Official 2013 Draft Thread - Part VII

[montestewart]

If you give us Valunciunas too, then sure!

For Okafor, Vesely, and Singleton works in the trade checker (if Okafor exercises his option).

[tontoz]

If you give us Valunciunas too, then sure!

For Okafor, Vesely, and Singleton works in the trade checker (if Okafor exercises his option).

JV may be the only thing their (now former) GM has gotten right since he took the job.

[montestewart]

If you give us Valunciunas too, then sure!

For Okafor, Vesely, and Singleton works in the trade checker (if Okafor exercises his option).

JV may be the only thing their (now former) GM has gotten right since he took the job.

Yeah, I don't seem them actually doing that, especially with a new and apparently competent GM.

[Severn Hoos]

That's why I'm rather sanguine about "missed" draft picks, because I don't believe those guys would have become "those guys" if they were on the Wiz. And it's also why I was OK with the Nene and Okariza trades and now am quite pleased with them, because the change to the environment has already paid off in improving the quality of (some of) the other players. I'd love to see the Wiz add Porter (and, to a slightly lesser extent, Zeller or Oladipo) to continue building that culture here.

Of course the opportunity cost was $42 million in cap room over this past season and next, which included the inability to trade (cough, Harden) or sign quality players. Well worth those extra 9 wins following a strike shortened season and improving the winning percentage from .303 to .354. I guess that's progress right?

Personally, I don't put much into the whole changing the culture by acquiring expensive vets. I believe it was all a quick fix to try to make the team competitive by a GM with little foresight or vision.

Did anyone notice how great the culture had become when were going through that 4-28 stretch? Probably not.

IMO, what changes the culture is acquiring quality players and winning games. That could have been done with any number of moves, outside of taking on 2 average NBA players making a combined $21 per a year.

Well, first off - keep in mind that any deal for Harden would have included Beal, and maybe other assets. Prada thinks it would have been Beal PLUS this years pick (and Singleton) - and that it would have been a good deal at the time. If so, and if we had not done the Okariza deal, we'd be looking at maybe Wall plus Harden and Nene and maybe Ilyasova? - no Okariza, no Beal, and no Porter/Dipo. (Do you really trust that Ernie would have put protection on that pick?) Not sure that team's any better than the one they have today, and depending on how you see Beal's future probably determines how you feel about it going forward.

Now, I couldn't agree with you more that quality players and winning games is what changes the culture. And certainly the deals could be criticized on the basis that the players acquired didn't see enough of the court to make it worthwhile. But the stretch of games from Wall's return to the end of March showed what they could do. The team was winning, playing the right way, and actually competing against the league's best. Most importantly, Wall and Beal looked like future All-Stars - and not distant future, but very soon.

I guess the questions are - how much of that was a mirage vs. long-term reality? And how much can be attributed to the trio of Nene, Okafor, and Ariza? If you feel it was a preview of what Wall & Beal will be going forward, and is somewhat/in large part due to the presence of the veterans, then you would gladly forgo an Ilyasova signing to get star/superstar play from your future cornerstones. If you think it would have happened anyway, then the $42M was indeed a waste.

I come down somewhere in between, but leaning to the side of the veterans making it possible for Wall (and to a lesser extent, Beal) to start to play like the elite player he can become. I'm fully confident it wouldn't have happened with Blatche/Young/McGee here, so no tears over their departure. So for that, I am OK with the deal, even if it meant we didn't get my mancrush Ersan. And I hope that the coming year looks like games 33-75 from this past season, which puts us squarely in the playoff hunt as a 4-6 seed, with the accompanying experience of a stretch run and playoff series or two to further season our young guys. That would make the deal a success, IMO - not for what they do on the court (which is to say I'm NOT satisfied with a 1st round exit going forward), but for the lasting impact it will hopefully have on the guys who we project will be here for the next decade.

And a final P.S. - I do agree that all of the benefits I described above are fortunate side effects of the deal, but that EG did it primarily as a short-term, job-saving move. Still, I can see those benefits and be glad, even if it was done for what appear to be the wrong reasons.

[jivelikenice]

Ok, so what happens if Porter is gone at #3? It's looking more and more like a possiblity now.

What does Ernie do? Does he take Noel despite some teams reportedly red flagging him? Does he go for the high risk/reward picks in Len or Bennett as he's done in the past or does he panic and trade out for the best offer available? (possibly Milwaukee or Minnesota).

Curious: Would Rudy Gay be of interest to y'all?

Wall
Beal
Gay
Singleton
Nene

?

No. Does he have an eyesight issue? I thought i read that somewhere.

http://basketball.realgm.com/wiretap/22 ... h-Rudy-Gay

I'd still consider trading for Rudy as long as our pick an abviously Wall/Beal aren't involved. He only has two years left on the deal so the contract isn't a killer. Obviously Rudy has flaws, but he is a freakish athlete with incredible skill. Is he redeemable or are his habits ingrained now? I just have a great deal of confidence in Wall and I think as long as he's runnign the show, he can make the game come easier for those around him.

[Kanyewest]

Some interesting notes from the Bill Simmons/Ryen Rusillo podcast

Rusillo: "I heard that Washington say that if (Noel) is on the board at #3, they won't take him"

Rusillo doesn't like Noel as a top pick either

1) Noel hasn't signed with an agent yet- he has blown off and ignored meetings with agents including World Wide Wes and he blew off one agent six times in a row.
2) He has a growth plate issue when he was a sophomore in high school
3) He's hurt with the knee
4) He doesn't have the skill set offensively like someone like Anthony Davis
5) Weight issues - teammates at Kentucky say that he was never 220.

[Severn Hoos]

Some interesting notes from the Bill Simmons/Ryen Rusillo podcast

1) Noel hasn't signed with an agent yet- he has blown off and ignored meetings with agents including World Wide Wes and he blew off one agent six times in a row.

So I guess we can chalk up Basketball IQ as a strength for him.

[DANNYLANDOVER]

Ok, so what happens if Porter is gone at #3? It's looking more and more like a possiblity now.

What does Ernie do? Does he take Noel despite some teams reportedly red flagging him? Does he go for the high risk/reward picks in Len or Bennett as he's done in the past or does he panic and trade out for the best offer available? (possibly Milwaukee or Minnesota).

Curious: Would Rudy Gay be of interest to y'all?

Wall
Beal
Gay
Singleton
Nene

?

LOL no ****

[Rafael122]

Some interesting notes from the Bill Simmons/Ryen Rusillo podcast

Rusillo: "I heard that Washington say that if (Noel) is on the board at #3, they won't take him"

Rusillo doesn't like Noel as a top pick either

1) Noel hasn't signed with an agent yet- he has blown off and ignored meetings with agents including World Wide Wes and he blew off one agent six times in a row.
2) He has a growth plate issue when he was a sophomore in high school
3) He's hurt with the knee
4) He doesn't have the skill set offensively like someone like Anthony Davis
5) Weight issues - teammates at Kentucky say that he was never 220.

1. Already signed with an agent in the last few days
2. That was known and may have led to the ACL tear.
3. Yes...and?
4. Yes...and?
5. He's 18 and had less than a year in college, b/c the kid weighed 220 or didn't isn't indicative that he's never going to weigh more than that in the pros.

[Dat2U]

Some interesting notes from the Bill Simmons/Ryen Rusillo podcast

Rusillo: "I heard that Washington say that if (Noel) is on the board at #3, they won't take him"

Rusillo doesn't like Noel as a top pick either

1) Noel hasn't signed with an agent yet- he has blown off and ignored meetings with agents including World Wide Wes and he blew off one agent six times in a row.
2) He has a growth plate issue when he was a sophomore in high school
3) He's hurt with the knee
4) He doesn't have the skill set offensively like someone like Anthony Davis
5) Weight issues - teammates at Kentucky say that he was never 220.

1) Absolutely meaningless unless he's blowing off teams too.
2) Worth investigating thoroughly
3) Certainly that's the biggest concern. I wouldn't draft him until the docs got a good look at him.
4) We already knew that. But nothing stops him from being a Tyson Chandler like finisher around the rim. He's not being drafted for his offensive upside. If he ever develops a face up game with a mid-range jumper, that's icing on the cake.
5) I don't care what he weighed in college, he had a huge impact. I'd be more concerned about his ability to put on weight.

[GhostsOfGil]

Some interesting notes from the Bill Simmons/Ryen Rusillo podcast

Rusillo: "I heard that Washington say that if (Noel) is on the board at #3, they won't take him"

-snip-

5) Weight issues - teammates at Kentucky say that he was never 220.

He already said that his playing weight in Kentucky was 215.

[jivelikenice]

I was never interested in Noel and this further solidifes that. Let someone else be held hostage by the notion that Noels is the presumed #1 pick and feel obligated to draft him as a value pick.

[montestewart]

Bullets/Wizards storied history is littered with examples of real men who had no problem putting on weight.

[jivelikenice]

Some interesting notes from the Bill Simmons/Ryen Rusillo podcast

Rusillo: "I heard that Washington say that if (Noel) is on the board at #3, they won't take him"

-snip-

5) Weight issues - teammates at Kentucky say that he was never 220.

He already said that his playing weight in Kentucky was 215.

He also mentioned 225 elsewhere. http://www.sbnation.com/nba/2013/5/18/4 ... basketball

[jivelikenice]

Some interesting notes from the Bill Simmons/Ryen Rusillo podcast

Rusillo: "I heard that Washington say that if (Noel) is on the board at #3, they won't take him"

Rusillo doesn't like Noel as a top pick either

1) Noel hasn't signed with an agent yet- he has blown off and ignored meetings with agents including World Wide Wes and he blew off one agent six times in a row.
2) He has a growth plate issue when he was a sophomore in high school
3) He's hurt with the knee
4) He doesn't have the skill set offensively like someone like Anthony Davis
5) Weight issues - teammates at Kentucky say that he was never 220.

1) Absolutely meaningless unless he's blowing off teams too.
2) Worth investigating thoroughly
3) Certainly that's the biggest concern. I wouldn't draft him until the docs got a good look at him.
4) We already knew that. But nothing stops him from being a Tyson Chandler like finisher around the rim. He's not being drafted for his offensive upside. If he ever develops a face up game with a mid-range jumper, that's icing on the cake.
5) I don't care what he weighed in college, he had a huge impact. I'd be more concerned about his ability to put on weight.

#1 is absolutely meaningless? I'm not saying it should carry huge weight but doesn't it concern you that he's not approaching this as a professional should?

[montestewart]

Some interesting notes from the Bill Simmons/Ryen Rusillo podcast

Rusillo: "I heard that Washington say that if (Noel) is on the board at #3, they won't take him"

-snip-

5) Weight issues - teammates at Kentucky say that he was never 220.

He already said that his playing weight in Kentucky was 215.

He also mentioned 225 elsewhere. http://www.sbnation.com/nba/2013/5/18/4 ... basketball

He does say that was in the offseason, and it makes sense that his weight could be higher then. I know my weight's higher in the offseason, which seems to be lasting forever.

[Dat2U]

Some interesting notes from the Bill Simmons/Ryen Rusillo podcast

Rusillo: "I heard that Washington say that if (Noel) is on the board at #3, they won't take him"

Rusillo doesn't like Noel as a top pick either

1) Noel hasn't signed with an agent yet- he has blown off and ignored meetings with agents including World Wide Wes and he blew off one agent six times in a row.
2) He has a growth plate issue when he was a sophomore in high school
3) He's hurt with the knee
4) He doesn't have the skill set offensively like someone like Anthony Davis
5) Weight issues - teammates at Kentucky say that he was never 220.

1) Absolutely meaningless unless he's blowing off teams too.
2) Worth investigating thoroughly
3) Certainly that's the biggest concern. I wouldn't draft him until the docs got a good look at him.
4) We already knew that. But nothing stops him from being a Tyson Chandler like finisher around the rim. He's not being drafted for his offensive upside. If he ever develops a face up game with a mid-range jumper, that's icing on the cake.
5) I don't care what he weighed in college, he had a huge impact. I'd be more concerned about his ability to put on weight.

#1 is absolutely meaningless? I'm not saying it should carry huge weight but doesn't it concern you that he's not approaching this as a professional should?

No, blowing off teams is a different story. I could care less about his dealings with an agent. Plus we only know one side of the story. I'd be wary of information like this flying around. Everyone has a motive regarding information leaks.

[Ruzious]

#1 might be a plus - considering how obnoxious dealing with agents can be. He's probably been beseiged by those guys doing everything they can to get a meeting with him. If he doesn't have his own infrastructure (family, advisor, etc) to deal with their requests, it's probably an overwhelming pain in the arse for a 19 year old to handle.

If Len is the first pick, that's a good thing for the Wizards - and there's a GM in Cleveland that will likely lose his job within a couple of years. If they draft Noel, who knows - maybe they'll be able to attract Lebron next year. I doubt it, but ya never know.

[verbal8]

Some interesting notes from the Bill Simmons/Ryen Rusillo podcast

Rusillo: "I heard that Washington say that if (Noel) is on the board at #3, they won't take him"

Rusillo doesn't like Noel as a top pick either

1) Noel hasn't signed with an agent yet- he has blown off and ignored meetings with agents including World Wide Wes and he blew off one agent six times in a row.
2) He has a growth plate issue when he was a sophomore in high school
3) He's hurt with the knee
4) He doesn't have the skill set offensively like someone like Anthony Davis
5) Weight issues - teammates at Kentucky say that he was never 220.

1. Already signed with an agent in the last few days

http://sports.yahoo.com/news/nba--nerle ... 12105.html

Not sure who Frank Catapano is, but Andy Miller represents a bunch of players(30+, including Garnett and Haywood).

[GhostsOfGil]

Draft express has a new Bennett video up:

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8fmWXFy5amI[/youtube]