My 2011-12 Washington Wizards

by SpecialSauce on May 9, 2011 4:55 PM EDT

This is such a great time of the off season with the lottery still over a week away and the uncertainty that reigns supreme over those 14 lottery positions. Much will be answered after the lottery is held on the 17th, but in the meantime the projecting and "mocking" is a lot of fun to play couch GM of your favorite team.

If I were in Ernie's shoes and since we're playing couch GM it might be a pair of slippers or Crocs for some of you, I'd have three major objectives that I'd want to accomplish before the start of the next season. My List of off season goals would include:

1. Trade Andray Blatche, it's simply addition by subtraction at this point with him

2. Maximize your gains from Nick Young's breakout season

3. Draft players that can be pieces to the puzzle, starters or top 8 or 9 guys at worst

Here's how I accomplish my goals:

1. Trade Blatche to the Indianapolis Pacers for James Posey and the 15th pick. Posey is your "3&D" guy that can play the Mo Evans type role, plus he'll be in the last year of his contract at $6.9 million. For Indy, Blatche can fill their void at PF and create a very interesting Pacers squad with D. Collison, B. Rush/P. George, D. Granger, Blatche, and R. Hibert. The deal seems to work for both parties.

2. Sign Wilson Chandler or sign and trade Nick Young for Chandler. The Nuggets seem to have accepted that Chandler's gone, but with Chandler, Affalo, and JR Smith all FA's, the Nuggets need to find a SG that can play between Ty Lawson and Gallinari, Young would be a good fit. For the Wizards, Chandler will turn 24 in May and has incredible athleticism and could easily develop into a top 8 SF in the league over the next 3-4 years.

3. The draft is still a mystery, but there's no doubt that the Wizards should have a pretty good chance of landing D. Williams, E. Kanter, J. Vesely, or B. Biyombo with their lottery pick. Then you'll have a chance to grab K. Thompson with either the 15th pick (from Indy) or the 18th pick, plus one of either K. Leonard, T. Honeycutt, or C. Singleton with the other 1st rd pick (15 or 18). Finally they look for a backup PG with the 34th pick, somebody like J. Selby, M. Lee, or M. Brooks.

Therefore you'd be looking at a 2011 Wizards roster that looked something like this:

PG: J. Wall, 34th pick (M. Lee)

SG: J. Crawford, K. Thompson (15th or 18th pick), O. Jeffers

SF: W. Chandler, C. Singleton (15th or 18th pick), J. Posey

PF: R. Lewis, T. Booker, D. Williams/E. Kanter/J. Vesely/B.Biyombo (lottery pick)

C: J. McGee, K. Seraphin, N'diaye

That's what I'd do. Get rid of Blatche, sign Chandler, and look for players that can continue the rebuilding process via the draft.

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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c'mon

blatche, as frustrating as he is, is still a starter. there really aren’t that many 6’11 guys that can score like andray. Why would u trade that for a bench player on the downturn of his career and an unkown 15th pick in a weak draft.

I think u underestimate blatches trade value

by playnpg22 on May 9, 2011 7:57 PM EDT reply actions

"Weak Draft"

This draft is unknown, some will say weak. While I agree that there doesn’t seem to be a first ballot HOF’er in the class, the draft is not as weak as many have either said or bought in to. The reality is that the players projected to be in the top 10 are very unknown to most of us, however when you look past the Euro’s and the three PG’s that will make up a majority of the first ten players drafted, there really are some solid prospects and good depth in this draft between picks 10-24. Guys like the Morris twins, K. Leonard, C. Singleton, T. Honeycutt, K. Faried, T. Harris, T. Thompkins, and K. Thompson are all very talented players and typically it’s those drafted in the 10-24 range that are more “sure things” because they’re more known quantities that have been scouted longer, however we all know the NBA loves to draft off of potential, which is why there have been so many lottery busts in the league’s history.

by SpecialSauce on May 9, 2011 10:26 PM EDT up reply actions

Make it a 2012 1st and im IN !!!!

by eltacoman on May 10, 2011 12:19 AM EDT up reply actions

That team is worse than this years...

let’s not go backwards…

also…

Chandler, Affalo, and JR Smith all FA’s

Right…and don’t you think the Nuggets will sign one (i.e. Affalo)

by DavidDunn on May 9, 2011 8:16 PM EDT reply actions

This Team is Worse?

I can take constructive, but that’s ridiculous! Obviously the team can only get better then last year’s and can only continue to get better, regardless of any of these hypothetical moves simply because John Wall, Jordan Crawford, JaVale McGee, and Trevor Booker will continue to mature as NBA players.

Straying from the obvious mentioned above, the Wizards need a SF of the future! Wilson Chandler is the perfect fit of youth and athleticism that this team is desperate to find to anchor their wing. Why is everybody hoping for Derrick Williams in the draft, why were we mad about Harrison Barnes going back to school? Because this team has nothing on the wing and needs a running mate at SF to be competitive in this league, especially the East with LeBron, Carmelo, Pierce, Joe Johnson, etc…

As for what the Nuggets do or who they sign…who cares? Chandler, like NY is a RFA. If the Wizards out spend the Nuggets or if they decide to accept NY in compensation, then fine. But all that matters is that they use some available cap space, something that will be rare this off season, and sign a player coming into the prime of his career.

by SpecialSauce on May 9, 2011 10:11 PM EDT up reply actions

Won't be Smith

by ThePGPhenomenon on May 10, 2011 12:47 PM EDT up reply actions

Rebuttal

1. Trade Andray Blatche, it’s simply addition by subtraction at this point with him

Really? I mean we all know blatche has his inconsistencies, but when he’s playing focus’d he’s one of the best power-forwards in the league. As much as he make dumb decisions like saying he’s a finesse player, he still has what it takes to be physical.

You can’t just call it quits and throw away tools that he has.

-Outside shot
-Post-moves
-Ability to draw fouls and MAKE free-throws
-Rebounding

If washington starts winning, and blatche starts buying into the coaching and team philosophy, He’ll be a key cog in the machine that keeps the wiz running.

Trade Blatche to the Indianapolis Pacers for James Posey and the 15th pick.

Really, James Posey? Really? If you want a mo evans type player then just RESIGN mo evans.

James Posey is on the fast track to decline.

A 15th pick means nothing in this draft. You might as well call up another d-leaguer for a third of the price.

That trade has bad news written all over it. Pacer fans would go nuts if that happened.

Geting it done.

by Knowledge92 on May 9, 2011 8:57 PM EDT reply actions 2 recs

Because We've Seen Enough to Know Enough

How much longer are you going to wait for this dude to put it all together? The Wizards have done nothing but give this guy everything he needs to be successful and feel wanted. They cleared space for him to get minutes, the ran plays to get him the ball, they re-signed him to a big extension without needing to, what else do they need to do? Blatche has run out of chances here! He’s got all the talent in the world, but something big is missing

And if you think Dray is starting to “get it” think again! Tomorrow he’ll be hosting Lapdance Tuesday Night’s at Cameo Night Club in South Beach. This kid is wasting his talents every day and the time to cut him lose is now, when maybe there is still one team, like the Pacers that thinks they can help him turn the page or at worst he can help their team win some more games.

Oh, then there’s the other Stooge that wants to be in Hollywood and be in some movies “maybe even have a sex tape” (Nick Young).

Are these the type of players that you want to surround John Wall with? Wall takes his job very seriously, Blatche and Young are the “Scarecrows” of the Wizards….if they only had a brain!

Having blinders on and being attached to these players is the same fault that they suffered during the Pollin era. The Wizards owe nothing to these guys, especially the ones that don’t maintain any reasonable sort of ethics, they are however accountable to their board of investors, which in the world of professional sports are the fans.

by SpecialSauce on May 9, 2011 9:58 PM EDT up reply actions

New Colors, New Team

It’s also about cleaning out the old to make room for the new. Blatche and Young were apart of the old regime, the Gil years. By moving both of them, the longest tenured Wizards would be McGee, the rest would have come over since Leonsis bought the team. There’s a lot that can be said about starting over, starting fresh, and going in a new direction, which is exactly what Leonsis said he wants to do with this organization since buying this team.

by SpecialSauce on May 9, 2011 10:57 PM EDT up reply actions

Character is the easiest trait to turn around.

.507 fg, 5.6/7.8 fta/m, 10.3 rpg, 1.8 apg, 1.3 blk, 2.5 spg, 23.6 ppg.

Those were dray’s stats in april. Those are freakish numbers. Giving dray chances? It’s been one season during a REBUILDING year since trading jamison. One season where dray was trying to adapt to his place in the john wall era.

It took kevin garnett a couple of years to turn into a monster under flip saunders. Dray can do the same. Eddie Jordan was not a good coach, and blatche was born into the league with bad coaching. It’s going to take a while to sink in.

Dray has had some ego issues this season, but nick hasn’t. Don’t really understand where that’s coming from. He was clearly joking during that statement.

Dray and Nick turned in career years for a team that was changing it’s lineups nearly everyday. We have cap space, neither of these guys are or will be commanding big money, and you want to trade them for euroleagers that will probably have a 30% chance of even making a name for themselves in the league? Or a guy who should be signing up for AARP right now? I’m just not comfortable with that.

Geting it done.

by Knowledge92 on May 9, 2011 11:59 PM EDT up reply actions 1 recs

Sorry but character is the hardest thing to change in a person

Just ask divorced people if you don’t believe me, or look at

all the súper talented kids that never made it to the highest level because of character problems, or look at other kids with slightly less talent (Booker comes to mind) that do make it to and in the NBA.

Anyway, i don’t think Blatche’s character issues are to severe to have an respectable career (actually, he already is in the league for six yrs, so yeah) but i do wonder if he can ever get to the focus level he needs to be on to perform at the highest level he can, consistently.

"I'll be lounging on the couch, just chillin in my snuggie, klick to MTV so they can teach my how to douggie" (Buno Mars, The lazy song)

by Dutch Hoopfan on May 10, 2011 6:06 PM EDT up reply actions

You Can't Teach SIZE

You can’t teach size, but you also can’t teach drive, hard work, and intensity.

by SpecialSauce on May 10, 2011 8:36 PM EDT up reply actions

I'm so okay with getting Wilson Chandler

And could see the Nuggets being attracted to a Lawson/Felton, Afflalo/Young, Gallo backcourt platoon. I think Afflalo and Young would actually be great complements to each other sharing the 2 duties for the Nuggets.

by Dreezy on May 9, 2011 9:07 PM EDT reply actions

make moves for next year

there’s four players I’ll trade Blatche, McGee, Lewis (not going to happen 20 million reasons why), and do a sign and trade with Young. trade Blatche for a first rounder in 2012. Or look into trades like Blatche for a young prospect like Thabeet a 7’3" center and Terrence Williams from the Rockets, I know D-league player hasn’t really did much yet, but let him get minutes with the wizards think it can’t hurt we get T. Willialms SG/SF too think that could work both don’t play much with the rockets throw in young and get courney Lee just a option I’m throwing out there..
for our draft pick D. Williams, E. Kanter, Bismack, with the first and 18th chris singleton and find a why to buy for another late first rounder draft Josh selby and with the 34th Jeremy Tyler.

then pick up a couple free agent doesn’t have to be a big name roll players teachers

by Poojie on May 10, 2011 4:25 PM EDT reply actions

if you don't like Blatche's attitude, you'll absolutely love TWïlliams!

Lots and lots of talent wasted even more effectively than AB. AB actually produces (less consistently than he could and should i agree) , TWill doesn’t even earn minutes (on two different teams no doubt!).

"I'll be lounging on the couch, just chillin in my snuggie, klick to MTV so they can teach my how to douggie" (Buno Mars, The lazy song)

by Dutch Hoopfan on May 10, 2011 6:09 PM EDT up reply actions