How do you fix this team?

[Illuminaire]

Seraphin didn't show nearly as much as I hoped he would. He does have a soft touch, but his help defense and rebounding were pretty meh. I know he's a project, and normally I'd advocate patience, but if we get Kanter, Kevin becomes almost entirely redundant - anything he could bring to the table Kanter can cover, better.

[DCZards]

I don't get the Seraphin hype. He's got potential sure but he's raw as hell. Crawford has already proven worst case scenario he can be a decent 6th man in the NBA. Yeah he was streaky and inconsistent but even as a rookie he was putting up some sick #s. I'm not saying he's in John Wall untouchable status but I'd easily throw Seraphin in a deal to move up for Kanter before I dealt Crawford.

21 year old big bruisers with a soft touch are not easy to find. Players like Crawford are easy to find.

If one is to look at the OKC model, Sam Presti has definitely been stockpiling big man prospects waiting/hoping for any to pan out and look at what he landed in Serge Ibaka. He's still got Cole Aldrich and Byron Mullens waiting in the wings. You can never have enough young, big men prospects, and Seraphin is definitely one to stash away.

Got to agree with Higga here. While Seraphin's size, hands and soft touch are impressive, other than that he's just a raw, big body who I don't expect to be more than a 6th or 7th man with limited offensive skills at best. Crawford, on the other hand, is a rare bird, imo. Yeah, he's inconsistent, but so are most rookies, especially one like Crawford who barely played the first half of the season. What I like about Crawford is that he's comfortable playing both the PG and SG, he can score in a variety of ways and he's got a confident swag, which you can't teach or coach. I remember a couple of late season games where Crawford was absolutely clutch down the stretch and in overtime.

Presti may have stockpiled big men in OKC, but I bet he wished he had a Jordan Crawford on the court when Dallas went on that fourth quarter run last game to overcome a big Thunder lead, while OKC couldn't find any scorer other than Durant.

[skins980]

I think the forum has most of the facts right: only people to consider keeping are Wall, Blatche and McGee. Blatche being a trade piece most likely. McGee being in a similar position possibly but for a higher asking price.

Essentially, the rest of team is pretty much crap that we could easily reacquire much as the Heat found rotation players in a single season.

The point right now as the forum has concluded is to basically find guys who will be in our top 8 rotation, particularly bigs who we can build with. I think Kanter and Derrick Williams (though not necessarily a big, but more a Lamar Odom type) are by far our best options. For this reason I think sacrificing both picks this year and players to move into a position to grab one these is absolutely the right move.

Our move right now is to grab talented star-level quality rookies to pair with Wall, and to keep lots of cap space to entice free agents. If we do this correctly and Wall develops on a Derrick Rose path (hopeful at best), top players like Kevin Love will consider DC in the future as a free agent destination. Furthermore, we'll trade Rashard Lewis for a big piece as well.

A more interesting argument: should DC consider signing Brandon Roy if Portland buys him out? Great locker room guy. He will be turning 27 and you have to think he has potential to be a #3 option. His knees might be shot, but I think we're underestimating at 27 with modern medicine that he can't get back to 85% by age 30. Is he worth the MLE? No idea, but he's an interesting risk/reward. Ultimately, if Portland buys him out, it's a huge red flag, but nonetheless its worth considering given his talent and young age.

[gesa2]

I think the forum has most of the facts right: only people to consider keeping are Wall, Blatche and McGee. Blatche being a trade piece most likely. McGee being in a similar position possibly but for a higher asking price.

Essentially, the rest of team is pretty much crap that we could easily reacquire much as the Heat found rotation players in a single season.

The point right now as the forum has concluded is to basically find guys who will be in our top 8 rotation, particularly bigs who we can build with. I think Kanter and Derrick Williams (though not necessarily a big, but more a Lamar Odom type) are by far our best options. For this reason I think sacrificing both picks this year and players to move into a position to grab one these is absolutely the right move.

Our move right now is to grab talented star-level quality rookies to pair with Wall, and to keep lots of cap space to entice free agents. If we do this correctly and Wall develops on a Derrick Rose path (hopeful at best), top players like Kevin Love will consider DC in the future as a free agent destination. Furthermore, we'll trade Rashard Lewis for a big piece as well.

A more interesting argument: should DC consider signing Brandon Roy if Portland buys him out? Great locker room guy. He will be turning 27 and you have to think he has potential to be a #3 option. His knees might be shot, but I think we're underestimating at 27 with modern medicine that he can't get back to 85% by age 30. Is he worth the MLE? No idea, but he's an interesting risk/reward. Ultimately, if Portland buys him out, it's a huge red flag, but nonetheless its worth considering given his talent and young age.

I agree with a lot of what you wrote skins, especially about the fungible nature of second tier talent. The issue is defining who on your roster might be more than what they've shown so far, potential starters on a good team. Both Seraphin and Crawford have their backers on this forum. But Roy a locker room guy? He publicly griped when they brought in Miller, didn't want to lose touches. And complained about his role off the bench early in the playoffs to the press. ALong with his injury history, I think I'd pass. If you want an injury risk, go for Oden IMO.

[Hoopalotta]

The point right now as the forum has concluded is to basically find guys who will be in our top 8 rotation, particularly bigs who we can build with. I think Kanter and Derrick Williams (though not necessarily a big, but more a Lamar Odom type) are by far our best options. For this reason I think sacrificing both picks this year and players to move into a position to grab one these is absolutely the right move.

Our move right now is to grab talented star-level quality rookies to pair with Wall, and to keep lots of cap space to entice free agents. If we do this correctly and Wall develops on a Derrick Rose path (hopeful at best), top players like Kevin Love will consider DC in the future as a free agent destination. Furthermore, we'll trade Rashard Lewis for a big piece as well.

The only thing is that if Biyombo's really 18 or 19, he's a huge talent as an all-around antagonist and Valanciunas, who I think is going top 5, I'd also put on par with Williams or Kanter. But otherwise, I see your point. We acquired a great number of decent prospects in a single calendar year and could likely do it again, but a top tier foundation piece is elusive.

And especially if we're looking at Leonard or Vesely at 6, it well behooves us to sacrifice the deep roster for a shot at either a first/second option scorer or a big post ox as "not under-utilizing the 6th pick" adds a good bit of incentive there.

I don't know if Utah or 'Sota are going to agree to have us empty the middle roster on them, though; doesn't look like what they really need and I wouldn't include McGee.

As to Brandon Roy, hes about my least favorite player in the league. A stubborn, high maintenance, fickle, ego-centric, passive-aggressive, ball dominant half-court player with one knee and serious denial issues. He's one of those "great guys" who really isn't; it's like if you put Jamison, Haywood and Butler through a filter that extracted just their worst qualities. A very divisive influence providing un-leadership.

[sfam]

I'm really not thrilled about ditching prospects like Seraphin. I would be more interested in dumping folks like Blatche, who we already know their potential and most damaging flaws. While moving up to get Kanter appeals to me, I too believe we have enough holes that our best bet for the next few years might be to stockpile picks and see what we can get with them. So I really wouldn't mind sitting at #6 and picking our #18 and #34 in the hopes that one or two of them really pan out.

[no D in Hibachi]

I'd give up the #6, #18 and Seraphin for Kanter (although I'd at least ask for a 2nd rounder back) but wouldn't throw Crawford in unless it was just him and the 6th pick.

Only reason I'm willing to include Seraphin is Kanter makes him a bit redundant and we can only develop so many bigs at once.

If we offer next year's pick plus the #6, I'd want it to at least be top ten protected.

It's a real shame Nick doesn't have one year left on his rookie deal because he could been a huge help in a draft day trade scenario.

I'd give up Crawford before Seraphin. Kevin's going to take longer to develop, but we've got time. What he stands to bring to the team is much harder to find that what Crawford does. If we're lucky enough to move Kanter, I'd happy move Blatche and develop a young frontcourt of McGee, kanter, Booker and Seraphin.

I saw nothing out of Seraphin this year that makes me think he has a future in the NBA. Even in Blatche's bulletproof shortened rookie season you could still see that he had potential. Even Kwame showed more than Seraphin in his horrendous rookie season. At this point I think the odds are against Seraphin developing into a serviceable back up big. I'd gladly give up that type of *prospect* if it was the difference between our choice of Walker/Biyombo or Kanter.

I think this years playoffs show us how valuable a player like Crawford is. How valuable has JJ Berea been for the Mavs? How much would it have helped the Bulls to have a reserve guard who could come in and get his own shot? Every team has a back up big who doesn't have the skill or defensive awareness to get serious burn. Few teams have an instant offense guard off the bench who can get his own shot.

[7-Day Dray]

I'm not as down on Seraphin as others here are. Please don't forget that he was out of shape all season, mainly because of the off-season knee injury, and he admitted that he at too much junk food during the season. This was him before last season.

http://i1109.photobucket.com/albums/h43 ... raphin.jpg

You don't draft someone super raw, and start trying to trade him after his 1st season.

And plus, even if we trade #6 and #18 for #3, Minnesota's #20 will likely be up for sale on draft day, so we could just buy that pick for $3 million.

[GeneWilderSTL]

1. trade Blatche for Beasley. -- I still believe in Beasley as a player and I think he'd be comfortable going back to the DMV area. Play him at PF. I think he can get you 20 and 10. McGee can be 10 and 10 with easy lobs from Wall.

2. Get rid of Flip I always feel like he loses control of his teams and isn't good at garnering respect.
I'd go after Mark Jackson. He's a point guard and one of the best and that's what Wall needs.

3. Keep McGee he's a good shotblocker -- with the right attitude and work ethic I don't see why he can't draw comparisons to Noah/KG and be a defensive leader. He has the personality to be one of those emotional leaders.

4. Get Aaron Afflalo, I like Nick Young, but with McGee you have to go the direction of defense. Maybe Young and Afflalo can compete for minutes but I think Afflalo would win the starting job.
Nick Young might just be J.R. Smith 2.0. A nice spark off the bench but Afflalo is the man.Resign Young if you want at the rice price but go after Afflalo.

5. Draft Kawhi Leonard.

6. Rashard Lewis? You're stuck, no one can use his contract. Wait for it to come off the books. Or maybe try Phoenix and get a third team involved.

McGee/Beasley/Leonard/Afflalo/Wall -- Coach Mark Jackson (someone who can handle Beasley and light a fire under McGee -- these guys would love to play for Mark Jackson).

You're welcome Washington.

[Xpresso]

1. Trade up for Kanter. I'd give a combination of #6 and Crawford, or Seraphin, or Booker. Crawford is more likely since the potential trade partners (Minn and Utah) have more of a need a 2G.

2. Trade Blatche for a SF that can defend and shoot. Maybe a Marvin Williams with the Hawks.

3. Sign a free agent SF/2G

4. Draft a shooter like Thompson or combo guard @ 18

5. Finish up in 2012/2013 with 1st round draft or FA

2011 Roster:

PG - Wall, FA
2G - Young, Thompson
SF - Williams (Hawks), FA (Weems/Raptors, Williams/Knicks)
PF - Kanter, Booker
C - JVM, Seraphin

[Illuminaire]

McGee/Beasley/Leonard/Afflalo/Wall -- Coach Mark Jackson (someone who can handle Beasley and light a fire under McGee -- these guys would love to play for Mark Jackson).

You're welcome Washington.

If you're trolling, I applaud the wind up and lengthy but effective delivery.

If you're actually serious, I must respectfully suggest that any plan centering around the play of an inefficient shot-jacking tweener who can't rebound, pass, or defend power forwards is probably not going to succeed. Just saying.

[Bickerstaff]

Michael Beasley? MARVIN WILLIAMS???? I wouldn't let you guys fix my toilet.

[Chocolate City Jordanaire]

1. trade Blatche for Beasley. -- I still believe in Beasley as a player and I think he'd be comfortable going back to the DMV area. Play him at PF. I think he can get you 20 and 10. McGee can be 10 and 10 with easy lobs from Wall.

2. Get rid of Flip I always feel like he loses control of his teams and isn't good at garnering respect.
I'd go after Mark Jackson. He's a point guard and one of the best and that's what Wall needs.

3. Keep McGee he's a good shotblocker -- with the right attitude and work ethic I don't see why he can't draw comparisons to Noah/KG and be a defensive leader. He has the personality to be one of those emotional leaders.

4. Get Aaron Afflalo, I like Nick Young, but with McGee you have to go the direction of defense. Maybe Young and Afflalo can compete for minutes but I think Afflalo would win the starting job.
Nick Young might just be J.R. Smith 2.0. A nice spark off the bench but Afflalo is the man.Resign Young if you want at the rice price but go after Afflalo.

5. Draft Kawhi Leonard.

6. Rashard Lewis? You're stuck, no one can use his contract. Wait for it to come off the books. Or maybe try Phoenix and get a third team involved.

McGee/Beasley/Leonard/Afflalo/Wall -- Coach Mark Jackson (someone who can handle Beasley and light a fire under McGee -- these guys would love to play for Mark Jackson).

You're welcome Washington.

GeneWilderSTL, Saint Louis has a special place in my heart!

I lived in Belleville, IL, back about 15 years ago. My cousin worked security and lighting at old Busch Stadium. Thanks to my cousin (if you ever watched the games years back, he was the large man you would always see standing on the field behind the catcher). I got to attend a game in the green seats when Mark hit two home runs, that same season he set the record. Also, I used to work at Chambers PO (63106) back then. Last, I picked a good time to live there football-wise, because Vermeil turned the Rams around. Warner, Bruce, Holt, Proehl, Orlando Pace, DeMarco Farr--I loved those Rams back in the day!

Gene, I like your ideas for improving the Wizards--almost all of them.

1. I don't like Beasley for Blatche, but only because of Beasley's inefficiency, shoot-first mentality, and downward trend the past two seasons. He might have past drug and/or mental health issues if rumors are true (tough for a pro to be top-notch with those). On the plus side, when he's right Beasley's a better shooter and scorer than Blatche. He's three years younger. He never played with Wall. You could be right if he bounces back.

2. I totally agree that Flip is not the guy to turn it around. I prefer Dave Joerger. That guy should be a head coach right now. Had lots of success in the D-League and in the CBA as a HC. He would be my choice. I don't know about Mark Jackson as a coach.

3. I agree 100% on McGee. I would like to see him play in another system, or alongside someone other than Blatche. Javale gets dunked on a lot, but he tries and does have the right spirit to compete. I think he's capable of scoring a lot more that 10 ppg, too.

4. Aaron Afflalo over Nick Young, I also agree 100%. Very similar careers with both guys coming from LA, being the same age, being in same draft year, playing same position, both excellent three point shooters. Afflalo is a better shooter but he's not one to shoot much or dominate the ball. He's a better passer. Not sure if he can defend SF and SG like Nick can, though. I just think shooting accuracy would improve with Afflalo. (Either guy could really help Chicago).

5. I like Leonard in the draft, too. Not sure about drafting him at 6 because there is a way to get more at 6--but I do think he's great for what the Wizards need at SF.

6. Lewis is a stand up guy and a solid pro who seemed to play fairly well before he was injured. However, I think he drags the team down as a starter who's oft-injured. I hope they buy him out eventually. New CBA might help (but others understand this way better than I do).

Thanks St Louis, Gene, and stay safe from the bad weather. My best friend still lives in STL and he told me he wasn't too far from a tornado that hit recently. Thankfully, his family was safe and home undamaged

[skins980]

Repeating some earlier ideas, but adding FA moves.

1. Move up to draft Kanter. Basically, if you're not getting a guaranteed Top 8 rotation guy, albeit starting 5 guy from the 6th spot, you need to move up. Kanter can be had for #6 + players/ #18.

2. Get rid of Blatche. Need to change the culture. I would add a veteran in his place as a young big (that you actually want to have character-wise on the roster) would be hard to come by. I would aim for the equivalent of a Udonis Haslem. Quiet, no non-sense type big. Not sure who I even consider to be like that but there's someone out there.

3. Get rid of Young. Young is a spark plug off the bench at best. He is absolutely not worth the money. The voices on the forum vouching for Afflalo are correct -- good character, better defense, good shooting, and cheaper. I imagine Courtney Lee could put up similar production if given the same minutes as Young. Aim to get a nice trade exception here.

4. Save salary space. Look, our team sucks. Don't spend money unwisely. It's better to allow the team to develop and stockpile talent. If we have no shot at being contenders for the Eastern Conference Finals, it's a waste of money to even spend past this season unless taking one of those players does not jeopardize our long-term cap space (note: one year contracts are perfectly acceptable as is Dwight Howard's FA signing, haha).
The 2013 trade deadline and 2013 free agency period are when we make our move. Building a strategy around getting rid of Rashard Lewis' contract is priority right now. We might want to take a Knicks strategy (a la this past 2010 off-season) and accumulate bad contracts to have them all end after the 2013 season so that we have a ton of cap space. The 2013 off-season might not be the best from the available pool of players, but that does not matter: 2014 or 2015 might be. Just be patient and take some hits on the chin in the meantime and accumulate some good players.

5. New coach? I think this should be a determination as to whether Flip is good for Wall's development. If we look elsewhere, Brian Shaw or Lawrence Frank would be my priorities. I would rather see someone else try Mark Jackson out first. Would love to have Mark as an assistant coach though.

At the end of the day we must ask ourselves: what would Sam Presti do?

[GeneWilderSTL]

^^thanks for the kind words about St. Louis and the city's doing fine @Jordanaire - I have family in D.C. too as it turns out

Yeah I have reservations about Beasley's attitude and maturity but I'd still go for him. Its my faith move.

I never heard fo Joerger but I think whoever the Wizards get has to be a drill sergeant if you want to go young and play defense. I know Mark Jackson doesn't have the credentials but he talks a good game and is a good motivator.

I like the comparisons to gerarld wallace kawhi leonard has garnered, at least at nbadraft.net but yeah 6 is a high pick if you could trade down and still get him I'd do it. nbadraft.net's mock draft actually has him going #5 to the raptors.

we'll see what happens though, goodluck to you guys.

[iLLGiLL]

Hey Wiz fans,
Since we're not likely to get the impact player we need at the 6th pick this year, I thought of a trade with Cleveland.
They want to take on bad contracts for draft picks (lot of rumors about them getting Hamilton from Pistons), how about we give them Lewis, our 6th pick and Jordan Crawford to sweeten the deal. In exchange we get decent back up PG/C they don't need, and that leaves us with roughly a 20 million payroll; Plenty of space to sign J. Wall some help.
Maybe we can still get a promising SF at 18 with the Atlanta pick.

http://espn.go.com/nba/tradeMachine?tradeId=3cxbf5w
(it works with Cleveland using its trade player exception from LBJ)

I think it's great for us and also good for Cleveland I believe.

[verbal8]

Hey Wiz fans,
Since we're not likely to get the impact player we need at the 6th pick this year, I thought of a trade with Cleveland.
They want to take on bad contracts for draft picks (lot of rumors about them getting Hamilton from Pistons), how about we give them Lewis, our 6th pick and Jordan Crawford to sweeten the deal. In exchange we get decent back up PG/C they don't need, and that leaves us with roughly a 20 million payroll; Plenty of space to sign J. Wall some help.
Maybe we can still get a promising SF at 18 with the Atlanta pick.

http://espn.go.com/nba/tradeMachine?tradeId=3cxbf5w
(it works with Cleveland using its trade player exception from LBJ)

I think it's great for us and also good for Cleveland I believe.

Cleveland can't use the TPE in combination with players.

[Illuminaire]

Also, Lewis is only on the books for two more years. We need talent - young talent - more than we need instant cap space.

I'm not sure the TPE is even big enough for Lewis massive, bloated whale of a contract anyways. ^_^

[iLLGiLL]

Hey Wiz fans,
Since we're not likely to get the impact player we need at the 6th pick this year, I thought of a trade with Cleveland.
They want to take on bad contracts for draft picks (lot of rumors about them getting Hamilton from Pistons), how about we give them Lewis, our 6th pick and Jordan Crawford to sweeten the deal. In exchange we get decent back up PG/C they don't need, and that leaves us with roughly a 20 million payroll; Plenty of space to sign J. Wall some help.
Maybe we can still get a promising SF at 18 with the Atlanta pick.

http://espn.go.com/nba/tradeMachine?tradeId=3cxbf5w
(it works with Cleveland using its trade player exception from LBJ)

I think it's great for us and also good for Cleveland I believe.

Cleveland can't use the TPE in combination with players.

I'm pretty sure they can, this is from Wikipedia:

Traded Player Exception: If a team trades away a player with a higher salary than the player they acquire in return (we'll call this initial deal "Trade #1"), they receive what is called a Traded Player Exception, also known colloquially as a "Trade Exception". Teams with a trade exception have up to a year in which they can acquire more salary in other trades (Trade #2, #3, etc.) than they send away, as long as the gulf in salaries for Trade #2, #3, etc. are less than or equal to the difference in salary for Trade #1. This exception is particularly useful when teams trade draft picks straight-up for a player; since draft picks have no salary value, often the only way to get salaries to match is to use a trade exception, which allows trades to be made despite unbalanced salaries. It is also useful to compensate teams for losing free agents as they can do a sign and trade of that free agent to acquire a trade exception that can be used later. Note this exception is for single player trades only, though additional cash and draft picks can be part of the trade.

I wonder if their owner would be willing to pay that much money for Crawford and the 6th pick though...
Cleveland has 14.6 millions TPE which is enough with D. Gibson and a couple of fillers. I agree we give up 2 young pieces in Crawford and 6th pick, but still think it's financially worth it

[Dat2U]

Not saying I'd make all these moves or that it's even feasible but here's a tough, edgy team that could be next year's Memphis:

(please note this is just for fun. Don't kill me! )

1. Trade 6th pick, Andray Blatche, Kevin Seraphin & Rashard Lewis to ATL for Josh Smith, Marvin Williams & Zaza Pachulia.

2. Draft Kenneth Faried with the 18th pick

3. Draft Marshon Brooks with the 34th pick

2. Trade Zaza Pachulia to CHA for Stephen Jackson

3. Sign Arron Afflalo in free agency

4. Sign Nene in free agency

New lineup:

PG John Wall / Jordan Crawford
SG Arron Afflalo / Othyus Jeffers / Marshon Brooks
SF Stephen Jackson / Marvin Williams
PF Josh Smith / Trevor Booker / Kenneth Faried
CE Nene / Javale McGee