3rd highest payroll in the league

[penbeast0]

The league salary numbers are out and the Wiz are the 3rd highest payroll in the league. Shades of Webber/Howard/Strickland . . . as I said then, that's a ridiculous amount for a team that would consider it a surprisingly good season if they make it to the second round of the playoffs.

[Hoopalotta]

The league salary numbers are out and the Wiz are the 3rd highest payroll in the league. Shades of Webber/Howard/Strickland . . . as I said then, that's a ridiculous amount for a team that would consider it a surprisingly good season if they make it to the second round of the playoffs.

Those numbers are 'so far'. There's going to be a number of teams that leap frog us before the season starts.
If we manage to get rid of Stevenson for an expiring, we could move back to around the luxury tax level for the 2011 season though.

[fishercob]

Yep, pretty meaningless until the offseason is over.

[Soup's Uncle]

Yeah, I thoughtI heard when the season starts, will be somewhere between 10 & 15. I don't know.

[penbeast0]

I'm a glass costs too damn much money type myself

[Telfaire]

How luxury-tax conscious are you? would your team trade Miller for Webster/Outlaw?

[TheSecretWeapon]

The Wiz will be in the top 8 in team salary this season. They're 3rd right now -- Boston, San Antonio, Dallas and Cleveland might go past them. Maybe Utah, depending on what they do with Boozer and Millsap.

[fishercob]

The Wiz will be in the top 8 in team salary this season. They're 3rd right now -- Boston, San Antonio, Dallas and Cleveland might go past them. Maybe Utah, depending on what they do with Boozer and Millsap.

Well, I expect them to be top 4 in the East, so I suppose that is about "right." The West is still probably the better/deeper conference, so they may have something like the 10-12th best record in the league. Obviously you'd like them to "outperform" their payroll, but they're far from being Isiah's Knicks.

[VA_story]

The league salary numbers are out and the Wiz are the 3rd highest payroll in the league. Shades of Webber/Howard/Strickland . . . as I said then, that's a ridiculous amount for a team that would consider it a surprisingly good season if they make it to the second round of the playoffs.

Same thing I've been saying ...but you will have people on here defend re-signing a player with knee problems to a max deal and re-signing a 32 year old to a huge deal when we weren't title contenders in the first place. Complacency at it's finest.

[TheBlackCzar]

VA Story you need to chill....

We resigned Gil because no other comparable player is going to come here if we let him walk..... NOBODY wants to really play here...... Aside from Gil what major FA has signed with WAS in the last 20yrs?? NONE.......

So letting him walk was not an option unless u wanted to suck horribly for years to come....... I agree Jamison's contract was a bit excessive, but letting him go meant letting him and Gil walk, and that would've added to our reputation of not taking care of our players.... So signing them was more a symbolic thing to the rest of the league that we will take care of our own without the commish needing to step in like he did with Juwan Howard....

Our team is not viewed positively around the league because Abe has been running a ridiculous circus for yrs.... Only in the past 6 or 7 yrs have we even be relevant.... Aside from that period and the small Webber Era we've been doo doo..... Not bad, but doo doo..... We aren't far off from being like the Clippers or the Nets used to be... That's how horrible we were.... When u gotta sign old injured retreads yr after yr because nobody wants to come here, when you have a borderline superstar you keep him..... If Gil can't come back to form then I'll agree that was a bit much to pay but if he comes back as the Gil we're used to, he more than deserves that he's getting paid..... He's the best player we've had in my almost 29yrs on this earth....

[TheSecretWeapon]

When Arenas and Jamison came due for contracts, the choices for the team were pretty simple. Let one (or both) walk and SUCK until the team got lucky enough to land a franchise player in the draft or they managed to convince some free agent to come to DC for a max contract with the cap space that would have come eventually (but not the season that both Arenas and Jamison were free agents).

Or, they could re-sign them, hope they stayed healthy, try to add more talented players and either a) parlay accumulated assets into a Franchise Player; or b) get the chemistry/talent/coaching/health mix just right and pull of a Detroit-like run through the playoffs. They chose to re-sign their best players and build the best team possible given available player and financial resources. Frankly, I think that's a better choice than just sucking every year and hoping a ping pong ball bounces the right way some future evening in May.

[FreeBalling]

We were 13th just the other day. No way in hell will Abe Pollin be in the top 10 even though his market size is #6.

[Dat2U]

I think it goes to say something more about the type of GM Ernie Grunfeld is. While he is a capable executive, he's not particularly good at managing the cap or making the best financial decisions.

People praised the trade which acquired Jamison years back as it helped make the team respectable but the cost was steep. Not only did it cost a high draft pick but Jamison made in upwards of $14 mil per season. As opposed to having a top five pick on a rookie contract (like Iggy or Deng). Jamison has certainly been productive but his burdensome salary has limited financial flexibility since he's been here.

EG doled out expensive and overpriced contracts to the likes of AD, Darius & DeShawn. They were paid above market value and got more years than anyone else was offering. DeShawn's & Darius' deals were particularly bad b/c EG was bidding against himself. There was no market for either to get those type of pay days.

This board loved to point to EG not re-signing Hughes or Jeffries to overpriced deals as evidence of him being wise and financially prudent, but everyone fails to note, EG actually tried to resign both of them.

I cut EG a break on Etan's deal b/c by all accounts, Pollin was instrumental in the Wizards matching the Bucks offer. I also don't criticize EG for resigning Gil & AJ last season. Gil needed to be resigned b/c he's the only player we have that's a capable 1st option and that's the most important piece to building a franchise. As for Jamison, I didn't think it made sense to lose him for nothing although I'd wish he get dealt now.

However EG did it again with the Foye & Miller trade. Some point the money saved this season by not having to pay the salary of a top five pick. However to me that's penny wise and pound foolish. Miller & Foye are basically one year rentals who will be looking for paydays next season. And you all probably know my stance on overpaying role players. There's value in having a guy on a rookie contract. Both 1st rounders & 2nd rounders. That's were you can save money and improve at the same time. If EG doesn't trust his eye for drafting talent then maybe he shouldn't be the one making those decisions.

[Bickerstaff]

This board loved to point to EG not re-signing Hughes or Jeffries to overpriced deals as evidence of him being wise and financially prudent, but everyone fails to note, EG actually tried to resign both of them.

Yes, and they wanted too much, so he let them go. Don't see how this even remotely helps your argument.

[VA_story]

VA Story you need to chill....

We resigned Gil because no other comparable player is going to come here if we let him walk..... NOBODY wants to really play here...... Aside from Gil what major FA has signed with WAS in the last 20yrs?? NONE.......

So letting him walk was not an option unless u wanted to suck horribly for years to come....... I agree Jamison's contract was a bit excessive, but letting him go meant letting him and Gil walk, and that would've added to our reputation of not taking care of our players.... So signing them was more a symbolic thing to the rest of the league that we will take care of our own without the commish needing to step in like he did with Juwan Howard....

Our team is not viewed positively around the league because Abe has been running a ridiculous circus for yrs.... Only in the past 6 or 7 yrs have we even be relevant.... Aside from that period and the small Webber Era we've been doo doo..... Not bad, but doo doo..... We aren't far off from being like the Clippers or the Nets used to be... That's how horrible we were.... When u gotta sign old injured retreads yr after yr because nobody wants to come here, when you have a borderline superstar you keep him..... If Gil can't come back to form then I'll agree that was a bit much to pay but if he comes back as the Gil we're used to, he more than deserves that he's getting paid..... He's the best player we've had in my almost 29yrs on this earth....

How many games has Arenas played the last 2 seasons?????? EXACTLY, at this point its just like we let him walk. No point in giving Jamison that deal either ..tell him to accept less years or money, try to do a sign and trade or just let him walk. No need for us to be in the position we are now...not a top 3 team in the East and still have a top 3 payroll. We can't do jack **** but sit and wait for Arenas and/or Jamison's contracts to expire any damn way, so why do it in the first place? All I'm saying.

[Kanyewest]

Let's see what Ernie Grunfeld did well

1. When he first signed Gilbert Arenas to his first contract; there were a fair share of experts who thought the Wizards spend too much. I was ecstatic having read about Gilbertology and having gone to Wizards/Warriors game where he dropped 40+.

2. Giving up Laron Profit and Kwame Brown for Caron Butler. He also signed Caron Butler to an extension, which many called as excessive but Butler is on one of the best contracts in the league.

3. Signing Brendan Haywood to that extension. As Nate has pointed out, Haywood is valuable construction block for the Wizards.

4a and 4b. Getting DeShawn for the minimum (before he signed his extension) and Roger Mason for cheap.

5. Ernie's drafting has been above average. Yes he completely missed out in the 2006 in Pecherov. But he has found gems in the second round like Blatche and McGuire, and McGee and Young have tons of potential; so who knows.

I think it goes to say something more about the type of GM Ernie Grunfeld is. While he is a capable executive, he's not particularly good at managing the cap or making the best financial decisions.

People praised the trade which acquired Jamison years back as it helped make the team respectable but the cost was steep. Not only did it cost a high draft pick but Jamison made in upwards of $14 mil per season. As opposed to having a top five pick on a rookie contract (like Iggy or Deng). Jamison has certainly been productive but his burdensome salary has limited financial flexibility since he's been here.

EG doled out expensive and overpriced contracts to the likes of AD, Darius & DeShawn. They were paid above market value and got more years than anyone else was offering. DeShawn's & Darius' deals were particularly bad b/c EG was bidding against himself. There was no market for either to get those type of pay days.

This board loved to point to EG not re-signing Hughes or Jeffries to overpriced deals as evidence of him being wise and financially prudent, but everyone fails to note, EG actually tried to resign both of them.

I cut EG a break on Etan's deal b/c by all accounts, Pollin was instrumental in the Wizards matching the Bucks offer. I also don't criticize EG for resigning Gil & AJ last season. Gil needed to be resigned b/c he's the only player we have that's a capable 1st option and that's the most important piece to building a franchise. As for Jamison, I didn't think it made sense to lose him for nothing although I'd wish he get dealt now.

However EG did it again with the Foye & Miller trade. Some point the money saved this season by not having to pay the salary of a top five pick. However to me that's penny wise and pound foolish. Miller & Foye are basically one year rentals who will be looking for paydays next season. And you all probably know my stance on overpaying role players. There's value in having a guy on a rookie contract. Both 1st rounders & 2nd rounders. That's were you can save money and improve at the same time. If EG doesn't trust his eye for drafting talent then maybe he shouldn't be the one making those decisions.

I actually don't think that the Jamison trade was all that bad. The only franchise player that was visible turned out to be Dwight Howard. Yes, EG overpaid for Jamison but he did become a two time all star; I don't think anyone other than Dwight Howard has made more than 1 all star appearance up to this point. Without Jamison, Arenas wouldn't have gotten to the playoffs in 2004-05; wouldn't have hit a game winner against the Bulls; and it probably would have taken him longer to develop. BTW, I would have loved to have Andre Iguodala but I guess it was better than someone like Josh Childress. Jamison did fill a need; certainly turned out better than the Wizards draft picks prior to Ernie's arival (ie Kwame, the 0-Face, and Jarvis).

I actually think the Wizards got their fair value for Antonio Daniels. He could have lasted longer as Arenas's backup. However, Daniels wore down playing starter's minutes when he was well past his prime. He would have been very valuable to Wizards if he rested during the regular season and played in the postseason. Yes, the deal was 1 year too long, but that was the only reason that Daniels chose the Wizards over other teams; IIRC, his other suitor was the LA Lakers.

With DeShawn, I really can't get too upset. It was simply a move to appeal one Mr. Arenas from leaving. After all, the Wizards main problem was on the defensive end, and the Wizards had lost their best perimeter defenders in the past two years. I can't defend the Darius signing. To my recollection, Grunfeld was bidding against himself. Although he did suffer a back injury which really limited his effectiveness.

You should also remember that the 4 overpaid players you mentioned help carried the Wizards to the playoffs without a healthy Arenas. They had a pretty good chance to make it to the finals in 2007 had Gilbert and Butler not gone for the year. I'm guessing Gilbert would have left if the Wizards struggled as much as they did in 08-09.

On Etan Thomas, you have to blame EG. Although I'm guessing Etan still would have been serviceable if it wasn't for his heart complications and not as hard to trade in a league which lacks quality big men.

On the Foye/Miller trade, I would wait and see. I want to see if Ernie can lock up Haywood or Foye even before the season starts; that's a more important priority than getting someone like Rasho Nestoveric. If Randy Foye can play like he did in January of 2009, this will turn out to be a great deal. Miller/Foye should improve the backcourt depth.

And let's see how the Ricky Rubio saga unfolds; if he's star or he's all hype like Brandon Jennings claims. Or if the Wizards missed out on someone like Steph Curry. If Pech actually becomes a serviceable player as CCJ claims. Time will tell.