Kevin Seraphin

[closg00]

Here's another clip of some of his highlight from this season:

http://www.lnbtv.net/?videos=3098

About him playing 16minutes that's mainly because he was behind to good US PFs in his team and he was playing for the best team in the league with a pretty good roster so he wasn't the first option.

But He was in the starting 5 and was even named best players of the team in March or April so his playing time and role on the team developped during the season...

I think he could contribute and give good minutes next year (if he gets enought PT) but it doesn't make sense to make him come to play 5 minutes per game knowing there 3 other bigs and he would learn more playing 20-25 minutes in France (Cholet will play in the euroleague next year) or in another european team.

Nice clip, he's got a nice little soft hook-shot. I hope he can get that shot off against NBA centers and more athletic PF's.

[dangermouse]

So, he wanted to be in a Wiz uni because he wanted to play with John Wall? That is a pretty damn good sign, for both players. Seraphin must have a decent bbiq if he recognises that playing with Wall will make him better.

[Hoopalotta]

Sounds like Mike Lee is implying that Seraphin will play for us next year as he's talking about our cap figures...

The Wizards will need to address their scoring void in free agency, which begins on Thursday. Seraphin will earn $1.2 million - and the Wizards are only responsible for $500,000 toward his buyout from his French team, Cholet - and Booker is slated to get $1 million. Combined with Wall and Hinrich, the Wizards have added $15.5 million to the payroll for next season. Second-rounder Hamady N'Diaye, should he get a guaranteed deal, will come at a low price, around $700,000.

http://voices.washingtonpost.com/wizard ... the-w.html

I like it personally, especially based on the lockout. I'd be fine if he stayed in Europe for one year, but it's probably either this year, or a minimum of two years (maybe even three as he could get paid more if he waited three years as well).

I say we plug him in.

Of course Mike Lee is not infallible, but hopefully he's right on this one.

[closg00]

Sounds like Mike Lee is implying that Seraphin will play for us next year as he's talking about our cap figures...

The Wizards will need to address their scoring void in free agency, which begins on Thursday. Seraphin will earn $1.2 million - and the Wizards are only responsible for $500,000 toward his buyout from his French team, Cholet - and Booker is slated to get $1 million. Combined with Wall and Hinrich, the Wizards have added $15.5 million to the payroll for next season. Second-rounder Hamady N'Diaye, should he get a guaranteed deal, will come at a low price, around $700,000.

http://voices.washingtonpost.com/wizard ... the-w.html

I like it personally, especially based on the lockout. I'd be fine if he stayed in Europe for one year, but it's probably either this year, or a minimum of two years (maybe even three as he could get paid more if he waited three years as well).

I say we plug him in.

Lee is certainly more reliable than Woebon. If Kevin is out for a year, perhaps Ernie will keep Orberto for another year.

Of course Mike Lee is not infallible, but hopefully he's right on this one.

[ommmmmm7wytj]

Developing in the Euroleague or in the D league?

Ahah. Best joke ever.

Have you ever seen a player developing in this "league"?! If you want a player progress: let him play in a higher level: french proA and Euroleague. In Euroleague he can play against teams which could win against NBA low level teams like the Wiz.

^^^^
Anyone know why he was only playing 16 minutes per game in France?

Actually, it's good enough for a young player. More rotation, less minutes in FIBA, and less playing time for the young players, like everywhere else. (Spliter is not anymore a young player, and it's not the same talent).

[keynote]

Are there any official measurements on this guy? Where have we come out on that?

[verbal8]

Sounds like Mike Lee is implying that Seraphin will play for us next year as he's talking about our cap figures...

The Wizards will need to address their scoring void in free agency, which begins on Thursday. Seraphin will earn $1.2 million - and the Wizards are only responsible for $500,000 toward his buyout from his French team, Cholet - and Booker is slated to get $1 million. Combined with Wall and Hinrich, the Wizards have added $15.5 million to the payroll for next season. Second-rounder Hamady N'Diaye, should he get a guaranteed deal, will come at a low price, around $700,000.

http://voices.washingtonpost.com/wizard ... the-w.html

I like it personally, especially based on the lockout. I'd be fine if he stayed in Europe for one year, but it's probably either this year, or a minimum of two years (maybe even three as he could get paid more if he waited three years as well).

I say we plug him in.

Of course Mike Lee is not infallible, but hopefully he's right on this one.

Mike Lee seems to do a good job on the on-court stuff, but I question his CBA/financial coverage of the team. He has continued to reference both cap space and the TPEs. However to use the cap space(for the Hinrich deal), the Wizards will have to renounce the TPEs.

[Illuminaire]

Is anyone else paranoid about Lebron signing with someone on July 7th and the Bulls canceling our handshake deal?

*looks around furtively, waiting for the curse to jump another wizard*

[nate33]

Here's another clip of some of his highlight from this season:

http://www.lnbtv.net/?videos=3098

About him playing 16minutes that's mainly because he was behind to good US PFs in his team and he was playing for the best team in the league with a pretty good roster so he wasn't the first option.

But He was in the starting 5 and was even named best players of the team in March or April so his playing time and role on the team developped during the season...

I think he could contribute and give good minutes next year (if he gets enought PT) but it doesn't make sense to make him come to play 5 minutes per game knowing there 3 other bigs and he would learn more playing 20-25 minutes in France (Cholet will play in the euroleague next year) or in another european team.

Nice clip, he's got a nice little soft hook-shot. I hope he can get that shot off against NBA centers and more athletic PF's.

Yeah, that jump hooks looks pretty effective. He hit one with his left hand in the clip that Doc posted. He looks a bit short in this video though. He looks more like a PF than a C.

[verbal8]

Is anyone else paranoid about Lebron signing with someone on July 7th and the Bulls canceling our handshake deal?

*looks around furtively, waiting for the curse to jump another wizard*

Hinrich is not in their long-term plans. They may not have mortgaged their future as much as the Knicks or even the Heat, but they are pretty heavily committed to Free Agency this season.

I think this situation is similar to the big Z deal, except the agreement is explicit instead of implied. The Bulls would have a hard time completing trades with other teams in the future if they reneged on the deal with the WIzards. Would it really be worth it to them for 2 years of Hinrich and a project at Center who is not likely to ever be as good as Noah.

[fishercob]

Is anyone else paranoid about Lebron signing with someone on July 7th and the Bulls canceling our handshake deal?

*looks around furtively, waiting for the curse to jump another wizard*

Nah. By the same token, the Bulls could like up Lebron and Bosh over the next week and come July 7th say "okay, if you want to make this deal now it's going to cost you another two firsts and Taj Gibson."

[nate33]

Is anyone else paranoid about Lebron signing with someone on July 7th and the Bulls canceling our handshake deal?

*looks around furtively, waiting for the curse to jump another wizard*

The Bulls management wouldn't be trusted by any other GM for a generation. You can't do things like this in the business world and get away with it.

[verbal8]

Is anyone else paranoid about Lebron signing with someone on July 7th and the Bulls canceling our handshake deal?

*looks around furtively, waiting for the curse to jump another wizard*

Nah. By the same token, the Bulls could like up Lebron and Bosh over the next week and come July 7th say "okay, if you want to make this deal now it's going to cost you another two firsts and Taj Gibson."

There could be some tweaking of the deal depending on what happens with Free Agency. If the Bulls get 2 guys who both want the full max, then maybe James Johnson is a throw-in to the Wizards.

I also would not be shocked if the Wizards are listening to offers for Hinrich and it could become a 3 team deal.

[closg00]

^^^
I wouldn't mind Kirk ending-up elsewhere, I would love to have Wall and Randle as our young PG's, both will be breaking a lot of ankles in this league.

[rockymac52]

Just like fishercob said, we don't have to worry about that. While the Bulls could officially miss out on LeBron by then, they could still go for Wade, Bosh, Johnson, Boozer, Stoudemire, etc. Pair up any of those two and add them with Rose, Noah, Deng, and their bench, and you have a damn good team in the making. This offseason has made everyone think that you need an absolute elite player to succeed, but that's still a great team. Unless you have a perfectly designed team in place, you need to have one HOF caliber player on your roster these days, but a Rose/Noah/Johnson/Boozer squad has a **** of talent, and one of them could really develop into a HOF caliber player in that setting. Getting Johnson/Boozer when the fans have their hopes up for James/Bosh will seem like a letdown, but they have to step back and realize that their team just became unbelievably better.

Anyways, if LeBron is already gone, and those other top tier FAs are as well by July 8th, then yes, theoretically the Bulls could back out of the deal, and we'd be "screwed". However, a part of me believes there's at least some semblance of a written agreement to execute the basic trade agreed on. Also, it's really not the end of the world if they did back out of the deal. We don't have Hinrich or Seraphin, but that's right where we started from. While I'd obviously much rather have them than not, we'll live.

And yeah, if James agrees to go to the Bulls, as well as Bosh or another max player before July 8th, then theoretically we could blackmail them into giving us additional assets, or we could simply say, "eh, nevermind, we'd rather them go to the knicks/cavs/heat". Now again, that's not gonna happen, but in theory, it could.

The Bulls have a lot more to lose than we do if one of us backs out.

Now, if LeBron throws everybody a curveball and decides he wants to go to the Wizards, then by all means Ernie, run as far away from that deal as you can. They can have Seraphin

[verbal8]

And yeah, if James agrees to go to the Bulls, as well as Bosh or another max player before July 8th, then theoretically we could blackmail them into giving us additional assets, or we could simply say, "eh, nevermind, we'd rather them go to the knicks/cavs/heat". Now again, that's not gonna happen, but in theory, it could.

I saw a rumor somewhere that the Bulls lined up the Kings as a back-up in case the Wizards deal fell through. I think the deal accomplishes what both teams want to do. I think any changes to the deal would be by mutual agreement and likely include adding a 3rd team.

[doclinkin]

Cholet in the playoffs, nice footage, not just highlights, you get to see him on defense as well:

Vid.

Others here. Search Seraphin.

Every highlight you see some player bouncing off him and falling down. In part this is the Euro-football influence, trying to draw fouls, in part he's just huge. His footwork is developing nicely.

[keynote]

Is anyone else paranoid about Lebron signing with someone on July 7th and the Bulls canceling our handshake deal?

*looks around furtively, waiting for the curse to jump another wizard*

The Bulls management wouldn't be trusted by any other GM for a generation. You can't do things like this in the business world and get away with it.

Agreed.

Also, it's really not the end of the world if they did back out of the deal. We don't have Hinrich or Seraphin, but that's right where we started from. While I'd obviously much rather have them than not, we'll live.

Actually, we'd lose out on a lot. In theory, we could have used that cap space to broker numerous other draft day deals with other teams. As many have stated, there's a finite window for exploiting the value of our cap space; once LeBron & co. start signing deals, the value of that cap space drops even further.

In any event, the chances of the Bulls pulling that stunt are slim and none, for the reasons nate said.

[The Consiglieri]

Yes, I've seen him play and he's raw! No, I was listenting to the commentators but looking at the Wizards' history with the picks from overseas makes it look like a bad decision. Our past overseas picks never put on Wiz uniform. It wouldn't be too bad if this was the 30th pick but it leaves a bad taste in my mouth at the 17th pick.

I don't get the hate w/this pick. I've only read the first page of responses but I was shocked by them. This is exactly the sort of pick we should have made. When you're outside blue chip territory you can either draft guys w/low ceilings who might be bordean shoot for the stars. Everything I've read everywhere about Seraphin is that he was one of the highest upside guys available in this draft outside of the 5-10 slot are. The only knocks were his contract and that he was and is raw and will take time. Well what are we? Are we trying to win 50 games next year? I don't think so. 50 wins by April 2012? I don't think so. What the end game here? It's Leonsis. The end game is to build a team that can contend long term w/real long term pieces that Wall can lead. When is this going to start profiting for us? Well Leonsis is a long term planner, he built the caps w/the usage of fire sales in '02, '04, '06, and '07, w/trades for prospects and picks, and some painful miserable seasons, 3 consecutive at the end, paying off in that fourth season Feb/Mar run to the 8 spot in the playoffs. For those of you who wanted to be big players in free agency this year, and possibly next, and wanted the team to be in the playoffs this year or next, you just don't get what appears to be the plan.

I think it's clear he wants to see a young, fast, athletic team built w/Wall as its leader. I think he sees this plan as one that will likely take bad but slowly imporving seasons in '10-'11 and '11-'12 to make this plan come to fruition providing long term success by '12-1'3 w/a playoff run that year. Perhaps a run in the spring of '12, it's possible, but the key is to think what the process is, and if you project what appears to be the program, then the worst case scenario, getting seraphin in ''12-'13, would be exactly when the team is positioning itself for its first 45-50 win season. It is not in our interest to land a superstar free agent, or to utilize draft picks for role players for a team that lacks top end talent. The objective should be to find players that can exploit, o the talents of Wall and that Wall can exploit for the success of the team and that's clearly whats being done. Getting too good too fast would have us repeat the Arenas years, when the team was built to be good enough to contend for a midtable playoff slot, but not winning anything of substance. Suffering a little more will alow the team to add some more pieces, and cement Wall's role as leader, so its not disputed by the presence of some max me first player. The team has a plan, the Seraphin pick was in keeping with it, and it makes sense. Very confused at the hate for the pick.

[VictorPage44]

Cholet in the playoffs, nice footage, not just highlights, you get to see him on defense as well:

Vid.

Others here. Search Seraphin.

Every highlight you see some player bouncing off him and falling down. In part this is the Euro-football influence, trying to draw fouls, in part he's just huge. His footwork is developing nicely.

Thanks for posting those. I would never have come across them myself.