Bullets Forever - The John Wall Max Contract discussion"Ain't No Luck"https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/community_logos/48097/BulletsForever-fv.png2013-04-01T13:05:34-04:00http://www.bulletsforever.com/rss/stream/38917972013-04-01T13:05:34-04:002013-04-01T13:05:34-04:00Wall names 8 point guards better than him
<figure>
<img alt="" src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/Gb6lCYspHrHTwtMOPe1-pV7t7Ag=/0x26:400x293/1310x873/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/47827785/large_bulletsforever.com.minimal.0.png" />
</figure>
<p><span>John Wall</span> <a href="http://www.nba.com/2013/news/features/david_aldridge/04/01/morning-tip-seattle-vs-sacramento-for-kings-future-can-clippers-contend-john-wall-max-player-dirk-nowitzki-q-and-a/index.html?ls=iref:nbahpt3b">did a wide-ranging interview </a>with David Aldridge of NBA.com (scroll down) last night. During the interview, Wall and Aldridge collectively named eight point guards that are currently better than the <a href="https://www.bulletsforever.com/" class="sbn-auto-link">Wizards</a>' third-year man.</p>
<blockquote>
<p>"You've got <span>Chris Paul</span>, Russell [Westbrook]," he said Sunday night. "Derrick [Rose] right now. I'd say Kyrie [Irving]'s up there, doing pretty good. I like [Portland's] <span>Damian Lillard</span>. I'd say he's up there in that category. He's playing out of his mind, to play like he's a rookie. I feel like those years in college really helped him. I feel like they'd be the top."</p>
<p>He agrees, when <span>Rajon Rondo's</span> name is mentioned, that Rondo is better. He goes along with Denver's Ty Lawson, and volunteers Golden State's <span>Stephen Curry</span>. And that's the list. Eight better.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>(<span>Tony Parker</span> is not mentioned; I'd guess that's an oversight).</p>
<p>That all leads into a discussion of whether Wall is truly a max-contract player. Aldridge concludes that Wall should get a five-year deal that's slightly less than the max.</p>
<p>One other takeaway: Wall strongly endorsed the additions of <span>Martell Webster</span>, <span>Emeka Okafor</span> and <span>Trevor Ariza</span>. Wall said those players care about winning and gave him confidence to shoot freely, unlike previous teammates that "weren't very professional about their job."</p>
https://www.bulletsforever.com/2013/4/1/4170784/john-wall-suggests-eight-point-guards-are-better-than-him-right-nowMike Prada2013-03-30T10:33:25-04:002013-03-30T10:33:25-04:00Prediction: Wall gets the 5-year max this year
<figure>
<img alt="" src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/sryM5kqZWd8nIdEV-6V46dl0KbE=/0x0:4000x2667/1310x873/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/10668877/20130325_ajl_sb4_082.0.jpg" />
<figcaption>USA TODAY Sports</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Think I'm wrong? Well, you're probably not alone.</p> <p>Ted Leonsis is not famed for a wait-and see approach when it comes to his young players. Everyone remembers the new Big 3, co-starring <span>Andray Blatche</span> and <span>Jordan Crawford</span>. Blatche was amnestied as his early extension kicked in and Crawford was essentially salary-dumped while on a rookie contract. <span>John Wall</span> is a different case, of course. The question is two-fold: which max does Wall get, and when?</p>
<p>Ted puts his money where his mouth is when it comes to the <a href="http://www.hogshaven.com/2009/2/26/772915/ted-leonsis-shares-his-ten">Ten Point Plan</a>. In Crawford, the <a class="sbn-auto-link" href="https://www.bulletsforever.com/">Wizards</a> dumped a distraction. In Blatche, they jumped tried to lock up a core player with a long-term, high-priced deal <em>and</em> took a body shot to the wallet to protect the core and the cap. There is no question Wall is part of the core, and with a report of Wall having been <a href="http://www.csnwashington.com/basketball-washington-wizards/talk/signs-point-wall-becoming-max-player">pegged as a max player</a> <em>now </em>... so why now?</p>
<p>Leverage is everything in negotiations. If the Wiz were certain he was a four year-max player, why say anything at all? Retaining a first-round pick for a standard max for any team is assured. An early extension for four years is pretty pointless, if you ask me. This sounds like setting the stage for Sam Presti getting in touch with <span>Kevin Durant</span> at 12:01 AM on the first day of free agency and offering him a five year max extension kind of moment.</p>
<p>Think that's ridiculous? You know whose presence changes teams from lottery squads to playoff contenders? Superstars. The John Wall effect has been in play for half a season and that's without taking his recent offensive explosions into account. If John Wall gets extended <em>this</em> offseason, nothing but the five year-max makes sense. With Ted wanting to protect the core, lock his young stars up early and with John Wall on the record stating D.C. is where he wants to be, I expect an announcement on the first day of eligibility. Sure Andray Blatche and 'once burned twice shy' should apply here, but the stars are lined up and my money says Ted spends his.</p>
https://www.bulletsforever.com/2013/3/30/4154944/john-wall-max-contract-washington-wizardsBullet Nation in Exile2013-03-21T11:43:30-04:002013-03-21T11:43:30-04:00Wise weighs in on Wall Max Contract Saga
<figure>
<img alt="" src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/Gb6lCYspHrHTwtMOPe1-pV7t7Ag=/0x26:400x293/1310x873/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/47827785/large_bulletsforever.com.minimal.0.png" />
</figure>
<p>It's hard to separate fact from opinion in <a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/sports/wizards/john-wall-and-his-contract-hopes-with-wizards-illustrate-the-nbas-costs-and-benefits/2013/03/20/0ecb3be2-9188-11e2-9abd-e4c5c9dc5e90_story_1.html">Mike Wise's column</a> on the <span>John Wall</span> Max Contract Debate (which is understandable, of course: it's a column), but this line was interesting nonetheless.</p>
<blockquote>
<p>If the <a class="sbn-auto-link" href="https://www.bulletsforever.com/">Wizards</a> don't attempt to re-sign Wall this offseason, he is as good as gone. They shouldn't run the risk of upsetting Wall and losing him for nothing, simply on principle that he might be worth less.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>That seems hard to believe given the obvious advantage the Wizards would have in matching any offer if Wall hits restricted free agency, but the idea that the Wizards shouldn't overrated principle is one that has been noted by several here as well.</p>
https://www.bulletsforever.com/2013/3/21/4131782/mike-wise-john-wall-as-good-as-gone-without-extension-negotiationMike Prada2013-03-20T08:51:38-04:002013-03-20T08:51:38-04:00Wall would be 'hurt' if no extension by October
<figure>
<img alt="" src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/Gb6lCYspHrHTwtMOPe1-pV7t7Ag=/0x26:400x293/1310x873/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/47827785/large_bulletsforever.com.minimal.0.png" />
</figure>
<p>Yesterday was apparently <span>John Wall</span> Max Contract Interview Day. On the heels of a <a href="http://www.csnwashington.com/basketball-washington-wizards/talk/signs-point-toward-max-contract-wall">CSN Washington report</a> that "signals point" to Wall getting a max contract, <a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/sports/wizards/john-wall-says-he-deserves-maximum-contract-from-wizards-discusses-his-past-injury-woes/2013/03/19/d2646518-90d6-11e2-9cfd-36d6c9b5d7ad_story.html">Wall told Michael Lee of the Washington Post</a> that he would be "hurt" if he didn't receive a new deal this summer.</p>
<blockquote>
<p>"I would be hurt. I feel like anybody should that feels like they are a franchise guy and proven themselves and still working to develop and get better. But this is a business and you have to deal with the stuff that comes with it and goes with it. I leave that up to those guys, but I love playing for D.C. I love this team, my staff, my teammates."</p>
</blockquote>
<p>Wall is eligible to receive an extension this summer that would kick in before the 2014-15 season. Because of NBA rules, the <a class="sbn-auto-link" href="https://www.bulletsforever.com/">Wizards</a> have exclusive rights to negotiate with Wall from July 1 to October 31. If the Wizards and Wall cannot work out a new deal before then, he will become a restricted free agent after the 2013-14 season.</p>
<p>Lee reports that the Wizards have "budgeted to keep Wall with the organization for a long time," but that's not exactly news. Of course you would plan on keeping Wall for a long time. <a href="http://www.bulletsforever.com/2013/3/19/4123588/john-wall-washington-wizards-max-contract">As discussed yesterday</a>, the question is price (max or no max) and timing.</p>
https://www.bulletsforever.com/2013/3/20/4126934/john-wall-max-contract-washington-wizardsMike Prada2013-03-19T12:25:07-04:002013-03-19T12:25:07-04:00'Signals point' to Wall getting a max deal?
<figure>
<img alt="" src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/YlVygLE30oeCNT4AzXqk34GlOII=/1050x0:4000x1967/1310x873/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/10039557/20130303_jel_sb4_225.0.jpg" />
<figcaption>USA TODAY Sports</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>One report suggests that "all the signals point" to John Wall receiving a maximum contract extension, but this report yields many more questions than answers.</p> <p><a href="http://www.csnwashington.com/basketball-washington-wizards/talk/signs-point-toward-max-contract-wall">New CSN Washington insider J Michael</a> dropped an interesting bomb just now. According to Michael's sources, "all the signals" point to the <a class="sbn-auto-link" href="https://www.bulletsforever.com/">Wizards</a> giving <span>John Wall</span> a maximum contract.</p>
<blockquote>
<p>Will the Wizards give John Wall a max contract?</p>
<p>According to several persons with knowledge of the situation who talked with CSN Washington, all the signals point to the answer being yes.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>Wall himself also <a href="http://www.csnwashington.com/basketball-washington-wizards/talk/signs-point-toward-max-contract-wall">spoke exclusively to CSN Washington</a> about his desire to be a max player, backing up <a href="http://www.grantland.com/blog/the-triangle/post/_/id/53718/qa-john-wall-on-elite-point-guards-the-wizards-season-and-whether-hes-a-max-contract-player">the little he told Grantland's Zach Lowe</a> a couple weeks ago.</p>
<blockquote>
<p>"I feel like I'm a max guy, just on how I am as a person. I feel like I make my teammates better," Wall said. "I'm just a leader. I like to lead and I feel like I can change the organization. That's the way we're going with this team and how we've been playing lately."</p>
</blockquote>
<p>Wall also said that he has no desire to play out the one-year qualifying offer in 2014-15 and eventually switching teams. That's good, at least.</p>
<p>For the rest, I have several questions.</p>
<p><b>1. What does "all the signals point to" mean? </b>Seems pretty vague. Perhaps these sources are not directly involved in the negotiations. If so, it's worth taking this report with a grain of salt. It's early anyway, and there's still plenty of negotiating to be done.</p>
<p><b>(UPDATE: </b>Michael sent me this tweet in response to this line. Sounds like the sources are sound, but it's still too early for anyone to say anything definitively, and the language reflects that).</p>
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
<p>@<a href="https://twitter.com/mikepradasbn">mikepradasbn</a> FYI: Up high I make clear persons w/ "knowledge" of situation. Signals = what theyve told me, Wall + how he's playing</p>
— J. Michael(@JMichaelCSN) <a href="https://twitter.com/JMichaelCSN/status/314058894542508032">March 19, 2013</a>
</blockquote>
<p>
<script charset="utf-8" src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js"></script></p>
<p><b>2. When would this supposed max contract offer come? </b>If the idea here is that Wall will eventually be maxed out, I can understand that. This is a league where elite talent gets paid, and Wall has elite talent. If the Wizards don't work out a contract extension this summer, there will probably be enough teams waiting in the wings to offer Wall a four-year max deal. If Eric Gordon, <span>Brook Lopez</span> and <span>Roy Hibbert</span> get max offers, Wall will as well.</p>
<p>If the idea here is that Wall will be maxed out this summer, though, that's potentially problematic. I can understand wanting to give Wall an early extension to get him in at below the max deal, but if the plan is to just hand over a max contract this summer, that somewhat defeats the whole purpose. There's always some concern that Wall will torpedo things publicly <a href="https://go.redirectingat.com?id=66960X1516590&xs=1&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.usatoday.com%2Fstory%2Fsports%2Fnba%2F2013%2F02%2F08%2Fnew-orleans-hornets-eric-gordon-is-he-happy%2F1902665%2F&referrer=sbnation.com&sref=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.bulletsforever.com%2F2013%2F3%2F19%2F4123588%2Fjohn-wall-washington-wizards-max-contract" rel="sponsored nofollow noopener" target="_blank">a la Gordon</a> if he doesn't get his deal this summer, but he has little leverage to actually do something serious with his discontent. (Also: Gordon's act, along with his lingering knee issues, has probably hurt his value around the league).</p>
<p>Teams negotiate these deals because they feel like they have a better chance of securing a key player at better value than they would if they let them hit restricted free agency. If you give Wall the maximum he wants, then you're obviously doing it for different reasons. Why not just wait until you have more information on whether he has legitimately earned the money?</p>
<p><b>3. Would Wall get the five-year max? </b>This is left unsaid in Michael's piece, but it's very important. While both a four- and a five-year maximum deal would start at whatever 25 percent of the salary cap is, a team can only designate one player to receive the five-year max. If the Wizards don't give Wall that five-year max, does it mean they are saving it for <span>Bradley Beal</span> or some other mythical franchise-level talent they could acquire? <i>Should</i> they save it for Beal or Mythical Franchise Player?</p>
<p>This is sometimes where feelings can get hurt. <span>Kevin Love</span> still hasn't forgiven Minnesota for not giving him the five-year max and negotiated a third-year opt out in his deal for that reason. If Wall doesn't get the five-year max, will he resent Beal? Will Wall react in the same way Love did? Do the basketball questions about whether Wall can be a FRANCHISE PLAYER in all caps dwarf the previous questions in this paragraph?</p>
<p>*****</p>
<p>I haven't really weighed in on the "is Wall worth the max" discussion yet because I'm waiting to see how he closes the season. The last 16 games will determine a hell of a lot for me. But for now, I will say that this is way more complicated a decision than it seems.</p>
<p>There are two considerations here:</p>
<p><b>1. Is Wall worth the max?</b></p>
<p>My answer: TBD. But obviously, the answer to this question determines a lot.</p>
<p><b>2. Does it matter if Wall gets the max and he's not worth it?</b></p>
<p>Yes, but it might not be as big a deal as some think. I think it depends on degrees. If Wall gets the five-year max and isn't worth it, that's a much bigger problem than if he gets the four-year max and isn't worth it, simply because that means the Wizards can't use the five-year max on a player better than Wall.</p>
<p>I think it's easy to lose track of two important points here. One, if the debate over whether Wall is worth $13.5 million or, say, $10-11 million causes the Wizards to lose Wall, it's bad. Finding players that you can build your franchise around is incredibly difficult. You have to suck for a while and get a number of high draft picks, roll the dice on a Tier B free agent or hope a supplemental youngster (like, say, Beal or next year's lottery pick) raises his game beyond expectations. No matter how one feels about Wall, it's going to be practically difficult for the Wizards to hypothetically replace him.</p>
<p>And why would he need to be replaced? Because you haggled with him over $3 million a year? Doesn't really seem worth it to me.</p>
<p>Second, you sometimes need to overpay for premium talent. It is <b>significantly </b>easier to find a $1.5 million guy to produce what's worth $4 million than to find an $11 million guy to produce what's worth $14 million. (The Wizards have done just that this year with <span>Martell Webster</span>, for example). <a href="http://www.sbnation.com/2013/3/18/4118412/nba-contract-value-draft-free-agency-chandler-parsons">As Tom Ziller noted</a> in his most cost-efficient contract piece yesterday, the practical value of bargains isn't their bang for the buck, it's that they allow you to overpay a bit to keep your core pieces while maintaining some salary-cap flexibility.</p>
<blockquote>
<p>Having these players allows you to have salary cap space to spend on the more expensive players whose production you also need. If you can get starter-level production out of your $800,000 second-round pick or your $1.1 million bargain bin free agent, you can spend big money on players who can produce but come with a much higher price.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>Basically, if the Wizards overvalue Wall a bit by giving him a max deal, it just means that they have to work harder to find the next Martell Webster. That's a hell of a lot easier than finding the next person to replicate Wall's importance to the franchise at 75 percent of the cost.</p>
<p>The answer just isn't simple here. Hopefully, the Wizards figure out the best solution, but it's not going to be easy.</p>
https://www.bulletsforever.com/2013/3/19/4123588/john-wall-washington-wizards-max-contractMike Prada2013-03-11T13:29:32-04:002013-03-11T13:29:32-04:00Wall feels he's a max-contract player
<figure>
<img alt="" src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/Gb6lCYspHrHTwtMOPe1-pV7t7Ag=/0x26:400x293/1310x873/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/47827785/large_bulletsforever.com.minimal.0.png" />
</figure>
<p><a style="font-size: 12px; line-height: 16px;" href="http://www.grantland.com/blog/the-triangle/post/_/id/53718/qa-john-wall-on-elite-point-guards-the-wizards-season-and-whether-hes-a-max-contract-player">Grantland's Zach Lowe</a>, one of the very best hoops writers the Internet has to offer, published a complete transcript of a one-on-one interview he did with <span>John Wall</span> prior to Friday's game against the <a class="sbn-auto-link" href="https://www.netsdaily.com/">Brooklyn Nets</a>. In the interview, Wall said that he thinks he is good enough to merit a max contract.</p>
<blockquote>
<p><b>Have you started thinking about your contract extension talks yet?</b></p>
<p>I haven't started thinking about that.</p>
<p><b>Really? The deadline isn't that far away.</b></p>
<p>That's true. Look, I'm just enjoying D.C. This hasn't been going the way we wanted it to, in terms of winning, but I think we are building something here.</p>
<p><b>Do you feel like you deserve a max contract? That you're a max guy?</b></p>
<p>I feel like I am. I do, definitely.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>Now, I wouldn't read <i>too</i> much into this. Lowe asked Wall the question straight-up, and Wall isn't going to say he doesn't deserve a max contract. But as Lowe notes earlier, the deadline for an early extension is approaching (the end of October, to be specific), and the five-year max is a tough sell at this point.</p>
<p>There's a lot more to the interview, particularly on the technical side with Wall's defense and perimeter shot. The whole thing is absolutely worth a read.</p>
https://www.bulletsforever.com/2013/3/11/4090074/john-wall-max-contract-washington-wizardsMike Prada