Detroit, Washington, Houston, Cleveland, San Antonio and Boston are believed to be among McDyess'...

Detroit, Washington, Houston, Cleveland, San Antonio and Boston are believed to be among McDyess' suitors. McDyess, 35, left $8 million on the table last year when he took a buyout from Denver to return to the Pistons. He would like to recoup most of that in a two-year deal, but he told Miller it was more important to be on a team with serious championship aspirations.

Detroit News. That makes me feel a little better about yesterday's Times article.

7 months ago Mike Prada 26 comments 0 recs |

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Why would he come here over Boston/Cleveland/Orlando?

The great weather??? The only good news is at least they’re making an effort.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=laydODN6xVk

by hibachi on Jul 2, 2009 12:07 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs

Because We Have More Minutes For Him

McDyess would have plenty of minutes at either backup center or backup power forward to use. He could literally get 25-30 MPG, like he did in Detroit last season. Those other teams have a lot of options at those positions, with the exception of Orlando (whose center plays 35 MPG and is already capped out), so they wouldn’t be able to offer him as much.

Of course, minutes are less important if he can’t be convinced we are a serious contender. But the national writers are already putting us down as one, so he might be convinced if he reads the papers.

"It's OK for the Bullets to trade baskets, as long as they can score on their end." -- Words of wisdom from Phil Chenier

by cuppettcj on Jul 2, 2009 12:35 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

Other than Detriot News

who else is saying that the Wizards are “serious contenders?”

by Pryme on Jul 2, 2009 1:27 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

A Lot Actually

who else is saying that the Wizards are "serious contenders?"

You have Ian Thomsen from Sports Illustrated saying this:

I don’t know if they’ll surpass those other contenders, but the Wizards will surely be respected by the top teams in the East. Three minutes after I broke news of that trade, a GM from one of the East’s top teams called to ask if I had the details right. He didn’t like seeing Washington add so much firepower.

Then you had Chad Ford’s reaction from ESPN:

I have to say that I love what the Wizards did. I really like the addition of Miller and Foye. I’m not sure they’re in the same leauge as the Cavs, Celtics and Magic … but they’ll be close

Then there was John Hollinger reaction, also from ESPN:

But by adding these two players, the Wizards certainly have made themselves a fearsome offensive team. If Arenas is healthy, they could very well lead the league in offensive efficiency, and if that happens, new coach Flip Saunders just needs to coax an average defensive effort from them to win a ton of games.

All in all, I’d say that the national sportswriters are impressed with the Wizards now, and if free agents watch them say this on ESPN or write this in magazines or newspapers, maybe they’ll believe the Wizards are contenders too.

"It's OK for the Bullets to trade baskets, as long as they can score on their end." -- Words of wisdom from Phil Chenier

by cuppettcj on Jul 2, 2009 3:02 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

In other words

SI and ESPN, but I only see words like “fearsome,” “respected” and “close,” which is like saying, “She has a nice personality” when someone asks, “How does she look?”

Not saying that SI and ESPN are way off-base, but you can’t even get the local DC sportsguys (radio/TV/paper) to call the Wizards contenders right now. I’m waiting until September before I make any such claim.

by Pryme on Jul 2, 2009 4:08 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

Eh, I think part of it is that we only won 19 games last year

Also, the DC press is notoriously pessimistic about basketball and football. I don’t think it’s really clicked with the average sports fan just how much better Washington is that last year’s record would indicate.

by pantslessyoda1 on Jul 2, 2009 8:16 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

Pretty Much

All the national sportwriters are placing us at 4th in the Eastern Conference right now, behind Cleveland, Orlando, and Boston. Some of those guys are even speculating that we may be better, but aren’t ready to commit to that yet. That’s what I would call being a serious contender. Not the favorites, mind you, but seriously in contention.

Now, if we are good enough for 4th in the Eastern Conference, then it is possible that a prospective free agent may conclude that his presence would be enough for us to leapfrog one of those three other teams. That’s the point I am trying to make.

"It's OK for the Bullets to trade baskets, as long as they can score on their end." -- Words of wisdom from Phil Chenier

by cuppettcj on Jul 3, 2009 11:29 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

because...

Boston is pushing hard to acquire Wallace, Cleveland’s looking to grab more of a big who can play on the perimeter type of player, etc. Maybe the Wizards win just because they want him the most?

by Johnnie Futbol on Jul 2, 2009 1:44 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

Signing McDyess means

we are almost guaranteed to let miller or foye walk. Not saying that would be a bad decision, just saying that if we give McDyess 2 yrs 8M-10M, there is no way we can afford to sign Haywood, miller and foye. Even if Haywood walks, we still need to sign a starting center, so that would not save us much money (unless that center is McGee, but lets not get ahead of ourselves). Meaning we no longer have room for miller and foye

But wow, how much better would we all feel about our team with McDyess on it

by Blatche4MVP on Jul 2, 2009 1:24 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs

Eh

McDyess would put us at about 60 million. The Wiz could easily get back down by trading Stevenson for an expiring or a non-guaranteed guy. They could also not pick up Critt’s option or even Young’s option and let them go.

I also think the Wiz will be better equipped to go over the tax with some revenue coming in from home playoff games, hopefully for more than a round.

This is all for another post though.

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

by Mike Prada on Jul 2, 2009 1:30 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

It will be really hard to trade Stevenson

until he shows he is healthy. I thought we already pick up NY’s and Crit’s options. That was the assumption I made in that post, if that is not true, then yes, we would have the ability to not pick up there options.

Would McDyess be worth not picking up NY and Crit options?

by Blatche4MVP on Jul 2, 2009 1:44 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

I don't think we picked up their 10/11 options

I also wouldn’t be opposed to packaging Stevenson with Critt/Young to entice some cap relief.

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

by Mike Prada on Jul 2, 2009 1:45 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

EVEN if McDyess wanted to come here

I give this a ZERO PERCENT chance of happening. Why? As I’ve argued before, Ernie didn’t sell the 2nd rounder or trade the 5th rounder just to step into the MLE. The bottom line is that the Wiz aren’t going to commit $8M this year to an MLE pickup (4M +4M for the luxury tax) unless they can somehow swing a move to get cap relief (and I don’t see that happening this year). Next year is a different story, but given the need to resign Haywood, I don’t think that Ernie will jeopardize that by locking McDyess up for 2 years. (As Prada notes above, we could not pick up options on Critt/Young etc to get more money, but why would Ernie want to force his hand this early?)

Ernie is going to either trade James (maybe plus Young/Critt) for a veteran or sign a rookie/vet for the minimum. It’s not ideal from a fan perspective, but it’s reality from a business perspective. McDyess is a pipe dream no matter how you spin it.

Getting buckets since 2003.

by Icantfeelmyface on Jul 2, 2009 1:49 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs

you are probably right

but you can’t say zero percent. For all you know Abe told ernie, he could keep the 5th pick, and that was the max he could spent this season. The same roster plus the 5th picks salary. You can do whatever you want, but that is your max. So ernie made a trade and sold the pick so give him space to sign a MLE. Maybe not likely, but certainly not impossible

by Blatche4MVP on Jul 2, 2009 1:57 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

Am I speculating?

Yes. Zero percent is my own (poorly) educated guess. If I’m wrong then great! But if you look at the totality of the evidence, I don’t think it’s possible to argue with credibility that the Wizards are likely to use much, if any, of the MLE. Let’s all hope that Ernie convinces Abe otherwise, but until I see some evidence I’m just going to assume that Ernie has alternative plans (e.g. a trade).

Getting buckets since 2003.

by Icantfeelmyface on Jul 2, 2009 3:16 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

I Think I Agree With You

The more I think about it, the more I realize that Ernie doesn’t have enough room under the luxury tax threshold in 2010-11 to resign Haywood, resign either Miller or Foye, and pick up an MLE contract.

I think Ernie will pick up a spare part big for only one season and rely on a trade to acquire a better big to backup Haywood.

"It's OK for the Bullets to trade baskets, as long as they can score on their end." -- Words of wisdom from Phil Chenier

by cuppettcj on Jul 2, 2009 3:24 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

But from a purely Basketball standpoint

Mcdyess, even at 35 is almost the perfect fit for what Washington needs, as I stated in my article here.

He’s a very good low post defender and help defender. He’s an excellent rebounder (19.3 rebound rate last year). He has a nice, almost automatic mid-range jump shot. He’s got the size and bulk (6’9" 245) to keep larger players out of the lane. AND he has played for Flip Saunders before.

If Boston is really serious about obtaining Rasheed Wallace – they would only be able to offer McDyess the LLE
If Cleveland obtains Arriza or Ron Artest, they would have to spend the MLE to do it… leaving only the LLE to offer McDyess
Houston is courting Gortat – they desperately need a starting Center – and will probably land Gortat.

That just leaves Detroit… They need McDyess because otherwise, Kwame Brown is their only center.

Will Washington make a reasonable offer to McDyess (perhaps the full MLE, or at least a good portion of it) to fill the front court need?

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

by Rook6980 on Jul 2, 2009 2:11 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

I hope the Wizards do it

Detroit has no head coach and seems to lack direction. McDyess has a better chance for a championship in Washington.

All the pieces are coming together. : )

by Johnnie Futbol on Jul 2, 2009 2:23 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

Basketball-wise

McDyess would be great. I don’t disagree. My point was that the Wiz’s financial plans do NOT include spending the MLE on ANYBODY, even McDyess. Basically, I think the rumor in the Detroit News is totally false—the Wizards have NO intention or desire to make a “reasonable offer.” Of course, I’m speculating, but I think the evidence points us away from using the MLE.

As much as we can all hope that the Wiz will make a play for a guy like McDyess, you can spit in one hand and wish in the other….

Getting buckets since 2003.

by Icantfeelmyface on Jul 2, 2009 3:13 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

I think you're probably right, sadly

Sure, they want McDyess, but what do they have to offer? What are they willing to offer?

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

by Mike Prada on Jul 2, 2009 3:22 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

i can see us having a chance to sign Mcdyess if we show him that we really mean business … like if we go hard and trade for Camby…. Deshawns contract + James + future protected 1st for Camby

Camby expires so that can help sign Haywood Miller and Foye next season….. plus adding Camby Mcdyess two big vets that play good defense would help teach our young bigs a thing or two

if we get Camby Mcdyess will follow

by eltacoman on Jul 3, 2009 8:26 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

McDyess would be great, but...

Who is our backup center? This would add good front court depth but it doesn’t solve our biggest issue.

by Manimal Smith on Jul 2, 2009 2:12 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs

McDyess can play a very capable 5

He has in Detroit for the last few years.

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

by Mike Prada on Jul 2, 2009 2:26 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

exactly

While Rasheed Wallace roamed around outside, McDyess guarded the opponents biggest, strongest low post player. So, he plays against Shaq, Ilgauskas, Howard, etc…. That’s his best fit on the Wizards as well.

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

by Rook6980 on Jul 2, 2009 6:53 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

Surprised, but ok

I know he is a scrapper and I feet like I’ve seen him play alot and can’t remember him being the primary defensive matchup against 5 when he is on the floor, but I believe you if you say so.

It would truly be lovely if we had him, but I really don’t buy that players actually see us as a contender and so I don’t see a vet chasing a ring singing here. Expect him in San Antonio or Cleveland or Boston (SA particularly makes a LOT of sense to me for him).

by Manimal Smith on Jul 2, 2009 7:20 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

Yep. Could he have been Brendan's primary backup going into next year?

I hope Ernie does land someone like McDyess. But signing him, or even a less talented veteran, could bury JaVale on the bench.

Although our playoff seed might suffer, it wouldn’t be all bad if we went into the season with our current lineup and acquired a veteran at the trade deadline. That would give JaVale and Blatche 15-20 minutes a night for half the season and help them be ready to make a contribution in the playoffs. Of course, we’d be awfully vulnerable should Brendan or Antawn get hurt.

by antawnjameson on Jul 2, 2009 10:18 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs