Wiz trade Shard and 2nd rounder for Okafor and Ariza

[mohammed10]

To answer the question floating around, YES my opinion changes if the Wizards get the 10th pick. As reported, the Wizards have turned max cap room into players who aren't difference makers. Meanwhile, they've made the Hornets pay NOTHING of value in exchange for solving their cap issues and giving them the financial flexibility to re-sign Eric Gordon. And they've left New Orleans with the ability to get Davis plus another good player at 10.

Want to get a sense for how bad this trade is, look at it from New Orleans' end of things. They offload two contracts they don't want in exchange for financial flexibility to re-sign players, AND they don't have to give up a single asset for the future to do it. Plus, they pick up a 2nd round pick where they could get a solid role player if they choose wisely.

It's days like this that I wish I could bring myself to stop rooting for this team.

This is my read as well.

+2

[dobrojim]

I definitely see problems but silver linings:
1)Aren't we only hamstrung this year? Aren't these expiring deals after this season? If you can move Shard then Okafor can be moved when he's an expiring ditto Ariza.
2)I can't help but think there is another move coming b/c the Wiz would be over the cap next season according to this article and I don't think Ted would sign off on that and I do think Ernie would have to get permission to exceed the cap:
http://www.bulletsforever.com/2012/6/20 ... #storyjump
3)Are Okafor and Ariza really Blache/Rashard Lewis type bad? I find that hard to believe but I admit I haven't been watching them. I think the team gets better short term and has two expiring contracts for 2014.
**I totally agree it's a little too good of deal for the Hornets; I'm just not ready to jump off a cliff yet. Now if they draft MKG and we still have zero shooters then someone put me on suicide watch.

1. No those contracts last 2 more years. They come off the books in Summer 2014.
2. I hope Okafor is moved for a guard.
3. It's not that Okafor and Ariza are bad. It's that they really don't provide much more than what we already have. Is Okafor any better than Seraphin? Is Ariza that much better than Singleton? And if they are, is the difference worth $30M over the next two years? To what end? We win an extra 2 or 3 games over the course of the season while hurting the development of Seraphin, Vesely, Booker, Singleton etc.

exactly

still waiting for someone to make the statistical case that Okafor should
play ahead of Seraphin

[Nivek]

Only bright side I can see is that the Wizards didn't get bent over for the third pick. Or a future 1st.

[tontoz]

This team is desperate for shooting and you decide to trade for $43 million worth of contracts for players who can't shoot?

I can't even describe my disgust at this trade.

[LyricalRico]

My thoughts:

This trade potentially makes the Wizards a very deep defensive team, which is what we've wanted here all along. And all you guys whining about cap flexibility are only upset because it spoils the dream scenario you had layed out in your mind. As has been said already, it's a two year plan max, so calm down. I dont think they'll have a problem trading either okafor or ariza as exprings next offseason if it doesnt work out, so essentially we're better next year, and we have trade assets next offseason we otherwise wouldnt have had.

The people saying this is shortsighted are the ones being shortsighted.

If the draft Beal, they dont need to make another trade. If they take MKG, I'd move Booker and Singleton for another guard/or pick to take a guard. I'll add that I dont think this should determine what they do with the pick. If you take MKG, you can put Wall/Ariza/MKG/Okafor/Nene on the floor and lock the other team down. That lineup would be like Indiana defensively, and with Beal they're more balanced offensively. If Wall can keep people honest with his jumper, Wall is the playmaker/scorer for a monster defensive lineup.

Defnitely agree with the sentiments. Solid additions and there's still opportunities to make other moves to balance things out before the season starts.

[dandridge 10]

Although my first reaction to the trade was "WTF," I always try to take an optimistic look at things. First, I can't call this a complete failure until this summer is over and we see what other moves, if any, EG makes. Second, it was unlikely that we were going to get either Harden or Batum in free agency, the only two that I would be interested in spending significant amount of money over the next two years. No significant FA is going to come to this team until we get better. Basically, Ariza and Okafor are stop gaps to make us competitive and teach our youngsters. After two years, when hopefully our youngsters get better and are more ready to be prime-time players, we will have significant cap room to add more valuable players and this hopefully will be a more desirable place to play. Third, Okafor should provide some needed rebounding, and Ariza, although not great, is an upgrade at the 3 spot. They will make us more competitive in the next 2 years, which will make Wall more happy. Fourth, we still have the 3rd and 32nd pick. EG may move one of our frontcourt players to either get a higher pick or get a shooter through a trade. If we can add some shooters, we would have a good mix of young players and vets. Could be interesting.

Bottom line...I am willing to see how things shake out before concluding this was a disaster trade.

[Ruzious]

Only bright side I can see is that the Wizards didn't get bent over for the third pick. Or a future 1st.

Give em time. Ernie's still here.

[kirubel94]

I can definitely imagine what Ernie is gonna say during the press conference.

[Halcyon]

I don't get it, space means nothing if nobody is willing to come here. Hoping for a Boston or Miami situation isn't really realistic either...those situations were unique because they already had HOF players on those teams. We have Wall, and a half-decent player in Nene...and that's about it.

What would have been the right thing to do?

Wrong. You can do a lot with cap space more than just signing free agents. You can broker better trades than this crap. You've got flexibility to make moves. Ernie shows no ability whatsoever to think outside the box.

This is just beyond the scope of being bad.

I'm going home tonight and I'm gonna look at every team's roster and develop a list of players the Wizards could have traded for, using Rashard Lewis' contract of course. I'm not a big Johnson or Gay fan, so I've ruled them out.

If there is a better deal out there, I will eat my words. However, my guess is that it will most likely be a combination of players (very similar to Okafor + Ariza, mid-level veteran players who are overpaid) and unless both players are on the caliber of Blatche (player wise and contract wise) I don't see how we get assets back. Since Okafor and Ariza aren't chopped liver like Rashard (and have very favorable deals for flexibility next year), we didn't get additional assets back.

I want to see concrete trades for Rashard that actually work for both sides, and less of this theoretical "flexibility" which might not even exist.

[Dat2U]

Wasn't there a rumor about 2 weeks ago that New Orleans was willing to use their pick to dump either Okafor OR Ariza?

No, the word was they would not give up #10 in a salary dump. I love these "Why didn't we just Rudy Gay instead" or "Why didn't we get the 10th pick" posts. The answer is simple. They weren't available! Memphis either rejected or asked for the 2nd pick for Gay. NO said they would not give up the 10th pick in a salary dump yet we act like Ernie chose the worst deal on purpose.

The best move then would be to make no move. Often no move is better than making a bad one. This constitutes as a bad move.

Okafor is a backup at this stage of his career but is paid like a star. Ariza plays like a backup but is paid like a starter. We payed out the wazoo for depth.

We needed a starting 2, a starting 3 and a starting 4. And we got depth. There's no logic in that no matter how you hard you try to explain it.

But I wouldn't have expected anything different from Ernie. He's a wylie politician who can shmooze his way in the boardroom and but gets taken to the cleaners by GMs year after year.

[VictorPage44]

My thoughts:

This trade potentially makes the Wizards a very deep defensive team, which is what we've wanted here all along. And all you guys whining about cap flexibility are only upset because it spoils the dream scenario you had layed out in your mind. As has been said already, it's a two year plan max, so calm down. I dont think they'll have a problem trading either okafor or ariza as exprings next offseason if it doesnt work out, so essentially we're better next year, and we have trade assets next offseason we otherwise wouldnt have had.

The people saying this is shortsighted are the ones being shortsighted.

We were already a deep defensive team. Nene, Seraphin, Vesely and Booker were locking it down over the second half of the season. In 24 games following the Nene trade, we had the league's 7th best defense. When Nene actually played, we were the best defense. I repeat: the BEST defense in the league! We didn't need to add $30M in salary to bolster the defense. We need shooters and we need a star caliber player. This trade does neither.

Well you can base your assessment of Seraphin, Vesely, Booker lineup on 24 games of gimmick end of the year ball, when 1/2 the league is resting players or trying guys out/tanking. I wasn't holding my breath for anything spectacular out of the aforemention foursome, actually I was expecting another shot at the top pick. Which one of those 4 you mentioned is a perimeter defender on Ariza's level? Ariza plays the 3 and the Wizards had the worst 3 rotation in the league last year, but I guess he's useless because "player X" would have been ideal.

Okafor was injured last year, before that he averaged at least 10 pts 9 rebounds in his other 7 seasons in the league and at least 13 and 10 in five of those seasons. Next season, I'll take Okafor over Booker and over Vesely. I have doubts that either can consistantly play the 4 at this point in their careers. But like you said, we still have both.

We need shooters? Guess what, we can still get 'em.

[LyricalRico]

Please trade Okafor for Kevin Martin. Please Please Please. Then it will all make sense.

Wait...based on everyone's comments I thought this trade meant that all other moves to improve the team were now impossible and we are now doomed to never win because the only option available to us is keeping Okafor and Ariza and playing them 48 minutes a game for the next 2 seasons. You mean that *gasp* this team still has options to improve itself using the players they just acquired?

[Severn Hoos]

But Bobby, I don't think we will have the cap space in '14. We'll still have Nene & Blatche (if he's not amnestied). Wall should be moving into his second contract - likely Max or close to it. Seraphin and Booker will be FAs, meaning we'll either have their new salaries or a cap hold from their Qualifying Offers. And then we'll still have this year's pick, Vesely, Singleton, the '13 pick, and anyone else that we might sign or trade for between now & then. Or we lose some of those assets for nothing.


Couldn't we at least have had a top-29 protected 1st rounder or something as afig leaf to make us feel better?

[kirubel94]

Although my first reaction to the trade was "WTF," I always try to take an optimistic look at things. First, I can't call this a complete failure until this summer is over and we see what other moves, if any, EG makes. Second, it was unlikely that we were going to get either Harden or Batum in free agency, the only two that I would be interested in spending significant amount of money over the next two years. No significant FA is going to come to this team until we get better. Basically, Ariza and Okafor are stop gaps to make us competitive and teach our youngsters. After two years, when hopefully our youngsters get better and are more ready to be prime-time players, we will have significant cap room to add more valuable players and this hopefully will be a more desirable place to play. Third, Okafor should provide some needed rebounding, and Ariza, although not great, is an upgrade at the 3 spot. They will make us more competitive in the next 2 years, which will make Wall more happy. Fourth, we still have the 3rd and 32nd pick. EG may move one of our frontcourt players to either get a higher pick or get a shooter through a trade. If we can add some shooters, we would have a good mix of young players and vets. Could be interesting.

Bottom line...I am willing to see how things shake out before concluding this was a disaster trade.

+1

[fishercob]

Hi everyone! How are you all doing today??

So, yeah. I hate the trade overall as it stands now, for all of the reasons stated by my brethren.

Other things I don't like: Timing. Why now? Why the urgency to consumate this 8 days before the draft? What else was NO going to do to offload both these deals? Unless one of these guys gets flipped (and judging by EG's nauseatingly predictable press release, that is unlikely), why not wait a week to see what else is out there or see what kind of value you can extract from NO. Giving up #46 in a draft this deep is mind boggling.

It's pretty clear that the Wizards are going to try to win a lot of games in the 80's. I disagree with the certitude of Nate's assertion on Seraphin and Booker's defense -- I suspect Okafor will prove a short term upgrade, especially on the defensive boards. So we're going to try to be an elite defensive team I suppose. I just don;t know where the points are going to come from.

It's nice that this means that we are likely going to get Beal, but I fear this places WAY too much pressure on him to produce from the outset (again, check Harden's rookie stats) and/or allows for Chuck Crawford to play way too big (and potentially poisonous) of a role. Also, what's the backup plan in case someone falls in love with Beal and jumps up to 2 to take him. How do you draft MKG with Ariza on this team?

I really, really hope there is more coming that improve this. That's an all too familiar feeling; I think we're effed.

[Jay81]

I can definitely imagine what Ernie is gonna say during the press conference.

its a process....

but he cant say his line about "using our powder" anymore

[Severn Hoos]

Also, what's the backup plan in case someone falls in love with Beal and jumps up to 2 to take him. How do you draft MKG with Ariza on this team?

I really, really hope there is more coming that improve this. That's an all too familiar feeling; I think we're effed.

fish, is this a rhetorical question? Is there any doubt that in that scenario, the Wiz would take Barnes?

[Upper Decker]

A few thoughts:

1) If the Wiz got #10 out of this the trade it would have been a good trade--as it stands its poor trade. Reminds me of when the Wiz should have gotten the 18th pick in the Foye/Miller trade. I'll always think Ty Lawson should be a Wizard, now I'll forever think the same about Dion Waiters.

2) IF, and this is a huge IF, Wall becomes a star and Beal steps in and becomes EG/Harden-esque the Wiz may actually be a really good team.

3) The Wiz went from having arguably the worst 4/5 rotation to start the season last year to arguably the best/deepest 4/5 rotation to start next year. I can't think of one front court in the east that can match the Wizards in terms of overal depth and quality. This would have been great about 6 years ago when Gl, Tawn, and Butler were in their peaks.

[mohammed10]

I would take Gay over this garbage easily. Gay only has one more year on his deal than Okafor.

Okafor isn't that good and will just take minutes from Seraphin. Ariza sucks.

Horrible trade

[tontoz]

Ariza sucks. The last thing this team needs is an overpaid wing who can't shoot. His TS% of 49.6% was actually worse than Jordan Crawford who is an inefficient chucker.

At least Crawford has an excuse since he is young. Ariza doesn't have that excuse. He just sucks.