Twas the eve of draft night, and the Wizards were quiet...

by Mike Prada on Jun 24, 2009 11:56 PM EDT in Draft

I was going to write a little more about the ramifications of the trade tonight (Songaila fans were going to love what I was going to post), but with so much interesting discussion going on in the FanPosts already, I decided to wait until after draft day.

As far as tomorrow goes, here's the deal. Even though draft day has lost a lot of suspense for the Wizards, it's stil a big day. I'm going to post an open thread for everyone to discuss Wizards and league-wide things tomorow morning, so any big news that happens or anything interesting you read should go in there, not in a separate FanShot. Jake, Truth, Rook or I will update as need be on the main part of the post. This is different than how things normally work on here, but with draft day being such a huge animal, I didn't want a zillion FanShots cluttering up the front page.

At a certain point, if the thread reaches a certain number of comments, I'll start an overflow one. I don't know if the pre-draft stuff will be necessary for that, but just throwing it out there.

Then, on draft night, we'll have two threads, one from 7-8:30 and then one from 8:30 onward. The new thread will go up right at 8:30 thanks to the cool scheduled post thing SB Nation has (and you thought I actually wrote this morning's 6 a.m. post on the trade at 6 a.m. Suckers).

Unlike most days, pretty much everything goes in these threads. Feel free to veer off topic as you wish with any random thoughts about what you're seeing.

Sound good? See you all tomorrow.

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the eve of draft night...

and cleveland gets shaq.

we’ll need some helps at the 4 and the 5 now more than ever. not that shaq is what he was when we couldnt beat miami.. but its still shaq. and lebron.

ugh.

evaflowin.blogspot.com

by eva.future on Jun 25, 2009 1:24 AM EDT reply actions

Pretty interesting, but what does Shaq bring to their offense?

In the playoffs the Cavs degenerated into playing 1 on 5 and watching LeBron try to solo the other teams. If Shaq is clogging the lane how are they going to have a drive and kick game? Shaq isn’t useful on pick and rolls – so how are they going to work him in?

by Manimal Smith on Jun 25, 2009 1:28 AM EDT up reply actions

yeah, you right.

im still trying to gather my thought on how i feel about this, initially it was surprise that it actually happened, and how we’re going to compete and defend, but thinking about it some more, i dont know if this is the move that puts cleveland over the top. its the direct response to getting booted in the playoffs by dwight howard, when what they really need is some clutch shooters/wingmen.

i guess the hope on offense is that he picks up some slack from lebron. but youre right about clogging the lane.

on defense, shaq on the pick and roll is horrible, and he’s slower than ilgauskus is, so im still not sure how they stop dwight howard since he’s much quicker.

it is all pretty interesting though. and jus reenforces the fact that we need some help in the frontcourt.

evaflowin.blogspot.com

by eva.future on Jun 25, 2009 1:37 AM EDT up reply actions

Have to wonder

Should we have waited to make a deal? Now that the Suns have dealt Shaq, are they in full rebuilding mode? Could we have got Amare on the cheap if we still had Thomas and the #5 pick? Man… maybe this doesn’t put Cleveland over the top, but they gave up literally NOTHING to get him. I’m gonna sleep on it.

Getting buckets since 2003.

by Icantfeelmyface on Jun 25, 2009 1:53 AM EDT up reply actions

Yes we should have

We went too soon for sure

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

by Mike Prada on Jun 25, 2009 7:10 PM EDT up reply actions

Panic move, plain and simple

but this teaches me a lesson about fanposting before I read the recent threads.

by Pryme on Jun 25, 2009 8:47 AM EDT up reply actions

I am glad the Cavs got Shaq

They need to play faster and not slower. And with Shaq they will be an even slower paced team (if that’s possible). I can’t wait for this one to fail.

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

by George Templeton on Jun 25, 2009 10:50 AM EDT up reply actions

Great

I’ll be on a plane, so I’ll have SlingBox it.

Can’t wait to waste hours of my life reading all your guys’ worthless comments. And I mean that with all the love that I have left after my Bullets have destroyed it.

by se7en on Jun 25, 2009 2:19 AM EDT reply actions

With the 32nd pick in the 2009 NBA Draft, the Washington Wizards select

Some options include Taj Gibson (likely gone already), Ahmad Nivins and Victor Claver.

Taj Gibson – 6’10" 215 PF (27,27,30)
Wiry athletic PF that can get up and down the floor. Extremely long wingspan (7’4") and taller than expected at 6’9.75" in shoes. Excellent rebounder in College (11 per 40 minutes, pace adjusted). He averaged 14 points, 9 rebounds and 3 blocks for USC last year.

Gibson will have trouble guarding bigger Power Forwards down low, but he’s quick enough, and long enough that he should be able to defend players on the perimeter (LeBron, Bosh, Nowitzki, etc…). He has a consistent jump shot to 15-17 feet; and should be an excellent weapon with the pick-n-roll, pick-n-pop game. His length, combined with his timing make him a very good shot blocker. Good intangibles (hard worker, great intensity, aggressive, etc…)

Needs to add weight and muscle to play PF in the NBA; but he’s quick enough, and has a good enough outside game that I could see someone playing him at Small Forward; and if he adds weight and muscle, he could have a long career as a rebounder and shot blocker at the PF position.

I’d rather the Wizards pick Tyler Hansbrough (if by some miracle he fell to the 2nd round, or if they could move up) …. but Taj Gibson is a pretty good choice if he’s still available when the Wizards pick.

I haven’t seen Victor Claver or Ahmad Nivins play – but two other guys I like at pick 32 are:
Josh Heytvelt and Jeff Pendergraph – my write up on those two can be found here ….

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

by Rook6980 on Jun 25, 2009 12:37 PM EDT reply actions