Wiz Sign Josh Howard

[fishercob]

I'm guessing the teams over the cap offered the vet's minimum because that's all they could. And he said "most" not "all." Your blind hatred of all things Ernie is as irritating as listening to KZ try to talk with Gilbert's balls in his mouth.

[LyricalRico]

I'm guessing the teams over the cap offered the vet's minimum because that's all they could. And he said "most" not "all." Your blind hatred of all things Ernie is as irritating as listening to KZ try to talk with Gilbert's balls in his mouth.

[hands11]

I'm guessing the teams over the cap offered the vet's minimum because that's all they could. And he said "most" not "all." Your blind hatred of all things Ernie is as irritating as listening to KZ try to talk with Gilbert's balls in his mouth.

No doubt. If you look at what EG since Abe passed and what he has done with Ted leading the organization, you have to give him an A.

Owners set the program and the path. GM execute what they want to see happen.

[nate33]

The Heat called and Josh Howard listened. So did the Celtics, Bulls, Spurs, Cavaliers, Kings and Clippers. A lot of teams were interested in the former All-Star.

They just weren't interested in spending a lot of money.

Most were offering the veteran's minimum for one year, about $1.3 million.

http://www.nba.com/2010/news/features/a ... ef:nbahpt1

There you have it, Ernie tripled what was being offered to Howard. Won't break the bank but.....

As fishercob already said, most of those teams could only offer the vet minimum, which is $1.3M. Clearly, Howard was deciding between playing for a contender for $1.3M, or playing for a non-contender for more. Howard decided to go for the money. At that point, the decision was narrowed down to us, the Kings, the Cavs and the Clippers. I think EG did an excellent job of wooing Howard here despite several other suitors, and he still managed to sign him to a bargain contract.

[closg00]

I'm guessing the teams over the cap offered the vet's minimum because that's all they could. And he said "most" not "all." Your blind hatred of all things Ernie is as irritating as listening to KZ try to talk with Gilbert's balls in his mouth.

What I posted could hardly qualify as "hatred" The fact is that we offered Howard triple what most teams were willing to pay him, that is a fact. Does your motherly protection of Ernie allow for ANY factual discussion of his moves? Your defensive hair-trigger responses with personal quips are irritating. Sorry, I don't have a bad analogy to add

[closg00]

The Heat called and Josh Howard listened. So did the Celtics, Bulls, Spurs, Cavaliers, Kings and Clippers. A lot of teams were interested in the former All-Star.

They just weren't interested in spending a lot of money.

Most were offering the veteran's minimum for one year, about $1.3 million.

http://www.nba.com/2010/news/features/a ... ef:nbahpt1

There you have it, Ernie tripled what was being offered to Howard. Won't break the bank but.....

As fishercob already said, most of those teams could only offer the vet minimum, which is $1.3M. Clearly, Howard was deciding between playing for a contender for $1.3M, or playing for a non-contender for more. Howard decided to go for the money. At that point, the decision was narrowed down to us, the Kings, the Cavs and the Clippers. I think EG did an excellent job of wooing Howard here despite several other suitors, and he still managed to sign him to a bargain contract.

I like that our deal is loaded with incentives, I just found the other teams offers interesting for comparison as to Howard's actual value.

[AceDegenerate]

I'm guessing the teams over the cap offered the vet's minimum because that's all they could. And he said "most" not "all." Your blind hatred of all things Ernie is as irritating as listening to KZ try to talk with Gilbert's balls in his mouth.

THIS is complete BS. Miller suspended me for WAY less than this and it was entirely uncalled for.

[Kanyewest]

Most teams "could" only offer Howard $1.3 million. I wonder how much they "would" offer him if they still had the MLE. Nonetheless, it doesn't matter what most teams offered Howard, it matters if there was a second team that offered close to $3 million for this upcoming season.

[Chocolate City Jordanaire]

If building through the draft is really the orgs plan, then drafting Quincy Pondexter instead of Booker makes a lot more sense to me than the partial rental of Josh Howard.

You are assuming that Pondexter will pan out to be a starting-caliber SF. We don't know that yet. I liked Pondexter as a prospect too, but I'm just a clown on a message board who does his draft research from free websites on the internet. I'm not going to sit here and conclude that EG made a mistake by picking Booker. There's no way of knowing if EG made the right move until both guys have a few years under the belt.

nate, much as I liked Booker over the years I am pretty convinced already that Pondexter would have been a much better pick for the Wizards.

http://www.examiner.com/x-43656-NBA-Exa ... gue-finale

For his part Pondexter, the 6'6" Washington product, showed well here in his first week of NBA action. Showcasing an ability to compete defensively, score in transition and knock down the open perimeter shot, Pondexter quietly was one of the most productive rookies in summer league play.

Pondexter leaves the Las Vegas Summer League averaging a respectable 15.2 points, 4 rebounds, 2 assists and 1.4 steals per game.

Of course, nate, time will tell on both Booker and Pondexter. I was not that impressed with Booker in SL, but we will see in time. Right now, I believe trading up for Booker wasn't a great move. Pondexter would have been much better.

[GhostsOfGil]

howard also knows the wizards are stretched pretty thin at the sf spot. he knows he has a great opportunity to play heavy minutes and show the rest of the league he is still a solid player. he also mentioned flip let him "run free" so he knows hes going to get his shots in dc.

[GhostsOfGil]

nate, much as I liked Booker over the years I am pretty convinced already that Pondexter would have been a much better pick for the Wizards.

http://www.examiner.com/x-43656-NBA-Exa ... gue-finale

For his part Pondexter, the 6'6" Washington product, showed well here in his first week of NBA action. Showcasing an ability to compete defensively, score in transition and knock down the open perimeter shot, Pondexter quietly was one of the most productive rookies in summer league play.

Pondexter leaves the Las Vegas Summer League averaging a respectable 15.2 points, 4 rebounds, 2 assists and 1.4 steals per game.

Of course, nate, time will tell on both Booker and Pondexter. I was not that impressed with Booker in SL, but we will see in time. Right now, I believe trading up for Booker wasn't a great move. Pondexter would have been much better.

agreed 100%. i think qp was a no brainer over booker but like u said, time will tell

[AceDegenerate]

I'm guessing the teams over the cap offered the vet's minimum because that's all they could. And he said "most" not "all." Your blind hatred of all things Ernie is as irritating as listening to KZ try to talk with Gilbert's balls in his mouth.

First of all the guy hasn't said anything but Waah Waah when I don't like what people have to say it's annoying to hear and I'll ignore them. Big deal, let's all bow to the man for acting like a child.

[Chocolate City Jordanaire]

As fishercob already said, most of those teams could only offer the vet minimum, which is $1.3M. Clearly, Howard was deciding between playing for a contender for $1.3M, or playing for a non-contender for more. Howard decided to go for the money. At that point, the decision was narrowed down to us, the Kings, the Cavs and the Clippers. I think EG did an excellent job of wooing Howard here despite several other suitors, and he still managed to sign him to a bargain contract.

I like that our deal is loaded with incentives, I just found the other teams offers interesting for comparison as to Howard's actual value.

closq, I got your back on this one.

The article might as well have read "Josh Howard is pleased to be signing with Washington for two to three times what other suitors offered. He felt a connection between Washington and his wallet, and decided to do what true professionals do. It is a business." Kidding aside, Howard re-signed with the Wiz, and I think it was right for him to do so.

The more I think about it, I think it is just fine the Wizards signed him...

Other teams did want Howard.. He is a better-than-average player when healthy. His first four games in DC were outstanding. Howard has to be motivated to get back on the court with the Wizards. If he really is supposedly ahead of schedule and optimistic about returning in October, he can reasonably be ready by mid-December. So, at some point this season, the Wizards will be getting a motivated guy who is respected around the league, and who can be a better-than-average SF for only $3-4M.

I can't beat EG up on this one. This might really work out. If the Wizards make the playoffs and are rock solid at starters in positions PG, SG, SF, and PF; this will be a great season.

I am glad Howard is returning and just hope he makes a full recovery, sooner than later.

[Chocolate City Jordanaire]

howard also knows the wizards are stretched pretty thin at the sf spot. he knows he has a great opportunity to play heavy minutes and show the rest of the league he is still a solid player. he also mentioned flip let him "run free" so he knows hes going to get his shots in dc.

zAZ, all the more reason for this to work out for Howard and for the Wizards.

I wasn't happy with the deal at first, mainly because it was a 1-year deal and I didn't think he'd recover in time. Now, with favorable health reviews and with all the optimism coming from Howard, I feel good about him coming back.

Might have been hands that said it while back, but this has been a pretty stellar offseason for EG. This move might completes a good summer.

(I think a GREAT summer would have been to resign Livingston. Instead of Hinrich I wish the Wizards went after a true defensive C, like Dalembert, on an expiring deal. In the draft, in addition to Pondexter instead of trading up for Booker; I would have loved to see the Wizards sign James Anderson or Dominic Jones. Both will be absolute studs. The Wizards did well overall, but other moves might have made this really a tremendous offseason. Right now it comes down to Wall and how soon Seraphin gets good.)

[montestewart]

Howard might well be the best person available the Wizards could have plugged into SF for one year. Maybe by a large margin. We saw what he could do, and he's familiar with the players and system. If he comes back late and slowly from the injury, or he doesn't come back at all, it's $4 million down the drain, but in a year where not much is expected. If the injury risk wasn't present, he would have laughed at $4 million dollar, one-year offers.

Getting Howard for less would have been nice (maybe the savings could have helped something at the trade deadline) but the team needed a SF, and Howard was a good fit on court and salary-wise. If one buyer needs a commodity more than another buyer, paying more to get the commodity doesn't necessarily equate to being ripped off. I've got no problem with this deal.

When it comes to ragging on EG, I like to pick my spots, or risk being tuned out completely.

[Dat2U]

CCJ, Quincy Pondexter would have been better, so would have Dominique Jones had we found a way to dump Nick Young, but we already knew that BEFORE the draft.

Honestly the Howard signing isn't that big of a deal. I'm just relieved its a one year deal, even if we overpaid. I view him much like Yi, in that were basically throwing money away on guys we can't rely on to be rotation players albeit for different reasons. Yi, because he simply isn't a quality NBA player and Howard b/c he's coming off a torn ACL and could miss a huge chunk of the season.

People are looking at the Howard signing as steal b/c they think were getting the same player we got for those four games last season or the old Howard of 2-3 years ago. But recovering from a torn ACL isn't so simple. Even if Howard comes back early, he's not going to be the same player. Nor is he going to be in ideal shape. There's also going to be a great deal of rust. Also considering it took him nearly two months to recover from a sprained ankle once, I find the optimistic timeline regarding his torn ACL to be incredibly unrealistic.

[hands11]

CCJ, Quincy Pondexter would have been better, so would have Dominique Jones had we found a way to dump Nick Young, but we already knew that BEFORE the draft.

Honestly the Howard signing isn't that big of a deal. I'm just relieved its a one year deal, even if we overpaid. I view him much like Yi, in that were basically throwing money away on guys we can't rely on to be rotation players albeit for different reasons. Yi, because he simply isn't a quality NBA player and Howard b/c he's coming off a torn ACL and could miss a huge chunk of the season.

People are looking at the Howard signing as steal b/c they think were getting the same player we got for those four games last season or the old Howard of 2-3 years ago. But recovering from a torn ACL isn't so simple. Even if Howard comes back early, he's not going to be the same player. Nor is he going to be in ideal shape. There's also going to be a great deal of rust. Also considering it took him nearly two months to recover from a sprained ankle once, I find the optimistic timeline regarding his torn ACL to be incredibly unrealistic.

But what makes it a good deal is

1- we add a vet who was an all star and played deep in the playoffs on a good team.
2- we still have AT who looked pretty decent before he got injured.
3- we still have Yi and Young who have different holes and different advantages with upside
4- we may still have Booker for D or even Singleton
5- Its a short deal. If he produces, we can keep him or trade him for more.

I hardly think we over paid. The people who talked about bringing him back cheap after the injury would have fallen over backward to sign him this cheap.

[JonathanJoseph]

Once again, the ant-Ernie googles clouding an objective view of the move.

Yes, we offered twice what everyone else offered for one season. And we did that because we have plenty of cap space to do so and STILL HAVE CAP SPACE that we aren't going to use this season. So as far as I can tell, the only downside of this is to Teddy's wallet, notso much any impact on the organization.

Whether Howard recovers from his knee injury or not, Howard will be a UFA again next offseason.

If Howard can't recover and his play continues to decline, the two sides part ways, the Wizards have complete cap flexibility and an NBA free agent feels great about the way the Wizards organization treated him when he got hurt playing for them.

If Howard does recover and plays as well as he was playing when he got hurt, Howard will be a sought-after free agent, but given a bunch of relatively equal contracts and opportunities, his loyalty would lie with the Wizards. How do I know this? He said so.

"Hopefully I'll have a big season and have my options open again, and still stay loyal to Washington," Howard said. "That's my plan. I'm going to be around in this league for a long time. I still love the game. I don't see myself quitting. I don't see any reason for me to quit."

http://www.nba.com/2010/news/features/art_garcia/07/30/howard.summer/?ls=iref:nbahpt1

$2M in not-gonna-get-used-otherwise cap space to reinforce the loyalty of a one-time NBA all-star who was also the best free agent on the market at a position of need. Yes lots there to complain about.

[sfam]

Its amazing how much better a job most posters here at RealGM would do than EG. You'd think Ted would snatch one of you up. Seriously folks, do you really think you have enough info to make a judgement on every move EG has made? Some moves? Obviously, but do we really know that every team only offered 1.3 million, and therefore EG grossly overpaid? Really? I mean really?

Perhaps just a smidgen of doubt in our judgments (such as adding a qualifier, as in "If everyone else was only willing to offer 1.3 mil, then EG overpaid him!) is worth considering...

[Bickerstaff]

Its amazing how much better a job most posters here at RealGM would do than EG. You'd think Ted would snatch one of you up. Seriously folks, do you really think you have enough info to make a judgement on every move EG has made? Some moves? Obviously, but do we really know that every team only offered 1.3 million, and therefore EG grossly overpaid? Really? I mean really?

Perhaps just a smidgen of doubt in our judgments (such as adding a qualifier, as in "If everyone else was only willing to offer 1.3 mil, then EG overpaid him!) is worth considering...

Thank you. It obnoxious enough when people act like their opinions are just as good facts, but when they start acting like their fantasies of what happened are just as good as facts... it's pointless trying to talk to people like that (cough--Dat2U--cough).