*titled

I was just pointing out that those teams are actually targeting the “better players” while we seem to be waiting for what’s left. I krealize that Ernie may be thinking he’s going to make an 11th hour trade for a legit big man, but you can’t assume one will be available for what he’s willing to offer.

I hadn’t thought about the factor of not having a good backup center will have on the leverage Ernie has to negotiate Brendan’s resigning. Considering that, I’m pretty sure he has got to have something up his sleeve.

saying we should have signed McDyess for $10 mil. What I’m saying is we will have to pay to get someone who can actually help us. As for this 10 minutes thing, I don’t buy it. This notion that our roster is set is preposterous. Sure, we have plenty of talent, but it’s mostly at guard. Haywood, McGee, and Blatche will not be enough to hold the fort at the big forward/center spots.

Getting a McDyess would be nice, but it’s really not feasible or even for that matter necessary. Trading Mike James, Deshawn, and some future picks for Tyson Chandler would make us a better team, but it would also be financially insane and overdoing it on the talent.

I don’t think we need to add more players at all. If anything, we should be eliminating some of our depth by trading a star and a good player for a superstar, not trying to sign guys we don’t need just so that we can have the deepest roster in league history or something. Blatche and McGee have their problems, but neither is considered fragile and they’ll most likely be a little bit better next year. Going five or six deep with quality big men (which is what McDyess would be classified as) is really unnecessary, and I can’t think of any team in the league that actually does it. Most team’s have two good starters, a decent backup, and one or two Scalabrines to go in and commit fouls if someone gets hurt. If we pick up a Shelden Williams or if Etan Thomas is bought out and re-signs with us for the vet minimum then that’s great, but we really don’t need to worry about pursuing guys who we’ve actually heard of.

Read my post above about the Spurs and the Heat. You don’t need to break the bank to bring home a champion. You just need the right mix of players to get the job done. It’s Ernie’s job to find that right mix of players.

You sign him for a year (I read his salary with the C’s was 6 figures – so you could give him 1.5 – 2 for the year and tell him to buy some nice suits for the first several months).

You sign a scrub guy as insurance a 10-15 minute guy and tell him to buy the same suits.

You get two guys for one. One is insurance and will be there the year. The other is a young guy looking to prove himself and play for a contract once his knee heals up.

But about the Wizard’s reluctance to spend their MLE on ANY player. Other “contending” teams seem to think that spending their MLE on upgrading their rosters is a good idea.

The Wizards are close to contending…. probably 4th best in the Eastern Conference. Perhaps ONE player away from being a real contender. Yet, the Lakers get Artest…. Houston gets Gortat…. The Celtics are getting Rasheed…. The Cavaliers will get SOMEONE for their MLE. And, once again, the Wizards refuse to spend theirs.

When was the last time the Wizards actually used their Mid Level Exception? I can’t even remember.

If the Wizards are really in “win now” mode…. then I can get behind that, ONLY if they spend like they want to win now. Instead, Ernie is spending like he just wants to get back to the Playoffs. Like it’s OK to be 4th best in the East. Like it doesn’t matter that Boston, Cleveland and Orlando still have more talent, and a better shot at contending for the Title.

I’d also still be OK they were NOT in “win now” mode – If they want to just get back to the Playoffs…. improve the roster each year…. develop the young talent each year…. and contend in 3 or 4 years… I’d be OK with that too…

But don’t tell me that you want to “win now” and be miserly with the money.

I continue to confused by two sentiments flying around. 1) we should pay through the nose for a clear backup, nonstar player, who will not make the difference for a championship… no backup center has to my knowledge (maybe Walton with the Celtics?)

Gortat was huge for the Magic in the playoffs this year. If it wasn’t for his stellar play they would have probably gotten bounced by the Celtics in the second round instead of advancing to the NBA Finals. His presence made them that much better, and that is why Houston gave him a 700% raise this offseason.

After Kobe Bryant, the player most valuable to the Lakers in the NBA Finals at least (and maybe even in the playoffs altogether) was Lamar Odom – the Lakers sixth man. Incidentally, the Lakers were paying their sixth man $14 million to come off of the bench.

How many titles would the Spurs have won without their bench player, Manu Ginobli?

Back when Chicago was winning titles, they used three interchangable centers of Will Perdue, Luc Longley, and Bill Wennington. None of those guys were stars, but those 18 fouls came in very handy when bodying up to the likes of Shaquille O’Neal (in his youth with Orlando) and Patrick Ewing.

2) There was so much nashing of teeth, last year about playing Songaila instead of our young bigs and now that they have another year and a couple more pounds under their belts everyone wants to get a better Songaila to put them back on the bench?

The biggest reason I had against playing Songaila instead of the youth was that it was a lost season! When you are winning one out of every 5 games, then it makes all the sense in the world to accelerate the development of your young players. But not when you are trying to compete for a championship. Do you think I would be happy to watch McGee fail to box out and give up another offensive rebound for the umpteenth time in a close game late in the season when the result might mean the difference between the 3rd seed and the 5th seed in a tightly contested EC standings? Not exactly.

BTW, I’m pretty certain the guys we are discussing are a bit more than a “better Songaila”, and a bit more qualifyed to fill our need for a backup center.