Wiz trade 5th pick to Minnesota

[BYRDMAN RULZ]

And don't slot Foye or Miller starting at the two. Please please...

I'd like to see Foye start alongside GA. Who would you prefer?

I know this may sound like blasphemy but if Stevenson is recovered from his injuries him if not maybe D-Mac. (D-Mac first if he can consistly hit an open shot.) We need someone who can play defense starting at the 2. I dont know enough about Foye to know if he is that person though.

[nate33]

If the plan is to start Stevenson, then I hate this trade even more than I originally thought. If Stevenson gets 20-25 minutes a game, then we just traded Songaila and the #5 so we can play Mike Miller for 20 minutes a game at backup SG/SF.

Hell, Stevenson is the sixth-best SG on the roster behind Butler, Miller, Young, Foye and DMac. There is no way he should start.

[dobrojim]

^

I submit that N1's D is probably better than DeBricks right now.

I wouldn't be surprised if whatever limited numbers were available
backed this up.

to repeat myself, DeShawn is fine except -

his shot isn't very good for a SG

he doesn't finish well at the rim

he doesn't shoot FTs very well

and he makes stupid remarks to the media providing BB material for the opp.

other than that, he's great.

[wizards-fan]

Everyone seems to be focusing on how the lineups will work when everyone is healthy. While they might not be stars or even borderline All-stars, Foye and Miller are bona fide NBA starters. The old cliche is that the NBA season is a marathon -- and now when (not if) our best players miss time due to injuries or illness we will have players who are qualified to step in and keep the team afloat. Injuries happen -- we know this better than most -- and you have to protect against situations like we had last year: a Juan Dixon manning the point, an injured Stevenson starting at SG, 6-8 Songaila starting at center. Every team goes through these stretches and the Wizards are better prepared to handle that with several quality starters at 1, 2, and 3 (which is where 2/3 of their best players play). So we don't have a dominant Top 10 player, I wish we did. But IMO we are more capable of withstanding a loss of our best player(s) and still managing to avoid 10-game losing streaks. A big advantage over the course of an 82-game season. If you do that, while perhaps Cleveland/Orlando/Boston stumbles due to injuries to their more dominant stars, then maybe we sneak into a better seed and earn home-court advantage in the playoffs. And at that point, anything can happen.

[barelyawake]

What would I prefer? I would prefer that we trade for a vet two (who can defend -- say Raja Bell) and Brand. I would prefer our line-up look thusly:

Arenas/Foye
Vet defender(Raja Bell)/Dom
Caron/Miller
Brand/MLE vet (McDyess) or Blatche if we can keep him (though I doubt we could)
Haywood/McGee

Because that is a doable/killer line-up that could actually win us a championship. We should blow our 2010 pick (even 2011 if need be), trade some of our youth, and honestly go for it. In the absence of that, I would rather start Dom. And if that won't happen, then I'd rather start Young. And if not him, then Stevenson. I would prefer not to have two undersized two guards, who don't play defense starting next to one another -- especially with AJ on the floor. We have the worst defense in the league already. Foye/Arenas would make it worse.

What will we do? We'll keep pretending that... Oh I forgot... Hey, there I'm Mr. Smiley. I'm sure whatever we do it'll workout and EG got it all in pocket.

[miller31time]

Flip Saunders isn't Eddie Jordan or Ed Tapscott. He's an above-average NBA coach who will start and continue to play the guys who give us the best chance to win. Unless Flip is a blithering idiot, he already knows that Stevenson should be nowhere near the starting lineup and should be lucky to even crack the rotation after this trade.

And if he didn't already realize that, maybe the fact that we couldn't friggin give DeBrickashawn away to the Timberwolves despite the fact he makes less than Songaila will make him do so. That's pathetic.

[Benjammin]

If the plan is to start Stevenson, then I hate this trade even more than I originally thought. If Stevenson gets 20-25 minutes a game, then we just traded Songaila and the #5 so we can play Mike Miller for 20 minutes a game at backup SG/SF.

Hell, Stevenson is the sixth-best SG on the roster behind Butler, Miller, Young, Foye and DMac. There is no way he should start.

QFT

Stevenson should not see the light of day on this team. Even if you want to use the defense argument, I'd rather see DMac out there. For this trade to make any sense at all, both Foye and Miller should see significant time this year and at least one of them re-signs next year and continues to contribute or they are used as an expiring for another player or in a sign and trade deal in 2010. Otherwise, they were a one year rental in exchange for the 5th pick.

[yungal07]

And don't slot Foye or Miller starting at the two. Please please...

I'd like to see Foye start alongside GA. Who would you prefer?

I know this may sound like blasphemy but if Stevenson is recovered from his injuries him if not maybe D-Mac. (D-Mac first if he can consistly hit an open shot.) We need someone who can play defense starting at the 2. I dont know enough about Foye to know if he is that person though.

Playing Foye at the 2 is not a good idea IMO. You're just encouraging his shoot-first mentality. Minnesota screwed up because they did that with Chauncey -- it wasn't until he left the Wolves that he was forced into his role as a facilitator first. Let's treat Randy like the post-Wolves Chauncey – develop his passing instincts and make him play the point exclusively.

Right now, you have to start Miller. He compliments Gilbert perfectly with his shooting, passing, and ability to play the point in stretches. Miller is also a terrific rebounder and will help a ton on the boards. If not, you start Nick, and keep Miller as a vet presence on the bench.

Re: McGuire. Until he develops a jumpshot, or a smidgen of an offensive game, he is not a starter. All this crying about defense, but DMac is nowhere close to a shutdown defender. Right now, DMac is just a good idea -- yes he rebounds well, he blocks some shots on the weakside, and plays hard, but he's not an effective player. He is a poor offensive player, and he's just a slightly above average defensive player. On a good team, he's a 10th man....nowhere near starter material and it's a joke that they started the guy last season. Don't get me wrong -- I'd love to see the guy pan out and develop his weaknesses, but as of now, he's just a nice idea, and the idea is much better than reality.

[MJG]

I'm with nate, Stevenson probably shouldn't even be in the rotation. let alone starting. And that's talking about Stevenson at his prime, never mind the broken shell he was last year. The only backcourt player who I'd label him as clearly better than (again, assuming he's recovered) is James. Maybe Crittenton, though I wouldn't call that a sure thing.

My personal SG choice is Miller. He's better than Foye, Young, McGuire, and Stevenson, and his SF minutes will be limited behind Caron, so the only way to play him more is at SG.

[Ruzious]

If the plan is to start Stevenson, then I hate this trade even more than I originally thought. If Stevenson gets 20-25 minutes a game, then we just traded Songaila and the #5 so we can play Mike Miller for 20 minutes a game at backup SG/SF.

Hell, Stevenson is the sixth-best SG on the roster behind Butler, Miller, Young, Foye and DMac. There is no way he should start.

QFT

Stevenson should not see the light of day on this team. Even if you want to use the defense argument, I'd rather see DMac out there. For this trade to make any sense at all, both Foye and Miller should see significant time this year and at least one of them re-signs next year and continues to contribute or they are used as an expiring for another player or in a sign and trade deal in 2010. Otherwise, they were a one year rental in exchange for the 5th pick.

The Stevenson talk seems like a red herring to the discussion. I wouldn't be surprised if he physically can't play next season. He's certainly not going to start. We already know that they tried to get rid of him, and they traded for 2 guys who can play his position.

[fishercob]

Well, I have to revise my thinking on the Wiz's opinion of Stevenson, since it has now been divulged that they tried to get Minny to take him instead of Songaila. Maybe Miller starts at the 2, backups up the 3, and Foye backs up both guard spots.

The other quote of note is how Ernie said he looks forward to Foye and MM helping us next year and "for years to come." Clearly he doesn't intend for them to be one year rentals.

With this roster as it is, the single thing -- as it seems to have been for 3 years now -- that stands to help the Wiz the most -- is the ascension of Blatche to somewhere in the vicinity of what his potential will allow. If that guy can be a consistent force on D and the boards, the Wiz will be very good. I'm not sold on it, but I'm hopeful. He's shown a hell of a lot more flashes than KFB and I think he does really want to be a good player.

[barelyawake]

Arenas
Miller
Caron
AJ
Haywood

Is easily the worst defensive team in the league. And I mean by a large margin (especially when Haywood is on the bench). It just will not work in the post season. It will not. We can't even start thinking like that. Because the moment we do, the season is over. We need to plan for (and push EG to get us) defense. The above will not work as the main line-up, unless God touches Arenas and makes him the best defender in the league.

[dandridge 10]

If the plan is to start Stevenson, then I hate this trade even more than I originally thought. If Stevenson gets 20-25 minutes a game, then we just traded Songaila and the #5 so we can play Mike Miller for 20 minutes a game at backup SG/SF.

Hell, Stevenson is the sixth-best SG on the roster behind Butler, Miller, Young, Foye and DMac. There is no way he should start.

Nate, if Stevenson is healthy and not traded, I would not be surprised at all to see him start with Foye and Miller as reserves. Foye would back up Arenas, NY back up Stevenson and Miller backing up Caron). I'm not necessarily advocating that, just stating it as highly possible. Also, I don't necessarily agree that Stevenson would be the sixth best SG if healthy. Maybe so if you consider the injured Stevenson we had last year, but not necessarily so for the 2 years before last. I think some people forget that he actually fit pretty well when we had Arenas, Jamison, Butler and Haywood playing together and he was healthy. In fact, I remember quite a few people on this board said "Larry Hughes who?"

I certainly believe we need a defender at that position, with Arenas, Butler and Jamison all being defensive liabilities. If healthy, I think Stevenson would be better than Miller. I haven't seen enough of Foye to determine who would be better defensively at the SG position.

[Optms]

A line up:

Arenas
Miller
Butler
Jamison
Haywood

This line up makes perfect sense to me. I would think about Young maybe starting for Washington at the two but he needs to be coached into playing defense a little harder. Overall, I love Millers game too much to keep him on the bench with this group of guys. Yes, I never understand why some people here have leaned with Dominic being a starter in the past. He's not that great of a defender to begin with to earn that role and never has. And am I the only one who wonders why is he being talked about as if he's a 2? He's got no offensive game. Foye starting behind Gilbert is what I want to see the most though. He can come in and play facilitator and look to get his own shot as well. Or come in and play the 2 off the bench if they want to go that route. The last place I would like to see him is in that starting lineup along side Gilbert though. I fail to see how that can be successful for the Wizards long term with Young and Miller sitting right there on the bench.

[Halcyon]

Miller seems better suited for the second unit, as a stabilizing 6th man. He's a veteran that can do it all pretty well, and would probably be ideal to play the young second unit, while giving Butler a breather. Not sure how good Foye would fit in as a starter however...

I definitely do not want Stevenson to see the light of day though.

[Severn Hoos]

Well, "in the mix for the Eastern Conference championship" is somewhat vague. What would qualify to make that statement reality? Because I expect the Wiz to probably be the 4th best team in the Conf - or at least 5th, which puts them in that 4-5 first round matchup. And let's face it - if we were to get homecourt advantage for a playoff series, it'd be the first time in, what, 25 years? That ain't nothing, folks.

So if you win that 1st round series and are competitive in the 2nd round against the top seed (Cleveland, most likely), does that count as "in the mix"? Because if it does, then I definitely think we'll be "in the mix." And if they can shock the world by knocking off Cleveland or Boston in the 2nd round, then playing in the Conf. Finals would, by definition, be "in the mix."

Point is, I don't think it's as outlandish a statement as it may seem. I do expect the Wiz to be better than the Hawks and Heat (they certainly have a lot more depth than either team), and I don't see anyone else challenging for the #4 seed. Maybe Philly, but that's about it. Then, factor in that Orlando could lose Turkoglu, Cleveland could lose Sideshow Andy, how will Shaq fit in? Can he stay healthy? Will KG come back? Will Ray Allen be dealt? Can Boston's Big 3 stay healthy all year?...

Is it completely inconceivable that a deep Wiz team that draws one of the top 3 teams in the 2nd round could knock them off? Each of those teams (Boston/Cleveland/Orlando) are hugely dependent on one guy. If something happens to that one guy, all bets are off.

Is it likely that the Wiz will be in the ECF? No, of course not. But it's not outlandish, either. So I guess that means they might be "in the mix."

[Benjammin]

I would go with Miller as well starting at the 2, because of his shooting, rebounding, and passing. If the Wizards play a fair amount of matchup zone his length would out front would be helpful. There will be matchups where he and Caron may even switch defensively, although if they do play a lot of zone that isn't as important. I know that Foye isn't a pure PG, but I like him backing up Gil and also playing some 2. Hopefully N1 will improve and also get some time. What that means is that I don't see a role or minutes for Critt, DMac (except in certain situations), and certainly no time for James or Stevenson (hopefully one or both will be gone before the season starts).

Minutes
1 Gil 34-Foye 14
2 Miller-16-Foye 14, N1 10-18, DMac 0-8
3 Caron 34--Miller 14
4 Jamison 32 Blatche 16 (I'd like Jamison's minutes closer to 30, but it's a stretch even seeing them reduced to 32)
5 Haywood 32 -Blatche 6, McGee 10

Basically, Haywood needs to be on the court 32 minutes a game on average. I don't see a problem with his stamina for this and he should stay out of enough foul trouble to pull it off.
Jamison I think would be more efficient and effective with fewer minutes.
I can't see Gil and Caron going below 34 minutes a game if they're healthy. They would probably be higher than that.
I want to get Miller 30 minutes a game.
I want to get Foye about 28 minutes a game.
22 minutes may not seem like a lot for Blatche, but we need him to play consistent minutes.
I think in his 10 minutes McGee can bring his energy while still continuing to develop.
I didn't know what to do with N1 or DMac really, so it was just a guess.

[barelyawake]

A backcourt of Arenas/Miller will get burned every single time down the court. It's not even close to right defensively. It's a guy who is an awful defender next to an old SF playing SG. It's insane. It's completely giving up on defense.

I'll say again (for the final time before I shut-up about this), we have the pieces to trade for both a Brand and a Raja bell type (if we blow our future picks). Don't quote me on this, but something (roughly) like AJ/Blatche/2010 first for Brand and Crit/Young/Stevenson for Raja type/filler -- or mix and match those however you want to make it work. Take R.B. as a back-up point. Sign a vet PF.

Arenas/Foye/R.B.
Bell/Dom/Miller
Caron/Miller/Dom
Brand/MLE/Vet min
Haywood/McGee

That's a championship team. Mr. Smiley out...

[Soup's Uncle]

You gotta start Millier IMO. Then you bring Foye off the bench and wing Miller to the 3.

Have this unit toward the ned of the first quarter:
Gil
Foye
Miller
Blatche/Vet we don't have yet
McGee/Blatche/Vet we don't have yet

That way you let Caron and Antawn rest for a change. Gilbert is younger and (before the knee problems) more durable, so he'll most likely get more burn.

Then you could star the 2nd quarter with
Foye
NY
MM
Blatche/Vet we don't have yet
McGee/Blatche/Vet we don't have yet

That to me is a 2nd unit that can really compete. Definitely has a lot of scoring punch. And the Big 3 gets some time to rest.

I really don't see how DeShawn will get any playing time here. The next PG I would use is Critt. Hopefull we can package the pick/James/Stevenson for a big guy.

[Soup's Uncle]

A backcourt of Arenas/Miller will get burned every single time down the court. It's not even close to right defensively. It's a guy who is an awful defender next to an old SF playing SG. It's insane. It's completely giving up on defense.

I'll say again (for the final time before I shut-up about this), we have the pieces to trade for both a Brand and a Raja bell type (if we blow our future picks). Don't quote me on this, but something (roughly) like AJ/Blatche/2010 first for Brand and Crit/Young/Stevenson for Raja type/filler -- or mix and match those however you want to make it work. Take R.B. as a back-up point. Sign a vet PF.

Arenas/Foye/R.B.
Bell/Dom/Miller
Caron/Miller/Dom
Brand/MLE/Vet min
Haywood/McGee

That's a championship team. Mr. Smiley out...

It'd have to be a 2011 first...we can't trade next years.