Wiz trade 5th pick to Minnesota

[Wizardspride]

So according to Aldridge, it was this deal or the Knicks deal. No mention of Amare. Interesting.

I'd have taken Hughes' expiring deal and the #8 for James, Thomas, and the #5. Larry has looked like crap but he did have a PER of 21 playing alongside Gilbert. He's as good defensively as Miller or Foye (damning with faint praise the defense of all three)

CCJ.... the Larry Hughes that played alongside Gil no longer exists.

IMO, all of the injuries Larry's sustained have robbed him of much of his explosiveness.

[Chocolate City Jordanaire]

So according to Aldridge, it was this deal or the Knicks deal. No mention of Amare. Interesting.

Clearly the Wiz thought they needed to upgrade their backcourt. And if the choices indeed were take somebody they didn't think could help them for a while at 5, trade for Hughes, or trade for Miller/Foye - then it should be easy to see why the took what was behind Door # 3.

"I know he wants to win bad, the man was crying after some games" - regarding Foye in an appreciation thread on the Minny board.

that is refreshing to hear. ESPECIALLY after hearing the way our guys were handling all our losses last year. i'm not talking about Adam Morrison crying his eyes out on the court type emotion here, but that's a breath of fresh air. (buuuuuut hopefully there won't be much losing to deal with!)

That alone makes him better than Nick Young. Yeah Nick has superior physical talent but he's too busy goofing off. Getting a guy with some heart is going to help a lot.

Door #2, Hughes also included the #8, LR. I truly believe Lawson's a playmaking PG. Terrance Williams is a defender, rebounder, point forward or SG who's much more of a PG than Evans right now. Blair is probably the best rebounder in this draft, even better than Griffin. He's going to be a major surprise, even better than Millsap.

I'd have taken door 2. I think Foye's injury, Millier's injury, both being offensive players and giving away Pecherov when they could have gotten something else make me take the Hughes deal.

Ernie did this primarily to lose Songaiala's contract and because he doesn't fully appreciate the draft.

[ZonkertheBrainless]

I also love how it free up a roster spot so we can keep Critt. Nice.

[mhd]

So according to Aldridge, it was this deal or the Knicks deal. No mention of Amare. Interesting.

Clearly the Wiz thought they needed to upgrade their backcourt. And if the choices indeed were take somebody they didn't think could help them for a while at 5, trade for Hughes, or trade for Miller/Foye - then it should be easy to see why the took what was behind Door # 3.

"I know he wants to win bad, the man was crying after some games" - regarding Foye in an appreciation thread on the Minny board.

that is refreshing to hear. ESPECIALLY after hearing the way our guys were handling all our losses last year. i'm not talking about Adam Morrison crying his eyes out on the court type emotion here, but that's a breath of fresh air. (buuuuuut hopefully there won't be much losing to deal with!)

That alone makes him better than Nick Young. Yeah Nick has superior physical talent but he's too busy goofing off. Getting a guy with some heart is going to help a lot.

Door #2, Hughes also included the #8, LR. I truly believe Lawson's a playmaking PG. Terrance Williams is a defender, rebounder, point forward or SG who's much more of a PG than Evans right now. Blair is probably the best rebounder in this draft, even better than Griffin. He's going to be a major surprise, even better than Millsap.

I'd have taken door 2. I think Foye's injury, Millier's injury, both being offensive players and giving away Pecherov when they could have gotten something else make me take the Hughes deal.

Ernie did this primarily to lose Songaiala's contract and because he doesnt fully appreciate the draft,

CCJ, I admire your fondness for Blair. However, I was listenting to Ford who said he has no ACLs. He's a ticking timebomb for an injury risk to pay that much money for (lotto picks get paid some solid money).

[Chocolate City Jordanaire]

So according to Aldridge, it was this deal or the Knicks deal. No mention of Amare. Interesting.

I'd have taken Hughes' expiring deal and the #8 for James, Thomas, and the #5. Larry has looked like crap but he did have a PER of 21 playing alongside Gilbert. He's as good defensively as Miller or Foye (damning with faint praise the defense of all three)

CCJ.... the Larry Hughes that played alongside Gil no longer exists.

IMO, all of the injuries Larry's sustained have robbed him of much of his explosiveness.

Stats from the last 3 years say you are correct, Wizardspride.

I will admit EG could reasonably expect both Foye and Miller to be better than Larry at this point. Perhaps he can deal one or both for future draft picks. No way he'd get that for Larry.

The #8 pick is what I value more than Larry.

Also, I believe in chemistry and karma. Hughes was good with Gil. Really good. Gil hasn't been right in 2 years physically and Larry hasn't been right since he left Washington. To me, you take a chance on a reunion when all you do is swap expiring contracts of James and Thomas. Worst-case is Hughes comes off the cap like Thomas and James would have.

[fishercob]

Three reasons this trade improves the Wiz's defense:

1) We'll be a better offensive team. More makes on offense = more opportunities to set up on D (rather than scrambling in transition) and force more misses.

2) We'll force more misses. This trade is going to facilitate bigger lineups on the floor. Historical evidence shows that bigger teams tend to force more misses. Opponents' FG% is also the highest correlated stat with defensive rating.

3) Better defensive rebounding. Out size and overal rebounding acumen is going to hold more opponents to one shot. We'll have mismatches some nights, but one balance, we're going to keep teams off the offensive glass.

Add into that the Flip is a huge upgrade over EJ coaching defense and that his scheme has a track record of success, there's every reason to believe the Wiz will be improved defensively next year. I bet they get to 20th, maybe even 15. With an elite offense, that's a 50 win team and something to build on.

[Chocolate City Jordanaire]

Door #2, Hughes also included the #8, LR. I truly believe Lawson's a playmaking PG. Terrance Williams is a defender, rebounder, point forward or SG who's much more of a PG than Evans right now. Blair is probably the best rebounder in this draft, even better than Griffin. He's going to be a major surprise, even better than Millsap.

I'd have taken door 2. I think Foye's injury, Millier's injury, both being offensive players and giving away Pecherov when they could have gotten something else make me take the Hughes deal.

Ernie did this primarily to lose Songaila's contract and because he doesnt fully appreciate the draft,

CCJ, I admire your fondness for Blair. However, I was listenting to Ford who said he has no ACLs. He's a ticking timebomb for an injury risk to pay that much money for (lotto picks get paid some solid money).

That's why I mentioned Williams and Lawson at #8, mhd. Can't argue with MRIs. I think Blair has a 3-5 year window if he holds his weight down. But I think he'll be a TERRIFIC sub over that time frame. For this season I expect Blair in limited minutes to play even better than Kevin Love did last season--or at a PER of around 20. However, I strongly suspect his weight will come back and he'll get injured within 3 or so years.

Therefore, I'd probably have taken Lawson or Williams at #8. Tough choice, but I think Williams is the player to put next to Gil. Lawson is a can't miss floor general that shifts Gil to SG.

[Ruzious]

So according to Aldridge, it was this deal or the Knicks deal. No mention of Amare. Interesting.

I'd have taken Hughes' expiring deal and the #8 for James, Thomas, and the #5. Larry has looked like crap but he did have a PER of 21 playing alongside Gilbert. He's as good defensively as Miller or Foye (damning with faint praise the defense of all three)

I would have drafted Blair, Terrance Williams, or Lawson at 8. Blair will be a beast and the other two can definitely play at the next level.

I would have traded Pecherov for a future draft pick or a couple second round picks. Minnesota's #28 would have been sweet for OPEC.

I'd probably be packaging Young and Butler for Stoudemire,too. I would trust McGuire and Jamison at SF if I had Amare. One year rentals of Foye and Miller for less or spin the dice on a one year rental of Amare? I take Amare, if Butler was the sticking point.

My idea would be to give the team easy shots in the paint and much better defense.

I'm thinking in the long run that wins over offense at the expense of defense.

Your plan maybe marginally would improve the D. I don't buy that Larry's individual defense at this point in his career helps the team defense more than Miller's team defense - especially with Miller being so much bigger than Larry - I'm guessing it's about 6'5 188 vs 6'9 218.

Blair would help in rebounding, efficiency, and brutality - all good things - but I doubt he's an overall plus on defense. Pech in trade along with $4.25 will get you a Starbuck's frapachino with whipped cream. And the trade EG made makes it much more feasible to make your Butler trade.

[WizarDynasty]

Wizards didn't trade our young core of blatche, mcgee, and young that gets us a rating of B+ automatically. EG got proven goods with nba success in Foye and Miller. All we need now is a p/f coming off the bench that can shot block, bang inside to wear down the opposing bigman, high motor, and can hit the outside shot on kick outs.
This trade is an A+. EG is inches away from building a dynasty.

[Cramer]

Door #2, Hughes also included the #8, LR. I truly believe Lawson's a playmaking PG. Terrance Williams is a defender, rebounder, point forward or SG who's much more of a PG than Evans right now. Blair is probably the best rebounder in this draft, even better than Griffin. He's going to be a major surprise, even better than Millsap.

I'd have taken door 2. I think Foye's injury, Millier's injury, both being offensive players and giving away Pecherov when they could have gotten something else make me take the Hughes deal.

Ernie did this primarily to lose Songaila's contract and because he doesnt fully appreciate the draft,

CCJ, I admire your fondness for Blair. However, I was listenting to Ford who said he has no ACLs. He's a ticking timebomb for an injury risk to pay that much money for (lotto picks get paid some solid money).

That's why I mentioned Williams and Lawson at #8, mhd. Can't argue with MRIs. I think Blair has a 3-5 year window if he holds his weight down. But I think he'll be a TERRIFIC sub over that time frame. For this season I expect Blair in limited minutes to play even better than Kevin Love did last season--or at a PER of around 20. However, I strongly suspect his weight will come back and he'll get injured within 3 or so years.

Therefore, I'd probably have taken Lawson or Williams at #8. Tough choice, but I think Williams is the player to put next to Gil. Lawson is a can't miss floor general that shifts Gil to SG.

So, Blair has a 3-5 year window if he holds his weight down, something he's never done. Great. Lets bank on that. Williams I like but he's not without question marks, and Lawson is now "can't miss." Oh yea, he can miss. I'm not sold on him and never have been and it looks like a lot of GM's aren't either. He could end up being a lesser player than Foye just as easily as a can't miss floor general.

And all the angst over Pech? Please. The guy has shown nothing nada zip to indicate he's even going to be servicable.

[VA_story]

Pointless trade...almost even in my eyes but overall I don't like it.

Foye isn't much better than Nick Young...hell they might be even.

M.Miller coming off a horrible season

And the fact that we already have a slew of guards.

I don't think the 5th pick would have been much but at least we could have gotten a big man and he'd be younger.

[Chocolate City Jordanaire]

I was unimpressed at first, not upset but not impressed, but this is growing on me, big time.

We got two proven solid, if not great players, for some crap and a pick. Time will tell about the pick but we're definitely a better team now and for the next couple of years. The starting 5 is going to be much better that it has been recently, even when healthy. Foye or Miller, whoever is starting, is a large upgrade over the 2's we've been running out there. What really excites me is the 2nd unit we'll be running out there, and those are undervalued and very important minutes, especially against the good teams. Some combo of Foye/Critt, Young, McGee, Dom, Blatch, McGee...maybe Miller....no matter who the starting 5 is, the 2nd unit is a group that can do some damage...positive damage in this case.

I don't think that there's any question that this is a stronger and deeper team.

I feel the same way. We got rid of two bad contracts in Etan and Darius. Plus we picked up Miller and Foye. If they don't work out we just don't have to resign them. Miller's shooting could put us over the top if we can make a move for a big man.

Time to package up Jamison and Nick Young for Amare or Brand

Won't get Amare without offering Butler, but Brand's really an interesting thought, TheKingOfVa360.

I can't see Philly doing it but it's certainly worth a try. Brand should be much better this season. I ruptured my achilles and know first hand that it takes way more than a year to recover (mine still has tightness about 18 months later and there's more than a slight chance at re-rupture, but I'm nearing 50--Brand's a young dude, still.)

I'd still probably risk Jamison and Young for Brand.

[LyricalRico]

So according to Aldridge, it was this deal or the Knicks deal. No mention of Amare. Interesting.

I'd have taken Hughes' expiring deal and the #8 for James, Thomas, and the #5.

But from what I've seen/read, the Knicks weren't offering the #8. It was just Hughes.

Folks, we've got to stop comparing this trade to imaginary trades that we think are good. "We could have gotten a big man...blah blah blah". If those deals had been out there, Ernie would have made them. But they obviously weren't. We can't blame Ernie for living in the real world.

[mhd]

So according to Aldridge, it was this deal or the Knicks deal. No mention of Amare. Interesting.

I'd have taken Hughes' expiring deal and the #8 for James, Thomas, and the #5.

But from what I've seen/read, the Knicks weren't offering the #8. It was just Hughes. Folks, we've got to stop comparing this trade to imaginary trades that we think are good. If those deals had been out there, Ernie would have made them. But they obviously weren't. We can't blame Ernie for living in the real world.

DA said it was a swap of LH for Etan James and a pick swap.

[Chocolate City Jordanaire]

So according to Aldridge, it was this deal or the Knicks deal. No mention of Amare. Interesting.

I'd have taken Hughes' expiring deal and the #8 for James, Thomas, and the #5.

But from what I've seen/read, the Knicks weren't offering the #8. It was just Hughes. Folks, we've got to stop comparing this trade to imaginary trades that we think are good. If those deals had been out there, Ernie would have made them. But they obviously weren't. We can't blame Ernie for living in the real world.

I believe the Knicks wanted the 5 and they had to offer the 8 to get it, LR. David Aldridge is usually on the money with his sources.

[BYRDMAN RULZ]

After having some time to think about this trade, I guess this gives us a solid 8-9 man rotation. I would not put it on par with the Celtics trading for Allen and Garnett but I guess its not all that bad. I had really wanted us to get Curry or Evans, but that's water under the bridge now.

It could also be the precursor to a bigger trade. Miller and DMac can man the 3 spot, so could this spell the end for Butler? The roster as currently constituded still does not get us into the conference finals. Is that the goal? If it is then we need to make other moves. If not, we should be good enough to make the playoffs and maybe even get out of the first round, but methinks that is the best we can hope for as presently constituted.

[AceDegenerate]

I think it's pretty obvious, Ernie Grunfeld could have dealt the pick away for cash and 90% of you here would be praising the move.

This is a piss-poor trade, Mike Miller is not the same player he was 5 years ago, at this point the guy is not even better than Deshawn. Randy Foye is a **** joke, give me a break, the kid is a poor-poor-poor-poor man's Gilbert Arenas, WTF do we need that on this team for. Stephen Curry and every other Top 10 pick this draft will pan out better than the 2 scrubs we traded for.

How does adding RANDY FOYE and MIKE MILLER do ANYTHING to our team? Did anybody give a **** about Minnesota when they had these 2 players last year? NO! WE TRADED FOR ABSOLUTE 100% SCRUBS.

Pollin needs to simply kick the bucket if he plans to pinch his pennies to the grave like this and continue to hamper this team with these ass-backward financial moves.

THIS IS NOT A TEAM TRYING TO COMPETE FOR AN NBA CHAMPIONSHIP, This is a team trying to tread water and SELL TICKETS to the LEBRON SHOW once again in next year's playoffs.

[fishercob]

Asinine fokus, truly asinine.

[Cramer]

Pollin needs to simply kick the bucket if he plans to pinch his pennies to the grave like this and continue to hamper this team with these ass-backward financial moves.

Hey, way to stay classy....asswipe.

[Chocolate City Jordanaire]

So according to Aldridge, it was this deal or the Knicks deal. No mention of Amare. Interesting.

I'd have taken Hughes' expiring deal and the #8 for James, Thomas, and the #5. Larry has looked like crap but he did have a PER of 21 playing alongside Gilbert. He's as good defensively as Miller or Foye (damning with faint praise the defense of all three)

I would have drafted Blair, Terrance Williams, or Lawson at 8. Blair will be a beast and the other two can definitely play at the next level.

I would have traded Pecherov for a future draft pick or a couple second round picks. Minnesota's #28 would have been sweet for OPEC.

I'd probably be packaging Young and Butler for Stoudemire,too. I would trust McGuire and Jamison at SF if I had Amare. One year rentals of Foye and Miller for less or spin the dice on a one year rental of Amare? I take Amare, if Butler was the sticking point.

My idea would be to give the team easy shots in the paint and much better defense.

I'm thinking in the long run that wins over offense at the expense of defense.

Your plan maybe marginally would improve the D. I don't buy that Larry's individual defense at this point in his career helps the team defense more than Miller's team defense - especially with Miller being so much bigger than Larry - I'm guessing it's about 6'5 188 vs 6'9 218.

Blair would help in rebounding, efficiency, and brutality - all good things - but I doubt he's an overall plus on defense. Pech in trade along with $4.25 will get you a Starbuck's frapachino with whipped cream. And the trade EG made makes it much more feasible to make your Butler trade.

I love me some Starbucks, Ruz. It's 0540 hours here in HI and I'm going on be getting a cappucino from you know where in less than an hour.

Oh, brutality is a good thing to be able to invoke, too. Blair's going to kick ass for someone. This season. Oh well ....