The Wizards are run by buffoons...

[Phrazbit]

http://espn.go.com/nba/story/_/id/8...-emeka-okafor-trevor-ariza-rashard-lewis-pick

A gigantic expiring contract... and they ship it off for 2 guys on horrible contracts... unreal. Its like they were worried they would have enough dead money for the 2013-2014 season.

 

[jbeecham]

The Hornets are equally stupid... They just agreed to pay $14 million dollars for a mid-2nd rd pick & salary cap space....

This has to be one of the biggest & most expensive salary dumps in the history of the NBA

 

[SunsTzu]

The Hornets are equally stupid... They just agreed to pay $14 million dollars for a mid-2nd rd pick & salary cap space....

This has to be one of the biggest & most expensive salary dumps in the history of the NBA

Where are you getting 14mil from? I don't see how this deal is anything but great for the Hornets. If they could have traded Okafor for an expiring without including the #10 pick I would think it's a good move but they managed to get rid of their 2nd worst contract as well, plus get a 2nd round pick.

 

[jbeecham]

"The Hornets, sources say, are planning to waive Lewis before July 1 to slice roughly $10 million off the $24 million that he is owed in 2012-13. "

His buyout is $13.75 million for 2012-2013.

 

[Mainstreet]

Where are you getting 14mil from? I don't see how this deal is anything but great for the Hornets. If they could have traded Okafor for an expiring without including the #10 pick I would think it's a good move but they managed to get rid of their 2nd worst contract as well, plus get a 2nd round pick.

I think he is talking about the Hornets buying out Lewis' contract for $13.7 million. IMO, the trade may be good for both teams.

 

[SunsTzu]

"The Hornets, sources say, are planning to waive Lewis before July 1 to slice roughly $10 million off the $24 million that he is owed in 2012-13. "

His buyout is $13.75 million for 2012-2013.

That buyout is still less than what they owed Okafor and Ariza this year. Even if you count the low level signings they'll need to flush out their roster they'll at worst break even this season and are in much better shape going forward.

 

[dodie53]

what's that trade for?
who benefits?

 

[Phrazbit]

what's that trade for?
who benefits?

The Hornets clear cap space and can overhaul their roster during the next 2 years.

The Wizards meanwhile tack on 2 more large contracts and will be paying Okafor, Nene and Ariza 35 million per year for the next 3 years for those players alone. I think their plan is to build a powerful defensive squad, but my guess is they've put together a team that will run them 2 million per victory.

 

[sunsfan88]

Huge deal for Wizards

John Wall
Bradley Beal
Trevor Ariza
Nene Hilario
Emeka Okafor

This team is going to make the playoffs.

You can't always stay bad and get a high draft pick because Wall propably once to win in the near future. You can't stay bad for 4 years and expect him to sign an extension. Who says this lineup gets you nowhere? Look at the east, it's getting weaker and weaker. Rose out for the season, Boston faces rebuild, Orlando will lose Howard, big questionmarks behind Brooklyn and Philadelphia.

 

[Phrazbit]

Huge deal for Wizards

John Wall
Bradley Beal
Trevor Ariza
Nene Hilario
Emeka Okafor

This team is going to make the playoffs.

You can't always stay bad and get a high draft pick because Wall propably once to win in the near future. You can't stay bad for 4 years and expect him to sign an extension. Who says this lineup gets you nowhere? Look at the east, it's getting weaker and weaker. Rose out for the season, Boston faces rebuild, Orlando will lose Howard, big questionmarks behind Brooklyn and Philadelphia.

I'd be stunned of that team made the playoffs, even in the east. Its awful. They combined the starting lineups of two of the leagues worst teams and now it will suddenly be good? Who scores on that team? 80% of their offense is going to have to come through a 41% shooting turnover machine in John Wall. And its not like any of those guys are premium defenders either.

Unless their pick at 3 breaks out in a big big way that is a 20-30 win team.

 

[slinslin]

Huge deal for Wizards

John Wall
Bradley Beal
Trevor Ariza
Nene Hilario
Emeka Okafor

This team is going to make the playoffs.

You can't always stay bad and get a high draft pick because Wall propably once to win in the near future. You can't stay bad for 4 years and expect him to sign an extension. Who says this lineup gets you nowhere? Look at the east, it's getting weaker and weaker. Rose out for the season, Boston faces rebuild, Orlando will lose Howard, big questionmarks behind Brooklyn and Philadelphia.

That team has no spacing.

 

[sunsfan88]

I'd be stunned of that team made the playoffs, even in the east. Its awful. They combined the starting lineups of two of the leagues worst teams and now it will suddenly be good? Who scores on that team? 80% of their offense is going to have to come through a 41% shooting turnover machine in John Wall. And its not like any of those guys are premium defenders either.

Unless their pick at 3 breaks out in a big big way that is a 20-30 win team.

Nene is a solid low post scoring threat. He showed that in Denver but he only got limited opportunties because of 'Melo.

John Wall is good, he just used to play with crap.

And Trevor Ariza is a pretty good defender...he used to be the best defender on those Lakers championship teams.

That team has no spacing.

Bradley Beal = best shooter in the draft

Ariza is a decent shooter as well.

 

[Phrazbit]

Nene is not a low post scoring threat... he does not have a back to the basket game. If he is given the ball close to the rim he can score, but he is not a threat to back anyone down or hit turn arounds.

And Ariza is a pretty bad shooter.

That team excels at nothing. Seriously, that roster does not have a strength. I could see them being decent defensively, but thats even a stretch because their bench is terrible, and they are going to be really really really bad on offense.

Its an awful team, and this was a really dumb trade. Expiring contracts of that size are valuable pieces, you can hold them and end up with a ton of space or ship them to some team desperate to make space, but the Wiz somehow ended up with 2 guys with awful contracts. It was an unfathomably stupid trade. And the Wizards dont need to worry about extending Wall, he will be a restricted free agent. If anything this only made his extension more complicated and will keep them from adding any actual talent over the next 2 years.

 

[sunsfan88]

Doesn't matter if he's a FA, if he doesn't like the team by then, he will simply say the magic words "TRADE ME" and they will have to come true.

In today's NBA, players decide everything, not the owners.

And Ariza may not be the greatest shooter, but he should be able to knock down open looks with John Wall (just like when Kobe would dish it out when he got doubled)

But not sure what Ariza's shooting has to do with his defense

 

[Russ Smith]

A friend who's a Wiz fan said apparently they're saving their amnesty out to likely use on Andray Blatche who they DESPERATELY want to get rid of.

So he thinks that's why they didn't use it on Lewis.

The key for them this year is Wall, he has to step up, he's talented but hes' been very inconsistent volume shooter weak defense(just goes for steals) and not particularly dedicated off the court. They need him to step up and be the leader.

 

[Chris_Sanders]

This only looks bad for the Wizards since the Suns have overpaid in the past to get rid of contracts.

The Wizards upgrade their roster and dump a bad contract. Kind of a meh trade for both sides.

 

[Phrazbit]

This only looks bad for the Wizards since the Suns have overpaid in the past to get rid of contracts.

The Wizards upgrade their roster and dump a bad contract. Kind of a meh trade for both sides.

But this doesnt not even work out as a salary dump. They took on more money for more overpaid players and are now locked into this roster for 2 years. Sure they "upgraded" but the players they added are not difference makers. If you're a 50 win team then marginal upgrades are a big deal, but for a 20 win team to take on heavy cap commitments for some players who still make them a long shot to even make the playoffs... its just idiocy.

 

[Chris_Sanders]

But this doesnt not even work out as a salary dump. They took on more money for more overpaid players and are now locked into this roster for 2 years. Sure they "upgraded" but the players they added are not difference makers. If you're a 50 win team then marginal upgrades are a big deal, but for a 20 win team to take on heavy cap commitments for some players who still make them a long shot to even make the playoffs... its just idiocy.

It is too bad the board bets are gone because I am inclined to believe they will be an 8 seed next year.

Is that worth it? Depends on what the ownership group sees these moves doing for sales.

 

[Mainstreet]

It is too bad the board bets are gone because I am inclined to believe they will be an 8 seed next year.

Is that worth it? Depends on what the ownership group sees these moves doing for sales.

I tend to agree with you... that it was likely worth it. The Wizards were talking about adding veterans to the roster before the trade. Also it should help make John Wall a happy camper. They will have a nice staring front line of Nene, Okafor and Ariza.

 

[Brian in Mesa]

The Wizards are ran by buffoons...

OMG. Was on vacation and every time I checked the site with my phone - this title gave me headaches.

"are ran by..."

Really?

 

[JCSunsfan]

What people forget is that Okafor and Ariza can actually play--pretty decently. They are also good citizens and will be a great locker room presence.

Yes, their contracts are bloated, but those deals were more of a problem for NO than Wash. At some point, you have to put a team on the floor that can compete. The Wizards took a step in that direction.

What were they going to get in free agency with that money anyway? I am not sure they would have gotten anything a whole lot better.

So, they over pay for two players like most teams will for FA's this summer. But the players they get produce and their contracts are not as long. They also get to avoid paying a huge salary to a player that produces nothing.

 

[BC867]

OMG. Was on vacation and every time I checked the site with my phone - this title gave me headaches.

"are ran by..."

Really?

I realize that, in any endeavor, we are going to be dealing with people with varying degrees of education and comprehension.

But then, I ask myself, where is it written that, if there is a correct way to speak the language and an incorrect way, some people must choose the incorrect way?

But then again, I realize that, of all the languages in the world, the one with the most exceptions is English and, therefore, the most difficult to learn. English, the language we inherited from the prim and proper Brits on the other side of the Pond.

For example:

LIE, LAY, LAIN
LAY, LAID, LAID

I LIE down every day at 4:00 for a nap. (So far, so good)
Yesterday, I LAY down at 3:00. (Nobody says that)
I have LAIN down every day at 4:00 for years. (Nobody says that, either)

I will LAY the book on the table. (LAY is also the past tense of lying down)
Yesterday I LAID the book on the table. (Now we're cooking)
In the past, I have LAID the book on the table. (Ditto)

Our language is ran by . . . I mean, run by . . . people who didn't understand the concept of KISS -- Keep it simple, stupid. No wonder slang has become the norm.

But then, even the prim and proper British have their own slang -- cockney. Which is even more outrageous than our own slang. "Going to visit me Mum."

And then there is New Yawk -- "y'know, guys who, y'know, shudda went somewheres else, y'know, to loin how to tawk, y'know."