Just tank already.

[TGW]

Yes, for this season, I am actively rooting for the Wizards to "lose" so they can win more later. It's called "delayed gratification".

Sadly enough, I'm at that point, and I hate Grunfeld even more because of it. I would rather see the team lose then allow Grunfeld to make anymore franchise-killing moves. Just the mere thought of Grunfeld and Whitman actually getting extended this offseason disgusts me to no end. The Gortat move was icing on the cake for me.

[dckingsfan]

Yes, for this season, I am actively rooting for the Wizards to "lose" so they can win more later. It's called "delayed gratification".

Sadly enough, I'm at that point, and I hate Grunfeld even more because of it. I would rather see the team lose then allow Grunfeld to make anymore franchise-killing moves. Just the mere thought of Grunfeld and Whitman actually getting extended this offseason disgusts me to no end. The Gortat move was icing on the cake for me.

When I watch the games - I just can't help but rooting for the Wiz to win. There is definitely some cognitive dissonance going on when I watch the games. Others have mentioned it as well - but I just can't purchase season tickets while EG is still there - just can't do it.

[verbal8]

I think tanking is out of the question at this point. The 9th place team - the Pistons - are on pace to win 33 games. To only win 33 games, the Wizards would have to win games at the same rate as the Magic. It is pretty doubtful even dealing Ariza and Gortat, they would have starters perform as poorly as Glen Davis and Oladipo(who should be fine long-term).

However I don't think being a trade "seller" and making the play-offs are mutually exclusive. Wall, Beal and Nene aren't going anywhere. A team with them is going to win some games.

I think being a trade "buyer" to move from 5th or 6th seed to 4th or even 3rd is foolish. If a good player is available for expirings, I can see aquiring him, as long as future assets are not given up.

[Illmatic12]

The idea of tanking now is laughable, this team isn't performing badly enough to be blown up. They're performing quite well actually, relative to expectations.

Look at Cleveland, now THAT is a team that should be tanking. We're having a *great* season relative to what's going on there.

[Nivek]

The idea of tanking now is laughable, this team isn't performing badly enough to be blown up. They're performing quite well actually, relative to expectations.

Depends on your expectations. I projected them to be about average and to win 43 games. So far, they've been about average, and 43 wins looks to be a very possible final record. They're playing about as I expected.

[Silvie Lysandra]

I hope Andre Miller whines lots and lots about minutes so that the team implodes.

This trade only reinforces my desire to see the Wizards lose as much as humanly possible and miss the playoff so that it's obvious to a moron like Ted Leonsis how bad things this are.

[FAH1223]

I hope Andre Miller whines lots and lots about minutes so that the team implodes.

This trade only reinforces my desire to see the Wizards lose as much as humanly possible and miss the playoff so that it's obvious to a moron like Ted Leonsis how bad things this are.

I'm about to give up hope on tanking... there's only 28 games left and I just can't see them losing 5 in a row or something like that. It'd be great but I think they're too average for it to happen...

[Silvie Lysandra]

They're only a few games in front of the 8th seed and Cleveland and Charlotte are sorta surging, especially seeing Anthony Bennett is trending up. A injury to Nene or Wall or Ariza could easily make the team go on a 5-10 game skid.

[Halcyon]

I've accepted the reality that being a Wizards fan sucks, we're just born into perpetual mediocrity. There's no point in fighting the inevitable at this point.

[FAH1223]

They're only a few games in front of the 8th seed and Cleveland and Charlotte are sorta surging, especially seeing Anthony Bennett is trending up. A injury to Nene or Wall or Ariza could easily make the team go on a 5-10 game skid.

We don't want anyone injured. They need to lose because they aren't good enough as currently constructed.

If injuries happen, Ernie stays cause of the injury excuse.

[AFM]

They're only a few games in front of the 8th seed and Cleveland and Charlotte are sorta surging, especially seeing Anthony Bennett is trending up. A injury to Nene or Wall or Ariza could easily make the team go on a 5-10 game skid.

We don't want anyone injured. They need to lose because they aren't good enough as currently constructed.

If injuries happen, Ernie stays cause of the injury excuse.

I guess every team besides SAS, OKC, IND, and MIA should tank.

[FAH1223]

I guess every team besides SAS, OKC, IND, and MIA should tank.

They have competent management. The Wizards don't.

The only way we get a CHANCE at competent management is for Ted to clean house.

We know Ernie can't build a 50 win team that can challenge for the title. So why reward mediocrity?

[AFM]

I guess every team besides SAS, OKC, IND, and MIA should tank.

They have competent management. The Wizards don't.

The only way we get a CHANCE at competent management is for Ted to clean house.

We know Ernie can't build a 50 win team that can challenge for the title. So why reward mediocrity?

I'd say really the only way to win is to get lucky and draft a Durant, a Lebron, a Duncan, etc.
It's really hard to win without a future HOF on your team. The Pistons of a decade ago come up as outliers.

I agree that Ernie is a terrible GM. But I can't think about this team based on "well, can we win a championship or not?" Totally takes the enjoyment out of following a team if it isn't MIA or OKC. Practically every flub by Ernie means nothing in the face of not having a Durant or Lebron.

One day, we will actually be terrible (and won't need to tank to get #1). And we'll have the #1 pick when there will be a durant or a lebron available at #1. THEN we'll win. Until then I just try to enjoy each game at a time. I never think about a championship, because IMO we won't win one until we luck into an actual game changer (and I like Wall, but he's not good enough).

[Illuminaire]

... or a Paul George and Roy Hibbert and solid supporting cast.

There are plenty of other teams winning without Durants and Lebrons too. Granted, these teams are not favorites to win the championship, but they are still good enough to have a shot.

Houston traded for two stars and has enough firepower to make noise in the playoffs; you can't count them out of any series. The Clippers drafted for one second-tier star, then traded for another; defense is an issue but they could ride their offense to the finals. Portland is probably over-achieving, but for a team without a true superstar they would have a great shot at making the finals if they were in the East. Golden State is a flawed team with only one star player, and if it was in the East it could absolutely make it to the finals; hell, it might still do that in the West if Curry is El Fuego.

Conference distribution partially obscures the fact that while there are only four top-tier teams, there are another four good enough to make serious noise. They may be underdogs, but no one would be shocked if they went far in the playoffs. They have a small but meaningful chance of winning a championship - enough of a chance that a fan can watch them in the playoffs and root for them to go all the way without invoking cognitive dissonance on an epic level.

So I put eight teams in that category. That's 25% of the league! I do not think being in the top 25% of teams is an unrealistic goal as a sports fan. It's OK not to be the heavy favorite. It's OK to need a few lucky breaks. It's *not* OK to be so far from the discussion that just making round 2 would be a surprising turn of events.

[stevemcqueen1]

San Antonio doesn't have a Durant or LeBron any more and they SHOULD have won the championship last season. Indy didn't have a superstar last season and they came within a hair of beating Miami and going to the Finals. And even though George has blown up this year, they got him with the 10th overall pick. He wasn't a Durant/LeBron coming out of college.

Those teams built something good. It took a long time for Indy. They toiled around 40 wins for a while until they finally had it come together this season and they are absolutely contenders now.

You have to build a winner. You don't tank and go from awful to 50 wins in one season. We're past the point of tanking now.

[fishercob]

... or a Paul George and Roy Hibbert and solid supporting cast.

There are plenty of other teams winning without Durants and Lebrons too. Granted, these teams are not favorites to win the championship, but they are still good enough to have a shot.

Houston traded for two stars and has enough firepower to make noise in the playoffs; you can't count them out of any series. The Clippers drafted for one second-tier star, then traded for another; defense is an issue but they could ride their offense to the finals. Portland is probably over-achieving, but for a team without a true superstar they would have a great shot at making the finals if they were in the East. Golden State is a flawed team with only one star player, and if it was in the East it could absolutely make it to the finals; hell, it might still do that in the West if Curry is El Fuego.

Conference distribution partially obscures the fact that while there are only four top-tier teams, there are another four good enough to make serious noise. They may be underdogs, but no one would be shocked if they went far in the playoffs. They have a small but meaningful chance of winning a championship - enough of a chance that a fan can watch them in the playoffs and root for them to go all the way without invoking cognitive dissonance on an epic level.

So I put eight teams in that category. That's 25% of the league! I do not think being in the top 25% of teams is an unrealistic goal as a sports fan. It's OK not to be the heavy favorite. It's OK to need a few lucky breaks. It's *not* OK to be so far from the discussion that just making round 2 would be a surprising turn of events.

Agreed. Perspective changes with time.

The Clippers paid what seemed like a reasonable extravagance at the time for Chris Paul -- a surefire HOF'er and top-5 player in the league at the moment.

And what did they give up?

Eric Gordon -- a middling (at best SG) who now has negative value b/c of his contract, Chris Kaman, Al-Farouq Aminu and Austin Rivers!

Put more simply, New Orleans gave away one of the all-time great point guards for essentially nothing.

As awful as Grunfeld has been, the Wizards can become powers in the future. They just need a new leader. Desperately.

[Dat2U]

We're past the point of tanking now.

I guess...??? If only your in complete denial like Ted, Ernie & the gang.

I think it should be obvious that this playoff run is built on a flimsy deck of cards. First card being Nene, second & third cards being a role playing FA having a career year and another 30 yr old FA making a strong case as the best backup C in the NBA that unfortunately has to start for us.

This is not sustainable beyond this season... Were clear a lottery team in the West. No question about that. We'd be a rebuilding team in the West. I love to hear an argument against that notion. The only reason this whole playoff edict wasn't laughed away early on is the current state of competition in the East. So what happens next season after the oldest collection of talent in the league (sans Wall & Beal) gets a year older & more broken down while the rest of the East takes a collective step or two forward?

Ariza is unlikely to have another career year next year. Gortat isn't getting any better. Webster's health is of constant concern. Nene's downward decent is obvious to anyone that watches him... he's only going to decline further from here on out. Lord only knows what Porter or Rice can do, Wittman certainly doesn't want to risk his future trying to find out. Beyond that, and a 37 yr old backup PG, were built around two players... John Wall, a 23yr old all-star quality player but not a franchise changer (yet) and Bradley Beal, a 20 yr old, still struggling mightily to find his comfort zone in the league and still more potential than production at this stage.

You say tanking isn't an option anymore but yet our talent base is so shallow with just Wall & Beal. We aren't a young team trying to improve. We've turned into an old team, led by Wall with Beal being dragged along as a not-quite-ready-for-primetime player.

[fishercob]

We're past the point of tanking now.

I guess...??? If only your in complete denial like Ted, Ernie & the gang.

I think it should be obvious that this playoff run is built on a flimsy deck of cards. First card being Nene, second & third cards being a role playing FA having a career year and another 30 yr old FA making a strong case as the best backup C in the NBA that unfortunately has to start for us.

This is not sustainable beyond this season... Were clear a lottery team in the West. No question about that. We'd be a rebuilding team in the West. I love to hear an argument against that notion. The only reason this whole playoff edict wasn't laughed away early on is the current state of competition in the East. So what happens next season after the oldest collection of talent in the league (sans Wall & Beal) gets a year older & more broken down while the rest of the East takes a collective step or two forward?

Ariza is unlikely to have another career year next year. Gortat isn't getting any better. Webster's health is of constant concern. Nene's downward decent is obvious to anyone that watches him... he's only going to decline further from here on out. Lord only knows what Porter or Rice can do, Wittman certainly doesn't want to risk his future trying to find out. Beyond that, and a 37 yr old backup PG, were built around two players... John Wall, a 23yr old all-star quality player but not a franchise changer (yet) and Bradley Beal, a 20 yr old, still struggling mightily to find his comfort zone in the league and still more potential than production at this stage.

You say tanking isn't an option anymore but yet our talent base is so shallow with just Wall & Beal. We aren't a young team trying to improve. We've turned into an old team, led by Wall with Beal being dragged along as a not-quite-ready-for-primetime player.

Dat, I have excellent news! We're NOT in the West and there are no plans to move us there. That doesn't make us any better than we actually are, but it does mean we have an easier path to advancing in the playoffs.

If that creates a mirage for the fans and the media, it creates the same mirage for players and agents. Hey Kevin Love -- do you want to stay in the West and perhaps be the next Tracy McGrady, or would you like to come East and perhaps have a shot at the conference finals within a year or two? Marc Gasol? Boogie Cousins (in whom I have the utmost faith in his ability to force a trade)? We're a player or two away -- join up and see if you can create a legacy for yourself beyond "good player who couldn't get out of a stacked conference."

Ariza has been the same player since Wall got back last year. I see no reason to expect him to slow down.

Nene's downward trend us undeniable. The hope there is that we can get some better depth to scale down his minutes and get management in place smart enough to get him to lose some weight. While he and Gortat will likely combine to earn more than they are worth, neither will be a albatross and both will be decent players (while not bargains).

If Ernie keeps running the show and he keeps Witt and they do Ernie and Witt things this summer and the Wiz get hit with some injuries, I do see the potential for the team to crash and burn and end up back in the lottery next year. But if we can get the right leader in place who makes some smart moves and hires the right coach***, I think this team has significant upside.

***Look at the jobs guys like Carlisle, Casey, Hornacek, etc are doing. Look at the fact that Randy Wittman refuses to try Ariza at the 4 for 5-10 mpg, even though we have a glut of wings, along with the fact that we have an offense that continues to unrepentantly engineer bad shots.I think part of our upside lies in the fact that better coaching will make a material difference.

[AFM]

San Antonio doesn't have a Durant or LeBron any more and they SHOULD have won the championship last season. Indy didn't have a superstar last season and they came within a hair of beating Miami and going to the Finals. And even though George has blown up this year, they got him with the 10th overall pick. He wasn't a Durant/LeBron coming out of college.

Those teams built something good. It took a long time for Indy. They toiled around 40 wins for a while until they finally had it come together this season and they are absolutely contenders now.

You have to build a winner. You don't tank and go from awful to 50 wins in one season. We're past the point of tanking now.

Come on steve, SAS has 3 hall of famers! It doesn't hurt that their coach is one of the best ever either.
My point is I'm happy with competitive basketball. I think we can make some noise this season, but until we get that all time elite player, I don't see us winning a ring.

[Silvie Lysandra]

San Antonio doesn't have a Durant or LeBron any more and they SHOULD have won the championship last season. Indy didn't have a superstar last season and they came within a hair of beating Miami and going to the Finals. And even though George has blown up this year, they got him with the 10th overall pick. He wasn't a Durant/LeBron coming out of college.

Those teams built something good. It took a long time for Indy. They toiled around 40 wins for a while until they finally had it come together this season and they are absolutely contenders now.

You have to build a winner. You don't tank and go from awful to 50 wins in one season. We're past the point of tanking now.

Which would be a compelling argument if it weren't trumped by the even more compelling NECCESSITY that the Wittman/Grunfeld regime end as soon as feasibly possible, at all costs. If Grunfeld is not fired, we might as well trade Wall and Beal for the highest bidder. At best, they will be as good as the Arenas-era Wizards, and considering they're not even .500 in the weakest East in a decade, they may not even be that good.