Wiz trade Shard and 2nd rounder for Okafor and Ariza

[7-Day Dray]

Just got hope and saw the trade on the news.

This is an awful trade for us. We take on BOTH Okafor and Ariza and don't even get the 10th pick? We just gave NOLA a HUGE favor.

Ladies and gentlemen, Ernie Grunfeld, the king of selling low.

[Rafael122]

Honestly at the end of the day, do we or should we care that we helped NOLA or did them a huge favor? Neither the Wizards or the Hornets are going to win an NBA Championship within the next 5-10 years. It's not like this trade propelled the Hornets to top 5 in the NBA.

[queridiculo]

okafor has always been top 10-15 in total rebound percentage.

So has Javale McGee. For his career, Okafor's 18% total rebound percentage isn't much better than McGee's 16% TRB.

In fact, last season for the Wizards Javale rebounded at 18.2% on total rebounds.

... apart from the fact that TRB only tells one part of the story about effective rebounding, how does McGee factor into this trade or discussion?

[Benjammin]

Whatever the basketball equivalency of the 'battered wife syndrome' is called, Wizards fans have it and this thread is a prime example of it.

Some folks here will defend any and everything Ernie does. No matter how little sense it makes.

Two days from now, half the people who hate the trade today will come around on it and love it.

We go through the classic stages of grief (originally formulated for someone with a terminal illness).

1. Denial----we must be getting the 10th pick also.
2. Anger---this is BS, how could they do this, plus they threw in the 2nd round pick
3. Bargaining--maybe they have another deal in place to move Okafor for Kevin Martin or something, it's not so bad they can use these guys as expiring deals in 2013-2014
4. Depression----wow, this still sucks
6. Acceptance---this is my lot in life as a Bullets fan

[closg00]

Prada on Twitter:

On why do this deal now, EG said he thinks he knows who the teams drafting ahead of the Wizards are taking

So is the underling point that he has to do this trade to make-up for his bad drafting and team-building?

[nuposse04]

This is a HORRIBLE trade unless we're getting the #10 pick.

Okafor is redundant with Nene and Seraphin. We simply don't need him. Ariza is a decent wing but not any better than what we can find in free agency. Only with this trade, we obliterate any potential cap room in 2013. I just don't understand it.

EG acts at his owner's behest. Ted Leonsis didn't want to buyout Lewis or amnesty Blatche.

I expect another deal, possibly involving Booker and/or Seraphin that includes Blatche.

I doubt we trade Seraphin. There are few players we would give up for him. If we do trade him, we better get something GOOD in return. If we don't...god I don't even want to think that.

I still think Randy will play whichever player is playing best. He did that last season so I'm not as concerned about which players get the proper playing time.

[mhd]

I've always said FA is fool's gold unless you are a top market. However, this move destroyed any flexibility. With that said, bigs are always moveable and Emeka has only 2 years left. Ariza isn't opting out after next year, but maybe he regains his form. Both expire in 2 years and at least there are no longterm deals with these 2. I could seriously see Emeka being traded next off-season.

[queridiculo]

Honestly at the end of the day, do we or should we care that we helped NOLA or did them a huge favor? Neither the Wizards or the Hornets are going to win an NBA Championship within the next 5-10 years. It's not like this trade propelled the Hornets to top 5 in the NBA.

^ This. Sort of reminds me of the reaction by fans on the general board when Grunfeld took on Hinrich's contract...

The bottom line should be did Washington get better as a team and did their longterm outlook improve.

I'd say yes on the first question, and too soon on the second, though I would say that adding one year of bad contracts hardly puts the teams future in jeopardy.

I could care less about what New Orleans does, and since nobody sat on the negotiation table we have no clue whether the 10th pick was ever an option.

Ariza is better than any SF currently on the roster and there wouldn't have been a backup center available in FA that's nearly productive as Okafor.

[Dat2U]

Who did you think the Wizards could get in the next two years that would be real difference makers? Okafor at least provides a need on the rebounding side. People are acting like he is old and sucks. He is only 29. Before he was injured last year, he was averaging a double double.

He's had back trouble and knee trouble. His explosiveness and athleticism is basically gone. He's still a good rebounder and a respectable defender but right now I'd say he's the 3rd best center on the roster.

And it really doesn't matter what I think we could have done with the cap space. You can't validate a bad move by saying what else could we have done? We could have done nothing and it would have been better. Okafor & Ariza aren't stepping in and winning us 20 more games next season. They'll just eat up cap space and make it tougher for Vesely & Seraphin to develop.

Okafor has been healthy until last year. I have heard nothing that would indicate that his injuries are expected to continue, so I don't know why you say his explosiveness and athleticism is gone. And, you indicate that he is a good rebounder...that is one of our biggest needs right now.

There is no guarantee that doing nothing would have been better. Maybe more veterans will help Vesely and Seraphin develop? Certainly, McGee and Andray certainly didnt develop by just playing more minutes.

Listen, I don't know if this was a bad or a good trade. I just think its too early to say its a horrible one. Time will tell.

Okafor has had back problems that plagued him earlier in his career and they have slowed him down. If you've watched him play over the last few years he doesn't move as well as he once did and he plays a bit stiff. He still rebounds at a solid level but defensively IMO he's slipped in other aspects and at this stage he should be strickly viewed as a C. But while he's a good rebounder is probably our 3RD BEST CENTER at this stage so his presence is really negligble.

[closg00]

Whatever the basketball equivalency of the 'battered wife syndrome' is called, Wizards fans have it and this thread is a prime example of it.

Some folks here will defend any and everything Ernie does. No matter how little sense it makes.

Two days from now, half the people who hate the trade today will come around on it and love it.

We go through the classic stages of grief (originally formulated for someone with a terminal illness).

1. Denial----we must be getting the 10th pick also.
2. Anger---this is BS, how could they do this, plus they threw in the 2nd round pick
3. Bargaining--maybe they have another deal in place to move Okafor for Kevin Martin or something, it's not so bad they can use these guys as expiring deals in 2013-2014
4. Depression----wow, this still sucks
6. Acceptance---this is my lot in life as a Bullets fan

Great post, I am at stage 3. @ Dat, clearly people from the Wiz organization post on this board. Posters who rarely post suddenly pop-up to calm the masses when it is required.

[mhd]

Dat, I do think limiting Emeka's minutes in a 3 player rotation with Seraphin and Nene will be the deal. It will help both Nene and Emeka. Plus, Emeka may be going against backups too, so he won't be going against elite bigs as much as he used to.

I also think Emeka is very tradeable after this season. He's not Beidrins in terms of value.

[DCZards]

Honestly at the end of the day, do we or should we care that we helped NOLA or did them a huge favor? Neither the Wizards or the Hornets are going to win an NBA Championship within the next 5-10 years. It's not like this trade propelled the Hornets to top 5 in the NBA.

I don't get that part either. Why are people so fixated on the fact that NO was helped by the trade? It might matter if the Hornets were in the Eastern Conf., but they're not.

[Dat2U]

Honestly at the end of the day, do we or should we care that we helped NOLA or did them a huge favor? Neither the Wizards or the Hornets are going to win an NBA Championship within the next 5-10 years. It's not like this trade propelled the Hornets to top 5 in the NBA.

^ This. Sort of reminds me of the reaction by fans on the general board when Grunfeld took on Hinrich's contract...

The bottom line should be did Washington get better as a team and did their longterm outlook improve.

I'd say yes on the first question, and too soon on the second, though I would say that adding one year of bad contracts hardly puts the teams future in jeopardy.

I could care less about what New Orleans does, and since nobody sat on the negotiation table we have no clue whether the 10th pick was ever an option.

Ariza is better than any SF currently on the roster and there wouldn't have been a backup center available in FA that's nearly productive as Okafor.

Damn, talk about faint praise!

And we didn't need a backup C. We already had Nene & Seraphin.

[mhd]

Honestly at the end of the day, do we or should we care that we helped NOLA or did them a huge favor? Neither the Wizards or the Hornets are going to win an NBA Championship within the next 5-10 years. It's not like this trade propelled the Hornets to top 5 in the NBA.

I don't get that part either. Why are people so fixated on the fact that NO was helped by the trade? It might matter if the Hornets were in the Eastern Conf., but they're not.

Yeah, helping a Western team should ALWAYS be a goal for us. That gives them resources to hurt potentially eastern conf. teams.

[MF23]

http://www.bulletsforever.com/2012/6/20/3104348/wizards-hornets-trade-ernie-grunfeld-trevor-ariza-emeka-okafor

On why they didn't just buy out Lewis' contract: "It would have been for a player that doesn't give you anything. This way, you get two players that are going to give you something on the court at positions we wanted to fill, and we get those players at a pretty good price for the first year especially, in light of that buyout we were going to have to pay to Rashard."

EG's math: if you look at Lewis' $13-14M buyout as a sunk cost, then the Wizards are getting Emeka & Ariza for $7M in salary for Year 1. Of course, that balloons up to $22M or so in Year 2...

Finger gun to the head. STFU Ernie you just wanted to save your job. Spin it however you will but your building a playoff team, not a contending one. It's his laziness he uses with leverage, player acquisition and development that are my biggest gripes with him. This is what the owner wanted but realize you only have one difference maker on this roster. Not a contending formula and I know for a fact better deals were likely in 2 years once the new cap implementation became active. Look Ernie's not going to wait two years when he's making good money now.

For me, I would have waited. That cap room would have been gold when teams become desperate to shave off salary. I don't like how this creates a glut in the front court, you pick up MKG and now 2 of Singleton, Ves or Book will get garbage time.

[Benjammin]

Honestly at the end of the day, do we or should we care that we helped NOLA or did them a huge favor? Neither the Wizards or the Hornets are going to win an NBA Championship within the next 5-10 years. It's not like this trade propelled the Hornets to top 5 in the NBA.

I don't get that part either. Why are people so fixated on the fact that NO was helped by the trade? It might matter if the Hornets were in the Eastern Conf., but they're not.

Here's why it matters. They received some real tangible benefits from the deal. For those of us who don't care for Okafor or Ariza, we perceive the Wizards as receiving no tangible benefits. We see that NO was helped, but don't see the upside for the Wizards. The Hornets should have been the one sweetening the pot somehow, not the Wizards throwing a courtesy second round pick their way as well.

EG comes off as the lazy guy in class who uses a paper writing service from the internet. Then he feels good about himself and goes on a three day bender, patting himself on the back the whole time about what a great student he is.

[DCZards]

Wow. I'm sure the young guys who had all that chemistry going will enjoy being forced to the bench to guys who make more money.

I am sure Nene as unquestioned team leader is a thing of the past. I am sure Seraphin plays less minutes. I guess Booker gets traded.

Not sure why any of this would be true, ccj, especially the part about Nene no longer being the team leader. If nothing else, Ariza and Okafor are two hardworking, serious-minded, team-oriented vets whose example should make Nene's job as a leader that much easier.

[dlts20]

http://www.bulletsforever.com/2012/6/20/3104348/wizards-hornets-trade-ernie-grunfeld-trevor-ariza-emeka-okafor

On why they didn't just buy out Lewis' contract: "It would have been for a player that doesn't give you anything. This way, you get two players that are going to give you something on the court at positions we wanted to fill, and we get those players at a pretty good price for the first year especially, in light of that buyout we were going to have to pay to Rashard."

EG's math: if you look at Lewis' $13-14M buyout as a sunk cost, then the Wizards are getting Emeka & Ariza for $7M in salary for Year 1. Of course, that balloons up to $22M or so in Year 2...

Thats exactly how I see it so IDK why people are so upset. Its just an extra 7 mil one year and 2 experings the next. Meanwhile we add 2 solid pieces to make a playoff run while having a slight chance at Ariza being young enough to maybe reach his potential and be our SF of the future.

If they get hurt, espically if its not Ariza then we are still fine because its only an extra 7mil and we have a ton of good backups. I dont see the hate, espically if everything is fair game like it should be. Meaning, as long as Witt really lets the best guys play and whoever wins the spot then everything should be fine.

[Dat2U]

http://www.bulletsforever.com/2012/6/20/3104348/wizards-hornets-trade-ernie-grunfeld-trevor-ariza-emeka-okafor

On why they didn't just buy out Lewis' contract: "It would have been for a player that doesn't give you anything. This way, you get two players that are going to give you something on the court at positions we wanted to fill, and we get those players at a pretty good price for the first year especially, in light of that buyout we were going to have to pay to Rashard."

EG's math: if you look at Lewis' $13-14M buyout as a sunk cost, then the Wizards are getting Emeka & Ariza for $7M in salary for Year 1. Of course, that balloons up to $22M or so in Year 2...

So because they were too cheap to pay a $14 million dollar buyout, they decided to make a $40+ million dollar committment over the next two years.

I know I wasn't brightest math student in school but um.... WTF!!!!????

[Rafael122]

Honestly at the end of the day, do we or should we care that we helped NOLA or did them a huge favor? Neither the Wizards or the Hornets are going to win an NBA Championship within the next 5-10 years. It's not like this trade propelled the Hornets to top 5 in the NBA.

I don't get that part either. Why are people so fixated on the fact that NO was helped by the trade? It might matter if the Hornets were in the Eastern Conf., but they're not.

Here's why it matters. They received some real tangible benefits from the deal. For those of us who don't care for Okafor or Ariza, we perceive the Wizards as receiving no tangible benefits. We see that NO was helped, but don't see the upside for the Wizards. The Hornets should have been the one sweetening the pot somehow, not the Wizards throwing a courtesy second round pick their way as well.

EG comes off as the lazy guy in class who uses a paper writing service from the internet. Then he feels good about himself and goes on a three day bender, patting himself on the back the whole time about what a great student he is.

We probably weren't picking 3 rookies anyway.