Hollinger says Wizards may "retool" the roster at the Trade Deadline
His basic premise is correct...
The Wizards will have a new Owner, who may not want to pay big bucks and a large luxury tax bill for an under-achieving team.
They have trade-able assets in Butler, Miller, etc...
They have a disappointing record... so far.
Although the Defense has improved, now the Offense seems to be a problem.
As a result, Hollinger surmises, the Wizards may be active at the Trade Deadline to shed salary.
about 2 years ago
Rook6980
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I completely agree with Hollinger
If things do not look better by the trading deadline, expect major changes.
But here is the part that excites me, our biggest problems is a lack of offensive efficiency and our stars (Gil and Caron) not performing. Those are the most correctable problems this team could have. If Gil and Caron do not step up, the everything else is mute. So, they have 2 plus months to get it figured out. Plenty of time. Nobody is saying they have to be a well oiled machine by then and playing the best hoops of their careers, but there does need to be a significant improvement. If it looks like by playoff time we can complete, the teams core stays in tack and we make the push. But if it is not working out by February, then a trade most likely will and needs to happen.
I am just more optimistic than Hollinger that we will turn it around
That was probably the plan all along.
When we made the trade for expiring Foye & Miller.
by MR on Dec 2, 2009 3:27 PM EST up reply actions
It is way too early to be thinking like this
Do you realize that as bad as we’ve been, we’re still only one game in the loss column out of the playoffs?
You dont par the luxury tax, trade draft picks for vets, and enter "win now" mode
for the 8th seed and getting knocked out in the first round. You don’t make the commitments we have made for the 8th seed.
But I do agree, its way too early to make any decisions. However its not too early to have a contingency plan if things do not improve. I think that is completely reasonable. At this current state it makes no sense to keep the team intact. Given all the changes and injuries though, its too early to make any drastic moves. By Feb we should have a clearer idea
Yeah , Me too
And I also completely agree with your statements above that
1. The Wizards problem is on Offense – and that should be the easiest part to fix.
2. I’m too am more optimistic than Hollinger that the team can turn it around……
Bullets Forever - where "Dagger ! " happens......
haha
one thing this blog lacks is optimism…….
Hollinger is just repeating the same speculation he’s made dozens of times (it seems) in the past.
It’s entirely possible the Wizards will end up retooling the roster at some point, but the guy has been wrong sooooo many times before that he should be embarrassed to repeat himself again and again. And as everyone else has said here it’s just too early to assess this year’s team.
He get's paid to write- way too early to justify trades.
They will come around.
What is it- 4 or 5 games that the big three have played together this year????
OR in 2 1/2 years in the big picture.
The record at the trade deadline
will have little bearing on what happens to those expiring contracts. It all depends on the new owner. Leonsis has a right of first refusal so he is definitely has to be favored right now. Call me skeptical but I am not a big fan of owners owning two or more teams. I like to know that all there efforts are focused on one team. My team.
I wouldn't worry about that
Leonsis wanted the Wizards, and will focus his energies there as soon as he’s in charge. He’s taken huge losses running the Caps, though I’d assume that’s turning around to a point now. But if the money’s there, there’s no chance he fails to follow through with the Wizards and Verizon Center; it’s his only chance to see any return on his investment.
Hollinger, during today's chat
David (DC)
Seems like Nick Young has performed decently with some extra playing time for the Wizards. Should he be more entrenched in the rotation even when Miller is back?
John Hollinger (2:24 PM)
We can’t possibly be watching the same player. The Nick Young I saw against Toronto last night was horrible. He blew multiple defensive rotations even though he was guarding a non-threat, and his offense has yet to progress beyond trying to jump over his defender to get off a jumper. The shooting guard deficiencies in Miller’s absence are a big reason the Wiz are struggling.
Get a clue.
What a TOOL
the wizards have won 3 out of 4 since NY was inserted in the starting line up. Hollinger does realize that wade dropped 40 on us twice before we figured out NY could play a little defense.
NY wasn't that great last night
i’ll give hollinger that, but his point on the whole is way off
by DarrellWalkerFan on Dec 2, 2009 6:20 PM EST up reply actions
Well to give Hollinger the benefit of the doubt,
as a national writer, you have 30 teams to monitor. So if you get your facts (or opinions) a little skewed, its understandable.
I really think that Leonsis will stay the course, at least for the remainder of the year, if for nothing more than a sense of respect for Abe. Now, I also believe that ‘the course’ likely included a possible mid-season trade from the beginning, if only for the fact that the wiz have so much expiring money, and a lot of it belongs to quality players…
But anyway, we’ll see.
The nice thing
is that (correct me if I’m wrong) Leonsis has much deeper pockets than Abe did, and if someone wants to throw a lot of money at a team, this is a good time to do it.
by MR on Dec 3, 2009 10:35 AM EST up reply actions
Is That Leonsis's Style, Though?
Correct me if I’m wrong, but Leonsis hasn’t exactly thrown money at the Capitals, but rebuilt the team through the draft. Do you think he is the kind of guy who will pursue high-priced players at the deadline?
"It's OK for the Bullets to trade baskets, as long as they can score on their end." -- Words of wisdom from Phil Chenier
I know little about the man
perhaps someone with more insight can enlighten us both.
by MR on Dec 3, 2009 1:13 PM EST up reply actions
I think the better question
Is what kind of authority does Ernie have in the short term? Can ernie make a trade? take on salary? Sign a player?
Depending on how long the process of changing ownership takes there could be huge ramifications
IIRC...
Leonsis already had about 40-45% controlling interest in the Wizards prior to Abe’s passing, so I imagine the transition will be relatively smoooooth. Probably there’s something contractual that decides how ownership decisions are carried out at this point.
by Johnnie Futbol on Dec 3, 2009 2:44 PM EST up reply actions
He has thrown money at the Capitals in the past
The team he dismantled before the lockout had the 3rd highest payroll if I am not mistaken. And if you want any question about his willingness to pay for talent take a look a the contract he gave Alexander Ovechkin.
http://sports.espn.go.com/nhl/news/story?id=3190712
"Would you like to shoot me now or wait till you get home." --- Daffy Duck
by George Templeton on Dec 4, 2009 10:50 AM EST up reply actions
i'm starting to see how hollinger might be right
but i think it would be because we have too much talent and need to consolidate it otherwise we could never pay all those guys, and not because we suck and need to rebuild.
by DarrellWalkerFan on Dec 3, 2009 2:34 PM EST reply actions
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