Wizards 2019 Offseason Thread

[nate33]

The reason why you deal him is with Wall, we can't afford him. At least we can't afford them both AND put a legit team around them, and with Wall's injury we won't be good next year regardless. We need rookie contracts.

It like the Redskins with Alex Smith.. They need a new quarterback on a rookie deal.

So the best best is to get draft picks, low salaries, potential upside. Of course it's a gamble. What about the Hawks with picks 5 & 6 ?? But would they be interested they are also rebuilding...

I mean what deal would you make?? The Lakers for Ball and picks??? I like the 3 picks because I think you can get a gem in That 14-21 range. Maybe I'm wrong. But the team I'm watching vs the Bulls last night with Beal is just horrendous.

The salary is a problem, but that problem is Wall, not Beal. Beal is worth his salary, and if he continues to play like this, he is worth a supermax.

Also, let's not overstate the salary problem. The overlap of Wall and Beal's supermax will be just 2 years. If the team is smart, they'll stay out of the luxtax before and after so they don't have to worry about the repeater tax penalty. So, at worst, they'll pay a non-repeater luxtax for 2 years, and even that may not be necessary. Wall and Beal will make a combined 70% of the cap. That leaves about 50% of the cap for everyone else before hitting the luxtax. Right now, Sato, Bryant, Green, Ariza, Parker, Dekker, Brown and Portis combined make just 50% of the cap. Take out Ariza and it's just 35% of the cap. (I'm not saying we should keep all of those players, I'm just saying you can field a halfway competent roster around Wall and Beal with just 50% of the cap at your disposal.)

The real key is to avoid any bad Mahinmi-like contracts. As long as EG (or whomever the GM is) knows that those two supermax salaries are looming, they won't splurge on big contracts.

The main constraint about the two supermax contracts is that it will mean we are unable to sign a third player to a large contract. We wouldn't be able to afford if Tony Brown blew up and became the next Otto Porter. But Brown is the only guy on the roster with any potential of that happening. Any other guy we draft now won't be off his rookie deal until Wall's contract is done.

[Dat2U]

If were happy with just being semi competent for the next 4 years b/c was have a legit all-star in Beal then what's point? Are we really keeping Beal just to go for the 8th seed and fail every year? Does anyone really think your winning anything of significance with Jabari Parker as your 2nd best player. Or is it Tomas Satoransky? Or is it Thomas Bryant? Which one of these studs is going to be the next breakout star?

Outside of Beal the cupboard is about as bare as it can get so I'm just lost at the notion that we should keep the group together, draft well and we'll be okay.

[dckingsfan]

I like the back and forth on the direction we should take - I wonder if Ted isn't having those same discussions with himself and the staff right now...

[nate33]

If were happy with just being semi competent for the next 4 years b/c was have a legit all-star in Beal then what's point? Are we really keeping Beal just to go for the 8th seed and fail every year? Does anyone really think your winning anything of significance with Jabari Parker as your 2nd best player. Or is it Tomas Satoransky? Or is it Thomas Bryant? Which one of these studs is going to be the next breakout star?

Outside of Beal the cupboard is about as bare as it can get so I'm just lost at the notion that we should keep the group together, draft well and we'll be okay.

What else can we do? I've said I'm open to trading Beal, I just want fair value. I'm not going to sell him for 50 cents on the dollar because of the false belief that the sky will fall if we have to pay two supermax contracts for 2 years.

Other than trading Beal, all we can do is draft well and try and sign cost effective free agents. That's all anyone can do. At this point, semi-competent is all that is possible. That's what happens when you have a horrible GM who has traded away all of our 2nd round picks while giving away a max contract to a non-max player.

[dckingsfan]

I guess all of this changes after we draft Zion Williamson.

[payitforward]

If we're happy with just being semi competent for the next 4 years b/c was have a legit all-star in Beal then what's point? Are we really keeping Beal just to go for the 8th seed and fail every year? Does anyone really think your winning anything of significance with Jabari Parker as your 2nd best player. Or is it Tomas Satoransky? Or is it Thomas Bryant? Which one of these studs is going to be the next breakout star?

Outside of Beal the cupboard is about as bare as it can get so I'm just lost at the notion that we should keep the group together, draft well and we'll be okay.

What else can we do? I've said I'm open to trading Beal, I just want fair value. I'm not going to sell him for 50 cents on the dollar because of the false believe that the sky will fall if we have to pay two supermax contracts for 2 years.

Other than trading Beal, all we can do is draft well and try and sign cost effective free agents. That's all anyone can do. At this point, semi-competent is all that is possible. That's what happens when you have a horrible GM who has traded away all of our 2nd round picks while giving away a max contract to a non-max player.

...& turned a zillion other picks into nada while signing FAs that he has to give picks to ditch. For which reason it's less important what we do than... who is doing it?

The reality is that if Ernie is still our GM, of course we will aim to be "semi-competent... the 8th seed...." Any more radical set of moves would be an admission of his previous failures, which is simply not something Ernie does.

OTOH, if we have a new GM, then wouldn't it be likely we'd be starting over? In that case, surely, we'd be likely to try to get the most, most valuable, most forward-facing assets we could for Beal -- if not this off-season then at whatever point the new GM felt he was getting the most he would be able to get.

To me, that means it's not about 50 cents on the dollar or even about $1.50 on the dollar, though of course you work to get the best deal you can. Instead it's about time. If we have to rebuild, well then... the earlier we start the better.

[wco81]

Zach Lowe and Ryan Rusillo were going over the All-NBA list and they said Beal could make it this year, which would make him eligible for the super Max.

He can also make it next year and be eligible for the super Max.

So that may force the Wizards to trade Beal as much as anything.

[Dat2U]

I guess all of this changes after we draft Zion Williamson.

I'd still shop Beal and try to get Ja Morant plus more.

Or maybe try to get AD using Beal + sweetner to pair with Zion.

I haven't figured out which direction to go.

[gambitx777]

You really can't--and shouldn't--decide what to do with Wall until he returns and you see how healthy he is and how well he plays. That probably won't be until near the end of next season or the start of the 2020-21 season. By that time, the Zards will likely have two additional lottery picks on the roster, an experienced and, hopefully, developed Bryant and Brown, and Beal at around his peak at age 27. Don't know for sure what the other pieces will be at the time, but I'm guessing Sato and Parker will be in the mix.

As others have said, trading an all-NBA level player like Beal and hoping to find a player or two with his ability (not to mention his mentality and leadership) with a couple of mid- or late-first round picks is a huge gamble.

Honestly, I personally think we should move on from wall either way based on the locker room implications of him being here. I don't think he is a bad player. I hope he comes back and is the wall of old, but honestly I would rather just move on.

No one is going to willingly accept paying the super max for the next 4 years on a dude with a freshly torn achillies. It's a discussion we can only have after he returns and demonstrates he's still useful.

Not saying we would or should do this, but if we land a top 3 pick this year, and say hey suns john and 3 pick for what every and the bucks first next year. They do that trade all day long imo. but that's just me. I'm not saying hey are good ways but I think that if you pay to move him you can move him and I borderline think that's worth it. just my opinion though.

[SUPERBALLMAN]

At this point I would trade Wall for a bag of potato chips! I mean seriously this Wall situation has become every bit as bad as the Arenas debacle. i mean you wouldve thought Ernie would have learned his lesson!! Wasn't it Kornheiser who used to say this franchise was cursed?? The Juwan Howard contract monstrosity is another that comes to mind. These deals just strangle the team like a boa constrictor!!

[payitforward]

I guess all of this changes after we draft Zion Williamson.

I'd still shop Beal and try to get Ja Morant plus more.

Or maybe try to get AD using Beal + sweetener to pair with Zion.

I haven't figured out which direction to go.

Yeah... I'm all in on this. You lead, I'll follow!

[gambitx777]

Trading Beal for assets and tanking only gets us so far when we have a bad front office. Like we could have been contenders if some better moves were made along the way. So we tank end up trading wall in the last two years of his deal get a bunch of young cats and they get good enough to make the play offs and EG is still in charge and over pays some over the hill roll players and makes bad moves and we are back to where we are today. We need better leader ship. I don't think trading Beal is the answer imo.

[Illmatic12]

Zach Lowe and Ryan Rusillo were going over the All-NBA list and they said Beal could make it this year, which would make him eligible for the super Max.

He can also make it next year and be eligible for the super Max.

So that may force the Wizards to trade Beal as much as anything.

If he qualifies for the supermax they'll offer it to him.
Beal will only get traded IF he turns down the supermax and says he's not committed longterm.

[nate33]

I would offer Beal a 30% max extension if he makes All-NBA. That's still a great offer, better than waiting for free agency. As a free agent, he could only get 30% with 4.5% raises. We are offering 30% with 7.5% raises (at a minimum, the raises will be as much as the cap raises each year). And we are offering him the security of locking in that deal right now, 2 years before his new contract.

Tell Beal he isn't getting 35% right now because the Wizards are taking on the risk that he won't get seriously hurt over the next two years (like Wall did), and that risk is costing him 5%. If Beal wants the full 35%, he needs to wait until Summer 2021.

[DCZards]

Trading Beal for assets and tanking only gets us so far when we have a bad front office. Like we could have been contenders if some better moves were made along the way. So we tank end up trading wall in the last two years of his deal get a bunch of young cats and they get good enough to make the play offs and EG is still in charge and over pays some over the hill roll players and makes bad moves and we are back to where we are today. We need better leader ship. I don't think trading Beal is the answer imo.

Was talking to my Zards ticket rep at the game last night and he told me that the Wizards are being more flexible this year as to when season planholders have to make a full commitment for next season. The initial commit is March 25 but the Wizards are going to give planholders until probably June 30 to back out of that commitment. This gives season ticketholders time to see what moves the Zards make in the next 2-3 months, such as the draft. A guy who sits near me at the game said his ticket rep told him the same thing.

Apparently, many season tickholders, including myself, are letting it be known that they want to see changes made before committing to next season, most significantly getting rid of EG.

EG is a goner! Keep hope alive!

[NatP4]

A savvy GM could draft a quality player top 10, maybe hit on a player in round 2, make a nice under the radar signing, plenty of quality bargain FAs this summer, take out the trash (roster dead weight) and build a solid competitive team around Sato, Bryant, Brown, Beal.

[Dat2U]

A savvy GM could draft a quality player top 10, maybe hit on a player in round 2, make a nice under the radar signing, plenty of quality bargain FAs this summer, take out the trash (roster dead weight) and build a solid competitive team around Sato, Bryant, Brown, Beal.

Where's the legit 2nd option? Where's the interior defense.

Competitive in the sense that they are competitive now, sure. I think they could battle for the 8th seed next year and likely come up a few wins short.

This team is a long way from winning a single playoff series --- and that's just the first step of relevancy so I keep coming to the conclusion that it's time to cash in that very valuable lottery ticket.

[NatP4]

A savvy GM could draft a quality player top 10, maybe hit on a player in round 2, make a nice under the radar signing, plenty of quality bargain FAs this summer, take out the trash (roster dead weight) and build a solid competitive team around Sato, Bryant, Brown, Beal.

Where's the legit 2nd option? Where's the interior defense.

Competitive in the sense that they are competitive now, sure. I think they could battle for the 8th seed next year and likely come up a few wins short.

This team is a long way from winning a single playoff series --- and that's just the first step of relevancy so I keep coming to the conclusion that it's time to cash in that very valuable lottery ticket.

I agree with you, they probably need to tear it down and go for building block pieces, but there’s something to a Brandon Clarke+Thomas Bryant frontcourt. Sato and Beal are one of the better backcourts in the NBA. Brown Jr might be the real deal, who knows? He’s shown flashes.

I think the best building block 2nd option candidate is Troy Brown jr. He handles the ball like a primary guard. The Otto porter trade was just so stupid, he was supposed to be that guy. Remember, Thomas Bryant looks goofy as hell out there and is a mess at times defensively, but he is still averaging 18&11 per 36 on .682 TS% and .189 WS/48. Numbers don’t lie, that’s elite.

Keldon Johnson is growing on me big time as a secondary scoring option, he’s smooth, can make plays for others and get his. If you get a 1st for Otto, or just keep him, this situation is drastically improved. They need more talent.

Two massive holes, another creator/#2 option, and interior defense. They can’t fill both holes with 1 pick, but there are quality FAs out there. Thad Young and Ed Davis come to mind. I just love the Brandon Clarke fit. Can basically function as a center on O with Bryant’s ability to space the floor, on D, Clarke can be a regular wing and switch out and guard ANYONE, and protect the rim. It’s a match made in heaven.

Why the **** did they have to give away Otto and Oubre for nothing. What could’ve been. Imagine the lineups with Oubre and Porter at the 3&4 with Clarke at small ball 5. Smh

Sato Brown jr
Beal Brown jr
Otto Oubre
Clarke Dekker
Bryant whoever

[NatP4]

It just makes more sense to tear it down and trade Beal and Sato. I guess build around Bryant and Brown Jr+top 10 pick.

Tanking and loading up on assets as well as firing everyone in the organization is the only real way to go.

[Chocolate City Jordanaire]

I would offer Beal a 30% max extension if he makes All-NBA. That's still a great offer, better than waiting for free agency. As a free agent, he could only get 30% with 4.5% raises. We are offering 30% with 7.5% raises (at a minimum, the raises will be as much as the cap raises each year). And we are offering him the security of locking in that deal right now, 2 years before his new contract.

Tell Beal he isn't getting 35% right now because the Wizards are taking on the risk that he won't get seriously hurt over the next two years (like Wall did), and that risk is costing him 5%. If Beal wants the full 35%, he needs to wait until Summer 2021.

Conventional wisdom...fail.

I'd tell Beal we already have overpaid Wall. Ja Morant is a great kid and he is pretty good, maybe even better already than John Wall.

Beal is rich and he has been a great Wizard. I think the Wizards need to tell Beal he can help the team by standing pat for now.

No raise or new deal for now. Expect a tremendous trade.

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