Q&A With Wizards Examiner

[nbadraftdude]

Recently had a chance to chat with Wizards insider George Panagakos. Great stuff on how the Wizards, Capitols and Nationals have all had a recent influx of young talent that has helped to create a sports renaissance in the nation's capitol. http://tinyurl.com/3xcx3r7

We all know Wall is going No.1, but how will the rest of the Wizards shake out?

[fishercob]

Merge with Wizards in the Media thread.

IMHO, his opinions are woefully uninformed -- how can he call the Miller/Foye trade "still a slam dunk"?

[nbadraftdude]

Merge with Wizards in the Media thread.

IMHO, his opinions are woefully uninformed -- how can he call the Miller/Foye trade "still a slam dunk"?

My apologies for overlooking the media thread.

I would have to agree with you there on the Miller/Foye trade. At the time I was one who thought it was a slam dunk as well, but Foye and Miller failed to have the impact that warrants trading the 5th pick.

That said, if Miller is retained and both he and Foye find their niche, perhaps this trade will have a happier ending.

[AceDegenerate]

Neither should be retained.

Neither should have been acquired.

They provided absolutely nothing other than contributing to the ping pong balls that eventually lead to John Wall.

[Ruzious]

Merge with Wizards in the Media thread.

IMHO, his opinions are woefully uninformed -- how can he call the Miller/Foye trade "still a slam dunk"?

My apologies for overlooking the media thread.

I would have to agree with you there on the Miller/Foye trade. At the time I was one who thought it was a slam dunk as well, but Foye and Miller failed to have the impact that warrants trading the 5th pick.

That said, if Miller is retained and both he and Foye find their niche, perhaps this trade will have a happier ending.

Miller and Foye are both almost certainly gone. I think that's pretty much common knowledge.

[nate33]

If Melo is not extended, then they're both gone. If Melo gets an extension, I could see the Wizards contemplating keeping Mike Miller at roughly MLE money. You can tell they really like the guy. And with Melo off the table, there really isn't much advantage to having $22M in cap room (with Miller gone) next year versus $16M or so (with Miller on the roster). Either way, we'd have enough money for a center like Perkins or Gasol.

Don't get me wrong. I'd prefer that Mike Miller just walk so we can focus all out on a rebuild. I'm just not sure that EG and Teddy see it that way. If we do decide want to keep a veteran SF around, I'd prefer it be MoPete or Andre Kirilenko as part of a BOYD trade. Either that, or sign Josh Howard on a 1 year deal.

[nbadraftdude]

If we do decide want to keep a veteran SF around, I'd prefer it be MoPete or Andre Kirilenko as part of a BOYD trade. Either that, or sign Josh Howard on a 1 year deal.

There is the in-house option of Thornton to consider at SF. He's just two years removed from his 17ppg-5rpg sophomore season. Although I did not have a chance to see him play much once he was dealt to WAS. (I'm in LA)

[nate33]

Thornton is under contract for one more year. It's a given that he'll be on the roster next season.

Thornton is okay, but many of us would like more of a defensive stopper/role-player at the starting SF spot. Thornton seems well-suited to come off the bench to pick up the scoring slack when Arenas and Blatche sit.

[doclinkin]

George Panagakos is 'eh' at best.

He's just a student blogger who landed the John Keim position when the Examiner started ditching real reporting to create online content on the cheap.

Early on I'd comment to correct his factual errors (averaging one per column) but then basically gave up on reading him after he mentioned that his editor would have difficulty getting him a media credential, that he can't make it to most games anyway since this is a part time gig, and then alluded as how he'd be nervous to ask real questions anyway, or something like that.

Basically he's a kid who gets to watch the Wizards on TV and talk about it as though his opinion matters. No big deal, I like all you guys just fine, but if you're in a publication as something like an authority, I'd prefer you have the chutzpah to make a few phone calls break some news and do a little old-school reporting. John Keim used to kick the ass of most Wiz beat reporters; Panagakos is a significant step down, no offense George.

[LyricalRico]

What if we're looking at a fairly big chunk of cap space left after any BOYD deals and we don't need the money for Livingston (either he's already signed with us or he's gone elsewhere)? Would you sign Miller to a one year deal for $8M+? It would be overpaying, but only for one year. It would also give us another veteran in the locker room and glue guy who can make it easier for Gil and Wall to coexist.

[Hoopalotta]

I'd save the money to pluck assets at the trade deadline. It'll be cheaper too as we'd get guys after about half their salary has already been paid out.

[nate33]

I'd save the money to pluck assets at the trade deadline. It'll be cheaper too as we'd get guys after about half their salary has already been paid out.

Yup. I'd rather sign Howard to something like $3 or $4M for one year. That way, we keep enough cap room to make a Trade Deadline deal. I also would prefer an open court athlete like Howard to run with Wall and Arenas.

[verbal8]

What if we're looking at a fairly big chunk of cap space left after any BOYD deals and we don't need the money for Livingston (either he's already signed with us or he's gone elsewhere)? Would you sign Miller to a one year deal for $8M+? It would be overpaying, but only for one year. It would also give us another veteran in the locker room and glue guy who can make it easier for Gil and Wall to coexist.

If we signed Miller it should be for a unguarranteed one year deal like Drew Gooden got. I think it might be better to trade for an expiring useful vet like Nzar Mohammed, even if it means sending out a future 2nd.

[verbal8]

What if we're looking at a fairly big chunk of cap space left after any BOYD deals and we don't need the money for Livingston (either he's already signed with us or he's gone elsewhere)? Would you sign Miller to a one year deal for $8M+? It would be overpaying, but only for one year. It would also give us another veteran in the locker room and glue guy who can make it easier for Gil and Wall to coexist.

Actually thinking about it, if the Wizards use significant cap space on a vet, it should be a fill-in starter at center. Not my first choice but I think the options would be Brad Miller and Jermaine O'Neal. The problem with Miller is that he played like a bottom of the rotation player rather than a starter. And he had done basically the same thing in Minnesota.

[nate33]

Actually thinking about it, if the Wizards use significant cap space on a vet, it should be a fill-in starter at center. Not my first choice but I think the options would be Brad Miller and Jermaine O'Neal. The problem with Miller is that he played like a bottom of the rotation player rather than a starter. And he had done basically the same thing in Minnesota.

Agreed. Acquiring a beefy veteran center is a top priority in free agency, but we really only want a stop-gap player on a 1-year contract.

Here's a list of free agents who might be available:

Johan Petro
DJ. Mbenga
Darko Milicic (don't know if we could sign him on a one-year deal though)
Ben Wallace (can he coexist with Flip?)
Kwame Brown (don't laugh, he's actually exactly what we need, minus the lazy attitude)
Josh Boone
Z.Ilgauskas (ironic, huh?)
Erick Dampier (probably won't sign a one-year deal)
Aaron Gray
Joel Anthony

Plus there's a handful of mediocre centers with relatively large 2011 contracts. We might be able to get some of these guys with a TPE:

Nick Collison
Samuel Dalembert
Nazr Mohammed
Tyson Chandler[/quote]

[Dat2U]

Nate, I'd also throw Kurt Thomas in there. In fact, he's probably my favorite stop-gap choice at C.

A few weeks ago I would have put Shelden Williams on that list, but after watching him in the playoffs, maybe he should look for a career outside of basketball.

Joel Anthony might be a decent fit too.

I'd be okay with a 3-man rotation of say Thomas, McGee & Anthony at C. Not great, but if McGee continues to develop as a super-sub, it might not be so bad.

[dobrojim]

what about Haywood?

too expensive or would he want too long a deal?

I wonder how he feels about the team now without
AJ/Caron.

[verbal8]

Nate, I'd also throw Kurt Thomas in there. In fact, he's probably my favorite stop-gap choice at C.

It looks like his production really declined last year and he is 38. However he did play a decent number of games and minutes the past 2 years and he still can rebound. He looks OK around the LLE, any higher and it is throwing money away.

[NbdyBeatsTheWiz]

what about Haywood?

too expensive or would he want too long a deal?

I wonder how he feels about the team now without
AJ/Caron.

and WITH a fresh Gil and a setup man like Wall.

It's not like we burned bridges, but didn't he make comments about the less than perfect "culture" here (some took it as backhanded comments about EG)? Or am I making this up completely...