This blog is lottery protected

by Pradamaster on Aug 7, 2007 9:10 PM EDT in Rumors

I must confess, I can't remember the last time there was a situation where the protection on a conditional draft pick has taken this long to resolve.

It's been four days since Ernie Grunfeld waited until the 11th hour until finally trading Juan Carlos Navarro to the Grizzlies, and it's still unclear what we're getting back.

Earlier today, our very own Vanilla Gorilla mentioned a rumor from Memphis radio personality Chris Vernon's blog suggesting that the pick would start off being top-20 protected, then slowly make its way down until it becomes top-12 protected in 2013. Vernon's blog appears kind of sketchy, and a quick scan of the archives makes him sound like a bit of a prick (which I'm sure he isn't...it just seems that way), but he does have some credibility. He was the first to report on the Grizzlies hiring current general manager Chris Wallace, and he also broke the story that Wallace went to Argentina to meet with then-free agent Andres Nocioni. Still, it's been over a day, and I haven't heard that report confirmed in any DC or Memphis papers.

In fact, Sports Illustrated's Marty Burns wrote an article on JCN today, and specifically mentioned that the Wizards are "reportedly set to get a lottery-protected first-round pick in the 2008 draft." Still, I'd feel more comfortable if it weren't for Burns' language and his status as an overrated hack of a writer.

Ivan Carter has been on the case, and says the following.

Here's what I can tell you based on discussions I had with folks today:

-There is no case in which the Wiz would lose the pick altogether and no matter what happens, it is "very unlikely" that the pick would be anything worse than a late first rounder. In other words, I guess there is a chance it could wind up being a second rounder but that would not be likely.

-The pick will likely be in next year's draft but I can't tell you whether it's top-19 protected, lottery-protected or top-10 protected in that first year.

Wonderful. Get ready for this saga to keep dragging on.

Some of you (okay, probably none) must be wondering what I would do in this situation. Well, I'd probably go to MJ and offer him Etan Thomas for a prime number protected pick. Once he accepts, I'll hire someone to injure all his players and rig the lottery so the Bobcats win. Then, only seconds after he celebrates getting the number 1 pick, I'll walk up to him and casually remind him that one isn't a prime number. Then, he'd kick my ass.

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Some thoughts

First, Ivan's doing a great job keeping us updated while maintaining his journalistic integrity despite all the trade rumors flying around. I applaud him.

Second, from a humanistic standpoint, I'm happy that Pau and JCN get to play together in Memphis. It will make the transition a whole lot easier for Juan and Pau will get a major emotional boost after all the crap that's gone down with the Grizzlies (ownership, mediocrity, lack of a marketable location).

Third, I'm satisfied with what EG's done. True, he put re-signing DS above trading a package with JCN and one of our notorious centers, but in terms of the franchise (i.e., keeping Gil happy), I think it was a smart, or at least easily defensible, move. Besides, like many others have pointed out, JCN was a second round pick, and now we're getting a pick somewhere in the middle-to-late first round, albeit a few years later. I think EG has done a respectable job managing JCN's rights magically re-appearing this summer.

by miestersean on Aug 7, 2007 11:19 PM EDT 0 recs

Ivan's a phenomenal reporter

That anonymous commenters are accusing him of plagiarizing is, in a word, disgusting. are I've met the guy personally, and let me tell you, the dude works hard. If there's one thing I learned while working for Comcast SportsNet this summer, it's that people in this business put a hell of a lot of work in.

It's reasons like this that explain why we have a registration process here.

You know you'll get devoured by Cheaney, Wallace, and Juwan Howard.

by Pradamaster on Aug 8, 2007 12:21 AM EDT up 0 recs

Whoops

Ignore the stray "are"

You know you'll get devoured by Cheaney, Wallace, and Juwan Howard.

by Pradamaster on Aug 8, 2007 12:22 AM EDT up 0 recs

Heh

Even if the rumor on Vernon's blog is true, I'll plead guilty to repeating a baseless rumor simply because it's on the internets. It's hard not to get carried away sometimes.

As for Ivan, anyone who doesn't recognize how hard he works is being intentionally dense. For all the criticism it gets, the Post is a damn good paper, and we Wizards fans are blessed with a terrific beat reporter. Not only do guys like Ivan have to work like dogs to stay on top of their beat, but the travel schedule during the season is just brutal (heck, even during the off-season, the guy has to jet around the country following stories). I used to be a sports reporter at a MUCH lower level, and it's fun, but one of the reasons I got out was because I'm too lazy to put in all the work it needs to be really good at it.

by Vanilla Gorilla on Aug 8, 2007 9:20 AM EDT 0 recs