pay. Ernie is a genius. Ted too.

Plea to the board, does anyone know the treatment for sarcasm poisoning? We have a serious case here and i am worried we might lose him.

[AWIZZINGBULLET]

I'm here guys. Your friend from Milwaukee.

I just wanted to congratulate Ernie on his 9-year anniversary as Wizards GM coming up next week. Hard to believe it was June 25, 2003 when the Bucks released him so he could pursue his dreams as Wizards GM. Where does time go.

I feel for you guys. You were totally on the right rebuilding track. The track we have tried to get our inept owner Herb Kohl to take for years now.

But Ernie and Ted just had to spend $100 million plus on Nene, Ariza and Okafor to try and steal that 8th seed from my Bucks next year.

You guys are ahead of us though since you've got that 3rd pick, which could net an all-star. Just remember though that if we can't sign Chris Kaman to a $50 million dollar deal to compete with you guys, we may pack it in and trade Monta Ellis to you for the 3rd pick and Blatche.

Who said the Wizards organization even want Monta Ellis? He's a good scorer but after that he's pretty empty. Ellis doesn't need to come to Washington.

[nate33]

I've taken a day to cool off and try to rationally justify this trade, but I just can't. It's so bad it's hard to get my mind around it.

The ONLY justification is that we turned deadweight salary into relatively competent (albeit absurdly overpriced) players. Instead of paying Rashard Lewis $13.7M to go away, we will pay Okafor and Ariza $42M to be average players. So at best, it's like paying $15M a year for two average players for 2 years. That's pretty bad but I suppose it could be worse.

The real problem is that the players, Okafor in particular, aren't any better than what we've already got at the position. We are paying $15M a year for two average players who don't add anything.

What gives me a small amount of hope is the fact that Okafor is probably movable. Competent big men are so rare in this league that some teams are willing to pay a ton for them. If Okafor can be traded for a shooter (preferably Kevin Martin) then it might not be such an unmitigated disaster. One can justify paying $15M a year for two average players if those players at least fill a need.

If we traded Okafor plus Crawford for Kevin Martin, and drafted Beal, our lineup would look like this:

PG Wall/Mack
SG Martin/Beal
SF Ariza/Crowder/Singleton
PF Booker/Vesely/Singleton
C Nene/Seraphin

That's a pretty good team with some experienced veterans in the starting lineup and good youth on the 2nd unit.

[Nivek]

What ledge? I LOVE this trade. The team now has a couple guys who contractually will be required to suit up for the Wizards the next two years. And all they had to give up was the rest of their cap space for the next two offseasons. Small price to pay. Ernie is a genius. Ted too.

Plea to the board, does anyone know the treatment for sarcasm poisoning? We have a serious case here and i am worried we might lose him.

Spence's "needle in the eye" thing works great, I hear.

[TGW]

How dare people have opinions and actually express them. That's not what an internet message board is for, people! Speaking of which, I sent Ted a T-mail expressing why I didn't like the trade, and he already responded - nothing earth-shattering or inspiring - saying he "obviously disagrees" and thanking me for "caring and sharing" - but it's nice to get an e-mail from the owner's e-mail account.

You wouldn't mind posting the email you sent him, do you? I'm curious as to how you worded it.

[tontoz]

I'm here guys. Your friend from Milwaukee.

I just wanted to congratulate Ernie on his 9-year anniversary as Wizards GM coming up next week. Hard to believe it was June 25, 2003 when the Bucks released him so he could pursue his dreams as Wizards GM. Where does time go.

I feel for you guys. You were totally on the right rebuilding track. The track we have tried to get our inept owner Herb Kohl to take for years now.

But Ernie and Ted just had to spend $100 million plus on Nene, Ariza and Okafor to try and steal that 8th seed from my Bucks next year.

You guys are ahead of us though since you've got that 3rd pick, which could net an all-star. Just remember though that if we can't sign Chris Kaman to a $50 million dollar deal to compete with you guys, we may pack it in and trade Monta Ellis to you for the 3rd pick and Blatche.

Who said the Wizards organization even want Monta Ellis? He's a good scorer but after that he's pretty empty. Ellis doesn't need to come to Washington.

He was joking, referncing both teams penchant for dumb trades.

[tontoz]

How dare people have opinions and actually express them. That's not what an internet message board is for, people! Speaking of which, I sent Ted a T-mail expressing why I didn't like the trade, and he already responded - nothing earth-shattering or inspiring - saying he "obviously disagrees" and thanking me for "caring and sharing" - but it's nice to get an e-mail from the owner's e-mail account.

You wouldn't mind posting the email you sent him, do you? I'm curious as to how you worded it.

I have sent him 2. One line from my second email was "This deal was like an eskimo paying a lot of money for a freezer".

[VictorPage44]

^
Okafor doesnt add anything? what about rebounding? Ariza is a competant wing, we didnt have any. People keep saying that we didnt add anything we didnt already have. That couldnt be further from the truth. You cant win with nene as the best rebounder and booker as the second best, it's just not possible. Now, at least, we have a chance.

...But perception of this trade is influenced by all the genius alternative ideas everyone had worked out in their minds.

[payitforward]

How dare people have opinions and actually express them. That's not what an internet message board is for, people! Speaking of which, I sent Ted a T-mail expressing why I didn't like the trade, and he already responded - nothing earth-shattering or inspiring - saying he "obviously disagrees" and thanking me for "caring and sharing" - but it's nice to get an e-mail from the owner's e-mail account.

You wouldn't mind posting the email you sent him, do you? I'm curious as to how you worded it.

I have sent him 2. One line from my second email was "This deal was like an eskimo paying a lot of money for a freezer".

I'd say it's not so much pay a lot of money for a freezer. More like an Eskimo buying a freezer because he thought it was available at good deal.

Given essentially a clean slate 2+ years ago, Ernie has managed to build a team w/ a ceiling in the next 3 years of something just North of 40 wins. That's pathetic in an impressive sort of way.

[AWIZZINGBULLET]

I'm confused as to why the Wizards do this trade...

I like the fact that you've added veterans, but dislike the fact that you've added them at positions which dont need them, which has created a logjam at center.

The cap room from Shard's contract is basilly destroyed as well, limiting the flexibility of the Wizards.

On the birghyt side however, maybe all this team needs is more vets, and it means that EG certainly expects the Wizards to be in the playoffs next season.

The assumption is that Okafor will spend most of his time at center, for all you know he may serve as backup to Trevor Booker at PF, whie Nene and Seraphin play center. Perhaps he backs up Nene and Seraphin plays the starting PF position. Contract aside, the addition of Okafor was a good one because there was no proven veteran help other than Nene from the PF position on down.

[payitforward]

I'm confused as to why the Wizards do this trade...

I like the fact that you've added veterans, but dislike the fact that you've added them at positions which dont need them, which has created a logjam at center.

The cap room from Shard's contract is basilly destroyed as well, limiting the flexibility of the Wizards.

On the birghyt side however, maybe all this team needs is more vets, and it means that EG certainly expects the Wizards to be in the playoffs next season.

The assumption is that Okafor will spend most of his time at center, for all you know he may serve as backup to Trevor Booker at PF, whie Nene and Seraphin play center. Perhaps he backs up Nene and Seraphin plays the starting PF position. Contract aside, the addition of Okafor was a good one because there was no proven veteran help other than Nene from the PF position on down.

Well, just for starters, James Singleton is a better player right now than Emeka Okafor, and surely this trade makes it unlikely we re-sign him.

[Nivek]

I've taken a day to cool off and try to rationally justify this trade, but I just can't. It's so bad it's hard to get my mind around it.

The ONLY justification is that we turned deadweight salary into relatively competent (albeit absurdly overpriced) players. Instead of paying Rashard Lewis $13.7M to go away, we will pay Okafor and Ariza $42M to be average players. So at best, it's like paying $15M a year for two average players for 2 years. That's pretty bad but I suppose it could be worse.

The real problem is that the players, Okafor in particular, aren't any better than what we've already got at the position. We are paying $15M a year for two average players who don't add anything.

What gives me a small amount of hope is the fact that Okafor is probably movable. Competent big men are so rare in this league that some teams are willing to pay a ton for them. If Okafor can be traded for a shooter (preferably Kevin Martin) then it might not be such an unmitigated disaster. One can justify paying $15M a year for two average players if those players at least fill a need.

If we traded Okafor plus Crawford for Kevin Martin, and drafted Beal, our lineup would look like this:

PG Wall/Mack
SG Martin/Beal
SF Ariza/Crowder/Singleton
PF Booker/Vesely/Singleton
C Nene/Seraphin

That's a pretty good team.

Nate: You're probably not understanding the importance of acquiring players who will be contractually obligated to play for the Wizards for the next two seasons. It's huge because there's no guarantee that a player NOT contractually obligated to play for the Wizards would ever want to play for the Wizards. Why, the mere thought of such a thing is laughable. HA-HA-HA. See? I just laughed at the thought myself. No one could be enticed to play for a team like the Wizards for a piddling thing like a Brinks truck filled with money. Much better to acquire guys with existing contracts. Then they can be forced to play for the Wizards.

Looked at properly, this is a genius move.

[Spence]

How dare people have opinions and actually express them. That's not what an internet message board is for, people! Speaking of which, I sent Ted a T-mail expressing why I didn't like the trade, and he already responded - nothing earth-shattering or inspiring - saying he "obviously disagrees" and thanking me for "caring and sharing" - but it's nice to get an e-mail from the owner's e-mail account.

Don't worry about Spence--he just doesn't understand the trade yet.

EXACTLY!

Actually, I did miss the point of an internet message board. I thought the point was to express opinions, but, as Ruzious has pointed out, the point is actually to express your opinions as obnoxiously as possible.

Mission accomplished!

[Bickerstaff]

The thing I really don't get about Hollinger's article is why he thinks having tons of cap space is a guarantor of great success. Who has it ever worked for besides the Heat? How happy is Anthony Davis going to be having cap space for teammates? For someone who's supposedly all about numbers, Hollinger seems awfully biased and emotional a lot of the time.

[DaRealHibachi]

I'm here guys. Your friend from Milwaukee.

I just wanted to congratulate Ernie on his 9-year anniversary as Wizards GM coming up next week. Hard to believe it was June 25, 2003 when the Bucks released him so he could pursue his dreams as Wizards GM. Where does time go.

I feel for you guys. You were totally on the right rebuilding track. The track we have tried to get our inept owner Herb Kohl to take for years now.

But Ernie and Ted just had to spend $100 million plus on Nene, Ariza and Okafor to try and steal that 8th seed from my Bucks next year.

You guys are ahead of us though since you've got that 3rd pick, which could net an all-star. Just remember though that if we can't sign Chris Kaman to a $50 million dollar deal to compete with you guys, we may pack it in and trade Monta Ellis to you for the 3rd pick and Blatche.

Who said the Wizards organization even want Monta Ellis? He's a good scorer but after that he's pretty empty. Ellis doesn't need to come to Washington.