If not Blake Griffin, Why Not...

by jvflail on Mar 6, 2009 11:53 AM EST Comment 26 comments

Sorry if this is premature (or been covered elsewhere), but talking about the current season is too painful.

If the sky falls and we get the 5th overall pick, what do people think about Dejuan Blair (assuming he comes out early and we can fit him under the luxury tax)?

Projections have him going in the late-lottery/mid-first round, but I'd have no problem if the Wiz take him higher. Sure he's short (6-7 in high-heels), but he's a chiseled 265 lbs. Ignoring Etan Thomas, there's no one on our roster even close to his strength. Actually, there's no one on our roster you can consider strong at all(Think about it: our "strongest" player, Brendan Haywood, barely outweighs Lebron James, never mind the Shaqs, Dwight Howards, and Carlos Boozers out there). Plus, Blair's got a freakish 7-3 wingspan, he rebounds like his life depends on it, and apparently has a work ethic engine that won't turn off. He's a burlier, less-refined Elton Brand. Sure, his shot needs work, but he runs the floor well and will get tons of put-backs.

After watching Jamison get constantly out-muscled on defense, Darius Songaila's awful rebounding, and Blatche's consistent softness all year long, there should be no argument Blair's skills are tailor-made to improve our crappy team.

p.s. If we draft Thabeet, I'm canceling my DirecTV NBA package and downgrading my fandom to passive. How many unskilled string beans do you need on one team?

This represents the view of the user who wrote the FanPost, and not the entire Bullets Forever community. We're a place of many opinions, not just one.

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Yes, yes, yes, and yes.

If Blake (and maybe Jordan Hill) are off the board, he would be my next pick. In a way, he almost might be a better fit because he wouldn’t require the touches that those two would and he would still give the team some much needed defense and muscle. He fouls a lot, which concerns me, but if that’s his biggest fault, I can live with it.

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by JakeTheSnake on Mar 6, 2009 12:01 PM EST reply actions 0 recs

Fouls

I think most of his fouls seem to come from being just a physical specimen at the college level.

Similar to the NBA where Yao and Shaq get some tough treatment because of their strength, when Blair sets screens or moves down low, guys flop. And while we argue that the officiating in the NBA is bad, its nothing compared to the stuff players deal with on the road in college.

I think all of the games he’s gotten in foul trouble are on the road.

by igetbucketsson on Mar 6, 2009 2:10 PM EST reply actions 0 recs

I won't mind the fouls

As long as they’re near the basket and they clobber somebody. If DeJuan starts hand-checking 60 feet away from the hoop (see Blatche, Andray), that’ll annoy me.

by jvflail on Mar 6, 2009 4:23 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

Rubio.

rockin' the crab dribble since 2009

by hibachi on Mar 6, 2009 2:59 PM EST reply actions 0 recs

thought he wasn’t coming out till 2010…

anybody got updates on this?

by 7Swords of Salat on Mar 7, 2009 4:08 AM EST up reply actions 0 recs

That was the consensus

But there’s been talk lately that he’s quietly trying to get out of his contract. At the same time, his team is trying to figure out a way to raise his salary (believe it or not, even though he’s basically as important to his team in Spain as Lebron is to the Cavs, he only makes 80,000 Euros) since his buy-out is so disproportionately huge that it could conceivably be ruled illegal. There’s more on his current contract and his (possible) attempts to get out of it here http://www.draftexpress.com/article/Blogging-through-the-Copa-del-Rey-Part-Two-3116/

by pantslessyoda1 on Mar 7, 2009 3:47 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

Chad Ford

is convinced that Rubio is coming over as long as he’s a top 3 pick.

rockin' the crab dribble since 2009

by hibachi on Mar 7, 2009 5:40 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

I can't imagine him going lower than three

In fact, it’s even conceivable he could be the number one pick. I mean, not to downplay the value of a 20 and 10 power forward, but elite-level point guards are even harder to come by. I get goosebumps just thinking about what Rubio/McGee and Rubio/Blatche pick and rolls and Rubio/Jamison pick and pops could look like.

by pantslessyoda1 on Mar 7, 2009 6:47 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

I doubt Rubio will go #1 over Blake Griffin

just because there is a possibility that his game won’t translate to the NBA. Not that I believe that because anyone who can see the floor like that should be able to play in this league, but I think that’s the biggest question mark. That’s still a question, even after he performed so well in the Olympic gold medal game

rockin' the crab dribble since 2009

by hibachi on Mar 7, 2009 7:25 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

You're probably right

I still think that, despite being the less athletic of the two, Rubio has a chance at being truly special, whereas Griffin will probably be great but not elite. I guess it just comes down to a question of whether the team with the number one pick feels lucky.

by pantslessyoda1 on Mar 7, 2009 9:21 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

Sure!

I definitely prefer him to Thabeet.

by hotplate on Mar 6, 2009 3:32 PM EST reply actions 0 recs

Thabeet

I’m not sure which way to go with him. On one hand, he looks lost at times, like when Blair ate his lunch a few weeks ago.

On the other hand, the man is improving so much each year, is 7’3", and is a shot blocking machine, not to mention the ridiculous number of shots he influences.

IMO Blair is a better fit, but maybe we could trade down a few spots and still get him?

by DT711 on Mar 6, 2009 3:53 PM EST reply actions 0 recs

Trading down sounds ideal

No use wasting, say, the number 3 pick on someone we could get at number 8 or something. Maybe we could get someone to take one of our bad contracts (Songaila? Pecherov? Mike James?) off of our hands, too.

At the same time, and I say this as someone who’s watched maybe five college games all year, Blair sounds a lot like a healthier, younger, Etan Thomas. I think that what we need are bulky 6"10+ players who can rebound (Varejao and Perkins types, basically) or floor spacers who can guard wing players. Rubio and Harden are pretty much the only people we could get in the first round who don’t fit this criteria who I’d like to see us get.

by pantslessyoda1 on Mar 6, 2009 4:17 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

Trading down would be great

but if we’re stuck at #5, I say pull the trigger on Blair. The younger/healthier Etan Thomas comparison is fine with me. If Etan hadn’t gotten hurt and had continued to develop his skill to match his pre-injury athleticsm, we probably wouldn’t be sitting at 14-47.

The other options turn my stomach. If we take Harden, we’re giving up on Nick Young (I’m close, but not over the edge). If we take Rubio, we’re admitting Arenas doesn’t move well anymore, necessitating a shift to SG (a tough pill to swallow given his $$$). If we take Thabeet, we’re forgetting Javale McGee, Brendan Haywood, and Andray Blatche are on the roster. I haven’t seen much of Jordan Hill, but he’s a string bean at 6-10 235. Unless he’s got a Kevin Garnet motor, he won’t solve our rebounding problems as much as Blair would.

I really hope DeJuan is reading this. If the Wiz draft you at #5, DeJuan, I expect a cut.

by jvflail on Mar 6, 2009 4:40 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

I disagree on Rubio

Rubio’s good enough, I think, where you say “screw the team’s needs, let’s just take the BPA.”

Otherwise, I think I agree. I’d be okay with trading down if we don’t get the #1 or #2 pick (assuming Rubio is going to declare). I’m trying to think of a late lottery team that may want to move up in exchange for a bad contract. Maybe Charlotte? They’d be willing to take on a long-term contract, I’d think. They’re currently in the 10 spot … maybe something like #10 and Felton for Songaila and #3?

Minnesota? We could probably pry Mike Miller away from them if we give up one of our prospects plus a swap of picks (and hopefully a bad contract). How about Miller and #6 for Etan and #3? I dunno.

We could take Blair at 6 or 10 then.

I’m not okay with moving out of the draft, but I could deal with moving down if it helped us out.

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

by Mike Prada on Mar 6, 2009 4:47 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

The Minnesota trade sounds best

They need help everywhere except the 4, so they would probably want to just get the most talented player available, pretty much regardless of position, and Mike Miller is just the type of shooter we’ve been lacking since Roger Mason left.

by pantslessyoda1 on Mar 6, 2009 7:45 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

Plus

If you get Miller – who is a great spot up shooter….. then draft Blair, you’ve solved two of the Wizards main problems…. Outside shooting and interior defense/toughness/rebounding.

Bullets Forever - where "Dagger ! " happens......

by Rook6980 on Mar 6, 2009 10:46 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

Completely agree with you Prad

Rubio is that once-in-a-while player that comes along. Not quite on LeBron James level… perhaps just a bit lower than even Chris Paul or Dwight Howard…. but he’s a game changer. A player you can build a franchise around.

Players like Rubio only come out only every few years…. Some years, like 2003, you have a few come out at once (Dwayne Wade, LeBron, Carmelo Anthony, Chris Bosh)…. I’ve watched a ton of Oklahoma games, and even though I’m extremely high on Blake Griffin, I’m not even sure that even Griffin fits into that category.

Rubio and Arenas could form a very, very scary back court for the Wizards. Both able to penetrate and kick out. Both able to break down defenders. Both excel on the fast break. And I could see Rubio and Arenas playing the same type of defensive game that Hughes and Arenas played; because Rubio has extremely quick hands, and is very good at stripping the ball from unsuspecting ball handlers.

So if the Wizards have the #1 or #2 pick, they should choose either Griffin or Rubio (if he declares).

Otherwise, with picks #3 through #5, I’m fully on board with trading down, perhaps for a 1st round pick in a future year, and a swap of this year’s picks, and then choose DeJuan Blair.

I’ve watched Blair play 3 times this year…. and he’s extremely strong on the boards. Much like Griffin, he just seems to want the ball more than anyone else. He has no offensive game to speak of… terrible footwork. Bad fundamentals. But he’s a pretty good one-on-one low post defender, even against taller players, mainly due to his freakishly long arms.

Bullets Forever - where "Dagger ! " happens......

by Rook6980 on Mar 6, 2009 10:45 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

I just went weak in the knees . . .

imagining Rubio and Arenas alongside one another.

"Would you like to shoot me now or wait till you get home." --- Daffy Duck

by George Templeton on Mar 8, 2009 1:08 AM EST up reply actions 0 recs

Where would Blair play?

I understand the notion that we need toughness and rebounding, and that Blair is a tough rebounder; but it’s just not that simple. I fail where Blair would get minutes. He is too small to play center. And if we put him at power forward, we’d end up with a logjam in the paint because neither Haywood or Blair can operate outside of 8 feet. At best, he could play PF alongside Blatche at C (because Blatche is the only center on the roster with perimeter skills, and Blatche is barely a center).

Blair would end up as a 15-minute-per-game role player. I’m not interested in using our top 5 draft pick to go get a 15-minute-per-game role player.

The guy I like is Gerald Henderson. He’s a freakish athlete who plays great D, rebounds well and can create his own shot. His outside shooting isn’t great yet, but it’s developing. I see him as the next Larry Hughes, only he still has hope of improving his jumpshot. If he does, he could be a Brandon Roy.

I figure Henderson will go somewhere in the 8-12 range. I’d like to see us trade down from the top 5 to something around #8, while dumping Stevenson’s contract in the process. Then draft Henderson. Ideally, we also arrange a trade with Minnesota where we give them Nick Young + Etan + our high 2nd rounder for Mike Miller. That would leave us with this lineup:

PG Arenas/Crittenton
SG Henderson/Miller
SF Butler/DMac
PF Jamison/Songaila
C Haywood/Blatche/McGee

Miller would likely be better than Henderson or DMac, but I’d like to start one of our defensive-minded swingmen and bring Miller off the bench to balance out the roster. Miller would probably play in crunch time.)

Also, by trading down and unloading Stevenson, we shave about $5M off our cap this year and another $5M next year. That nearly solves our luxtax problem this year and would definitely solve it next year.

by nate33 on Mar 7, 2009 6:25 PM EST reply actions 0 recs

Henderson?

No thanks. I don’t think I could stand to see a Duke player on this team. Seriously though, I’m not wowed by him. I’d much rather take Evan Turner (assuming we trade out of the lottery and he comes out this year) than Henderson. I think he’ll be a star in this league with his size and his ball handling skills.

rockin' the crab dribble since 2009

by hibachi on Mar 7, 2009 7:29 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

Blair is not a top 5 pick

You are right, I’m not interested in using our top 5 draft pick to go get a 15-minute-per-game role player EITHER… but that’s not what the suggestion was.

The suggestion was: if the Wizards end up with the #3, #4, or #5 pick – they should trade down to pick Blair.
Perhaps get a team to take one of our bad contracts to swap picks…. or get a team to give us a future #1 to swap picks this year.

I’m fully on board with drafting either Rubio or Blake Griffin. If the Wizards cannot get one of those two players, then I think they should package the pick in some kind of deal. (Trade down, trade out, sweeten a package for veteran talent, etc…)

Bullets Forever - where "Dagger ! " happens......

by Rook6980 on Mar 8, 2009 11:15 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

I like Turner too. My only concern about him is that he doesn’t have stand-out athleticism. He just doesn’t have the explosion that Henderson does. I just can’t see Turning being anything more than a quality role player. (Don’t get me wrong, we could use a quality role player.) Henderson can be more.

by nate33 on Mar 7, 2009 8:25 PM EST reply actions 0 recs