RealGM

Here we are at 17-25, 1/2 game off our pace from last year's playoff team in an equally weak Eastern Conference, minus an invincible super team like Miami of 2014. We look like a playoff team. We have a young core in place. Outside the lottery doesn't seem to offer many must-have prospects. The upcoming draft is weak, certainly weaker than 2014. I am reminded of the Wizards of 2013 when they traded their 2014 top-12 protected pick for Marcin Gortat, a pick that turned out to be Tyler Ennis. Can we afford to lose a Tyler Ennis for a Marcin Gortat?

Looking back on the Wiz...

WASHINGTON (AP) — Adding a front-court piece in hopes of finally returning to the playoffs, the Washington Wizards acquired center Marcin Gortat from the Phoenix Suns in a multiplayer trade Friday. Phoenix got injured center Emeka Okafor and a top-12-protected first-round draft pick in 2014 - giving the rebuilding Suns potentially four choices in the opening round…

Announcing the deal, Wizards President Ernie Grunfeld referred to Gortat as a "very consistent and productive inside presence" who "pushes us further toward our goal of becoming a playoff team."...

With a young, dynamic pair of guards in John Wall and Bradley Beal, along with rookie small forward Otto Porter, the Wizards were in need of help from a big body as they try to reach the postseason for the first time since 2007-08...

Are the Hornets in a position to sacrifice their 2015 pick for a player who could take the team to the next level?

Tyler Ennis might not be better than Roberts. He looked like waste management in summer league and some of the garbage minutes I seen him play this year. Hell no to trading for him.

My fault MI. I read you wrong.

Who would you wanna trade our 1st for? I'm tired of these draft picks that ain't gonna be nothing but projects turned role players.

Totally depends on who we could get, but it would have to be protected just in case we miss the playoffs.

We know next year we are going to have:

Kemba
Lance/PJ Hairston
MKG
Zeller/Vonleh
Biz

That is a pretty good core, but we might need a backup PG, backup SG, backup SF, and backup center in the next few years. I would rather hang on to the pick then trade if for a Miles Plumblee or a Brandon Wright.

I would trade a 1st for Lamb and PJ3 with Neal and Taylor going out but that's just me.

It would have to be a substantial return, and I wouldn't do it until we know that Kemba's knee is a non-issue. If we can package Al and our 1st for something really good that allows us to play uptempo, I do it and don't look back.

I would absolutely include our 2015 1st if we could get a difference maker in return. we have enough young guys/projects.

Not sure if any team would be willing to give up a true difference maker in exchange for a pick in mid to late teens

I just feel the Gortat trade was a smashing success for the Wiz who not only made the playoffs but won a round and competed well. This year there is no Miami that presents an automatic out for the lower seeds. Now that I feel we will reach the playoffs, I want to acquire a difference maker who can help take the team to the next level and really vault this rebrand into unfamiliar territory, totally unexpected. The way Clifford was talking in the Wolves post-game, there seems to be legitimate dialogue amongst Cliff and the front office, thinking ahead to becoming a "real good" playoff team. I'm just thinking if there are lowball offers for Lance and the team doesn't trade Al, the 1st rounder becomes an important chip and of course I would protect it 1-12, just as the Wiz did when they acquired Gortat. And of course I want to see how Kemba's knee turns out but I think we'll see soon enough in the Miami game Wed, he's just fine.

Good thread, and I think it's worth doing. I'd want lottery protection just in case, but otherwise I'm down.

Well whoever this difference maker for us is he better be able to make 3s. How easy will it be to pry Kevin Martin from Minnesota? Shouldn't even need a 1st for that.

Since we aren't bad enough to get a franchise player in the top-5 of a draft and not good enough as is to advance and since we have a young core in place as the Wiz did before the Gortat deal, I think an argument could be made a difference maker could help us avoid a treadmill.

For the right deal, sure. The trick is to make sure that you don't trade too many picks away in too short a timeframe. Cho's model seems to be to keep the young projects / cheap deals coming via the draft while building an experienced winning collection of starters. That's a long term sustainable place to be, but it still works if you trade a pick or two every so often.

I say without Miami and with the Cavs being pedestrian the road to the finals is wide open. I say trade out of this weak draft and nab a player who puts us in contention with the top 4 in the East.

We've been tanking since Sadaam and Osama been alive. It's time to move forward. Draft picks take time and I doubt we draft somebody in the late lottery or outside of it that'll be better than Kemba or MKG so let's stop kidding ourselves. Cho has had five top 10 picks in 4 years and two of them have been top 5. If none of them is the star we're looking for then maybe Cho's drafting skills aren't that good or we have poor development. Mark Price has been aa godsend for MKG and Kemba improvement tho.

if its protected sure. we teeter on the brink so make sure it isn't a lottery pick

catch20two wrote:We've been tanking since Sadaam and Osama been alive. It's time to move forward. Draft picks take time and I doubt we draft somebody in the late lottery or outside of it that'll be better than Kemba or MKG so let's stop kidding ourselves. Cho has had five top 10 picks in 4 years and two of them have been top 5. If none of them is the star we're looking for then maybe Cho's drafting skills aren't that good or we have poor development. Mark Price has been aa godsend for MKG and Kemba improvement tho.

atlanta is the dream model for us i think. make moves to get better now. smart signings and good trades. we have enough projects as it is

Flip Murray wrote:

catch20two wrote:We've been tanking since Sadaam and Osama been alive. It's time to move forward. Draft picks take time and I doubt we draft somebody in the late lottery or outside of it that'll be better than Kemba or MKG so let's stop kidding ourselves. Cho has had five top 10 picks in 4 years and two of them have been top 5. If none of them is the star we're looking for then maybe Cho's drafting skills aren't that good or we have poor development. Mark Price has been aa godsend for MKG and Kemba improvement tho.

atlanta is the dream model for us i think. make moves to get better now. smart signings and good trades. we have enough projects as it is

I hate models and tryna be like another team that's trending upwards but I agree. Just get better. I never understood this tanking craze. More teams have won chips the right way than lucking into the right picks. Spurs was a weird exception with David Robinson being a superstar HOFer already on their roster and OKC ain't win sh*t while falling apart before our eyes.

catch20two wrote:

Flip Murray wrote:

catch20two wrote:We've been tanking since Sadaam and Osama been alive. It's time to move forward. Draft picks take time and I doubt we draft somebody in the late lottery or outside of it that'll be better than Kemba or MKG so let's stop kidding ourselves. Cho has had five top 10 picks in 4 years and two of them have been top 5. If none of them is the star we're looking for then maybe Cho's drafting skills aren't that good or we have poor development. Mark Price has been aa godsend for MKG and Kemba improvement tho.

atlanta is the dream model for us i think. make moves to get better now. smart signings and good trades. we have enough projects as it is

I hate models and tryna be like another team that's trending upwards but I agree. Just get better. I never understood this tanking craze. More teams have won chips the right way than lucking into the right picks. Spurs was a weird exception with David Robinson being a superstar HOFer already on their roster and OKC ain't win sh*t while falling apart before our eyes.

yeah that's what i was saying. You can be a low-tier playoff team and make a leap by making smart moves. We don't have to copy the hawks, they just showed that it can be done.

"On July 16, 2012, Korver was traded to the Atlanta Hawks for Kirk Hinrich and cash considerations." Think about that. There are smart moves out there that can be made. Hopefully Cho can find a few. We have a good young core to build around in my opinion, no need to be buying lottery tickets in the draft at this point.