Countdown to Ernie Grunfeld Firing

[stevemcqueen1]

Ernie is going to get a contract extension.

If Ted didn't can him when he took over, and he didn't can him based on his performance since, why on earth wouldn't he keep him going forward?

Maybe we make the playoffs, Ernie gets greedy, and asks for too much money?

Maybe he takes a different job, selling himself as the "architect of the rebuild in DC."

Of all the decisions Ernie has made that should have been a fireable offense, the one I can't believe he survived was gun gate. That goes beyond the game. He should have been forced to step down on the spot for that! How can someone who fostered the kind of organizational culture--where the franchise player brings guns into the locker room in a pissing contest with a complete thug of a teammate (who later allegedly murdered a woman) over a gambling dispute--come out of that debacle unscathed???

And then the players are huddled up and cracking jokes about the whole thing right in front of everybody before the game!

Nevermind what a travesty of professionalism that must have been the rule here merely for the franchise player to take a **** in a teammate's shoe. Can you imagine ever hearing about KD or LeBron doing that? Kobe?

It still makes me angry whenever I think about it.

[stevemcqueen1]

Does 0-7 get EG fired? If Philly is actually a decent team, I think this is a possibility.

Not saying Wittman should be fired, but I think a start that bad would get him fired.

0-7 isn't going to happen, nor will it get Randy or EG fired if 0-12 and 4-28 or whatever didn't do the job last year. Not when they're in the final year of their deals. They're working cheap right now. And replacing them now won't realistically improve our situation this season. So what would probably happen is they'd stay on until their contracts are up at the end of the season.

[stevemcqueen1]

We were playoffs or heads will roll last season too.

[hands11]

There are enough pieces here to turn into something if they go in that direction.

[montestewart]

Does 0-7 get EG fired? If Philly is actually a decent team, I think this is a possibility.

Not saying Wittman should be fired, but I think a start that bad would get him fired.

0-7 isn't going to happen, nor will it get Randy or EG fired if 0-12 and 4-28 or whatever didn't do the job last year. Not when they're in the final year of their deals. They're working cheap right now. And replacing them now won't realistically improve our situation this season. So what would probably happen is they'd stay on until their contracts are up at the end of the season.

You're probably right, but If there's a lot of losing this year coupled with open player discontent, I could see Witt getting replaced by Cassell, if only to create an appearance of responsiveness.

[verbal8]

Does 0-7 get EG fired? If Philly is actually a decent team, I think this is a possibility.

Not saying Wittman should be fired, but I think a start that bad would get him fired.

0-7 isn't going to happen, nor will it get Randy or EG fired if 0-12 and 4-28 or whatever didn't do the job last year. Not when they're in the final year of their deals. They're working cheap right now. And replacing them now won't realistically improve our situation this season. So what would probably happen is they'd stay on until their contracts are up at the end of the season.

0-7 would indicate this isn't a sure fire play-off team. You can't fire the players, so usually the coach is the first to go. Usually a GM doesn't get fired mid-season. However doing so would let the new guy clean the team up at the trade deadline and thoroughly scout for the draft/off-season. Although you pay 2 GMs, you only end up paying that for part of a season rather than multiple seasons.

[Nivek]

Usually a GM doesn't get fired mid-season. ...

No reason to wait that long. Get it done EARLY in the season.

[Dat2U]

As long as we tread water, I think EG & Witt are okay, at least during the season. I don't see 0-7 from this roster or 4-28. I don't think were capable of being terrible anymore with Gortat in the middle and a healthy Wall/Beal, but something like a 15-20 start is a real possibility, especially if Nene is going to pussyfoot around with nagging injuries.

I don't know what's the breaking point for a guy like Ted. He's patient to a fault and refuses to overreact to anything. A 35 win season might be perfectly acceptable to him as long as it's actual improvement in the win/loss record. I honestly don't believe Ted when he says playoffs or bust because he walked back from that last season. If we go down to the final week of the season and barely miss the playoffs, I think that's enough in Ted's eyes to keep status quo. Especially if injuries get to play yet another role in the excuse making process.

[Illuminaire]

^
Everything Dat said is why my fandom (faness? fanicity? ) divorced the Wizards late last season, once it became clear that Ted wasn't serious about building an elite team... just an elite marketing machine.

[stevemcqueen1]

If we miss the playoffs, I think Ted will at least replace Wittman. He doesn't have to fire Wittman to make the change, which is the key point.

But I also really don't see Ted going out and spending big money for a big name coach. I think he'd look for another cheap coach.

[montestewart]

If we miss the playoffs, I think Ted will at least replace Wittman. He doesn't have to fire Wittman to make the change, which is the key point.

But I also really don't see Ted going out and spending big money for a big name coach. I think he'd look for another cheap coach.

I hope he's at least more open to trying a younger coach as an alternative.

[closg00]

Look at Wiz history under Grunfeld, coach Witt will be fired (as were EFJ & Flip) long before Ted begins to take a good hard look at Ernie himself. Ernie is a master of saving himself while pointing the blame everywhere except where it belongs, with him.

[jivelikenice]

I've defended moves Ernie has made at times here but for the life of me I don't get why the cut Brown and kept Singleton. Seeing Temple (instead of Rice) play backup two next to Maynor made it only worse. Just awful

[stevemcqueen1]

Meh, Brown's a bum and he makes more money than Singleton and they didn't want to have to make too many personnel changes the day or two before the season started. This doesn't rate high for me on Ernie's list of mistakes and flaws.

[Nivek]

Brown's no loss, but I can't see how dropping Singleton for Brown could count as "too many" personnel changes. Singleton is an NBA scrub and he's injured. In the NFL, they'd give him an injury settlement and send him on his way. In the NBA, he's getting paid either way, but if there's a better player around, no harm in dropping Singleton to take a look.

Now Brown's not that guy -- not in any meaningful sense. He's an NBA scrub too.

[Chocolate City Jordanaire]

Brown's no loss, but I can't see how dropping Singleton for Brown could count as "too many" personnel changes. Singleton is an NBA scrub and he's injured. In the NFL, they'd give him an injury settlement and send him on his way. In the NBA, he's getting paid either way, but if there's a better player around, no harm in dropping Singleton to take a look.

Now Brown's not that guy -- not in any meaningful sense. He's an NBA scrub too.

I disagree.

Nivek, the rant to follow isn't against you. If anything, I think I've been eating way too healthy. I need a Snicker's bar and it is Halloween.

RANT TO FOLLOW. WARNING ….

… Shannon Brown has two NBA championship rings. He played 13 and 14 mpg on championship teams coached by Phil Jackson. On one championship team, Brown was a teammate of rookie, Trevor Ariza. Shannon Brown started, averaged 11ppg, and was a teammate of Marcin Gortat in Gortat's best NBA season.

No, IMO Brown would have been a hell of a good addition to the team. VETERAN, WINNER are things he could have brought by virtue of his experience, if not his ability. He's no scrub IMO.

Juwan Howard helped the Heat last season, when they were down in the series to the Spurs. LEADERSHIP can be in the form of instilling confidence or a fighting spirit because people recognize authenticity and they respect the person speaking isn't just talking the talk.

The Wizards could have added a winner.

Even that kid Kendall Marshall could have added something to the team. Dude went to school in Arlington, VA, and was a Tar Heel who set ACC records. Might have been a Wizards fan all along. I don't get why the people who make decisions are so dense after a dozen years of my giving stuff away.

I'm really getting old and bitter, and I won't be posting these ideas much longer in this forum.

[Nivek]

CCJ: I respect your views, of course, but I'm unpersuaded. Shannon Brown does have a couple championship rings. Darko has one. So does Ian Mahinimi. And Brian Cardinal. And Chuck Nevitt. And Brendan Haywood, Deshawn Stevenson, Luke Walton, Malik Rose and so on. Being a member of a winning team doesn't bring with it some automatic "winner-ness" that can be spread in a new place like a virus.

Not sure what Juwan Howard did to help the Heat against the Spurs. He didn't play a single minute in the playoffs last season. And he had zero championship experience.

Maybe Brown being in the locker room helps other guys be more productive. I guess that's possible. But he's not a good player.

If the Wiz were going to keep anyone from that deal, I think it should have been Marshall. He rated as being worth a late 1st round pick coming out of college. He was terrible as a rookie, though. PGs often start slow and then get better, but what he did last year spits out "comps" like Bobby Hurley, Michael Jackson, Geoff Huston, Steve Henson and Eric Maynor. Maybe he'll put it together somewhere down the line and make a contribution. More likely, he's not going to be much good in the NBA. He'll probably make a nice living for himself playing overseas for the next decade.

Given ages and cost, I'd take Marshall over Maynor, but that decision was made when the Wizards gave Maynor that contract. They're tied to him for the next couple years.

[Dat2U]

I'm really getting old and bitter, and I won't be posting these ideas much longer in this forum.

Actually I think your making too much out of nothing. Your arguing and getting upset over guys that either aren't good NBA players (Shannon Brown) or aren't NBA quality players at all (Kendall Marshall, Jan Vesely). These guys aren't helping the Wizards or any team for that matter.

[stevemcqueen1]

Brown's no loss, but I can't see how dropping Singleton for Brown could count as "too many" personnel changes. Singleton is an NBA scrub and he's injured. In the NFL, they'd give him an injury settlement and send him on his way. In the NBA, he's getting paid either way, but if there's a better player around, no harm in dropping Singleton to take a look.

Now Brown's not that guy -- not in any meaningful sense. He's an NBA scrub too.

Yeah Singleton is a scrub too. What I meant about the personnel changes was shuffling the rotations in the back court adding a guard or two you got as trade ballast right before the start of the season. Presumably we have some sort of plan for dividing the minutes between Wall, Beal, Maynor, Temple, and hopefully Rice.

[Nivek]

I sorta see what you're saying, but jeebus -- if the guards and SFs currently on the Wiz roster can't beat out Shannon Brown for minutes, the Wizards are in much worse shape than any of us think.