The Amazingly Suck Theodore Leonsis Thread

[Nivek]

It had to come sometime. ^^^

[Ruzious]

Aw, sad:

http://www.tedstake.com/2012/07/16/the- ... -accounts/

No more answering personal emails.

Very sad. He has probably spread himself out too thin, but I think this is more about not being able to take criticism than anything else. It's not about technology changing.

[Chocolate City Jordanaire]

http://www.tedstake.com/2012/07/16/the- ... -accounts/

At this point, I am receiving fewer and fewer productive emails that offer constructive criticism. Most of the email I now receive is from strangers, not friends or customers. Currently I spend more than an hour a day sifting through spam and comments that have little or no bearing on our teams and our business

I’ve been told that I was the first owner to open a blog, and I communicate daily through Ted’s Take, Facebook and Twitter. My blog accepts comments, and I get messaged every day on Twitter and Facebook. I’m now on Pinterest. I have communicated via an Owner’s Corner to season-ticket holders and fans, first through written and later via live video. I speak at numerous fan functions throughout the year, and I frequently walk the concourse at Capitals, Wizards and Mystics games. I am accessible and will continue to be so.

I hate my email and I'm not a billionaire. Makes sense to me because it is mostly sifting through spam.

Ted has access and outlets and I am sure he's aware of public sentiments about his teams, players, GMs, and he hears from his ticket holders. People might not get the feedback they're accustomed to, but it seems wise to me what he's doing.

[cwb3]

http://www.tedstake.com/2012/07/16/the-times-they-are-a-changin-a-personal-note-about-my-email-accounts/

At this point, I am receiving fewer and fewer productive emails that offer constructive criticism. Most of the email I now receive is from strangers, not friends or customers. Currently I spend more than an hour a day sifting through spam and comments that have little or no bearing on our teams and our business

I’ve been told that I was the first owner to open a blog, and I communicate daily through Ted’s Take, Facebook and Twitter. My blog accepts comments, and I get messaged every day on Twitter and Facebook. I’m now on Pinterest. I have communicated via an Owner’s Corner to season-ticket holders and fans, first through written and later via live video. I speak at numerous fan functions throughout the year, and I frequently walk the concourse at Capitals, Wizards and Mystics games. I am accessible and will continue to be so.

I hate my email and I'm not a billionaire. Makes sense to me because it is mostly sifting through spam.

Ted has access and outlets and I am sure he's aware of public sentiments about his teams, players, GMs, and he hears from his ticket holders. People might not get the feedback they're accustomed to, but it seems wise to me what he's doing.

My wife is totally addicted to Pinterest!

[Jay81]

had he fired ernie....i think his email volume would have been reduced by 1/2

[jivelikenice]

Aw, sad:

http://www.tedstake.com/2012/07/16/the- ... -accounts/

No more answering personal emails.

Very sad. He has probably spread himself out too thin, but I think this is more about not being able to take criticism than anything else. It's not about technology changing.

I think its a combination. He's probably sick of the criticism, but at the same time it was due to occur with him having the same responsibility with the Caps and the Wizards.

[Jay81]

Ted just blogged saying that they have delivered and the rebuild is done.

If the rebuild is done....we are in deep doo doo

[fishercob]

Ted just blogged saying that they have delivered and the rebuild is done.

Yeah, that's not really accurate, Ji-money:

We stated we would have to rebuild the team, and focus on change and now we can say we delivered in that regard. Rebuilding a team is messy. I am pleased we have had this huge amount of change in such a short period of time. Now it is time to settle in and work on continuity, teamwork and becoming competitive. Then it’s on to becoming a playoff team by continuing to rebuild and invest – and then to becoming a destination, and competing for a ring.

We can’t short-circuit the process, but the first wave of massive change has been completed.

[closg00]

WOW, just WOW!
http://www.bulletsforever.com/2012/9/7/ ... rst-in-pro

[hands11]

WOW, just WOW!
http://www.bulletsforever.com/2012/9/7/ ... rst-in-pro

You are joking I hope.

[montestewart]

WOW, just WOW!
http://www.bulletsforever.com/2012/9/7/ ... rst-in-pro

You are joking I hope.

I hope you are joking.

[nate33]

WOW, just WOW!
http://www.bulletsforever.com/2012/9/7/ ... rst-in-pro

Pretty odd reasoning. The Wizards appear to rank low because they've completely turned over the roster over the past two years (only Cartier Martin has been on the team more than 2 years). I don't see why that's such a bad thing when the team was so embarrassingly bad two years ago.

They also throw in a shot at Randy Wittman, claiming the fans are displeased with his performance. Wittman took a 2-15 team and coached them to an 18-31 record (11-14 post Nene trade). He's doing just fine.

[closg00]

But Ted isn't on this list
http://www.sbnation.com/2012/9/10/33074 ... rling-hook


How a player could ever go play for an infamous racist like Clippers Sterling is just mind-boggling.

[payitforward]

But Ted isn't on this list
http://www.sbnation.com/2012/9/10/33074 ... rling-hook

How a player could ever go play for an infamous racist like Clippers Sterling is just mind-boggling.

Probably, it's the money?

I don't think Ted has been the owner of the Wizards long enough that we can judge him. He's made one major mistake -- retaining Ernie Grunfeld -- and one foolish marketing error -- making a 19 year old rookie into the face of the franchise.

When this season unrolls in dismal fashion, as it seems likely to, we'll see what Ted does about Ernie. If he replaces him, maybe there's hope for us fans. If he buys the inevitable excuses... not so much.

[Chocolate City Jordanaire]

WORST OWNER: ACTUALLY A BAD OWNER EDITION

Winner: Michael Jordan.

We're giving MJ credit for his work as a minority owner who ran the team as president. He did the same thing for a while with the Washington Wizards, so we're opening up a wide umbrella here. He's not a good basketball decision-maker. Period. He picked Kwame Brown and verbally beat him into submission ... which didn't work. He sold the farm for one playoff season in Charlotte ... a move which set back the team's long-term progress years and years. He presided over the worst season in NBA history by winning percentage. And while there now seems to be a long-term plan led by Rich Cho, Jordan somehow has a rebuilding team that has or will feature each of Corey Maggette and Ben Gordon.

This might be the Birmingham Barons II. MJ just might not be good at leading a basketball organization while wearing a suit.

Off the top, Maggette was traded for Ben Gordon and a first--MJ got rid of a bad player and replaced him with a useful player plus a first round pick. The article has a huge factual error saying both are on the Bobcats.

I disagree with this summation of MJ as a part-owner. He didn't mortgage the future for one playoff run. Tyson Chandler got them to the playoffs, something Okafor hadn't done in years.

http://www.basketball-reference.com/teams/CHA/2010.html

The Bobcats made the playoffs in 2009-2010. They allowed the fewest points in the NBA under Larry Brown, and had a record of 44-38. Gerald Wallace, Boris Diaw, and Tyson Chandler were each 27 years old. Raymond Felton was 25 and Stephen Jackson was 31. There was nothing terrible about that roster except that similar to this year's Wizard team, it lacked offensive firepower.

That team was swept 4-0 in the playoffs. That playoffs the highest-paid player, Chandler, had more fouls than points or rebounds for the series. He played 60 minutes and had 16 fouls trying to guard Dwight Howard.

That next season Chandler left and went to the Mavericks, where he made Cuban look like a genius for giving him even more money than MJ.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charlotte_ ... Appearance

2010–2012: Struggles under Jordan

The Bobcats began the 2010–11 season with high hopes following their success the previous season. Despite the departures of key players such as Raymond Felton and Tyson Chandler, the Bobcats started their season hoping to once again make the playoffs. However, the Bobcats struggled early during the season, and on December 22, 2010, following a dismal 9–19 start, Michael Jordan announced that Larry Brown had stepped down as the Bobcats Head Coach; that same day, veteran coach Paul Silas was hired as their new head coach. On February 24, 2011, the day of the NBA trade deadline, the Bobcats made some moves to clear up some cap space by sending former all-star forward Gerald Wallace to the Portland Trail Blazers for two first round draft picks, Joel Przybilla, Sean Marks, and Dante Cunningham. They also sent veteran center Nazr Mohammed to the Oklahoma City Thunder for DJ White and Mo Peterson. Going down the stretch, the injuries of Stephen Jackson and Tyrus Thomas killed any chances of Charlotte trying to catch the Indiana Pacers, who swept them 0–4 in the regular season, for the eighth spot in the east. In the end, the Bobcats finished the season with a 34–48 record, finishing 25–29 under Paul Silas.

MJ, after getting them to their first playoffs quickly blew that team up and has managed to free up cap after this season while putting veterans around Micheal Kidd-Gilchrist and Bismack Biyombo for much cheaper than the Wizards have around John Wall and Brad Beal.

What the Bobcats have now is a much better cap situation than the Wizards. Their team this season will win three times the games they did last season with a very flexible cap moving forward.

http://www.basketball-reference.com/contracts/CHA.html

Charlotte Bobcats Team Payroll
Current Salary Cap: $58,044,000
Charlotte Cap Hit: $57,557,518 ($486,482 under salary cap)

Free Agent Cap Holds: $1,708,778
Unsigned Draft Pick Cap Holds: $0

Largest Cap Hit: Ben Gordon ($12,400,000)
Largest Guarantee: Tyrus Thomas ($26,082,645)

http://www.basketball-reference.com/contracts/WAS.html

Washington Wizards Team Payroll
Current Salary Cap: $58,044,000
Washington Cap Hit: $60,572,969 ($2,528,969 over salary cap)

Free Agent Cap Holds: $3,417,556
Unsigned Draft Pick Cap Holds: $0

Largest Cap Hit: Emeka Okafor ($13,490,000)
Largest Guarantee: Nene Hilario ($52,000,000)

From my vantage point, I think the Bobcats management is way ahead of Ted and Ernie. The Wizards have essentially what the Bobcats had in 2009, a defensive team that if it makes the playoffs won't go far. Charlotte IMO will finish within 5 games of the Wizards, and they've got a ton of cap space next season.

[rockymac52]

Their cap space is not nearly as valuable as you're making it out to be. What good free agent is going to want to go to the Bobcats? The BOBCATS. Even if they show some improvement to avoid being the worst team in the history of the NBA, they're still going to be awful as a whole. Seriously though, I can understand some guys might follow the money if it's there, but now we're talking about the Bobcats overpaying an above average player by a good $2-3 million per year. That's what it would take. Like paying a guy worth $12 million a year, maximum money instead. That's what the Bobcats will have to do to use that cap space in free agency. That's not a good long-term plan for success. Cho won't do that.

Likewise, even if the Wizards had cap space, we might fall into that same dilemma. Cap space isn't that great when no one genuinely WANTS to come to play for our city, unless it's because they're getting significantly overpaid or because they can't get a deal with anyone else.

[montestewart]

Their cap space is not nearly as valuable as you're making it out to be. What good free agent is going to want to go to the Bobcats? The BOBCATS. Even if they show some improvement to avoid being the worst team in the history of the NBA, they're still going to be awful as a whole. Seriously though, I can understand some guys might follow the money if it's there, but now we're talking about the Bobcats overpaying an above average player by a good $2-3 million per year. That's what it would take. Like paying a guy worth $12 million a year, maximum money instead. That's what the Bobcats will have to do to use that cap space in free agency. That's not a good long-term plan for success. Cho won't do that.

Likewise, even if the Wizards had cap space, we might fall into that same dilemma. Cap space isn't that great when no one genuinely WANTS to come to play for our city, unless it's because they're getting significantly overpaid or because they can't get a deal with anyone else.

Cap space got Seraphin, Nene, Okafor, Ariza. I guess you're saying those were bad moves?

The various ways cap space can be used have been simply, clearly, and repeatedly been illustrated here, yet some continually reduce those stated options to a singular, delusional belief that we will sign a marquee player to reasonable contracts. Such distortion of arguments belongs in the Black Hole.

(And cap space brought YI. Don't forget Yi.)

[LyricalRico]

The various ways cap space can be used have been simply, clearly, and repeatedly been illustrated here, yet some continually reduce those stated options to a singular, delusional belief that we will sign a marquee player to reasonable contracts.

HOF post.

[Chocolate City Jordanaire]

Their cap space is not nearly as valuable as you're making it out to be. What good free agent is going to want to go to the Bobcats? The BOBCATS. Even if they show some improvement to avoid being the worst team in the history of the NBA, they're still going to be awful as a whole. Seriously though, I can understand some guys might follow the money if it's there, but now we're talking about the Bobcats overpaying an above average player by a good $2-3 million per year. That's what it would take. Like paying a guy worth $12 million a year, maximum money instead. That's what the Bobcats will have to do to use that cap space in free agency. That's not a good long-term plan for success. Cho won't do that.

Likewise, even if the Wizards had cap space, we might fall into that same dilemma. Cap space isn't that great when no one genuinely WANTS to come to play for our city, unless it's because they're getting significantly overpaid or because they can't get a deal with anyone else.

I bet the Bobcats will be about as good as the Wizards this season. I also would wager that when Rich Cho invests money next season, he will get better veterans than Okafor or Ariza; AND he will also land a marquee player that is better than Nene.

Charlotte won't be a terrible destination and they will make better use of their cap moving forward. Meanwhile, this Wizard team will really try hard to get to 44-38, but they will be locked in with oft-injured Nene moving forward.

I am not putting too much value on their cap space. I predict you will see that by next season.

http://www.hoopsworld.com/2013-nba-free-agents

All Charlotte needs to do is be a surprise team on the way up with MKG and in 2013 they will have enough for two max contract deals. Players like Al Jefferson, Paul Millsap, Josh Smith, Chris Paul, Andrew Bynum, and Dwight Howard will listen to two max players on the same team with MKG.

Paul is from NC. MJ is the owner. You guys watch and see Micheal Jordan turn that team around way quicker the Ernie and Ted. Their sights are squarely on the bottom line and peak around mediocre.

[rockymac52]

CCJ, I gotta say, you're delusional on this one. It's one thing if you want to be down on the Wizards' chances this season. But it's a whole another story if you want to talk about the Bobcats having some success. Or them landing a big time free agent (bigger than Nene).

I'm a big Rich Cho fan, and I think eventually he'll find a way to make the Bobcats respectable again, but it's not happening this year.