If you took over as GM today, what would you do?

[tontoz]

Theoretically this team should have been unstoppable as the Bullets. Only Superman could stop a bullet.

And Neo.
Washington Matrix, sounds good?

A possibility. How about the Lobbyists. They can definitely be aggressive. Or the Agents or...... WTF we just need a new GDGM!

[nate33]

The Washington Bureaucracy.

Now THAT'S and intimidating name. Nobody defeats a bureaucracy. It just wears you down until you eventually capitulate.

[Terpman]

My formula for success:

1. Call Ernie & Randy to a meeting across town
2. Change locks
3. Invite George Karl over to his new office
4. Free up cap space by letting all expirings walk
5. Except Gortat. Start targeting Kevin Love in trade talks using Gortat & Ariza. Our cap space is pretty useless this coming offseason, as there are no centers or PFs that I would pursue. Love will be a FA after NEXT year, so be aggressive & see if we can get him sooner rather than on the open market. Willing to include future picks if necessary. If Love can't be pried away, make same offers for LaMarcus Aldridge - same FA class. This team has got to add inside scoring if Wall & Beal are going to have real success.
6. Try to unload Nene asap. 13.7mil for half a season every year is brutal.
7. Long term mission - recruit the hell out of Kevin Durant. Free up max space for 2016. Any team with KD & Beal ought to be pretty nasty by then. If other attempts to land a big fail. Then I use Wall & Porter as trade bait to land one.
8. Draft the best PF or C we can find in 2014. We need as much help inside as we can get.

I think Wittman has proven he cannot win in the NBA. Ernie has proven he's better than Wes, but not by much.
It's really hard to assess John Wall in particular, and our team as a whole with such a weak coach. Sorry Randy - you gotta go NOW. And Ernie doesn't get any more chances to mortgage the future to save his job. Bye Ernie.

[The Consiglieri]

What I originally wanted: never made the trade for Okariza, never made the trade for Gortat, keep all draft picks, build around youth, add a dash of vets that cost neither picks, nor massive cap money with reps for quality leadership and work ethic through free agency on cheap short term deals, even if they're a little past it.

At this stage I would move the Gortat contract in the winter along with the Ariza contract to teams picking late in round 1 for their draft picks.

Have everything available save Wall, Beal, and GRIII (the core), and Nene whose contract is unmoveable for another two+ years.

Tank hard, rest players like Otto the whole season if need be, aim for a top 4 pick, and deliberately lose if at all necessary. The Boulez and their fans deserve a special dispensation for deliberately losing based upon the last 30+ years of horse manure basketball, leadership, coaching, and front office draft day and free agency atrocities they've foisted upon their loyal fans. A rigged lotto gives us the #1 because damn it, we deserve it, threaten to drop daisy cutters on the draft night location if the lakers or celtics somehow land the #1 pick instead. Sounds about right.

[Mizerooskie]

It's not a stretch to say that the Wizards could have the best back court in the league in a few years with those two.

It's not a stretch if Wall ever turns the corner and becomes the great point guard that we hope he can be. But for now, he's not even in the conversation among the top 10 PG's in the game today. Heck, he might not be in the top 20. Right now, the following PG's are outplaying Wall:

Chris Paul
Eric Bledsoe
Stephen Curry
Mike Conley
Ty Lawson
Jeff Teague
Tony Parker
Brandon Jennings
Michael Carter-Williams
Damian Lillard
Kylie Lowry
Ricky Rubio
Jeremy Lin
Isaiah Thomas

And you can make a fair case that the following PG's are also outplaying him

Greivis Vasquez
Jose Calderon
Jordan Crawford
Steve Blake
Brandon Jennings
Russell Westbrook

I was really hoping to see the Wall from March and April last season. We're not getting it. Not even close. I really hope this is just a small stretch of poor play as a result of the back injury, because if this what we can expect from Wall for the season, then Wall is a bust and this franchise has been set back years and may as well rebuild all over again. It's not reasonable to expect significant improvement from a player going into his 5th year and beyond. What you see in his 4th year is likely to be pretty close to his peak.

I think that's an absolutely crazy post to make after 9 games. He was arguably a top-5 PG in the league in 49 games last season.

[montestewart]

The Washington Bureaucracy.

Now THAT'S and intimidating name. Nobody defeats a bureaucracy. It just wears you down until you eventually capitulate.

Get the other teams in tax trouble.

[hands11]

This team has one of the worst non basketball team names in the history of sports. What h*ll do wizards have anything to do with basketball?

there is not one part of being a wizard that relates to athleticism, aggression, hardwork, and hustle. teh image of wizard is a slacker, sits around all day creating spells,--

I would immediately change the name as my first agenda if I were Ted. He wonders why his basketball team has no identity.

There is no such thing as a YOUNG wizard. They are old, complaining, elitist, there is absolutely, the only people who can relate to wizards are harry potter fans. The team mascot identity heavily influences the psyche of the team.

Ted is faced with the almost insurmountable task of reinventing the definition of a wizard to help support his basketball identity. No one in DC cares about a wizard. It not part of the community, and its not part of tradition. The only reason you chose wizards is because it starts with a W. That was the worse decision Abe ever made and something Ted should have immediately changed along with the uniforms.

Again, TED immediately changed the name to something that creates an image of a winner. Create a team name that makes your players live up to the identity of the team.

Lakers---they have over 5 decades of success. What in the world is laker. you think of magic johnson, or all the championships they won. Celtics....they have an image of a fighting leprachaun......that's the image of the team. You have cavalier...a guy on a horse...not that great but at least its a fighter...you have pacers....race car.... that translates into running... you have pistons...running horse... you have hawks....predator...aggressive.....you have bobcats....crappy but at least its slightly aggressive....you have Heat....everyone relates to the heat...or being hot because of Miami...

you got the bucks...aggressive deer....then you got the knicks....what in the world is a knick...you just think madison square garden and long history.... 76ers....you think of Dr. J and the afro's...toronto raptors....agressive deadly dinosaurs...then you got the Magic...---that's has to be one of the least aggressive names with absolutely no connection to basketball...then you have the wizards....second worst non aggressive name in basketball.

Then you have western conference....grizzlies...bear...fits gasol and dbo greatly, spurs...san antonio...makes sense---wiley aggressive cowboys....portland trailblazers....trailblazers..is connected to oregon past...makes sense...Golden state warriors...again aggressive...New Orleans...smart...changed their name from pelicans...they want to be fast and fly and its state bird....Houston rockets...explosive....Utah Jazz....music....not that aggressive....but the team is built on rhythm....minnesota timberwolves...aggressive...oklahoma thunder....bang aggressive....sacramento kings....kings...translates to being on top...get it...dallas mavericks...someone who doesn't follow customs or rules...Mark Cuban trying to establish his team identity by always trying to break the rules...i get it....
How is TEd going to fix the image of Wizard....If the GM is well know for motion camera statistics....and becomes the face of the organization for being a wizard with NBA STATISTICS.....THAT MAKES SENSE.

Ted pushing forth a public campaign to re image the washington wizards into an organization that are a collecton of WIZARDS with INFORMATION.

that makes sense. BUT TED has YET to DO. Make it a culture that the entire organization are WIZARDS of INFORMATION. IF it's not information like stats, somebody in the organization needs to be branded as a WIZARD of something. Wizard like plays...meaning brilliant plays...

There is absolutely nothing about this orgnanization that suggest WIZARD....or high mastery of a particular area. TED needs to change the name to a name that motivates his team each game with an identity that he forces them to live up to. The leader of this team is far from the image of a wizard.---john wall is a wizard at what?....running fast in a straight line with the basketball. Beal is a wizard at what? shooting the basketball ?....Wittman is a wizard at what offense? Defense coaching? TED you need to quickly find something in this organization that everyone can point to as being a wizard...or you need to change the team name that creates motivation each game for the team.

Michael JOrdan...a bull----aggressive, stout, always charging, tough.....awesome team name---he worked to live up to image of a bull. Every time he saw his team logo, it reminded him of how he should be as a player. That's what you need for this team LEONSIS.

WizD, you called it. Wizard somehow encompasses both old/out of shape and juvenile/immature. Bald with pimples. That team ain't winning ****!

I liked the comment about being to lazy to do something so they conjure up a spell to do it instead.

But of all WizD's posts, this might have been my favorite.

Lets go Washington Beavers

We gonna chew you up
Cut you down
Defense that can block anything from passing.

[hands11]

Lest we forget the hyper-aggressive bobcats, wildly aggressive nuggets mined with Dynamite (BOOM), and the Sun - most aggressive celestial body in our neighborhood sustained entirely with nuclear blasts.

If they want to play off the celestial theme, I think

The Washington Uranus would work.

Beavers is probably better. Beavers.

Actually, we need something that works with DAGGER.

Washington Knights. Or Spartan ...

Baltimore got a good one in the Ravens. We do have Hawks but Atlanta took that.

[AFM]

Washington Uranus...
I can just imagine it now.

"Chris Paul with a beautiful backdoor cut on Uranus!" "Oh Kobe! What a drive on Uranus!!" "Drummond with the massive stuff on Uranus"

[Knighthonor]

DC Paladins

[hands11]

Washington Uranus...
I can just imagine it now.

"Chris Paul with a beautiful backdoor cut on Uranus!" "Oh Kobe! What a drive on Uranus!!" "Drummond with the massive stuff on Uranus"

Thank you sir. Laughing till tears come from our eyes is good for the soul. Just glad I wasn't drinking anything.

[hands11]

I'm liking the Knights. DC Knights sounds kind of bad ass. All kind of PR you can do off of that also.

But then watch crime go up in the city .. lol

Here is a bad ass bird. DC Osprey DCO.. Its is almost an Eagle. Knights might be better though.

DC Defenders ?

[AFM]

Since wall loves to dance, how about the DC Dougiers?

[Zonkerbl]

Bump.

So apparently even when healthy this team sucks. Is our situation even fixable?

[montestewart]

Bump.

So apparently even when healthy this team sucks. Is our situation even fixable?

Sure, just need a GM who's not trying to save his job NOW and an owner who's not trying to fill more seats NOW. I don't buy that the expensive veteran acquisitions were not almost wholly about winning a few more now, filling more seats now, trying to slip into a weak playoff field now, worrying about later later. It was a lame and horribly executed plan, fueled by weak aspirations. Move Ariza, Nene, Gortat for whatever they can get, Booker and Webster if the offer's good. Rebuild around Wall, Beal, Porter (or move the latter two if the offer's is good). Have better pre-game, halftime, post game entertainment to tide fans over, stop pretending this team is not in need of a major overhaul. It's like Pollin is still running the show.

I couldn't care less how loyal Terd appears regarding Ernie. He needs to be thinking about the clean slate goodwill he's frittering away. I'm not thinking about buying tickets again until I see a full season of good first. None of this, "Very excited about the upcoming season," and those trite team slogans they trot out every year.

[verbal8]

Bump.

So apparently even when healthy this team sucks. Is our situation even fixable?

Sure, just need a GM who's not trying to save his job NOW and an owner who's not trying to fill more seats NOW. I don't buy that the expensive veteran acquisitions were not almost wholly about winning a few more now, filling more seats now, trying to slip into a weak playoff field now, worrying about later later. It was a lame and horribly executed plan, fueled by weak aspirations. Move Ariza, Nene, Gortat for whatever they can get, Booker and Webster if the offer's good. Rebuild around Wall, Beal, Porter (or move the latter two if the offer's is good). Have better pre-game, halftime, post game entertainment to tide fans over, stop pretending this team is not in need of a major overhaul. It's like Pollin is still running the show.

I don't think Gortat or Ariza's get 1st rounders in 2014, but I think a top-5 protected 2015 pick might be appealing for a team trying to make a step up for this year. Sending Ariza to a Western team could really pay-off big time if they have a drop off in 2016.

Booker can be dealt if the offer is good, or kept on a cheap deal or he can walk if he gets a good offer sheet. If they let Gortat or Ariza go, then overpaying slightly for Booker on the QO isn't a big deal.

I don't think Nene has much trade value until the middle of next season. Hopefully dealing him at that point would net another 1st or a young productive player.

I agree the hope from the current squad is a core of Wall, Beal, Porter and Webster. I think it would be better to take the lumps of the next couple seasons and add young talent around them rather than overpaying vets to try and tread water at the current level.

[pancakes3]

Mike Prada came up with a cute little nickname for Wall/Beal backcourt: BW Parkway.

[montestewart]

Mike Prada came up with a cute little nickname for Wall/Beal backcourt: BW Parkway.

It won't sound so cute when opposing players cut unimpeded to the basket. At least Okafor provided a Mixing Bowl.

[noworriesinmd]

Mike Prada came up with a cute little nickname for Wall/Beal backcourt: BW Parkway.

Not sure if that would work outside of DC. Cool nickname, but people on the west coast would be like 'huh?"

[queridiculo]

If I was the GM of the Wizards I probably would have picked up the phone and tried to get in on the Bynum bonanza.

Moving Nene for expirings would be my ultimate goal, along with perhaps picking up a late first from a contender for Gortat at the deadline, and more of the same with Ariza.

This team isn't going anywhere as constructed, and the sooner we cut our losses to start over with a core of Wall and Beal the better.

Alienating John Wall is an obvious risk, but the team stands to be far more competitive in the future with both picks and massive salary cap flexibility going forward.