EG post Abe era started Nov 24, 2009 - Eval EG from then

[sfam]

The EG hate is clearly way over the top. Yes, its convenient to "blame the dead guy", but is it really that much of a stretch to imagine that the "dying guy" asked his staff to do whatever is possible to try to win now? And I could also grade EG poorly based on internet rumors I've heard, especially those posted here. Bottom line, the guy's entire history is "mixed". We can hope that EG will do better with new ownership, but honestly, if he sucks, Ted will dump him.

And Alonzo Gee? Let me know when this guy makes it to the all-star game. Seriously - if this is the smoking gun, we're talking about a pop-gun at best.

[hands11]

And don't forget EG tried to move Blatche for D.J. Augustin prior to Blatche blowing up, only to be rebuffed by Charlotte. Stupid for Charlotte, but that would have been a disasterous move if it had happened.

Yeah, you cannot forget this at all. If this trade went down and Blatche blew up in Charlotte can you imaging the outcry for EG's head? I bet you even LR would turn on EG at that point.

That trade didn't happen. I don't even know how true it was. Some NBA source said it was.

Just try to stay focused. I know I'll swimming against the tide but I'm trying to evaluate what I/We can about our front office. Again, who your owner is matter a lot in my book. GMs do the bidding of the owner and the owner sets the direction and have the final word. I'm not pulling this up out of thin air. This is clearly true and I have been talking about it for years. I couldn't wait till we got a new owner and never thought the old rebuild was going anywhere with Abe, EG and EFJ with EFJ hand picked by Abe. Just cuz Abe is dead doesn't mean you can't fairly evaluate him as an owner. Abe was a good dude. He did a lot for DC. The Booth in Chinatown with his own cash was huge. But he wasn't a great owner regarding building a winning NBA team. That is well documented. Please. Just look at all the years of Wes love. That set up back 20 years alone.

Ok, if Abe had nothing to do with it, who would pick Abe as the owner over Ted and why ? If not, why. Clearly having a great owner is a GMs best friend. GMs and Owner are partners. Everything is born of that. Apple isn't Apple without Jobs. Owners set the tone and have the final word. A lot of GM moves are made hand in hand with the owner approving them. If nothing else, Abe was old and out of touch and EG was running without a viable partner trying to win it all for his dieing owner.

There is EG with old Abe on his last legs.
EG in between owners - that is without Abe and still hard to navigate.
and EG with Ted - I vibrant, smart, charismatic, level headed, involved visionary.

This is about EG AFTER Nov 26th, 2009. After Abe.

Dray was not traded. He is our starting PF. and Im looking forward to it.

This is our roster.

Wall/Kirk
Gil/NY
Howard/AT
Dray/Yi
Seraphin/McGee/Armstrong - in no particle order till we see what Seraphin can do.

Plus Booker SF/PF

No AJ no D to long of a contract el captain $$ Im in Drays way, CB-Im an all star, Haywood - needed reigned but loved him, DSleey - please, MM - solid but needed moved wants to win now, Foye - ?? , Livingston - liked him but we got Wall, M James Beetch, Ross - who ?, Fabio - I have Nash hair, Mini Me - interesting guy but not what we needed, Critter - I show you a gun.

Did I miss anyone that we here Nov 25, 2009 ?

And no one is signed long except Gil who hopefully blows up at SG. Yeah, we finally moved Gil to SG.
And Dray is still the clear starting PF.
And we added Wall. Hey, call it a #1 pick but we could have traded down for another player and singed Livingston. We can judge that later. EG/Ted did pick Wall. Lots of #1s end up being busts while player take after them like MJ end up being the best every. You still have to pick even when it is #1

[nate33]

I'm so tired of hearing how we "paid $17M" for the #17 and OKC "paid only $2.5M" for the #18 pick. First of all, we got $3M cash in the transaction. Secondly, OKC sacrificed the #32 pick in the deal, which is typically worth about $3M cash. So for that alone, you have to say that we paid $14M for the #17 and OKC paid $5.5M for the #18. So the difference is $8.5M. Now factor that Hinrich has tangible value as a player. He's not a $17M dead weight contract. If Hinrich ends up being worth $4.25M a year for each of the next two years, then we paid the same price for the #17 as OKC paid for the #18.

And that doesn't even factor the possibility that Hinrich can be traded for an expiring contract. Trade Hinrich for somebody like TJ Ford at the Trade Deadline and we will have ended up paying just $5.5M for Seraphin plus a 50-game rental of Hinrich.

[nate33]

And I never believed the Blatche for Augustin rumor. It just didn't make any sense whatsoever. Blatche was the only worthwhile big man we had off the bench behind Jamison and Haywood. Why would we trade him for a PG when we had Foye and Arenas?

If such a deal had been on the table, then Charlotte is the stupidest team on Earth for turning it down.

[hands11]

Or he could have easily signed livingston at 2/7

How do you know this? That's not a scenario that makes sense. Why on earth would Livingston sign to play on a team with John Wall and Gilbert Arenas (much less Hinrich) when he could sign with a team that has DJ Augustin and Matt Carroll in the backcourt?

What the heck are you including Hinrich for? In your previous post you said that if we didn't get Hinrich they would ended up getting Blake at 4/16, which is actually not a bad deal. If Hinrich is not here and Livingston is ashured Arenas is a SG there would be plenty of minutes for Livingston and bringing him back would have made a ton of sense for him and the Wiz.

This has been gone over before. So Liv at one year is 3.5M. Hinny is what 7M? So that is 3.5M for the 17 pick that got you Serapin and you have Hinny who worked with Rose who isn't going to get upset if he isn't starting and who can play PG and SG and even defend the SF some and who isn't recovering from a blown out knee and he is a pesky defender. What we needed a white dude.

Sounds like a more that reasonable decision. Plus because you are paying Kirk more, you can bundle that expiring to get a better player like maybeeeeee. Melo

[Bickerstaff]

Blaming Pollin is so incredibly convenient, portraying him as a George Steinbrenner/Jerry Jones type, even if it's not based in reality. I too highly doubt that Abe Pollin gave specific orders to Ernie to obtain Randy Foye and Mike Miller by name because of Mr. Pollin's extensive scouting of both of them. He might have said if you don't think you can get a good player at 5, would you look at obtaining a quality veteran. Ernie is accountable for his record, both before and after Pollin's death. I can only hope that he will make good moves or if he makes bad ones that he will be replaced by someone more competent.

This is a strawman argument. Pollin clearly erred over and over again in the name of loyalty. It is entirely reasonable, looking at his history, that he would have been very reluctant to let Grunfeld trade Antawn or Caron. And considering his oft-stated desire to win a championship before he died, the #5 for Miller and Foye trade was clearly a move toward that end, and given the roster makeup at the time, it was not a bad trade.

I wonder how many of you who want to absolve Abe Pollin were the ones tearing him apart when he was alive. Also, the fact that everyone who thinks EG's done a poor job since Pollin died seems to need to not just include but focus on the Foye/Miller trade indicates to me that people on that side have poor reading comprehension or are too driven by their bias to answer the question truthfully.

To answer the question, I give him an A-. It's hard to find much to fault since the last trade deadline, but it still seems like he could have found a way to get a hold of an extra pick or two here or there.

[nate33]

The Jamison trade was brilliant. A flat out steal. This alone makes EG's performance worth at least a B even if all of his other moves fail. I'm still amazed that he dumped the final $29M of his contract and still got Thonton and the #29 pick out of it.

The Butler/Haywood trade was kinda bad, we probably should have come away with a late first rounder in the transaction. I'm not so sure a late 1st would have made much difference in the grand scheme of things though. It's really nothing compared to the steal that was the Jamison trade. If you told me that we traded Jamison + Butler + Haywood + Stevenson for Josh Howard, Singleton, Thornton and the #29 pick, I'd be ecstatic.

The Wall pick was a no brainer. No grade on that one. EG deserves some credit for committing to the tank movement to put us in position to get Wall.

The Hinrich trade can't be graded yet. We don't know how well Hinrich will perform. We don't know if he will get traded later on for more savings. We don't know how well Seraphin will do.

The Booker draft can't be graded yet.

[closg00]

And I never believed the Blatche for Augustin rumor. It just didn't make any sense whatsoever. Blatche was the only worthwhile big man we had off the bench behind Jamison and Haywood. Why would we trade him for a PG when we had Foye and Arenas?

If such a deal had been on the table, then Charlotte is the stupidest team on Earth for turning it down.

This was NOT a rumor, it was reported by reputable journalist in the Washington Post and Yahoo Sports....and yes, MJ blinded by his pride and ego didn't want to help the desperate Washington GM.

Blatche was mentioned in trade talks, too, with league sources confirming that the team spoke with the Charlotte Bobcats about dealing him in exchange for point guard D.J. Augustin.

"I was worried," Blatche said. "I'm fortunate to still be here with the Washington Wizards. I never want to leave this town. I pretty much grew up here. The organization has been great to me. Through all my situations they stood beside me. You know, I was worried about leaving. I love this place."

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/co ... 03743.html

[hands11]

And I never believed the Blatche for Augustin rumor. It just didn't make any sense whatsoever. Blatche was the only worthwhile big man we had off the bench behind Jamison and Haywood. Why would we trade him for a PG when we had Foye and Arenas?

If such a deal had been on the table, then Charlotte is the stupidest team on Earth for turning it down.

Then we could get to bashing MJ some

[hands11]

And I never believed the Blatche for Augustin rumor. It just didn't make any sense whatsoever. Blatche was the only worthwhile big man we had off the bench behind Jamison and Haywood. Why would we trade him for a PG when we had Foye and Arenas?

If such a deal had been on the table, then Charlotte is the stupidest team on Earth for turning it down.

This was NOT a rumor, it was reported by reputable journalist in the Washington Post and Yahoo Sports....and yes, MJ blinded by his pride and ego didn't want to help the desperate Washington GM.

Blatche was mentioned in trade talks, too, with league sources confirming that the team spoke with the Charlotte Bobcats about dealing him in exchange for point guard D.J. Augustin.

"I was worried," Blatche said. "I'm fortunate to still be here with the Washington Wizards. I never want to leave this town. I pretty much grew up here. The organization has been great to me. Through all my situations they stood beside me. You know, I was worried about leaving. I love this place."

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/co ... 03743.html

Sure, a reputable reporter said this..

But in the Wizards' first three games since Jamison was dealt, Blatche has made it seem as if it were all part of some grand scheme. Blatche averaged 25 points and 10 rebounds in that span for the Wizards, who have gone 2-1 since the all-star break and host the Chicago Bulls at Verizon Center on Monday.

Blatche scored a career-high 33 points with 13 rebounds in a win over the Timberwolves and had 18 points in the first half of a win against Denver. He then overcame a rough, foul-plagued first half -- and a bloody nose -- to score a game-high 24 points in a loss to Toronto.

Coach Flip Saunders said Blatche has been a different player since the suspension. "I think he knows that there are expectations of him and expectations of consistency," Saunders said.
"It's different," he said. "I came in here as a rookie and all those guys was here for me, showed me the path, gave me confidence and just trying to be positive to me. The thing I'm going to try to do is take everything they taught me and try to take it and capitalize on it, lead the team to some wins and take all the valuable points they gave me."

Jamison was often among Blatche's harshest critics. But while Blatche often shrank from Jamison's words, they are starting to sink in with his new opportunity.

"I'm just approaching like I was taught by the veteran that left: play the game like it's your job instead of a hobby," Blatche said.


- That is a lot of what was reported in the same article you are mentioning and you want to focus on this on sentence ?

Blatche was mentioned in trade talks, too, with league sources confirming that the team spoke with the Charlotte Bobcats about dealing him in exchange for point guard D.J. Augustin.

Who gives a crap about the fact that he was mentioned says a league source ? All the reputable reporter is doing is saying a league source said he was mentioned.

It didn't happen and all you have to point to after a ton of other great stuff that was said about Dray and much of it from his GM over a much longer period of time is that some league source said they mentioned him in a trade. Yeah, EG sucks. Fire him now.

[Benjammin]

Blaming Pollin is so incredibly convenient, portraying him as a George Steinbrenner/Jerry Jones type, even if it's not based in reality. I too highly doubt that Abe Pollin gave specific orders to Ernie to obtain Randy Foye and Mike Miller by name because of Mr. Pollin's extensive scouting of both of them. He might have said if you don't think you can get a good player at 5, would you look at obtaining a quality veteran. Ernie is accountable for his record, both before and after Pollin's death. I can only hope that he will make good moves or if he makes bad ones that he will be replaced by someone more competent.

This is a strawman argument. Pollin clearly erred over and over again in the name of loyalty. It is entirely reasonable, looking at his history, that he would have been very reluctant to let Grunfeld trade Antawn or Caron. And considering his oft-stated desire to win a championship before he died, the #5 for Miller and Foye trade was clearly a move toward that end, and given the roster makeup at the time, it was not a bad trade.

I wonder how many of you who want to absolve Abe Pollin were the ones tearing him apart when he was alive. Also, the fact that everyone who thinks EG's done a poor job since Pollin died seems to need to not just include but focus on the Foye/Miller trade indicates to me that people on that side have poor reading comprehension or are too driven by their bias to answer the question truthfully.

To answer the question, I give him an A-. It's hard to find much to fault since the last trade deadline, but it still seems like he could have found a way to get a hold of an extra pick or two here or there.

I disagree. I went move by move since the date to begin evaluation. I didn't bring up Abe Pollin, other people did but that's one heck of a GM you have there who can't sell a vision to his owner. Ernie Grunfeld has been the GM of the Wizards for seven years. During that time the team has won one first round playoff series. During that time the team is 46 games under .500, or an average of 34-35 wins a year. That is not the resume of a good GM and seven years is a pretty fair sample size. He is an average GM at best with the Wizards. I frankly don't care what he did as a GM prior to that. Seven years is ample opportunity to win more than one playoff series. So he doesn't get cut slack. He's judged by his record, just like everyone else.

[hands11]

Ben,

Read the thread title and what has been posted over and over in this thread.

You want to talk about his total body of work, there are thread for you to do that in that date back to his time in MIL and NY.

This thread was created separate from those for a reason. Try to take part in the experiment. Free your mind.

Nov 24th, 2009 and later. Put the blinders on and evaluate. Try it, you might like it.

I guess you have been just as productive across your career as you worked for different organization, under different management, in different environments for different owners.

Hell, if owner doesn't matter. Lets get Snyder in here or Angelos and lets forget that the Skins were great while Cooke owned them and have sucked since. Owner don't matter at all.

I'm a firm believer in that idea that it all starts at the top. The buck stops here. Nothing is more important than a great owner and everything is shaded by that. A great owner leads and gets the best out of everyone under them. They are visionaries and have implement a sounds structure with capable people under them. A poor owner makes people do things to keep there job and please the owner even if they are the best things long term. A great owner inspires greatness from everyone under them.

Ted, EG, Flip and Sam is a top flight front office from what I can tell so far and I don't think we are going to see anything different for a while except Sam my leave to go coach. If you asked me today.

That is what Cooke did for the Skins. That is what I hope Ted does for the Wizards.

[nate33]

This was NOT a rumor, it was reported by reputable journalist in the Washington Post and Yahoo Sports....and yes, MJ blinded by his pride and ego didn't want to help the desperate Washington GM.

Blatche was mentioned in trade talks, too, with league sources confirming that the team spoke with the Charlotte Bobcats about dealing him in exchange for point guard D.J. Augustin.

We don't know the details of the trade. When trades are first reported, important pieces are often left out. Maybe it was Blatche for Augustin plus a 1st rounder. We don't know. All I know is that Blatche for Augustin was so one-sided that it defies logic that MJ turned it down. There had to be more to the story.

[Benjammin]

Ben,

Read the thread title and what has been posted over and over in this thread.

You want to talk about his total body of work, there are thread for you to do that in that date back to his time in MIL and NY.

This thread was created separate from those for a reason. Try to take part in the experiment. Free your mind.

Nov 24th, 2009 and later. Put the blinders on and evaluate. Try it, you might like it.

I guess you have been just as productive across your career as you worked for different organization, under different management, in different environments for different owners.

Hell, if owner doesn't matter. Lets get Snyder in here or Angelos and lets forget that the Skins were great while Cooke owned them and have sucked since. Owner don't matter at all.

I'm a firm believer in that idea that it all starts at the top. The buck stops here. Nothing is more important than a great owner and everything is shaded by that. A great owner leads and gets the best out of everyone under them. They are visionaries and have implement a sounds structure with capable people under them. A poor owner makes people do things to keep there job and please the owner even if they are the best things long term. A great owner inspires greatness from everyone under them.

Ted, EG, Flip and Sam is a top flight front office from what I can tell so far and I don't think we are going to see anything different for a while except Sam my leave to go coach. If you asked me today.

That is what Cooke did for the Skins. That is what I hope Ted does for the Wizards.

Sorry, but I did in my previous post discuss your dear topic. However, I was responding to another post so I believe it was fair comment to address that post. In any event, I will try and refrain from sullying the purity of this thread further.

[hands11]

This was NOT a rumor, it was reported by reputable journalist in the Washington Post and Yahoo Sports....and yes, MJ blinded by his pride and ego didn't want to help the desperate Washington GM.

Blatche was mentioned in trade talks, too, with league sources confirming that the team spoke with the Charlotte Bobcats about dealing him in exchange for point guard D.J. Augustin.

We don't know the details of the trade. When trades are first reported, important pieces are often left out. Maybe it was Blatche for Augustin plus a 1st rounder. We don't know. All I know is that Blatche for Augustin was so one-sided that it defies logic that MJ turned it down. There had to be more to the story.

Dray for Augustin and 1 Million dollar.

Umm. Sorry, since you have been in hibernation, one million dollars isn't that much anymore do to inflation.

Ok, Dray and for Augustin and 1 Billion dollar. Oowwwwwwhhhhh.

Good point though. We don't know what else they were asking for. Obviously it was more than Charlotte was willing to give up. No way they were talking a straight deal with the way Dray was producing. You could just as easily say EG was brilliant because we was askng for the farm.

Point is, we don't know and the deal didn't happen and all we know is his name was mentioned says some person.

None issue. Can't rank it as good or bad except to say it didn't happen and keeping Dray was good. Chalk one up for EG.

[Dat2U]

http://voices.washingtonpost.com/wizard ... o-mak.html

But the Wizards aren't necessarily looking to just move high-salaried players. One team insider told me that the Wizards would have to eventually consider breaking up the foursome of Andray Blatche, Nick Young, Dominic McGuire and JaVale McGee. And, I heard from two sources that the Wizards reached out to the Charlotte Bobcats, offering Blatche for point guard D.J. Augustin. That conversation didn't go very far, but it is interesting to see where the Wizards go from here.

[hands11]

Ben,

Read the thread title and what has been posted over and over in this thread.

You want to talk about his total body of work, there are thread for you to do that in that date back to his time in MIL and NY.

This thread was created separate from those for a reason. Try to take part in the experiment. Free your mind.

Nov 24th, 2009 and later. Put the blinders on and evaluate. Try it, you might like it.

I guess you have been just as productive across your career as you worked for different organization, under different management, in different environments for different owners.

Hell, if owner doesn't matter. Lets get Snyder in here or Angelos and lets forget that the Skins were great while Cooke owned them and have sucked since. Owner don't matter at all.

I'm a firm believer in that idea that it all starts at the top. The buck stops here. Nothing is more important than a great owner and everything is shaded by that. A great owner leads and gets the best out of everyone under them. They are visionaries and have implement a sounds structure with capable people under them. A poor owner makes people do things to keep there job and please the owner even if they are the best things long term. A great owner inspires greatness from everyone under them.

Ted, EG, Flip and Sam is a top flight front office from what I can tell so far and I don't think we are going to see anything different for a while except Sam my leave to go coach. If you asked me today.

That is what Cooke did for the Skins. That is what I hope Ted does for the Wizards.

Sorry, but I did in my previous post discuss your dear topic. However, I was responding to another post so I believe it was fair comment to address that post. In any event, I will try and refrain from sullying the purity of this thread further.

Hey, just trying to see what people come up with as a far evaluation since that time because so much has been tainted. This is our front office. I think most people are excited for this year to begin and see what we have. And we are Wiz fans. We been through a lot. Many will have a hard time believing we have actually turned the corner. We for me the corner was turned when MJ got here but it has been like turning the Titanic. It was a lot of digging out and I never thought the final rebuild move would happen until the team was sold.

I want to check my own eyes and make sure what I am seeing is what it really is. This is the best I can remember seeing this organization and I have watch them since I was a little kid. I watched Hayes and Bobby.

IMO It has been a long time since things have looked this good for this organization and with Ted at the top, I think .... No I firmly believe we are at the beginning of a long successful run.

People haven't waken up to that fact yet.

WAKE UP WIZARDS FANS. THIS IS WHAT YOU HAVE BEEN DREAMING ABOUT

[montestewart]

Regarding blaming Pollin vs. blaming EG, I can understand that some don't like separating all that happened after Pollin died from all that happened before Pollin died. I don't judging the two periods seperately is the same as absolving EG of all culpability: maybe he could have sold his vision (or any winning vision) better to Pollin, and maybe he could have done a better job of execution regardless of what his marching orders were under Pollins (and, like most rumors, we'll probably never be fully sure just what the truth is regarding his marching orders). I ragged on Pollin plenty when he was alive, and he certainly bears much of the blame for Wizards failures, btu he's gone. I'm focusing on the here and now.

Pollin and Leonsis seem to me clearly different, and after Pollin died, there was a period when neither of the two owned the team, so there are in fact three different periods under EG. Over the latter two, EG executed a series of dynamic moves that have changed the face of the team. I carry this fear that these changes are a mirage, and will never pay off. I'm snakebit. But it's too early to judge some of the moves or the overall effect, including how well he's positioned the Wizards for subsequent moves. I'm going to wait a little while and see if the EG/Leonsis team is markedly different from the EG/Pollin team when it comes to building a winning team. I would rather be wrong about EG, and have a winner, than be right about him and suffer yet more Wizards misery.

[Chocolate City Jordanaire]

Wow. This thread is proof positive of the anti-EG lens that so many here seem to view things through. Where to start.

1) Numerous posters have gone out of their way to note that the addition of John Wall involved luck, and Ernie must not receive any credit for good luck. Those same posters completely ignore that much of EG's tenure has included horrible luck with injuries and a bizarre off-the-court incident. And those same posters tout Sam Presti, RC Buford and Kevin Pritchard not acknowledging that lottery "luck" has greatly contributed to their success. Grunfeld has had, on the whole, awful luck with the Wiz franchise so discounting the good luck he's had is disingenuous at best.

2) The rhetoric about the #5 for Miller/Foye is ridiculously over the top. It was a bad trade for sure, but not one of you has mentioned that Grunfeld got rid of multiple bad contracts in the deal and took on no long term salaries in return. These are relevant facts when evaluating the trade objectively. The Wiz current favorable cap situation is in part due to that trade. So it's a bad trade, but not anywhere near as bad as some of you are making it.

3) Wasn't that #5 for Miller/Foye trade before Nov 2009? Yeah, because talking about the stellar job Grunfeld has done since then doesn't support previously held biases that suggest Grunfeld isn't good.

4) As for harping on a bad trade, how bout acknowledging what appears to be multiple recent heists? Trading Jamison's contract for a #1 (which in turn became Booker) and Al Thornton looks like a steal. If Seraphin turns out to be a player and Hinrich provides what he's expected to then that trade will also go down as a heist. I notice those trades, which both took place after Nov 2009, aren't referenced in your grades.

But most specifically, I saw in the "Under the Radar" thread these predictions:

CCJ:

This coming season, although I have predicted 40-45 wins and the 8th seed, I think it is entirely possible for the Wizards to win 48 to 50 games.

Dat2u:

If Wall, Arenas & Blatche remain relatively healthy (70 games or more), then we can definitely make the playoffs as a 7th or 8th seed.

I'm not putting words into your mouths, so to speak, but what you are talking about is a ~20 game improvement and the playoffs (which BTW, I agree with). If what YOU predict happens, Grunfeld will be in line for Executive of the Year and the Wiz franchise will be in ridiculously good shape with youth, talent, franchise player(s), and cap flexibility.

Grunfeld's offseason is a B at worst, if things pan out it's a clear and obvious A.

JJ, about the Minnesota deal you do realize that Minnesota received a 2nd round pick for Etan's expiring deal; and they also retained BOTH their 18th and 28th picks. They swapped the 18th pick with Denver, and the pick turned into Ty Lawson. My thoughts the day of the draft is the deal wouldn't have been horrific if the Wizards had got back either of those firsts, and at least one second for the expirings of Pecherov (a former first round pick) or Thomas (banger with starting experience). I think that trade was terrible.

I only responded to no D's comment about the trade, JJ. I previously evaluated everything since Nov 2009, and gave EG a B. Maybe you just missed that post ....

As for my prediction, YES, if all the best things happen go ahead and call me converted in support of EG. I really do think it's possible everything works out for the best this season. Keeping Gil, having Wall, and just having solid athletes and solid players at 1-4 means all that really has to happen is solid play at C and consistency off the bench for the team to excel. Well, that and for Flip Saunders to actually coach up to his potential. I believe in the law of averages, so it should happen. A well-coached Wizards team will surprise and make the playoffs as a 6-8 seed.

I don't have an axe to grind on Ernie, but I do think he's lucky to have a job after what he did BEFORE Nov 2009.

[hands11]

Regarding blaming Pollin vs. blaming EG, I can understand that some don't like separating all that happened after Pollin died from all that happened before Pollin died. I don't judging the two periods seperately is the same as absolving EG of all culpability: maybe he could have sold his vision (or any winning vision) better to Pollin, and maybe he could have done a better job of execution regardless of what his marching orders were under Pollins (and, like most rumors, we'll probably never be fully sure just what the truth is regarding his marching orders). I ragged on Pollin plenty when he was alive, and he certainly bears much of the blame for Wizards failures, btu he's gone. I'm focusing on the here and now.

Pollin and Leonsis seem to me clearly different, and after Pollin died, there was a period when neither of the two owned the team, so there are in fact three different periods under EG. Over the latter two, EG executed a series of dynamic moves that have changed the face of the team. I carry this fear that these changes are a mirage, and will never pay off. I'm snakebit. But it's too early to judge some of the moves or the overall effect, including how well he's positioned the Wizards for subsequent moves. I'm going to wait a little while and see if the EG/Leonsis team is markedly different from the EG/Pollin team when it comes to building a winning team. I would rather be wrong about EG, and have a winner, than be right about him and suffer yet more Wizards misery.

Hey, now that is at least honest but that is why I started the thread.

Remove the emotional pain of the past. You broke it down perfectly. Just read the card that are laid in front of you and evaluate. Your right, EG was flying blind there for a moment and pulled some nice deals getting the team set up to be sold to who we all believed would be Ted. And Ted was a part owner at the time so I will assume EG was trying to please both the Pollins and Ted and must have been able to sell them both on these moves getting ready to sell the team.

You have to give some respect for what he just navigated through. And from what I can tell, Ted has to be pretty pleased with what has gone on. We seem to be sitting pretty with lots of options while still having a roster with lost of upside if any one of a number of players steps it up. And if they step it up, we can keep any one of them or trade them at a higher value. If they don't work out, really not a big deal.

It's almost a perfect scenario. Hard for me to see how anyone wouldnt give him an A since Nov 24th.


http://voices.washingtonpost.com/wizard ... steal.html

read the comments after the article. fans are feeling good