Wilbon: Paying Arenas Hardly Guarantees Playing in June

Pretty much another Wilbon babble fest of throwing junk against the wall to see what might stick...

Arenas for 'Melo
Arenas for Iverson
Arenas for Brand
Arenas for Baron Davis and Andris Biedrins
Arenas for Shawn Marion

It's all there. Problem is, none of those players is getting you closer to playing in June either....although the Davis-Biedrins combo is the most intriguing, I'm not so sure Golden State bites.

5 months ago Truth About It Comment 23 comments 0 recs |

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Yeah

For the life of me, I still have no idea what Wilbon’s point was. Not that I’m condemning him, since I’ve had quite a few “Um…What?” posts, but that just reeked of “Let’s speculate for the sake of speculation!”

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by JakeTheSnake on Jun 13, 2008 10:34 AM EDT 0 recs

I didn't really get it either

His point seemed to be that signing Arenas doesn’t guarantee a trip to the NBA Finals. Pardon my language, but no shit sherlock.

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

by Pradamaster on Jun 13, 2008 11:10 AM EDT up 0 recs

Seems like

he was asked to write a column about Gilbert, and he was (understandably) too busy to research it well. I’ll give him the mulligan, he’s more than earned it.

by bronco6778 on Jun 13, 2008 5:53 PM EDT up 0 recs

That column is what happens when you have an assignment due and decide to start it 10 minutes to deadline.

by Jheiser3 on Jun 13, 2008 11:27 AM EDT 0 recs

Yup

Funny. Wilbon’s column today is the kind of thing he rips bloggers for. Just a bunch of idle trade speculation without “talking” to any of the principals. Did he talk to Ernie or Gilbert or Eddie or anyone at all for that matter? Don’t think so. Heck he didn’t even call any of us to get our take.
It would be cool though beardwise to add Baron Davis to the team along side Deshaun. Kind of our own ZZ Top, but more athletic.

by hotplate on Jun 13, 2008 11:39 AM EDT 0 recs

The column also has weird timing....

Why right in the middle of the NBA Finals?

by Truth About It on Jun 13, 2008 11:49 AM EDT 0 recs

?

The post figuring they’ll get NBA eyes on their NBA section today, so they include this Wizards angle?

dunno.

Sam Smith writes better ridiculous speculation pieces, and he got fired.

by Jheiser3 on Jun 13, 2008 12:21 PM EDT up 0 recs

He would've gotten more eyeballs

to his piece if he’d just mailed it in with another race card article.

by Truth About It on Jun 13, 2008 1:07 PM EDT up 0 recs

Wilbon under the table take

is simply you add Arenas back on this current roster, and they still can’t beat the Cavs. Gil is not a max salary player. He is not a franchise player and a major weakness on defense. I like Gil, but he is pure entertainment and may never be the player he was before the knee injury. So I think Wilbon is simply stating that if Wizards really want to venture up the playoff latter they must look at all options besides just resigning Gil. I would take Elton Brand for Gil, re-sign Jamison and use our draft picks this year not trade them, and move forward.

by LoneWiz54 on Jun 13, 2008 12:53 PM EDT 0 recs

he us

rashard lewis is a max salary player, chauncey billups is a max salary player, vince carter is a max salary player…

gil is too. a max salary player doesnt have to be one of the top players in the world. criteria for being a max salary player is a combination of a players value to a team, the needs of said team, and a player’s value in comparison to other available players. according to those factors, arenas is a max salary player.

by joshp on Jun 13, 2008 1:08 PM EDT up 0 recs

You just listed teams wasting money

and 2 of those players are supposedly on the trading block. A max value contract should be paid to a player that is the most important member of your team and most responsible for your team’s success. Just because other teams gamble and give all stars, superstar money does not mean the Wizards should do the same. Arenas himself questioned weather he was a max contract player. He is entertaining and a fan draw, but he is not what this team really needs to reach the next level of playoff teams.

by LoneWiz54 on Jun 13, 2008 6:34 PM EDT up 0 recs

max

a players value in salary is not determined by their abilities as much as it is their relative value in comparison to the rest of the market.

rashard lewis, for example, may not be one of the best players in the league, but last off-season, he was the best free agent on the market and the magic really needed him, therefore he got a max contract.

like lewis last offseason, arenas will be the best player out there and the wizards really need him, so he will be worth a max contract.

your theory would be the case if every player in the league became a free agent in the same year, meaning that their values would be measured against those of every other player, but instead, a players value is always measured against only the other players who are on the open market at the same time that player is. this explains why nene can get 10 mil a year and rashard lewis can get a max deal.

by joshp on Jun 13, 2008 7:16 PM EDT up 0 recs

lewis

lewis got a max deal because orlando outbid themselves to acquire him. basically, i believe the consensus around the league is that they overpaid. washington should avoid making the same mistake.

ernie let larry hughes walk because cleveland overpaid. he let jared jeffries walk because new york overpaid. he should have let etan thomas walk because milwaukee overpaid.

if someone offers gil max money, does ernie let gil walk? you could argue that’d be the right thing to do. you could also argue for keeping him.

however, i don’t see an argument for paying gil max money if no one else is willing to, and i question how strong the market is going to be for a guy with a question mark of a knee who hasn’t played ball in a year and a half.

but who can say at this point? it’s just speculation.

by DarrellWalkerFan on Jun 14, 2008 12:06 PM EDT up 0 recs

clarrify

i wasnt arguing for necessarily giving arenas a max deal, only that he would be worth a max deal if thats what it came down to. in all likelihood, it wont come down to that, just because most teams dont have that kind of money, but it will be close. if we had to give arenas a max deal to keep, i would do it

by joshp on Jun 14, 2008 12:39 PM EDT up 0 recs

It's always good to keep market and demand in perspective

That would be a lot of the reason why Ernie chose to match Milwaukee’s offer to Etan.

One could make the same case for the Golden State Warriors and Adonal Foyle…..but why would you?

by Truth About It on Jun 14, 2008 12:45 PM EDT up 0 recs

Billups

Is not a max salary player.

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

by Pradamaster on Jun 14, 2008 2:03 PM EDT up 0 recs

Artest to the Wizards?

I agree that none of those trades gets the Wizards much closer to playing in June…. but if Ron Artest is serious about opting out to try for a Championship, why not sign with Washington?

Signing for the full Mid-Level Exception (approx $6 Million) would almost certainly put the Wizards over the Luxury Tax…... but I think that Pollin would approve that for a player of Artest’s caliber. Re-sign Arenas and Jamison… Draft a back-up Center (Lopez or Hibbert) and a 3rd string PG (Kyle Weaver).

Move Butler to shooting guard. He’s shown a tremendous strides in his handle last off-season. Starting rotation of Arenas, Butler, Artest, Jamison and Haywood…. Not too shabby – even defensively.

Bench would consist of Etan Thomas, Blatche, Songaila, Young, Stevenson, Daniels Pecherov PLUS two draft picks ( Hibbert? and Weaver? ).

That is a team that could beat Cleveland… but perhaps not Boston… and certainly not the Western Conference Champion (whoever that might turn out to be)... But it would get them closer.

by Rook6980 on Jun 13, 2008 2:51 PM EDT 0 recs

Sounds nice in theory

...and something that I would not say ‘no’ to as the positives would seemingly out weight the negatives.

I certainly would be concerned with Caron chasing around shooting guards….if Artest still has his agility, the 2 spot might be his defensive position…..depending on match-ups of course.

Check out the ‘Artest to Knicks’ Fan Post where that convo has been happening.

by Truth About It on Jun 13, 2008 3:12 PM EDT up 0 recs

Nice!!

I really like this scenario, the best I have read yet. But with Pollin it will never happen. He ruin this year’s team by not letting it have a full roster limit and he would not take a chance on someone with Ron Artest’s baggage. I agree with you, this would take Wiz to the next level on paper at least. Great Post!!!

by LoneWiz54 on Jun 13, 2008 6:38 PM EDT up 0 recs

dissenting voice

just say no to ron artest. i wouldn’t want that guy on my team.

also, i used to want caron to play the two his first year with the wiz. but when they put him there, the opposing twos were too quick for him to cover. i now think caron can pretty much only play the three.

by DarrellWalkerFan on Jun 14, 2008 12:11 PM EDT up 0 recs

My worry with Artest

Besides the position issue, I think he dominates the ball too much offensively. I don’t think he’d fit in well in the Princeton, and I’d rather have Butler or Arenas taking most of the shots.

Someone like Artest would be nice though. James Posey, anyone?

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

by Pradamaster on Jun 14, 2008 1:22 PM EDT up 0 recs

Ahhhhh, Posey

Posey has been a revelation this postseason. In years past, I thought he was decent, but for the Celtics, he has been absolutely terrific. His defense has always been outstanding, and his three-point shooting is very good, but what has impressed me in Boston’s run has been his his scrappiness, all-around game (with VERY few mistakes) and willingness to wade through biiger guys to fight for rebounds. All this, plus the fact that he not only hits shots but CLUTCH shots, have revealed him to be exactly the kind of guy championship teams need. I wish we had someone like that.

"Now, obviously individual production does not unilaterally equal better team production, but there's a high level of causation."

by Vanilla Gorilla on Jun 16, 2008 10:56 AM EDT up 0 recs