09-10 WizFans Official Draft Thread

[Donkey McDonkerton]

At this point, my order of preference with out draft pick is as follows:

1. Wall
2. Cousins
3. Turner
4. Favors
5. Johnson
6. Aminu

I don't expect this to change unless there's a major surprise with the measurements.

That's where I'm at....top 3 just like that. We have to get a top 3 pick.

[DallasShalDune]

At this point, my order of preference with out draft pick is as follows:

1. Wall
2. Cousins
3. Turner
4. Favors
5. Johnson
6. Aminu

I don't expect this to change unless there's a major surprise with the measurements.

That's where I'm at....top 3 just like that. We have to get a top 3 pick.

I agree. As long as Cousins doesn't go super crazy, and just stays crazy.

[long suffrin' boulez fan]

At this point, my order of preference with out draft pick is as follows:

1. Wall
2. Cousins
3. Turner
4. Favors
5. Johnson
6. Aminu

I don't expect this to change unless there's a major surprise with the measurements.

That's where I'm at....top 3 just like that. We have to get a top 3 pick.

Given that we will likely retain Gil, I think my order is:
1. Turner
2. Cousins
3. Wall
4. Johnson
5. Shoot myself

[verbal8]

At this point, my order of preference with out draft pick is as follows:

1. Wall
2. Cousins
3. Turner
4. Favors
5. Johnson
6. Aminu

I don't expect this to change unless there's a major surprise with the measurements.

That's where I'm at....top 3 just like that. We have to get a top 3 pick.

Given that we will likely retain Gil, I think my order is:
1. Turner
2. Cousins
3. Wall
4. Johnson
5. Shoot myself

With the lack of talent the Wizards have they can't afford to do anything other than pick the best player available. I think they have to take Wall 1st and Favors before Johnson.

[pancakes3]

you'd be a lot less to pull the trigger on drafting Wall if you had a 70 million dollar albatross breathing down your neck.

i'm with boulez, except i'd draft Favors 4th and Johnson 5th. Drafting Johnson and dumping Miller and Howard would work wonders for our cap room i'm sure. i think EG has a lot of outs in this draft and as long as he doesn't try and outthink himself with trade scenarios* we'll be fine.

UNLESS we can flip a top 3 pick for Bosh. I'm down like a clown if we can do ship off our lotto pick + Howard in a s&t for Bosh. Bosh/Blatche/Arenas WILL work. guaranteed.

[long suffrin' boulez fan]

you'd be a lot less to pull the trigger on drafting Wall if you had a 70 million dollar albatross breathing down your neck.

i'm with boulez, except i'd draft Favors 4th and Johnson 5th. Drafting Johnson and dumping Miller and Howard would work wonders for our cap room i'm sure. i think EG has a lot of outs in this draft and as long as he doesn't try and outthink himself with trade scenarios* we'll be fine.

UNLESS we can flip a top 3 pick for Bosh. I'm down like a clown if we can do ship off our lotto pick + Howard in a s&t for Bosh. Bosh/Blatche/Arenas WILL work. guaranteed.

'Cakes. Do you think bosh and dray could coexist? To me they kind of like to occupy the same spots on the floor... But I could be wrong.

[Surfman]

Hello Friends,
this is my first post on Real GM but have been following you guys for a few years now. I guess I finally want to chime in. I have been a long suffering Wiz/Bullets fan for about 20 years. I usually tell people being a Wizards fan is a character building experience....Haha. I have been pissed at this organization way too may times to even remember. From the Webber/Wallace trades to tradin away draft picks so many times to lowering ourselves to even selling draft picks when our roster is a joke. Okay, I have vented now on to the future. Her is my plan for the Wiz, tell me what you guys think. We get lucky in the lotto and some how end up drafting Cousins who becomes our mainstay at center for the next decade. We use our late first and early second rounders on the 2/3 position. Hoping to grab someone who can turn into a productive pro for us. Maybe a 3 like Pondexter, Ebanks (if he falls), Butler, or Hopson. Or, maybe a 2 like Warren, T. White (I like him), or E, williams from memphis. We sing a few low salery vets and gop into next season like that. Starting Arenas, Blatche, cousins, Thornton, and someone at the 2. We use next year as another learning year for our young players and hope cousins and one of the late picks bloe up. We still finish out of the playoffs and use our 2011 lotto pic on a top notch 2. but the big move now would be the all out puch for Carmello. Thats the ticket. Sign carmello to start along with Arenas, Blatch, Cousins, and someone at the 2. We should be able to develope a 2 or grab one in the 2011 draft or look for a good free agent. Prferably a lock down defender who has his head on rite. We also keep Singleton during this whole time. Well, thats my plan. Of course it all changes if we pick first and take Wall. What do you guys think? Looking forward to reading all your posts in the future and building a winning team we can be proud to be a fan of.
Surf
Surf

[montestewart]

Hello Friends,
this is my first post on Real GM but have been following you guys for a few years now. I guess I finally want to chime in. I have been a long suffering Wiz/Bullets fan for about 20 years. I usually tell people being a Wizards fan is a character building experience....Haha. I have been pissed at this organization way too may times to even remember. From the Webber/Wallace trades to tradin away draft picks so many times to lowering ourselves to even selling draft picks when our roster is a joke. Okay, I have vented now on to the future. Her is my plan for the Wiz, tell me what you guys think. We get lucky in the lotto and some how end up drafting Cousins who becomes our mainstay at center for the next decade. We use our late first and early second rounders on the 2/3 position. Hoping to grab someone who can turn into a productive pro for us. Maybe a 3 like Pondexter, Ebanks (if he falls), Butler, or Hopson. Or, maybe a 2 like Warren, T. White (I like him), or E, williams from memphis. We sing a few low salery vets and gop into next season like that. Starting Arenas, Blatche, cousins, Thornton, and someone at the 2. We use next year as another learning year for our young players and hope cousins and one of the late picks bloe up. We still finish out of the playoffs and use our 2011 lotto pic on a top notch 2. but the big move now would be the all out puch for Carmello. Thats the ticket. Sign carmello to start along with Arenas, Blatch, Cousins, and someone at the 2. We should be able to develope a 2 or grab one in the 2011 draft or look for a good free agent. Prferably a lock down defender who has his head on rite. We also keep Singleton during this whole time. Well, thats my plan. Of course it all changes if we pick first and take Wall. What do you guys think? Looking forward to reading all your posts in the future and building a winning team we can be proud to be a fan of.
Surf
Surf

With some good draft luck, that's one of a number of plausible scenarios that could help turn things around. Unfortunately, as you well know, there are countless other Bullets/Wizards-type scenarios that could make it even worse.

Welcome.

[Surfman]

Quick recap of last post:

2010 Roster
Arenas/Livingston
Young/Ross/ Late 1st pick
Thornton/ 2nd rounder/ Gee would have been nice
Blatche/Singleton
Cousins/Magee


2011 Roster
Arenas/ ???????
?????????/2011 Lotto pick
Carmello/Thornton
Blatche/Singleton
Cousins/Magee

What do you think?
Surf

[pancakes3]

we have as much a shot in signing 'melo as we do durant. those two are cornerstones for their respective franchies. like with politics, the incumbants have the upper hand. the only shot we have at getting either is overpaying, and i'd rather overpay for Durant than 'Melo.

I do think Cousins is the pick of choice with the 1st rounder, and an athletic wing with the CLE pick. I think we can package our 2nd rounder and a future pick for a pick in the late teens where we can potentially sign James Anderson, Gordon Heyward, or Elliot Williams (i like him too).

as for LES BOULEZ's question, not only do i think Blatche and Bosh can coexist, i think they would mesh really well. Their versatility combines to form a perfect storm of twin towers.

Offensively, there will always be a matchup to exploit in the frontcourt against all 29 other teams. While both players like to create off the dribble, they're not strictly perimeter players like Dirk. They can and do post up and score in the paint. In fact, Blatche has shown some really nice moves around the basket, specifically when he does his mchale impressions with the up/under/reverses.

Defensively, Blatche is hefty enough to check C's. He's 6'11 and about 240-50lbs with a decent wingspan and quick hands. He won't be able to anchor the D like Haywood but it's not like there are a ton of volume-scoring C's out there that will drop 30+ on us (any, really...). I believe Bosh's defense will improve too if he's not asked to carry so much of the scoring load. His D on the olympics was outstanding, and his frenetic rebounding is exactly what our team needs.

We shouldn't be caught up in labels, conventional thinking, and general reactive stances. The prevalent thinking of trading for Bosh shouldn't be how would we be able to handle other teams? the more exciting question is how would other teams be able to handle us? Our half-court offense would instantly become the envy of the league featuring a frontcourt longer and arguably more talented than the Lakers' Gasol/Odom combo. Our interior defense won't set any records, but certainly capable of holding opponents to the mid 90's scoring-wise.

a frontcourt lineup of Blatche/Bosh with McGee coming off the bench would terrify the league. It won't be the OPTIMAL pairing but certainly a better plan than drafting Cousins and waiting for shxt to happen.

[doclinkin]

I don't even know what I believe at this point in terms of the top talent. I'm always looking for gems late in the draft more than guessing at the production of the lotto picks.

All's I know is the teams that draft Patrick Patterson and Cole Aldrich will know exactly what they're getting. No superstars, but solid productive ballers. Good fit on any team. These are the types of players the Spurs always select.

I suspect OKC will try to find a way to land Aldrich.

[dangermouse]

i'd rather overpay for Durant than 'Melo.

+1. Durant will be the better player in the long run, by a good margin. I dont know whos more likely to leave. Durant comes back to his hometown crowd. But maybe Melo gets miffed that he hasnt made it to the promised land with Denver and feels the Wiz are greener pastures by then.

[Surfman]

I would deffinetly rather have Cousins locked into that rook contract than have to lock up Bosh long term for big bucks IMHO. As long as his head stays on straight I see no reason he can't be a serious force at center for the next decade. I'm talking a 18/12 guy. This guy has a big chance to be the man. Maybe the second best center in the league within 2 or 3 years. big time yes to Durrant. I would rather have him over melo but if we get Cousins and Gilbert comes back strong I think both guys would consider coming here for big bucks. Hometown and chance to be the man that brought there hometown team a championship. Lets just hope the Lotto gods give us a big gift, we deserve it.

[nate33]

Durant isn't coming here. At least not so long as the new CBA provides a player's current team a greater advantage to resign their own free agents (i.e. restricted free agency and/or the right to give larger raises and a longer contract) like the current CBA does. OKC will match any offer for Durant. Put it out of your mind. It ain't happening.

There's a slightly greater chance to land Melo because he's not a restricted free agent, but still, Denver will probably have the ability to offer him more money than us. Also, Denver is an established winning team and they will have plenty of money to retain Melo because Billups and KMart are coming off the books when Melo's contract is up.

Bosh and Blatche cannot co-exist. Well, they can, but it's not an ideal fit. We've seen Blatche play center, and it hasn't been successful. We've seen Bosh play alongside another PF in Bargnani and it hasn't been successful.

[verbal8]

Durant isn't coming here. At least not so long as the new CBA provides a player's current team a greater advantage to resign their own free agents (i.e. restricted free agency and/or the right to give larger raises and a longer contract) like the current CBA does. OKC will match any offer for Durant. Put it out of your mind. It ain't happening.

There's a slightly greater chance to land Melo because he's not a restricted free agent, but still, Denver will probably have the ability to offer him more money than us. Also, Denver is an established winning team and they will have plenty of money to retain Melo because Billups and KMart are coming off the books when Melo's contract is up.

Bosh and Blatche cannot co-exist. Well, they can, but it's not an ideal fit. We've seen Blatche play center, and it hasn't been successful. We've seen Bosh play alongside another PF in Bargnani and it hasn't been successful.

The only Bosh to Wizards scenario I could see is if the Wizards get Wall and decide to go win-now. Maybe the Wizards get Bosh in a S&T with a Blatche-DeRozan swap. It gives Toronto a cheap replacement for Bosh and a cheap salary to balance out some of their long big deals.
Not my favorite scenario, but it could help both teams.

[Hoopalotta]

The only Bosh to Wizards scenario I could see is if the Wizards get Wall and decide to go win-now. Maybe the Wizards get Bosh in a S&T with a Blatche-DeRozan swap. It gives Toronto a cheap replacement for Bosh and a cheap salary to balance out some of their long big deals.
Not my favorite scenario, but it could help both teams.

Not to jump on your post specifically, as there's lots who are calling for Bosh, but....

Here's what Bosh's salary would look like in that scenario:

Year 1 - $16,570,600
Year 2 -$18,310,513
Year 3 - $20,233,117
Year 4 - $22,357,594
Year 5 - $24,705,142
Year 6 - $27,299,181

A Bosh-Arenas pairing sounds like a perennial "let's make some noise in the east next year" kind of club with injury risks tied into mammoth contracts. (Edit --> Ok, I see we're supposed to have Wall too, but in that case I'm bringing costs into it considering we have no front court and the #1 pick's salary slot in there)

My view of Bosh is that there are few, if any, things that he does better than Amir Johnson that don't show up in the box score. He's an excellent second option, but I think he's going to be known foremost as a bad contract soon enough. It's just waaaay too much money for what you get and only once have the Raptors finished above .500 under Bosh.

[sfam]

If we have a top 4 pick, I don't think we trade out of it. Wall, Turner, Cousins, Favors (My top 4) are all worth holding on to. I might even be persuaded to keep up to a top 6 pick.

Bottom line, I don't see an A-class FA coming to Washington. Its not gonna happen. I'm fairly sure we're going to be waiting at the end of the line to see what's left. Maybe there will be something worth getting for a decent price, but I almost think it might be best to save our money for a year, see what we get with our lottery pick, and then become a more attractive choice for FAs in 2011.

[Rafael122]

But there isn't that much out there in 2011. A handful of guys. Marc Gasol? Carmelo Anthony? Kevin Durant? What are the odds any of these guys sign here next year?

2010 = time to strike. New ownership, lottery pick. It's basically the same situation the Caps were in the year they got Ovechkin. Loensis can be very convincing. Dude knows how to market his players. I'm not buying the "wait until 2011" argument. I'm not.

[pancakes3]

so many guys to address...
Surf
You'd prefer cousins over bosh? the fact that cousins may or may not develop into a 18/12 guy when Bosh is already 24/11 center in the league? I'm not a gun-ho "win now" fan, but when the opportunity presents itself, you have to pull the trigger instead of stockpile resources for tomorrow. We've got Arenas who's got about 3-4 good years left even if he does return to form, a cheap and really good PF locked up for 2 more seasons, and 3 picks in this year's draft. If we can't flip the picks into a 3rd piece, we're never going to have this opportunity again.

nate
Yeah. i recognize the fact that the incumbent teams have a leg up on us in terms of resigning. I think Durant is a lost cause as well as 'Melo since they both seem to really like their teams/teammates and the organization is committed to them. However, Bosh is a different story. He's not content, he calls out his teammates, he might just be plain sick of living in CANADA (especially for a kid born/raised in Texas and went to school in Atlanta). I think Bosh is obtainable, we'll just have to pay a hefty sum for him.

verbal
I don't see any scenario where blatche/derozen is a good deal. we've got 3 sf's to choose from for next season, and derozen isn't a good enough shooter to play sg in our offense. Plus blatche is just flat out more talented.

sfam
i don't think bosh staying put is a given. he's shown a pretty poor attitude towards his team and probably wants to test the FA market. the thing is - Lebron, Wade, JJ, and maybe Amare are going to dominate the talks. If we can get in early and often making it clear that we WANT bosh we can either sign him straight up, or if it looks like Toronto is going to match - go for a s&t.

hoopalotta
you could make the case for a ton of players that they don't deserve max contracts. pretty much anyone not named Kobe, Lebron, Wade, Howard, or Durant. However, they're going to get it, and if we want to win any significant amount of games, we need talent. Gil, Blatche, and a rookie isn't going to cut it. By the time that wall/turner/cousins become a viable talent, gil will be too old and blatche will be the one demanding a max contract. the timing is just off, so we have to MAKE our timing. Right now, when blatche, gil, and bosh are still at the top of their games. Yeah we're overpaying, but that's how you win in this league. you think Orlando's happy that they've got Rashard Lewis - the posterchild of the bloated contract - on their team? not especially, but they went to the finals so all is hunky dory.

[LyricalRico]

i don't think bosh staying put is a given. he's shown a pretty poor attitude towards his team and probably wants to test the FA market. the thing is - Lebron, Wade, JJ, and maybe Amare are going to dominate the talks.

I don't agree with that assessment of Bosh's place in this year's FA class. IMO he's above Amare and Joe Johnson.

Tier 1
LeBron
Wade

Tier 2
Bosh
Amare

Tier 3
Johnson
Boozer

I might even put Amare in at Tier 2 1/2 because I think teams would rather have Bosh. I don't think the Wiz have a chance at getting Bosh. No chance at all.