Countdown to Ernie Grunfeld Firing

[leswizards]

I look at this team, and IMO, Beal, Wall, and Porter all fell in EG's lap. Nene, Gortat, Webster and Ariza are all good complementary players who might be able to help a very good team get over the hump, but it is ridiculous to have those four on a team's roster making a combined $33.6 million. Booker, Seraphin, Singleon and Vesely are all either busts or at best marginal bench players. Everyone else on the roster are dime a dozen fills in. I just don't understand what Ted is seeing when he looks at this roster that leads him to believe that EG has done a good job of living up to his strategic plan.

[Illuminaire]

I look at this team, and IMO, Beal, Wall, and Porter all fell in EG's lap. Nene, Gortat, Webster and Ariza are all good complementary players who might be able to help a very good team get over the hump, but it is ridiculous to have those four on a team's roster making a combined $33.6 million. Booker, Seraphin, Singleon and Vesely are all either busts or at best marginal bench players. Everyone else on the roster are dime a dozen fills in. I just don't understand what Ted is seeing when he looks at this roster that leads him to believe that EG has done a good job of living up to his strategic plan.

What you're missing is that EG is an excellent golf partner. He makes nice light conversation, tells a few good jokes, and always finishes a few strokes back of Ted. You can't find that kind of GMing, er, golfing just anywhere.

[closg00]

I look at this team, and IMO, Beal, Wall, and Porter all fell in EG's lap. Nene, Gortat, Webster and Ariza are all good complementary players who might be able to help a very good team get over the hump, but it is ridiculous to have those four on a team's roster making a combined $33.6 million. Booker, Seraphin, Singleon and Vesely are all either busts or at best marginal bench players. Everyone else on the roster are dime a dozen fills in. I just don't understand what Ted is seeing when he looks at this roster that leads him to believe that EG has done a good job of living up to his strategic plan.

Honestly, I don't think that Ted knows that much about basketball and Ernie has his ear. Randy will be fired at some-point and Ernie will be retained to continue his perpetual rebuilds. This franchise blows.

[montestewart]

I look at this team, and IMO, Beal, Wall, and Porter all fell in EG's lap. Nene, Gortat, Webster and Ariza are all good complementary players who might be able to help a very good team get over the hump, but it is ridiculous to have those four on a team's roster making a combined $33.6 million. Booker, Seraphin, Singleon and Vesely are all either busts or at best marginal bench players. Everyone else on the roster are dime a dozen fills in. I just don't understand what Ted is seeing when he looks at this roster that leads him to believe that EG has done a good job of living up to his strategic plan.

What you're missing is that EG is an excellent golf partner. He makes nice light conversation, tells a few good jokes, and always finishes a few strokes back of Ted. You can't find that kind of GMing, er, golfing just anywhere.

I wonder how many here could offer the same damn package, at 25% of EG's salary, and put together a better team? I reckon a few.

[noworriesinmd]

I'm not creative, but I'd love to have help in trying to design a shirt/hat combination that can be worn to home games.

I don't want to target players, but it should focus on EG.
It could catch on. Is anyone willing to do this?

[hands11]

For your hat, I suggest a tee shirt instead. Just put this on it with a big

[Knighthonor]

Why not tank? what is opinion on tanking now?

[montestewart]

Why not tank? what is opinion on tanking now?

You know that 1st they traded five minutes ago? The one that said, "No more tanking, these players need to learn how to win"? The one that said, "Playoffs or bust"?

[nate33]

Why not tank? what is opinion on tanking now?

People need to take a deep breath. It's a long season. An 0-3 start isn't much to overcome at all. Last year, we went 4-28 and still managed to get within 5 games of the 8th place seed before tanking down the stretch.

Okafor wasn't Hakeem Olajuwon. We can certainly win with Gortat replacing him. The problem isn't a lack of talent. We're losing because this team hasn't got it's s**t together yet.

[stevemcqueen1]

Why not tank? what is opinion on tanking now?

People need to take a deep breath. It's a long season. An 0-3 start isn't much to overcome at all. Last year, we went 4-28 and still managed to get within 5 games of the 8th place seed before tanking down the stretch.

Okafor wasn't Hakeem Olajuwon. We can certainly win with Gortat replacing him. The problem isn't a lack of talent. We're losing because this team hasn't got it's s**t together yet.

Yeah you're right. That is the immediate explanation. But the deeper problem is the FO is bad and it tells us why the team hasn't gotten it together yet. The FO sucks and the organizational culture is ruinous and the players came into the season unprepared as a result. The FO is supposed to design a set of roles that fit everyone and design a system that works for them and they've failed just like at the beginning of every year going back a while. The offense is terrible, the guys have no idea how to play together on that end. The defense is similarly a mess, hasn't come together at all.

Our leadership is the problem, it trickles all the way down from Ernie. Our medical staff is another problem. Our bad coach is still another one. We've got a handful of good players now that are capable of winning and making the playoffs. But for this team to truly come together, we need better leadership and a better culture. And I don't think we'll ever get that without making wholesale FO changes. And hopefully upgrading our medical staff to be state of the art.

[nate33]

I agree with all of that Mcqeen. We will never have any sustained success with EG at the helm. This organization is a mess and it starts with EG. It would also help if Ted didn't always think he was the smartest guy in the room. He doesn't appear to have the introspection to know when he has made a bad decision.

[Higga]

I agree with all of that Mcqeen. We will never have any sustained success with EG at the helm. This organization is a mess and it starts with EG. It would also help if Ted didn't always think he was the smartest guy in the room. He doesn't appear to have the introspection to know when he has made a bad decision.

QFT.

We need a young and hungry GM who's more in tune with modern sports and the emphasis on analytics.

[Nivek]

I agree that the problem is the front office, but I don't think it has much to do with designing roles and whatnot. The problem is that the front office still hasn't assembled enough good players. They chose to leave the team without depth behind their most important players.

They still apparently do a poor job assessing talent and gauging the marketplace. They're still giving away assets (like draft picks or a cheap, adequate backup PG) because they have "enough" talent or because they don't want more young players.

[TGW]

I agree with all of that Mcqeen. We will never have any sustained success with EG at the helm. This organization is a mess and it starts with EG. It would also help if Ted didn't always think he was the smartest guy in the room. He doesn't appear to have the introspection to know when he has made a bad decision.

This, sadly enough, is the single reason why this team will fail consistently.

Ted has a superiority complex—he believes he's right 100% of the time. Not only that, he would rather try and prove people wrong than do the right thing. He did it with McPhee and the Caps (although the obvious choice was to move on with a new GM) and now the Caps are just a consistent disappointment year to year. He's going to do the same with EG.

So I don't expect many changes to be made. Whitman gets fired (because Ted has no problem with a rotating door of coaches) and Ernie Grunfeld is resigned.

[bjack18]

Who replaces Ernie?...Stan Van, Sloan, Kelvin Sampson etc are HC candidates but I cant think of any GM candidates...any one of us could do the job I suppose

[Nivek]

Who replaces Ernie?...Stan Van, Sloan, Kelvin Sampson etc are HC candidates but I cant think of any GM candidates...any one of us could do the job I suppose

Troy Weaver, who works for OKC, is a favorite candidate for some of us.

Dean Oliver might be a good choice too.

[tontoz]

Who replaces Ernie?...Stan Van, Sloan, Kelvin Sampson etc are HC candidates but I cant think of any GM candidates...any one of us could do the job I suppose

Troy Weaver, who works for OKC, is a favorite candidate for some of us.

Dean Oliver might be a good choice too.

Or they could just hire a recent high school grad. It isn't hard to find someone who is an upgrade from EG.

The Gortat trade may work in our favor since EG won't be able to use Okafor's injury as an excuse.

[bjack18]

I posed this question in another thread with no reply...if EG doesn't sign Blatche to that ridiculous and undeserving extension which he later used the amnesty on, it would still be available to use on Nenes contract despite the fact that Nene was acquired via trade?

[Zonkerbl]

Good question! Yeah, I think it had to be a player you signed yourself.

[tontoz]

I think the amnesty can be used on any player signed under the old CBA. I don't think it had to be a player you signed yourself. didn't Orlando use it on Arenas?

A team can only use it once.