Wiz Sign Hilton Armstrong (and celebrity condolences)

[mohammed10]

Hilton Armstrong? Seriously?

What happen to us getting tougher up front?

[WashWiz54]

We needed a backup with a few years experience in the league so why not a somewhat young guy like Hilton? He may just be a late-bloomer or just a backup for spot situations, either one is fine. We needed a guy who's played a few years so if McGee is gassed/in foul trouble we'll have a guy who won't make a rookie mistake to cost us the game. Will he win us the game? No, but he shouldn't do anything to lose it for us either.

BTW, I remember the year he was drafted I was on the Cedric Simmons bandwagon and thought Hilton would be a decent big man. At least one still has the opportunity to live up to my expectations.

[Ruzious]

We needed a backup with a few years experience in the league so why not a somewhat young guy like Hilton? He may just be a late-bloomer or just a backup for spot situations, either one is fine. We needed a guy who's played a few years so if McGee is gassed/in foul trouble we'll have a guy who won't make a rookie mistake to cost us the game. Will he win us the game? No, but he shouldn't do anything to lose it for us either.

BTW, I remember the year he was drafted I was on the Cedric Simmons bandwagon and thought Hilton would be a decent big man. At least one still has the opportunity to live up to my expectations.

Yeah, I was up on Simmons and especially Armstrong's teammate, Josh Boone. But none of those guys seemed to have any passion for the game. It's funny how that happened to a boatload of UConn great athletes. It's also funny how people get uptight about signing guys who aren't going to play unless there are injuries. These guys are for insurance and have no bearing on whether or not the team is staying the course on emphasizing youth, toughness, defense, or pretty much anything else.

[nate33]

I'd rather play Hilton Armstrong at SF than Adam Morrison.

[rockymac52]

Here's a DraftExpress writeup on Armstrong from about a year ago:

Overview: An athletic forward-center who is a legitimate backup at this point. Not very tall for a center, but compensates with a 7-4 wingspan. Extremely well built, and has added some bulk since his college days. Could stand to continue adding weight. Not a late bloomer physically, but is the definition of the tag from a basketball perspective. Averaged roughly 10 minutes per game in his first three seasons at UConn. Blew up as a senior, primarily on the defensive end. Named Big East Conference Defensive Player of the Year in 2006. Showed enough promise offensive to propel himself into the lottery. Hasn’t been a major impact player in the NBA, and needs to have a similar spike in production to avoid being labeled an underachiever. Turnovers, an aversion to rebounding and his inability to stay out of foul trouble have all been major issues for him thus far. Will need to work hard to earn his minutes behind former UConn teammate Emeka Okafor and faced competition from Ike Diogu. Consistency and focus will be the name of the game for him moving forward. Question marks abound regarding his physical and mental toughness.

[nate33]

The timing of this signing is noteworthy. If it's a minimum salary contract, then it's in our best interests to postpone the signing until we first sign our SF. We currently have $4.7M in cap space (plus a $6M TPE which we can relinquish). We could conceivably sign a SF for $4.7M, then sign Armstrong for the minimum, while still retaining our TPE.

By signing Armstrong first, we cut our cap space down to $3.8M (assuming we wish to retain our TPE).

This signing telegraphs EG's next move to some extent. EG either has no intention of paying more than $3.8M for our SF, or he has no intention of hanging onto our $6M TPE.

[Benjammin]

The timing of this signing is noteworthy. If it's a minimum salary contract, then it's in our best interests to postpone the signing until we first sign our SF. We currently have $4.7M in cap space (plus a $6M TPE which we can relinquish). We could conceivably sign a SF for $4.7M, then sign Armstrong for the minimum, while still retaining our TPE.

By signing Armstrong first, we cut our cap space down to $3.8M (assuming we wish to retain our TPE).

This signing telegraphs EG's next move to some extent. EG either has no intention of paying more than $3.8M for our SF, or he has no intention of hanging onto our $6M TPE.

There aren't too many 3.8 million dollar SFs left on the market (Josh Howard being the most notable of the realistic ones for the Wizards). You may well be right that this signals a Cartier Martin type signing for SF to play with Al Thornton at the 3.

[Rafael122]

According to Lee, it's for the vet min, something like $982,000 or so.

[AceDegenerate]

I remember liking this guy coming out of UConn, although he showed very little there as well, I thought he would be a better Center than he's become. I guess it's okay on a minimum deal short-term, however there may have been better options out there.

[Tiny Too]

He can sit at the end of the bench next to Yi.

[dobrojim]

The signing isn't great or horrible. One year deal, vet min, can't
complain much about that.

My thought is more what this means for N'diaye (and KS).
I hope HN/KS out-competes HA for min at the backup C.
We'll see.

[Chocolate City Jordanaire]

jim, I don't think N'Diaye is going to make the squad.

Your concern is what my thought is as well. I don't like Hilton getting the guaranteed deal at this point because I'm pretty sure he's a dime-a-dozen type player. I would have rather seen the Wiz bring back Paul Davis or given the spot to N'Diaye than sign Armstrong.

That said, maybe this is the year of reclamation projects paying off. Maybe Yi or Armstrong or, if he's signed, Morrison, one of them might see the light and realize the potential scouts saw in them when they were drafted. I can only hope so, any way.

I'd just prefer to go with the rookies, however, than some of the names EG's coming up with lately.

[MJG]

I don't like Hilton getting the guaranteed deal at this point because I'm pretty sure he's a dime-a-dozen type player.

That's exactly why I consider this a bad move, versus the general "meh" reaction it's been getting. Armstrong is an IL-level roster filler type player. Why are we signing him to a guaranteed contract while still in the early part of the summer? We could sign a comparable player pretty much any time year-round. Heck, Armstrong himself may have still been available a month or two from now, if we had especially strong feelings for him.

On the bad move scale, this does rank pretty low, as it is just a minimum contract given to a roster filler player. Nothing to really get worked up with, you know? But a bad move on a small scale is still a bad move.

[rockymac52]

I like what we're doing. Bring in failed lotto picks on cheap contracts that are only 1-2 years long. Maybe one of them realizes their potential, or at least proves to be a worthy backup/role player. If not, no harm done. At least if they still suck they aren't proven veterans who demand minutes. Plus these guys already know they're struggling, they don't think they're hot **** anymore (hopefully, though I'm not sure about Yi in that regard). They wont' take minutes away from Blatche/McGee/Booker/(Seraphin?).

Do I realistically expect any of these guys to suddenly turn it around? No. Yi is a quality backup PF in my mind. I know he's struggled, but if he accepts his role, he could be a solid end of the rotation guy. I'm not sure he'll accept his role though, and I'm willing to bet his camp still think he's a future allstar and are going to want him to get a decently sized contract (4-5 million). Armstrong I don't think will ever be more than a backup center, but he could potentially be fine as a backup. Who knows. Not really important as others have said. Morrison... I think he might have the best chance to prove himself as a capable role player. I know many see him as a complete joke, but he has a good stroke, and he knows how to play the game of basketball the right way. I'm not trying to sell him as a future star or even a good player, but he can get some minutes on a winning team, even if the Lakers didn't want to play him. He may not be much more than a spot up shooter, but I have a hunch that John Wall is the type of player that can make it work. We'll see.

I'm all for giving our rookies lots of minutes and opportunities, but at the same time, we don't need to throw them into the fire if they're not ready... unless they're Wall, who looks to be pretty damn ready. Booker looks ready to be a good role player. Seraphin is the biggest question mark, who knows if he's even on the team?

N'Diaye looks like a complete scrub to me. I know he just started playing ball 5 years ago and he's got good size, but he is a 4 year college player to be fair. He's had his chance to show some skills, and he really hasn't. It scares me that in 2 summer league games he's played a total of 19 minutes and has only 2 rebounds and 0 points (0-2 FG). It's only 2 games, and it's only summer league, and it would be foolish to make a final decision off of just that, especially when I personally didn't even watch the games. But at the same time, that's weak... real weak. I get that he was a bit of a project, but he doesn't have that much upside, and if we want to take on a "project" there's plenty of other more worthy guys, probably even on our summer league roster. After the draft everybody loves their new players. They focus on the strengths and the potential. We want to think Booker's going to be good, and I think he has a future with us, but who knows... N'Diaye is somebody that I feel pretty comfortable saying will never become a rotation player in the NBA. I'm not even sure he will ever see a single minute of NBA playing time. He's already 23. This guy is the same age as Hasheem Thabeet, 4 inches shorter and 30 pounds lighter, with more college experience and still less college statistical success. Thabeet averaged 8 ppg/5 rpg/1 bpg on .452% shooting in 25 mpg in his 5 summer league games. Still not very impressive, but at least there's SOMETHING there. And now Thabeet's in the D-League and most have completely given up on him, except for some Grizzlies fans perhaps. N'Diaye has no shot at ever contributing to our team.

[Ruzious]

I don't like Hilton getting the guaranteed deal at this point because I'm pretty sure he's a dime-a-dozen type player.

That's exactly why I consider this a bad move, versus the general "meh" reaction it's been getting. Armstrong is an IL-level roster filler type player. Why are we signing him to a guaranteed contract while still in the early part of the summer? We could sign a comparable player pretty much any time year-round. Heck, Armstrong himself may have still been available a month or two from now, if we had especially strong feelings for him.

On the bad move scale, this does rank pretty low, as it is just a minimum contract given to a roster filler player. Nothing to really get worked up with, you know? But a bad move on a small scale is still a bad move.

Who is it that they're missing out on by signing him? Someone other than Paul "D-League" Davis, please.

[nate33]

We could sign a comparable player pretty much any time year-round. Heck, Armstrong himself may have still been available a month or two from now, if we had especially strong feelings for him.

According to Armstrong, he had several suitors (for the vet minimum) and chose Washington because of their emphasis on young players being given an opportunity. The point is, he most likely would not have been available later on.

I'm not saying I love the move, but I can understand why it happened. My guess is that EG felt that Armstrong was one of the best minimum salary big men left on the market and he wanted to grab him before someone else did.

I don't really like the acquisition because I think the odds that Armstrong ever becomes more than a 10th man are close to zero. It appears that there is some pretense that this is a reclaimation project that could pay off in the long run. I think that's a pipe dream. I would have preferred an older vet with a jumper and some old-man tricks - somebody who could be a mentor to the young bigs without being a threat. A guy like Tony Battie would have been nice.

I don't think the acquisition has much effect on N'Diaye. I think N'Diaye will be signed and probably stashed in the D-League for a year. 2nd round picks cost only $473K so it's worth it to pay the money to see if he'll ever develop into something useful.

[closg00]

jim, I don't think N'Diaye is going to make the squad.

Your concern is what my thought is as well. I don't like Hilton getting the guaranteed deal at this point because I'm pretty sure he's a dime-a-dozen type player. I would have rather seen the Wiz bring back Paul Davis or given the spot to N'Diaye than sign Armstrong.

That said, maybe this is the year of reclamation projects paying off. Maybe Yi or Armstrong or, if he's signed, Morrison, one of them might see the light and realize the potential scouts saw in them when they were drafted. I can only hope so, any way.

I'd just prefer to go with the rookies, however, than some of the names EG's coming up with lately.

+1 Davis fine for what we need, check out how he has been playing since he left us.

[rockymac52]

After a quick look at the other available free agent big men, here's who I found that I think would have been better than Armstrong (in no particular order):

1. Shelden Williams (signed for the vet. minimum last year, 26 years old, former lotto pick, although he's a PF and really couldn't play at center, and if he's getting around 10 mpg he might rather just do it for a contender again, but who knows. I wanted him last year for a similar role.)

2. Sean May (almost identical story as Williams, except he's shown a little more promise earlier in his career but has missed a lot of time due to injuries)

3. Rasho Nesterovic (would have cost more like $2 million, and honestly there's a ton of teams that would be in line to sign him to be their backup center for that price. He'd probably be the most effective player of any of this bunch, but he'd also command the most playing time, and given the language barriers, I don't see him tutoring the bigs much, similar to Oberto, although I'm not sure how well he speaks English or how he acts in this regard.)

4. Ike Diogu (only 26 years old even though it seems like he's been around forever since being a lotto pick, I've always been a believer in the potential. He's small for a PF even, so he wouldn't be very useful as a center. He'd be very productive if we gave him the minutes necessary to get comfortable in my opinion, but if we're going to take on a PF, I'd rather have it be one who can play center comfortably, and Diogu can't.)

5. Theo Ratliff (37 years old, not sure if he even intends to play next season, been a journeyman for a while playing for 8 different teams already. He's the seasoned veteran who would know his role, and he's old enough that he'd likely welcome the role as a mentor.)

6. Joe Smith (34 years old with a ton of mileage, played for 10 teams, likely wants to play for a contender where he could get some solid minutes, don't know why he'd come here.)

7. Josh Boone (25 years old, would have loved him. He's been a solid backup, and seems to be an efficient scorer who can rebound the ball. Not sure how much he'll command on the market, but it couldn't have been much more than $2million.



With that said, I'm content with Armstrong because his profile is pretty similar to these guys, and we signed him for the minimum for one year and after being traded twice last season he knows he isn't exactly coveted and he won't command many minutes. He also is clearly a center, while some of the guys listed above have no business playing center. Yeah Blatche can play the center if needed, but I'd much rather have Blatche play PF where he's better and more comfortable, and let McGee's backup stick to center. Although the thought of McGee and Armstrong getting all 48 minutes at the center spot terrifies me. It was a solid move that ultimately won't hurt us, but likely won't help us either. And apparently he's a quality throw in for trades haha.

[kavu]

I think we'll be pleasantly surprised with this pick up. He's a versatile acquisition...he can sit pretty much anywhere on the bench.

If you think about it, Ernie had to work hard to find a player he wouldn't consider giving playing time (given the rest of our roster). Hilton was a nice find! Guess Mel Turpin couldn't be talked out of retirement.

[nate33]

1. Shelden Williams - He sucks. Armstrong is better.
2. Sean May - Attitude problem. Not a guy Teddy wants as a mentor.
3. Rasho Nesterovic - Would be a good fit. Tough to lure him here for the min salary.
4. Ike Diogu - Seems like a better option than Armstrong. Might cost more though.
5. Theo Ratliff - If he doesn't retire, he'll want to stay in Charlotte with Larry Brown
6. Joe Smith - Stick a fork in him.
7. Josh Boone - Would be worth a look.

So of those on the list, only Diogu and Boone seem like potential options who might actually sign here for the minimum and who might be better than Armstrong. I wouldn't be surprised if Diogu gets more than the minimum though.