Official Trade Thread -- Part XXXIV

[payitforward]

Some people here like him, some dont. Truth is, none of us really know.
He did well in the D-League last year, but didnt play any minutes for us. He looked average at best in the summer league, but I hate using the summer league as a barometer.
Im sure Scott will get him some minutes after the first 10-15 games, but he'll really need to show something in practice as we have 3 guys ahead of him at both PF (Morris, Scott, Otto) and C (Ian, Gortat, Smith)

What does "really know" mean?

McCullough played for 2 D-League teams last year. I wouldn't say he "did well" for either team. He posted a relatively low TS% (vs. D-League defense too...). For LI he played 900+ minutes; per 40 minutes, it took him 19.4 shots to register 18.6 points, & he shot 67% from the line. He also didn't rebound. When we sent him to AZ, he shot a little better (not much) & rebounded a little worse.

He's had a long time to show something & hasn't done it.

The guy might very well be out of the league after this year. But he is 22 and came out of college as a raw freshman player coming off an ACL tear. I really wouldnt say he has had a "long time to show something".
i wont waste my time listing players all the players who became really solid players after being unplayable at 23 and under.. but its a lot.

Fair enough. & you're right that there are plenty of players who are far from rotation players at 22 who do wind up as solid NBA guys, so I shouldn't write off Chris McCullough. I take it back.

I do wish he'd shown something -- anything! -- in SL, however. & if we were looking at players of this description, I'd a lot rather have Christian Wood who is even younger, yet had 2 years of NCAA experience (& played much better in college), & has been a much better D-League player as well. He's also taller &, though he too is something of a beanpole, doesn't have the physical frame limitations that McCullough has. Judge for yourself: http://www.draftexpress.com/profile/Christian-Wood-7182/career/

If I remember correctly, some posters wanted him with our R1 pick in 2015, which I thought was a reach. Then, to my surprise, he went undrafted. He doesn't have a contract yet.

Now... we *have* Chris McCullough! To replace him w/ Wood, we'd have to eat his guaranteed salary & then pay Wood. We aren't going to do that. Still, however much of a long shot either Wood or McCullough is to become a good NBA player, I'd put my $$ on Wood. i could be wrong. Even more likely, they both wash out.

[John Murdoch]

http://www.espn.com/nba/tradeMachine?tradeId=ycolyfg6

[Dat2U]

http://www.espn.com/nba/tradeMachine?tradeId=ycolyfg6

Yes. I would in a heartbeat but I'm not a Morris fan. I also think DeAndre Jordan is the ideal fit at C defensively if were going small with Otto at PF.

[payitforward]

Why would the Clippers make this trade? They don't get better. They don't get younger. They don't save any $$ to speak of.

Perhaps you have in mind to add a R1 pick or two? In that case not interested.

Moreover, from our pov, as much as I like Jordan, this is not a trade we can do either. We add @$2m in salary, & we are down 2 players, which means we have to add another at least $3m. We are in luxury tax land. That extra $5m costs us closer to $10m.

Above all, next off season Jordan opts out, & we can't afford to re-sign him.

[LyricalRico]

http://www.espn.com/nba/tradeMachine?tradeId=ycolyfg6

Yes. I would in a heartbeat but I'm not a Morris fan. I also think DeAndre Jordan is the ideal fit at C defensively if were going small with Otto at PF.

Count me in, too. I'm not anti-Morris, but getting Jordan's defense/rebounding would be too good to pass up. One question I'd have from the Clips side is could Morris be flipped to a third team for backcourt help? Or would they rather have a PF who can help limit Griffin's minutes?

We'd be pretty thin up front after this, though. Mahinmi would HAVE to be healthy so that Smith could almost exclusively be the backup PF. We'd also have to pickup another minimum big, probably a vet like Bass/Lee/TRob.

[LyricalRico]

Here's a 3-way version that tries to give LAC backcourt help...

Wizards trade: Gortat, Morris
Wizards receive: D.Jordan

Clippers trade: Jordan, Johnson, Beverley, Dekker
Clippers receive: Gortat, D.Wade

Bulls trade: Wade
Bulls receive: Morris, Johnson, Beverley, Dekker

TRADE ID 6934001

Works in the checker after 8/28 (since Beverley/Dekker were recently traded). We do it to get Jordan to anchor the defense, LAC balances their team and sets themselves to potentially have options next offseason, while Chicaco breaks Wade's deal into smaller deals that allow them have decent vets on reasonable deals for an extra year to meet the salary floor while they rebuild.

Gortat
Griffin
Gallinari
Wade
Rivers

At first glance, that's actually a pretty interesting team IMO.

[pcbothwel]

Here's a 3-way version that tries to give LAC backcourt help...

Wizards trade: Gortat, Morris
Wizards receive: D.Jordan

Clippers trade: Jordan, Johnson, Beverley, Dekker
Clippers receive: Gortat, D.Wade

Bulls trade: Wade
Bulls receive: Morris, Johnson, Beverley, Dekker

TRADE ID 6934001

Works in the checker after 8/28 (since Beverley/Dekker were recently traded). We do it to get Jordan to anchor the defense, LAC balances their team and sets themselves to potentially have options next offseason, while Chicaco breaks Wade's deal into smaller deals that allow them have decent vets on reasonable deals for an extra year to meet the salary floor while they rebuild.

Gortat
Griffin
Gallinari
Wade
Rivers

At first glance, that's actually a pretty interesting team IMO.

My god LAC gets killed here. no way do the Bulls get that return for Wade.. Zero

[LyricalRico]

True, that wasn't the idea I originally started with but had to include Beverley/Dekker for cap purposes. Feel free to tweak!

[truwizfan4evr]

Ernie should be a bit concern with the Cavs and Boston making moves. we need to trade Gortat asap. To bad noel want so much money he would be a good fit for us.

[truwizfan4evr]

Does Ernie think wizards really better getting Meeks and Scott? We need to trade Gortat for a young big man with upside on both ends.

[nate33]

http://www.espn.com/nba/tradeMachine?tradeId=ycolyfg6

Yes. I would in a heartbeat but I'm not a Morris fan. I also think DeAndre Jordan is the ideal fit at C defensively if were going small with Otto at PF.

Count me in, too. I'm not anti-Morris, but getting Jordan's defense/rebounding would be too good to pass up. One question I'd have from the Clips side is could Morris be flipped to a third team for backcourt help? Or would they rather have a PF who can help limit Griffin's minutes?

We'd be pretty thin up front after this, though. Mahinmi would HAVE to be healthy so that Smith could almost exclusively be the backup PF. We'd also have to pickup another minimum big, probably a vet like Bass/Lee/TRob.

I'd try real hard to make a follow-up trade where we send out Mahinmi and get back a competent starting PF. Could we trade him Ryan Anderson, Marvin Williams, Tobias Harris, or James Johnson?

[payitforward]

Yes. I would in a heartbeat but I'm not a Morris fan. I also think DeAndre Jordan is the ideal fit at C defensively if were going small with Otto at PF.

Count me in, too. I'm not anti-Morris, but getting Jordan's defense/rebounding would be too good to pass up. One question I'd have from the Clips side is could Morris be flipped to a third team for backcourt help? Or would they rather have a PF who can help limit Griffin's minutes?

We'd be pretty thin up front after this, though. Mahinmi would HAVE to be healthy so that Smith could almost exclusively be the backup PF. We'd also have to pickup another minimum big, probably a vet like Bass/Lee/TRob.

I'd try real hard to make a follow-up trade where we send out Mahinmi and get back a competent starting PF. Could we trade him Ryan Anderson, Marvin Williams, Tobias Harris, or James Johnson?

I'd love to have Jordan, but I can't see any way any of this happens.

[montestewart]

Count me in, too. I'm not anti-Morris, but getting Jordan's defense/rebounding would be too good to pass up. One question I'd have from the Clips side is could Morris be flipped to a third team for backcourt help? Or would they rather have a PF who can help limit Griffin's minutes?

We'd be pretty thin up front after this, though. Mahinmi would HAVE to be healthy so that Smith could almost exclusively be the backup PF. We'd also have to pickup another minimum big, probably a vet like Bass/Lee/TRob.

I'd try real hard to make a follow-up trade where we send out Mahinmi and get back a competent starting PF. Could we trade him Ryan Anderson, Marvin Williams, Tobias Harris, or James Johnson?

I'd love to have Jordan, but I can't see any way any of this happens.

Agree that it's unlikely (that's what offseason's for, right?) but if it did happen, agree with Nate's rebalancing suggestion, or else Wizards C position payroll would go from $34 million to $44 million, with no true, proven PF on the roster.

Hoopshype has Wizards payroll as 4th highest as it is, with the 2nd most committed salary next season and the most committed salary the following two seasons. Wall, Beal, and Porter will need to be everything we hope them to be, because the team doesn't have a lot of flexibility going forward.

[payitforward]

...Hoopshype has Wizards payroll as 4th highest as it is, with the 2nd most committed salary next season and the most committed salary the following two seasons. Wall, Beal, and Porter will need to be everything we hope them to be, because the team doesn't have a lot of flexibility going forward.

Wall is going into his 8th NBA season. Whatever anyone hopes him to be, he already is.
Beal has already played over 11,000 NBA minutes. He's young to have that many miles on him, & he made a nice jump last season, so maybe he has a little more development in him.
Porter has played @6600 NBA minutes. He's gotten better every year. He's definitely the most likely of the three to show significant development. He's already in the top 10% of NBA players in productivity, so increases may come harder from here on.

If we are to get better, it seems likely to depend on other players, note those 3. That's where the rubber hits the road -- & skids & skids, unfortunately.

[pcbothwel]

Does Ernie think wizards really better getting Meeks and Scott? We need to trade Gortat for a young big man with upside on both ends.

Our bench was TERRIBLE. Meeks and Scott are legit rotational players and make less than 5M combined. I really dont see how you can complain.
Gortat: I dont disagree that he is the only positive asset (outside of picks) that we could trade and not hurt our execution too much... But who in the hell would trade "a young big man with upside on both ends" for Gortat?

We should NOT trade Gortat before the season unless its an overpay. High IQ bigs that stay healthy, set great picks to free shooters, and are competent on both ends of the court are important.
Lets see how Mahinmi and Smith look over the first couple months. By the new year, lets re-evaluate the landscape and see if any contenders need a big.

[dckingsfan]

Does Ernie think wizards really better getting Meeks and Scott? We need to trade Gortat for a young big man with upside on both ends.

Our bench was TERRIBLE. Meeks and Scott are legit rotational players and make less than 5M combined. I really dont see how you can complain.
Gortat: I dont disagree that he is the only positive asset (outside of picks) that we could trade and not hurt our execution too much... But who in the hell would trade "a young big man with upside on both ends" for Gortat?

We should NOT trade Gortat before the season unless its an overpay. High IQ bigs that stay healthy, set great picks to free shooters, and are competent on both ends of the court are important.
Lets see how Mahinmi and Smith look over the first couple months. By the new year, lets re-evaluate the landscape and see if any contenders need a big.

First let's take Scott. It will be interesting to see if/when he will be able to help us. I doubt he will really be ready to roll and have it together at training camp - I think he needs more time to recover. He had one good season 15-16. I am not sure he is an upgrade in the front court. Depth - maybe.

Meeks - okay I guess. I don't think he makes a difference even IF he stays healthy.

I think that our bench stays terrible unless... Oubre breaks out and Mahimni stays healthy. BTW, this is only indicative of what others think but - looks like Sato and Mac aren't going to be playing much. One of them breaking out was my other hope for the bench (Frazier - ugh!):
http://www.espn.com/nba/team/depth/_/name/wsh/washington-wizards

[payitforward]

Last year, Thornton, Burke, Jennings & Nicholson (TBJ&N) combined to play 1883 horrible minutes. Those guys are all gone. I don't expect much from Frazier or Scott, but they should be better than those guys.

Bogdanovic played 600 minutes. He was a lot better than the guys I just mentioned. Meeks should be as good as Bojan & maybe (probably?) better.

In all, Frazier, Meeks & Scott should provide at least some upgrade over TBJ&N.

Oubre & Smith together played 2673 minutes. It's unlikely that Smith would be better this year than last, but we certainly hope Oubre will take a meaningful step forward in productivity.

Overall, Satoransky & Mac weren't bad. IMO they should get at least a combined 2000 minutes (twice what they logged last year). Again, if you think of those minutes replacing some of the TBJ&N minutes, it would be an improvement.

Along w/ Oubre, Mahinmi is the wild card. If he's healthy, he'll make us better.

But... in fact our biggest problem last year was Morris. He logged 2374 minutes &, despite improving his 3pt. shooting as Zards has pointed out, was really bad overall. If an improved bench means that he plays 1800 minutes instead of 2374, we'll be a better team -- we'll win more games.

Again, for that to happen Mahinmi & Oubre are critical. If Oubre's play earns him more minutes at the 3, then Porter will play more of his minutes at the 4. If Mahinmi is healthy, then Smith may get some minutes at the 4. He's better as a 5, but all the same, wherever he plays he's more productive than Morris.

[Jingles2]

How about this trade from a Pistons fan

Wizards get Andre Drummond and Tobias Harris
Pistons get Gortat, Porter and Satoransky

I know it drastically changes each team and not sure how much you value Porter over Harris or Drummond over Gortat. Satoransky I just threw in to get salary about equal going in each direction, but you could put in one of your other under 3 million salaries, doesn't matter much who

Wall
Beal
Harris
Morris
Drummond

Is that an improvement? Some people think Harris is better at the 4, but he can play either.

[LyricalRico]

How about this trade from a Pistons fan

Wizards get Andre Drummond and Tobias Harris
Pistons get Gortat, Porter and Satoransky

I know it drastically changes each team and not sure how much you value Porter over Harris or Drummond over Gortat. Satoransky I just threw in to get salary about equal going in each direction, but you could put in one of your other under 3 million salaries, doesn't matter much who

Wall
Beal
Harris
Morris
Drummond

Is that an improvement? Some people think Harris is better at the 4, but he can play either.

That's a no for me. Porter's the best player in that deal IMO, speaking mostly from the perspective of contributing to actual wins as opposed to raw per-game stats. OTOH if you want to reunite the Morris twins and give us Harris, I'm all ears!

[payitforward]

How about this trade from a Pistons fan

Wizards get Andre Drummond and Tobias Harris
Pistons get Gortat, Porter and Satoransky

I know it drastically changes each team and not sure how much you value Porter over Harris or Drummond over Gortat. Satoransky I just threw in to get salary about equal going in each direction, but you could put in one of your other under 3 million salaries, doesn't matter much who

Wall
Beal
Harris
Morris
Drummond

Is that an improvement? Some people think Harris is better at the 4, but he can play either.

That's a no for me. Porter's the best player in that deal IMO, speaking mostly from the perspective of contributing to actual wins as opposed to raw per-game stats. OTOH if you want to reunite the Morris twins and give us Harris, I'm all ears!

Would we trade Porter straight up for Drummond? Love the guy, but no.

Would we trade Gortat straight up for Harris? ...that's a little tougher. Harris was on a nice uphill path in productivity until last year when he was kind of awful. Given Gortat's age, if I felt confident that Harris would return to being the player he was in 2015-16, I might be tempted.

The combo deal? No.