BANG!

;)

Thank Ivan. :)

- Ray

And don't be surprised to see Hayes starting at the two and Stevenson elsewhere.

I'm betting you a steak dinner, remember that. ;)

- Ray

Obviously, money will keep the Wiz from doing the smart thing w/JCN. Keeping him to get ready for the POST SHAQ ERA. Giving yourself a nucleus of young ballers, i.e., Pesh, Blatche, Young. That would be the smart thing to do. Nobody can predict what Agent Zero will do. Everyone wants him to stay but who can know what will come out of his head? What they should do is just sit back and see what develops. They paid Etan a fortune to sit on the bench. Why not give JCN a season to see what they've got. Short of KG coming to town they've got no shot at a title so why not sit back and let a team gel.

unless of course ernie manages to package JCN etan or haywood and some other stuff for KG

which is highly unrealistic i know... but i'm just trying to pull something optimistic out of this latest post

Deshawn would be signed already if he had of showed up in the playoffs instead of going 1-for-John-Starks against Cleveland

Navarro and Etan for Kyle Lowry and a 1st round swap.

otherwise let stevenson walk or wait another year for his payday. FG: 20% nuff said

JCN is a valuable asset for a lot of teams in need of a shooter. If he's serious about wanting to come to the nba, it shouldn't matter where he goes, so the idea of only being able to swing deals with memphis or miami because he'll be happier there shouldn't be taken so seriously. Personally, I think we should be doing anything and everything we can to see if we can package JCN with any combination of AD, Brendan, Etan, or a pick, and try to pry kirilenko away from Utah. They could really use a guy like navarro, and Kirilenko is in desperate need of a change of scenery. Not to mention the fact with Pecherov coming into the fold, and a guy like Ovechkin playing for the caps, Washington would be a very friendly environment for a young russian athlete. His defense and energy is something that would elevate the wizards to the top of the conference IMO.

If we move JCN to Memphis, is Hakim Warrick a good move? Or does he duplicate Blatche and Pesh?

So basically our only hope is that DeShawn asks for a contract so ludicrous that Ernie has no choice but to keep JCN and ship out Stevenson? Here's to hoping that DeShawn doesn't come to his senses any time soon, especially if he thinks that he should be making what Kapono is making (it is also no coincidence that Kapono was drastically overpaid for his actual production value; no doubt DeShawn is hoping for that same sort of luck)

Hakim Warrick would be redundant.

I'd trade Juan Carlos and Etan Thomas for Kyle Lowry and if possible...a top 3 protected pick. Maybe swap 1st round picks to get it done if possible. Kyle Lowry would be the only one who would make sense for us. Back-up point guard, young and cheap. Gives us an extra incentive to trade Antonio Daniels (to Utah?).

From what I've seen from JCN's team's website, it sure seems like he's done in Europe. Why would they go to all the trouble of announcing it?

Also, there is nothing wrong with making no trades at all, and seeing how our new boys do - Pech, Blatche ready to break out, Young and JCN. Those additions make our bench, which I thought was our weakest area last year, into a strength. Maybe we should do nothing except integrate the newcomers, and see what we've got.

Who in the blue moon is Kyle Lowry and why is everyone so into him?

Quit obsessing about this guy. Who knows how good he is. Have any of you seen him play? NAW. So get back to work then!!

Thanks Ernie.

JCN - unproven
DeShawn - remember, he is only one year removed from being called the worst starter in the NBA. 6 mil is ludicrous.
Jarvis - please let him start fresh somewhere else

Where does that leave us? Weaknesses all over the lineup and little wiggle room. Ernie, save us!

i got the perfect trade idea. leets trade AD and Haywood to the lakers for Andrew Bynum. think about it. the lakers gm will do anything to keep kobe in LA and kobe can care less where andrew goes. not only would we got the quality center that we been yearning for, we also will get a big at a cheap price. we will definitely have a championship-caliber team with andrew and a young one too. EG, call them lakers up, make this trade, and bring a championship to DC!

C. Bell -

Kyle Lowry's per 40 minutes (average of what he might do if he played 40 minutes per game) were 12 pts, 7 boards, 7 assists, and 3 steals all from a 6'0'' guard. He's a pretty good perimeter defender, and he's the odd man out if Navarro gets traded to Memphis.

Ernie is being patient. That's how he should be. Acting impulsively and desperate is not the way to approach these things. Just ask Dan Snyder (zing!).

And Memphis loves the potential of Kyle Lowry at PG so much, they just chose Mike Conley in the draft.

Deshawn needs to swallow his pride and settle for what the Wizards's market will bear. He's already lost money last year when he signed for 1 million, and will lose again this year due to his lackluster performance during the playoffs, especially if he signs again for 1 mil. That'll be 4 million in losses over 2 seasons.

Ivan's post above is very depressing. If Ernie wants to move JCN to get something worthwhile, fine. But if he is going to move him just so he can eliminate a mistake (Etan's contract) or diffuse a problem (Etan vs. Haywood), that is a very bad move. You don't trade potentially very good players to clean up a mess.

My fear is that Ernie, like most GMs, has an oversized ego, Navarro is not a guy that Ernie picked, and so Ernie isn't enamored with him. There are only, I believe, three players left from before Ernie arrived -- Etan, Haywood, and Navarro (Hayes too, but he's already out the door) -- and surprise, surprise, all three are being shopped. Very disappointing.

Having someone who can spot up and hit the J makes this offense work! Having penetrators like Gil and Tough Juice you need someone who keeps the defense from collapsing toward the basket. This is why the Wiz games are so close in the 4th Quarter. Anybody knows that in the NBA anything goes for 3 quarters. Then in the 4th the defenses in the NBA make you beat them from the outside unless you got a Shaq or KG or a Duncan who can't be stopped inside. All I'm saying is let's see if he would open things up for the 2 All stars we have.

Wonder who is going to coach Wizards summer league team? Will it be the newly signed assistant coach Thibodeau? It will be interesting to see!

JCN and Calvin Booth for Dwight Howard.

Lot's of GM's here making trades etc....

I will say the Andrew Bynum idea is ludicrous and those proclaiming "weaknesses all over the lineup" are crazy.

The Wiz still have Arenas (AllStar), Jamison (AllStar), Butler (AllStar), Nick Young (Highly Touted Draft Pick), Pech (Last Year's First Rounder), and Blatche is not going anywhere either to go along with two semi-ok centers. Yeah, they need a good post player along with about 95% of the rest of the teams in the NBA.

EG is making solid decisions for this franchise and the biggest one will be after this season. Can you win a championship with a ball-hogging PG who plays zero defense??? For the money Arenas is going to ask for that is not such a dumb question to ask.

Finally - JCN is not an unknown quantity! He has been one of the better players in Europe for years now. Playing for championships etc....

Prediction - Roger Mason has a very nice year of the bench!!!

dante:
>> unless of course ernie manages to package JCN etan or haywood and some other stuff for KG

Even if Minnesota is willing to trade, where would Wizards find $ to pay for KG's 22 mil salary?

the only players i'd want from memphis are miller, gasol, or gay...and i don't think we're getting any of those in a trade for an unproven (in the nba) combo guard and an overpriced backup center.

maybe swift, if only because he's in his last year of a contract, so we'd clear 5.5 mill after the season (or use him for trades during the season). not sure why memphis would want to do that.

zach, i like the idea of Kirilenko for navaro's rights, daniels (they are in the market for a backup pg, not that fisher has left) and thomas or haywood. the only hesitation i have is the huge contract we'd eat. 4 more years, starting at 12 mil. if he's his old self (15p, 8r, 3b per) then it would be a steal, but if last year's performance was more indicative of where his skills are headed, then it would cripple us for half a decade.

i'd talk to orlando too, and maybe try for a sign and trade of milicic for the rights to jcn, thomas and hayes?

they'd get two potential shooters (which they desperately need) and a back pf/c, in return for giving up someone they were going to lose anyway.

Edit - "Prediction - Roger Mason has a very nice year off the bench!!!"

Sean, your post is pretty whacked. GM's make moves all the time that in the process dump contractual mistakes etc.... I don't know where you are getting all your "ego" ideas, but it is completely unfounded. JCN has been playing chicken with us for quite a long time. Why not dump him for a good defender (Posey)? You think we need another scoring guard on this team more than defense?

Besides it's all conjecture at this point bc as Ivan stated he's played this game before.

A quality young player(not Lowry) and a draft swap with a team like Memphis for JCN and Etan is a great deal for the Wizards. Kirilenko for any combonation of players that zach mentioned sounds like the best case scenerio.

JC,

Hayes is an unrestricted free agent so he is not part of any trade talks as a Wizard.

I wish we would have offered Jamison for Z. Randolph assuming we did not although it was rumored we did. And, if Portland took Channing Frye and Francis instead, they are retarded. Jamison would have provided consistent scoring for a young team and a nice locker room presence for Oden and Co.. Francis is a louse and a headache with a huge contrace and Frye is just ok.

Rob P:
It's your reading skills that are wack. Of course GMs make deals to dump contractual mistakes all the time. But that's not what I said. I said trading a potentially very good player just to dump a contractual mistake was itself a mistake.

You also said, "Why not dump him for a good defender (Posey)? You think we need another scoring guard on this team more than defense?"
I think the Wizards need bench scoring and better defense, and Navarro would be a much better bench scorer than Posey would be as a defender. So, in another words, yes, I do think the Wizards need a very good scoring guard more than they need an older, above average defender.

Raf,

The problem with the PER idea with a lot of these players is that the stats they generated were against 2nd/3rd string players. Projecting that out to 40 mins makes NO sense unless they can play an entire game against an opponent's 2nd string. Many a player has been overpaid and overrated based on this false method of "scouting".

Rob,

"Jamison would have provided consistent scoring for a young team and a nice locker room presence for Oden and Co.. "

Which is exactly the reason he is still around here. Look at our roster.. our core is young and need a nice locker room presence...

The point is your whole scenerio is a fairy tale unless you know something the rest of us don't. I like the idea of JCN too, but I'm tired of his games. EG has a franchise to run here. And, just so you know Posey is 30 and an NBA champ. JCN is 27, a very good player, and although not old he is no spring chicken either with NO NBA experience.

I fall on the side of defense with the Wiz bc regardless of bench scoring we still ranked in the top 3 (I believe) in points per game. Yet, we were near rock bottom in points allowed. That tells me we need to stop others from scoring more than we need to score more. Plus, Nick Young was just drafted to do what you want JCN to do.

It was so great seeing Posey lead the Heat to the championship two years ago. One Shining Moment for Posey!

Dante,

"Which is exactly the reason he is still around here. Look at our roster.. our core is young and need a nice locker room presence..."

I am not sure we need Jamison more than a post player. Besides Arenas and Butler are not young at least in terms of NBA experience and they are the future of this team. I think they have already been duly "influenced" by Jamison. I liked the potential of Arenas, Butler, and Randolph particularly in the East, which should be wide open again this year. Jamison is just too undersized and pathetic on D to get you to the championship level as a starter on your team.

Ernie will make the best deal out there for the Wiz, in his own time. His record's not too bad.

"It was so great seeing Posey lead the Heat to the championship two years ago. One Shining Moment for Posey!"

Funny. Another wacked post. I guess JCN is supposed to lead us to the championship, huh?

Not that I am trying to start up the original blog argument but the Wiz haven't had a spot up jump shooter who gave them a spark in the 4th since Juan (I'm not gone, I am just away!)Dixon. The fourth quarter offense is important to winning games. This team as it is constituted will never play defense. I'll spot you two reasons why! Agent Zero and Jamison. No team can play 3 on 5 defense! If we are going to beat people maybe it will be because we stop trying to be other than what we are. The Wiz need to be the Suns of the East. It's their strong suit and they need to play to it.

Joe C cheers! It can be argued that EG is the best thing to happen to DC sports in a long long time. As long as he is around, the Wiz will always have a talented team. He is just too solid of a GM.

Wish the Skins would take note!!!

I see what your saying, but I think the 4th is where the D usually picks up not where you go for offensive explosions.

The Suns do like to run etc, but I've seen them play tough D before. Marion, Bell, and Amare can tighten up on D and do.

Again, I see your point. At the same time, look at the types of teams that played in the conference finals this year and most years in the recent NBA history. No balls out offensive teams to be found!!!

4th Q 10 seconds to go...would you rather have JCN (a proven MVP), Posey, Nick Young or Jarvis as an option?

Or does it even matter if Gil is going to jack up a 40 footer regardless of who else is on the floor?

Edit - Sorry, meant to address DMAN not post as him...lol

DMAM,

I see what your saying, but I think the 4th is where the D usually picks up not where you go for offensive explosions.

The Suns do like to run etc, but I've seen them play tough D before. Marion, Bell, and Amare can tighten up on D and do.

Again, I see your point. At the same time, look at the types of teams that played in the conference finals this year and most years in the recent NBA history. No balls out offensive teams to be found!!!

Don't trade JCN, Let's make a move for Gasol. He wants to play with JNC so package Deshawn, Brendon and a first rounder next year. We will win the Title this year or next.

lol...yeah....JCN does not even get that attempt!

To me, Gasol is a little overrated. Where has he taken Memphis??? So, I don't see that move as a title in the bag, but for that price sure.

I believe Arenas, Butler, Randolph with a solid mix of vets and youngsters would get you to the conference finals this year barring injury - as always.

The Navarromania is just the latest example of sports fans' "savior reflex." This guy is nearly 30, has never played in the NBA, has jacked the Wiz around in the past about coming to the U.S., yet people are only to willing to believe that his arrival will spark a renaissance.

I have no problem with the Wiz trading him 9or, more accurately, his rights) but if there's as much demand as has been rumored, they need to milk it and get the best return they can.

I agree. let's get gasol...gasol and swift for jamison and blatche...and sign JCN...we are in the finals for sure!!!!!!!

JCN isnt nearly 30, he's 27. Wasnt some 26 year old JUST drafted?

rob,

hayes is a free agent, as is posey (in miami's offer), and milicic. hayes would have to be included via a sign and trade.

Ruffin, Donnell taylor + 2nd round draft pick for Elton Brand

I think the wiz should try to get Tyson Chanler from the N.O. Reason one I dont think we can get high scoring really from the 5 position, well because gil, caron & ant jacking up shots left and right( they even had stevenson thinking he could shoot for a minute). So there is not alot of shots left. But what we need is "a presents" at 5 position and thoughness, a shot blocker and rebounder. I think NO would take bredan because they drafted a center in the first round last year(hilton) and cedric, so they are not to thin at that position. Breadan is not expensive and he has his moments.N.O. want to resign D. Mason, DBrown and 2 draft choices. They are also going back to play in the NO were ticket sells will be low and also they are getting to close to the luxury tax.

Also I would trade JCN we just drafted young and A.D.dont turn the ball over( young may so we need AD)(sometimes potential get you kawame brown, but I understand that because he is 7 feet)JNC is 6'3 and slow(JJ Redick). Wiz fans, what do you think holla back.

I wouldn't mind trading JCN either. Or keeping him, really. I just don't see how you could call him a sure thingthough, he's kind of a "known unknown."

You americans always thinking that you're the centre of the universe. Navarro unproven for the NBA? Did i read a comparison with JJ Reddick??? Just to remind you that SPAIN is the currently WORLD CHAMPION, thanks, among many others, to La Bomba Navarro. Want me to remind u which was the final clasification of USA? If you keep Navarro, you'll see in few months what he is capable to do for your team. He's one of the most talented players i've ever seen in my whole life

jcn and etan for lowry and 2008 1st rd pick, i think that's a fair trade. We get a true backup point that we need and more young talent, also we get to free money to resign blatche,stevenson, and room for Gil next year. Don't forget people we have to leave room for Gil next year.O yeah and trade AD to utah for a 2nd round pick

A few things:

First, let's not be so hard on Gilbert. It wasn't long ago our franchise was a joke. His teammates don't seem to have a problem with him and his wild shots, and in spite of his poor team defense, he gets a lot of steals that lead to baskets. Gilbert loves Washington because Washington loves Gilbert. I hope it stays that way.

Similarly, Jamison is not "soft" and "weak" on defense. He's an excellent defensive rebounder, has good length to bother shooters, and has decent quickness for his size.

The fact is, up-tempo teams allow more points. We sacrifice defense to get fast break opportunities. We allow a lot of possessions. I agree, we haven't been a good defensive team, but it isn't because of one or two people, and we are absolutely not playing 3 on 5 on defense.

Furthermore, Zack Randolph is a horrible defender. Absolutely horrible. He gives you nothing more than Jamison (excellent scoring and rebounding - lots of 20-10s), but with none of the leadership and good character. Jamison is essential to the team... his injury last year showed that. Better still, his enormous contract expires soon. At his age you can count on excellent savings against the cap (at least in the short term).

As others have mentioned, patience! We aren't the Redskins, we aren't the Knicks. Enough with these wild trade suggestions (most of which are completely imbalanced anyways). Have a little faith. This is a good team (players, coaches, and gm). Enjoy it while it lasts.

Toro Bravo

I suspect that Juan Carlos Navarro will indeed do well in the NBA, but that may not be the case immediately. I recall similar hype about Tony Kucoc - best player in Europe, couldn't wait to get to the NBA, etc. Well Tony did end up doing very well, but it took him a year or two to adjust to the NBA. I don't think the posters here are dissing JCN, just trying to be realistic and not over-hype his value. I certainly hope the Wiz will find a way to keep him, but if not Ernie should be able to get more value for him that Posey!!!!

Looks like Grant Hill is heading to Phoenix......

PK -

I have no idea how JCN will fare as NBA player, I've only seen him play a handful of times for Spain, so I can't argue that point.

But you have got to update your European Baller rolodex! Toni Kukoc? Dude came in the league 13-14 years ago, back when the US actually won on the world stage.

Pau Gasol, Tony Parker, Dirk Nowitzki, Peja Stojakovic, Andrei Kirilenko, Zydrunas Ilgauskas, and Mehmet Okur are all recent All-Stars. Boris Diaw, Mickael Pietrus, Gordan Giricek, Andrea Bargnani, Darius Songaila, Nenad Krstic, Jose Manuel Calderon, Hedo Turkoglu, are all solid players, with a few that have all-star potential.

The Euros can ball, don't sell them short.

Kalorama,

I tend to disagree with your statement that "The Navarromania is just the latest example of sports fans' "savior reflex."

No one to my knowledge on this board is saying that JCN is the answer to all of the Wizards problems. I think and personally this is how i feel that its more that Juan is another exciting piece of the puzzle toward building a championship contender. In essence between getting him, young, and pecherov this offseason we are adding talent wise 3 first round picks to a roster that was first in the eastern conference halfway through the season before the injury bug hit us.
Let's not forget that or the fact that had we been healthy come playoff time we had a legit chance of making the finals.
So to take that team and its problems of no scoring punch off of the bench and add to it 3 first rounder talents (Two of whom can provide the needed spark off the bench) AND a much improved Blatche AND a lead assistant coach who actually pays more than lip service to defense and has been given the clout to instill some defense into the Wizards.
I still haven't mentioned the fact that we have songalia for a whole year or that if Mcguire is as good as has been stated on this board he could be the steal of the 2nd round.
In short what's driving all the hysteria about JCN is that he is another exciting piece to the puzzle. We have the pieces now to be the Suns of the East. In fact with the addition of JCN we have so many exciting pieces that we can stay put and go into next year building on an already successful team pre-injury bug OR we can trade a couple pieces for another great piece and still have enough left over to field a top-notch competitor.

That is why I am and I feel many others on this board are so hyped about JCN.

great post, dante. this offseason has been remarkable considering what's kind of fallen into our laps. we haven't been active in free agency, yet we've managed to draft a lottery-worthy player at 16, pecherov coming over, and JCN FINALLY becoming available...being a longtime wiz fan, the fact that there are this many assets on the team and this many opportunities is very exciting. when's the last time the wiz had "good" problems? an inside presence is still needed, but the chips are there to acquire that without greatly depleting our talent base.

I love the Kirilenko idea. Thats probably due to the Goofy White Guy factor with AK47. He's quirky, bouncy, skinny Russian shotblocker and at his best when the Jazz played small. He also falls into the "Get him out of the Western Conference" category.

I can't blame Ernie for his tact with Deshawn. You'd think Deshawn (and his new agent) would be smart enough to consider a much more reasonable figure. "Hell no, I'm getting it this year" is not a plan.

Can every one stop talking about Marion,A Kirilenko,and KG. There max players, period let it go. It cant happen, (abe is not having 2 max contracts on the books). No matter how good JNC is offensively he's another defensive liability. So lets build around the big three , twin towers(pesh & blanche)and Young, with defensively minded peolple. But please not Posely from MIA,I rather keep JNC.

i would be willing to give up AD, Brendan, Draft pick..for Camby...which just won ummm....ummm the defensive payer of the year award (keyword DEFENSIVE)..he's just what the wizards need to take the next step...an intimidating center that can get blocks and boards...he's a 12 ppg - 12rpg guy not to mention 3.2 assits per game and 3.3 blocks per game....would anyone be interested in getting Renaldo Balkmen from the knicks he always seems to eats us up on the board when we play the Knicks...if we cant get David Lee which would be awesome cant we try to land Balkmen his numbers compare well to Aldrige except that Aldridge make 4 more points a game and Aldridge plays 7 more minutes a game than Balkmen...but i do think that Nick Young can beat DeShawn for the starting spot he's better offensively, quicker, longer, taller (has a wingspan of a 7 footer) he should be able to get steals ...just hope the new asssitant coach can help him out defensively...and after all DeShawn was talked about being a great defender...Jeffries and Hayes did better than him on LeBron i think we let DeShawn walk if he isnt going to start thought that is to much money that we would be wasting on him 3-4 mil a year

Dante,

While I understand what you're saying, the way you say it pretty much underscores my point. You used the word "excited" (or some variant) multiple times in regard to Navarro. And clearly people are excited. But the thing is, I'm betting the majority of people on this board probably haven't really seen Navarro play (a fact that some have admitted to) and thus really have no basis for knowing what kind of player he'll be in the NBA. I'm certainly not saying he'll be a bust, because I can't know that anymore than you or anyone else can know he'll be a difference maker.

It seems to me people are more excited about the idea of Navarro than about anything concrete regarding what he's capable of. That's exactly what I was talking about. People getting all lathered up over how big an impact will be made by a player they really know little about. It's putting th cart before the horse.

It's like a bunch of soldiers, out of ammo and pinned down in a bunker, hearing a garbled transmisssion that help is on the way and starting to make plans for all the great stuff they'll do when they're rescued.

Of course, that's what fans do, esp. in the offseason when there's nothing else to talk about. But I'll reserve my excitement until I actually see what he can do on the court.

Kalorama,

I do agree with you that we don't know about JCN and how well he will transition to the nba, or for that matter Young, or Pecherov. I was merely making the distinction between viewing JCN as the 'franchise savior' which is completely unrealistic vs the fact that as Wizards fans we have a lot of reasons (outlined in my previous post) to be excited about our chances this year- JCN being one of them.

I hate Euros. We can beat them any day period.

Ivan, thanks for all the coverage. Question: What's the story with our 2nd Round Pick McGuire? I understand from the DC Sports Bog post that he's disappointed about not going in the first round, but has he shown his face at verizon center yet? has he picked up a call from any DC reporters? there hasn't been one quote from this guy. gilbert should be able to give him a pep talk about proving people wrong...i hope he gets over it and is ready to be a contributor, it seems like he could bring the Wiz some things they need off the bench

Ivan

Thanks for all of the updates! Your story in today's print edition covers the signing of Young and Pech, the offer to Stevenson, mentions the teams plans to sign McGuire, and talks about Ernie working to figure out what to do about JCN. No mention however of plans to re-sign Blatche. Should we read anything into that? Or is Ernie just waiting to see what kind of offers the kid may get from other teams?

i would be willing to give up AD, Brendan, Draft pick..for Camby...which just won ummm....ummm the defensive payer of the year award (keyword DEFENSIVE)..he's just what the wizards need to take the next step...an intimidating center that can get blocks and boards...he's a 12 ppg - 12rpg guy not to mention 3.2 assits per game and 3.3 blocks per game....would anyone be interested in getting Renaldo Balkmen from the knicks he always seems to eats us up on the board when we play the Knicks...if we cant get David Lee which would be awesome cant we try to land Balkmen his numbers compare well to Aldrige except that Aldridge make 4 more points a game and Aldridge plays 7 more minutes a game than Balkmen...but i do think that Nick Young can beat DeShawn for the starting spot he's better offensively, quicker, longer, taller (has a wingspan of a 7 footer) he should be able to get steals ...just hope the new asssitant coach can help him out defensively...and after all DeShawn was talked about being a great defender...Jeffries and Hayes did better than him on LeBron i think we let DeShawn walk if he isnt going to start thought that is to much money that we would be wasting on him 3-4 mil a year

i would be willing to give up AD, Brendan, Draft pick..for Camby...which just won ummm....ummm the defensive payer of the year award (keyword DEFENSIVE)..he's just what the wizards need to take the next step...an intimidating center that can get blocks and boards...he's a 12 ppg - 12rpg guy not to mention 3.2 assits per game and 3.3 blocks per game....would anyone be interested in getting Renaldo Balkmen from the knicks he always seems to eats us up on the board when we play the Knicks...if we cant get David Lee which would be awesome cant we try to land Balkmen his numbers compare well to Aldrige except that Aldridge make 4 more points a game and Aldridge plays 7 more minutes a game than Balkmen...but i do think that Nick Young can beat DeShawn for the starting spot he's better offensively, quicker, longer, taller (has a wingspan of a 7 footer) he should be able to get steals ...just hope the new asssitant coach can help him out defensively...and after all DeShawn was talked about being a great defender...Jeffries and Hayes did better than him on LeBron i think we let DeShawn walk if he isnt going to start thought that is to much money that we would be wasting on him 3-4 mil a year

From Ivan's report it sounds like some GMs are as excited and curious about JCN as we are. We don't know exactly how good he is. If you can turn an unknown asset into a young, proven NBA player with a favorable contract then why not do it? If the best we can get is Posey then we should keep JCN, but if we can get a good player we know is good and ready to contribute or a 1st rd swap from someone like Memphis then I would personally take that deal.

Ivan Carter is the best young Basketball writer and personality in the business.Wizards need to trade both Thomas and Heywood plus go down a new avenue in regards to signing Stevenson and Hayes.That street is NO avenue.

Ivan Carter is the best young Basketball writer and personality in the business.Wizards need to trade both Thomas and Heywood plus go down a new avenue in regards to signing Stevenson and Hayes.That street is NO avenue.

Ivan Carter is the best young Basketball writer and personality in the business.Wizards need to trade both Thomas and Heywood plus go down a new avenue in regards to signing Stevenson and Hayes.That street is NO avenue.

Wow, Grunfeld offered EJ's assistants ONE YEAR contracts? I guess offering them contracts that would expire at the all-star break would have been too obvious.

While we are all caught up in the JCN situation -- for me, because I fear that Grunfeld is going to do the wrong thing for the reasons I stated above -- this offseason the real story seems to be what's going on with Grunfeld, Jordan and the coaching staff. Unfortunately, until one of the participants gets ticked off enough to let slip what's going on, we're stuck with reading tea leaves.

Could not be more happy that those pathetic assistants got only 1 year contract offers. Maybe they will see that as a slap in the face and decline them, and maybe (hopefully) EJ will bolt too. Fat chance, but I can dream, right? Too bad they will probably realize it's their only chance to stay in the NBA and sign them though, unfortunately.

As far as DeScrub goes, I can't believe EG offered him that much money. I can't believe DeScrub turned it down, too.

We'd be nuts to trade Navarro, unless it is for something SUBSTANTIAL. Even if he isn't as great as he is hailed, he's still a proven commodity and can you imagine the excitement around the team we are going to see here and worldwide with him??

It is interesting how some see JCN as merely an asset and others see him as a piece to a championship team. EG made it clear what he thinks of the current staff. Add that with Gilbert's contract and we are in for a wild next 12 months or so.

Some combo of Blatche, JCN (or Young if necessary), Haywood, Daniels and picks should net the center we need. As much as I think Camby is the perfect fit, his age and injury record might be enough of an issue to look elsewhere. Plus they want cap relief and that would mean Jamison's contract be included. Not the end of the world since we have lots of 4s, but he is a leader, maybe the only one on this team.

Chandler or Miller might be a better direction since both clog the middle and neither really needs the ball. Role players on a team with 3 "stars" already. Plus, it would not take as much to get one of them.

Again. Ivan it looks a cuuple of stories need to researched by you and wrote about.

1/ 1 year contracts to the Wiz Assistants. If this is Wes Unseld Jr. included, first of all how is God Father Abe feeling about this and Daddy Unseld. Will Abe let Ernie get away with that? We all know how Abe feels about the Unseld's.

2/ What is the real deal with Eddie and Ernie? It is clear something is going on and something is about to blow (i.e. EG picking an assistant for EJ and only offering EJ's assistants 1 year deals, Tom Young retiring, Susan O'Malley resigning and etc.)

3/ Did the Wizards give Eddie an extention because they were forced by Gilbert at the time and they did not want another "public relations" blonder like the Juwan Howard, Michael Jorden, Chris Webber, and Larry Hughes incident?

4/ It is clear EG and EJ are really starting to "bump heads" (i.e. EG "telling and not asking" EJ to use Haywood and AB more in the Cleveland series a couple of months ago).

5/ What is going on with Ted Leonis finally getting the team? I know for a fact he much rather have the Wizards then the Capitals but he has to put up a "happy face" because he has no choice but to. Abe clearly "fleeced" Ted, having Ted belive he would get the Wizards probably in two to 3 years max. How long has it been now, about 10 years? Looks like Abe pulled the ultimate "hustler" move on Ted. The Capitals were and probably still are losing money and Abe used the Wizards as bait to get the Capitals off of his hands. That was not cool in my book, unless he told Ted 10 years and "we" do not know about it?

6/ Why isn't AB playing in the summer league? What teams are still interested in AB at this point?

*** Through all of EJ's faults as a coach (i.e. terrible rotation calls, not having the right people in on critical 4th quarters, showing favoritism, being vindictive, stubborn, loving "small ball" to much even in the 4th quarter, and not stressing the aspects of defense enough); the man is still a very good coach who brought the Wizards "out of the ashes".

Eddie's system has helped Gil, AJ and CB become stars. His system has helped Larry Hughes and Jared Jefferies get "crazy contracts". No surprise Cleveland and New York are now trying to trade the both of them. Eddie's system helped "make them".

For that reason alone, I am willing to give the man another year with a "real bench" and then we judge him then.

"Again. Ivan it looks a cuuple of stories need to researched by you and wrote about".

Sorry for the "typos".

(Correction) Again. Ivan it looks like a couple of stories need to be researched by you and wrote about.

Geoff, which games were YOU watching ? Jamison is not just poor on defense, he's one of the worst in the league. And I agree with those guys regarding the ridiculous KG and Kirilenko, etc trades. The only thing we could use to get those guys would be Jamison, Gil, and picks. Let's get serious here. It's obvious we're not planning on making any big trades or they would have been made already. We may as well stop talking about Jarvis Hayes, too. Fortunately he's gone! based on what Ernie's done so far, he plans on signing DeShawn and rolling with what we have. JCN is probably never going to be a Wizard unless Deshawn refuses the $12 mill offer he got. Ivan seems to think that he will refuse it and I'm ok with that. Think about it. What did we really get from Deshawn last year? He's the 4th option on offense and his job is really just to play D. Can't we get that from a rookie (Young)? I think we can. Actually, even Jarvis (who I have no respect for as a player) could do that job adequately if he's playing alongside our Big 3. I agree with Ernie. We're young enough to stand pat and roll the dice.

I can't beleive that Stevenson is once again going to turn down a deal worth 12million dollars over 4 years. I myself think it is a generous contract and believe that he probaly would have been offered more had he performed better during the playoffs. I know that the contract offered by the Wiz is pretty much the same dollar amount offered by the Magic per year but if he is not careful, he is going to once again find himself a&&=** out!

Ivan, what is going on with Blatche?

I can't beleive that Stevenson is once again going to turn down a deal worth 12million dollars over 4 years. I myself think it is a generous contract and believe that he probaly would have been offered more had he performed better during the playoffs. I know that the contract offered by the Wiz is pretty much the same dollar amount offered by the Magic per year but if he is not careful, he is going to once again find himself a&&=** out!

Ivan, what is going on with Blatche?

Mikie, I agree with you on a lot of points but I think a lot of coaches could have won with the team EJ had. Give me Gil, Larry Hughes, Antawn, Haywood, and Jeffries and I thin I would have won more games than he did....And i'm not a coach. His rotations are absolutely ridiculous and punitive. I actually think that his 'system' has held us back. We're not a Princeton offense type of team. Looking at the stats, we win when we score. Whenever we lose, it's not because we played poor defense. We ALWAYS play poor defense. When we lose, it's because we have a bad shooting night. Let's concentrate on getting 5 players who can score when they need to and are built to play D. (long arms, quick feet, willingness to collapse and help). If we do that, we win. In my opinion, the San Antonio guys are great help defenders but Bowen is the only great man defender. Duncan gets blocks because guys are funneled into him. He is only 7th among active players in blocks per game at 2.5. Haywood is at 1.4. We should concentrate on team D but continue to try to outscore everyone we face rather than try to shut them down. (Plus, would you rather see a 77-72 win or 108-105 win ?)

Being able to shoot the ball in the hole and add points to the team's point total should count for something. JCN can do that. It is a long season when you have to watch DeShawn and Daniels shoot their clunkers night after night.

Adding Pech, Nick Young (a great pick at 16)and JCN in one season--the equivalent of 3 good #1 draft picks--would be too good to be true, so the Wiz will blow this one for sure.

My gym played the song "La Bamba" this morning, and it brought a smile to my face, with thoughts of runners and three pointers in my head.
Then I thought of James Posey and shed a single tear.

Maybe with the 4 year/$12 mill. Stevenson offer (a little steep, but not bad), there will be enough left to bring JCN on board too.

The team goal should be to win a championship. There never was a championship team that DID NOT play defense. We do not. But I dont think its EJ fault.

A note to all Wiz fans remember what it was like before EJ. Becafeful of what you ask for. I like the job Ernie has done, but if he fires EJ and the next coach is a bust. We might as well change the name back to the bullets,Let them play in Largo High Shool gym and resign Wes Unsel an our starting center. because we will be done for the next 10 years.

No, 20 years.

Has anyone thought about the possibility of trading JCN and Etan for Stromile Swift and... Damn near anybody else!! M-Town got a to of options to throw at us. Dahntay Jones, Damon Stoudemire, Kyle Lowry, draft picks, and maybe Mike Miller. I wouldn't be surprised if Ernie could get Miller back for JCN. Remember, Jerry West isn't running the show anymore. Its some bama name Chris Wallace. And if i'm not mistaken, he came from Boston. Which means he learned from Danny Ainge how to ruin, oops, I mean run a organization.

You should begin to reconsider old believes:

1. The fact that a basketball player who has played his carrer in Europe competitions is still not ready for the NBA:

I wonder if you have ever watched a single game of European competitions, but i can assure you games are played under a oppresive atmosphere, full of pression. F.i., Navarro competed in a couple of european clubs cup finals, several spanish league finals, etc. Is he yet to prove something in the basketball? Definetely not.

2. European players need at least two seasons to adjust to the NBA:

Yeah, sure, like Gasol, Garbajosa, Petrovic, Sabonis, Stojakovic, Illgauskas, Turkoglu, Divac, Pietrus, Radmanovic, Parker, Kirilenko, Okur..... You should revise your past believes.

D Square, I'm not saying we shouldn't play D. I'm saying that reducnig the games to slow, boring low scoring affairs isn't the only way to win. Bird's Celtics and Magic's Lakers won high scoring games. They played D when it counted but relied more on outscoring the other guy. They had one or two good defensive players and most everyone else focused on 'O'. I agree that D is very important. One thing I noticed is this.. If you look at EVERY championship team over the last 20 or 30 years or so, you'll notice something. They all had a great rebounder and a top defender. Houston had Olajuwon (he was both), SA has Duncan/Bowen, Bulls had Rodman/Pippen, Pistons had Ben Wallace(both), Lakers had Kareem/Cooper, we had Unseld/Bobby D, Celtics had McHale/DJ, Pistons had Laimbeer/Dumars, Lakers had Shaq/Kobe, etc.
All of those teams had at least one guy who was among the league leaders in rebounding and one guy who was a top defender. We have neither right now so we should concentrate on either getting those guys or work towards our strengths. The Suns have Stoudemire/Raja Bell, so they have the secret ingredient. Allen Iverson said something years ago that made a whole lot f sense to me that i had never thought about. he said, you can't take a guy who is a scorer in high school and in college and try to change his game to make him a distributor in the pros. We scouted these guys for years and know what they can so. Our guys are scorers. We can't expect them to become great defenders. If we had wanted that, we would have taken DJ Strawberry in the 2nd round and started him. My bottom line is this: We need a beast rebounder because rebounding by committee doesn't work if you want to win a championship. We also need at least one man defender who is at least 3rd team all NBA on D. Until we get that, we should concentrate on trying to outscore people.

http://myespn.go.com/blogs/truehoop/0-26-14/Navarro-Dreams-of-the-NBA-More-than-the-Wizards.html
"Alex Saratsis. He assures me that in his conversations with Juan Carlos Navarro, plan A is to play for Washington. "It's a perfect fit," he explains, pointing out that not too long ago Gilbert Arenas mentioned the need for more scoring off the bench, while Navarro can be the shooter to punish the double teams that crowd Arenas."

"So what is with all the talk about Memphis, and Miami, and all those other teams? Saratsis acknowledges that playing with Pau Gasol, or being in an international city where Navarro's family would feel comfortable would both be nice, neither is paramount to the guard. He says that the talk of other cities is mainly driven by an adoring Spanish press that finds those angles to be much more compelling than any talk of going to a team, Washington, that has never been on the radar of the Spanish press."

Toro Bravo --
You are mostly correct. There is always a little doubt about how a player will do in the NBA when he has not yet played in the league, whether that player is a European or a college player. But what Navarro has done so far in his career makes you think he is much more likely to continue his success in the NBA than struggle. I would be very surprised if he is not a success. And the good, cutting edge GMs like Colangelo (sp?) in Toronto realize this and benefit from it.
People in the U.S. need to keep in mind that the rule changes in recent years have given foreign players an easier transition to the NBA.

JB

It is nice to hear that JCN and his handlers seem to be sensible. Maybe they should knock some sense into Yi Jianlian's handlers who seem to think that they can bully the Bucks into trading his rights. I wonder what David Stern thinks of these apparent attempts of international players to try to dictate where the will and won't play...

i would love to get miller from memphis for jcn and etan, but i just don't see them giving up their best shooter/second best player for a guy who is still unproven in the nba and an overpriced, undersized center.

if we can't keep jcn (because of stevenson and blatche) then striking a deal of him and etan for swift would be fine for me. that basically clears 5.5 mil off our cap after the season, along with jamison's 16 mil, and if arenas opts out, another 13 mil. suddenly we're 25 mil under the cap in the middle of one of the best free agent classes in recent history...

PK1

I don't think the aim of the foreign player is to dictate a new order in the NBA, choosing where to play, foreigners are not that subversive. The point here is foreginers players are really well paid in the most important european leagues, so they are free to decide whether is worth going for a team not ready yet to compete for the NBA title or staying in Europe earning good money and fighting for titles.

Btw, i'd love seeing Navarro wearing the wizards uniform, i think he'll fit extremely well to the Wizard's style of playing.

PK1, You're right. We can probably name on one hand the international players who have had a real impact on the game. It's not just intl players, though that p*ss me off. It's 'prospects' with 'upside'. Seems to me that 8 out of 10 of these guys never pan out. For every Dirk, there are 10 Stromile Swifts and Tskishvili's and Pavel Podkolzines. When will GM's start to realize that watching a guy play organized basketball is the best way to judge a guy's talent. A guy who averages 6 points and 4 rebounds on his national team in Kazakhstan is probably not gonna be a star here. If he can't start there, why do people think he can start here? There are exceptions like Corey Maggette and late bloomers like Rashard Lewis but for the most part, guys who will be able to play well HAVE PLAYED WELL. That's why I'm high on JCN. He played well not just in his league but against us, too.

Yes Chris Wallace is from Boston, and yes he is a bama. Mike Miller would seem like a perfect solution for bench scoring. Not sure how Thomas/JCN for Miller/Swift would match up salary wise, but the talent swap seems fair.

Toro Bravo

I agree that international players have every right to decide whether they want to come to the NBA or play in their home countries (or elsewhere). It is great that B-Ball has become such an international game. My point is that if they DO decide they want to come to the NBA, then they should accept the draft system.

I also hope that Navarro will come to the Wizards. Aside from the skills and experience he would bring, it is evident that the Wiz would gain a great fan base in Spain.

Saludos!

Geoff, you should not be allowed to post in here anymore after claiming Jamison is a decent defender who bothers people's shots. I am laughing while writing that last line. He is without question one of the worst front court defenders in the NBA! Probably the worst considering how many minutes he gets a game. Anyone his size who plays his minutes will have 7/8 rebounds a game. There is nothing great in those numbers.

I will say it's not all his fault as he is undersized and slow footed, but his effort is not great either. Arenas on the other hand has no physical excuse to be as bad as he is on D.

Finally, EJ gets one more year as evident in his assistant's contracts. If the Wiz don't show progress, which means either getting to the CF or coming extremely close - i.e. no 2nd round sweep - then he should be gone. If this happens, it does not mean the Wiz are going backwards. I think it'll mean EJ has maxed out this team to the best of HIS abilities, but the team is more than likely potentially better. We'll see.

You can't list 5 things he does not do well as a coach and claim we'll be lost without him...huh?

Mark
I totally agree with your assessment of what it takes to win a championship. So lets asesses the wiz.
We have :
Enter Gil: shoots to much to be a point. He needs an athletic oversize point next to him, that can handle 2's on the denfensive end Ala (Iverson&Snow)

Enter Antawn: good team player, good 2nd option but must play the 4 because if u think he plays bad D on the 4's think of what the NBA lightly quick 3 will do to him

Enter Caron: good all aound player tough minded but must play the three because antawm defensive whoes and gil tendicies

So what we need a defensive Center period rebounder, energetic & a shot blocker also not old or fragile. (Tyson Chandler)

We need a oversized defensive minded 1 guard also atheletic and young. Answer; I dont know maybe (Marty Collins NYKicks)
We will have scoring in the 2nd unit;
Pesh at the 4
N. Young at the 2
keep AD at the 1 because he is realiable
Blance at the 3
Etan at the 5 is good enough
finish off with mcguire, songila & any last man
So that means, if JNC cant start and beat out Deshawn then were is he going to play(last man). Im sorry then you have to trade him at age 27. Personally I would not give Deshawn 1cent above Ernie's 12 million deal.
But we really need to trade Haywood. He has no real place on this team. but trade only for a starting center. (defensive minded)

above

JC,

All that cap space won't do any good if no FA wants to sign here. And without Jamison and Arenas, this team will be rebuilding nearly from scratch. I don't imagine that DC will be a magnet for top tier FAs under those conditions.

Let Stevenson walk if he wants anything over $4 mil a year.

Trade Jamison, Thomas and JCN to Minnesota for KG and we win the Eastern conference this season. KG would have to renounce his trade kicker but it would definitely work.

Trade Daniels, Haywood and next years #1 to Utah for Kirilenko.

Starting 5 - Arenas, Butler, Kirlenko, Songalia, Garnett

Bench Guards - Taylor, Stevenson/Mason, Young
Bench Bigs - Blatche, Percherov, Booth, McGuire

call it a day and see you in the finals.

KD Caron isnt a 2-gaurd he is to slow defensively

Starting Line-Up would be

Arenas, Young/Stevenson, Butler, Kirelinko, Garnett

Why are so many of you sold on the idea that we'll land a KG,Marion, Kirilenko...?! BE REALISTIC, it will not happen unless we trade Gilbert or Butler.

Seriously KD, where are you finding all this money to hold contracts with Gil, Caron, KG, AND Kirilenko? You can't just throw names out and expect these trades to come through

There are exceptions like Corey Maggette and late bloomers like Rashard Lewis but for the most part, guys who will be able to play well HAVE PLAYED WELL. That's why I'm high on JCN. He played well not just in his league but against us, too.

Mark,

Fabricio Oberto was an all-star in the Euro league he played in, and Sarunas Jasikevicius played huge against the U.S. for the Lithuanian team. In the NBA, one's a 20 mpg role player and the other's a benchwarmer. NBA basketball is still a different animal than Euro bball. Success in one doesn't automatically translate to success in the other.

Dear Ivan,

You are making a big mistake about JCN, he is really coming to the NBA cause the agreement with the FC Barcelona is only for playing outside Europe.

The agreement includes a reduction of the trade price from $13m to 3-4$. Something affordable if JCN gets the contract he is looking for in the NBA($12m/3 years).

MSN I NIIPET
http://msn.com >MSN

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