Posts for category ‘Free Agents’

Martell Webster, in his first year as a member of the Wizards, has had an excellent season and a profound impact on the team. His 3-point shooting and unique style of play has been a great fit, especially with Wall at the helm and Beal with him on the wing. Compare Webster’s pertinent statistics on a month-by-month basis this season:

November: 12 games played, 257 total minutes, 103 total points, 43.8% FG, 41.7% 3P
December: 14 games played, 438 total minutes, 132 total points, 39.4% FG, 40.0% 3P
January: 16 games played, 445 total minutes, 195 total points, 46.3% FG, 41.4% 3P
February: 12 games played, 381 total minutes, 149 total points, 51.5% FG, 56.4% 3P
March: 15 games played, 506 total minutes, 224 total points, 43.7% FG, 39.0% 3P
April: 5 games played, 123 total minutes, 45 total points, 34.1% FG, 25.0% 3P

On the season? 29 minutes per game, 11.4 points per game, 3.9 rebounds per game, 1.9 assists per game, 44.4% FG, 42.2% 3P.

Let’s read between the lines a bit, because numbers enjoy the companionship of context. What is the mark for “excellent” NBA 3-point shooting? That’s debatable, but for argument’s sake, let’s say being one of the top 25 3-point shooters in the NBA. The current 25th best, OJ Mayo, hits 40.6 percent of the time. Webster has been above that mark in three out of the six available months (excluding that lonely October game). Two of those months, January and February 2013, came with heavy minutes from John Wall and Bradley Beal. While Wall’s ability to buttress his teammates’ shooting ability has been well-documented, the less publicized point about Webster’s career year has been how well he and Beal have played together.

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You’ve got this whole Wizards rebuilding project. Talk about angst. Are we in year three? Who knows. Has the can been kicked down a road of hope? Ted Leonsis has kept his kicking, and blogging, shoes on. In any case, the Wizards, clearly another lottery team, aren’t “rebuilt” just yet. Still on the schedule: another summer of, ‘Hey, we really mean it this time… playoffs.’

What about that draft lottery? An abundance of perpetual angst exists in Wizards Nation. And the Wizards and the draft lottery will tango once again; mark your calendars: Tuesday, May 21, 2013. In a supposed weak draft with somewhat of a core in place already, Ernie Grunfeld can probably leave his trusty gold coin at home. Winning the lottery is less relevant for the Wizards, especially considering how on Friday morning they had the third-worst record in the NBA. Now, they are eighth-worst and are less than 2.5 games out from 11th-worst (or 19th-best, depending on how you look at it). Nevertheless, there will be plenty of anxiety, perhaps some good, when the lottery balls drop in May while other teams are experiencing the post-season. [Worth mentioning: the Wizards currently have a 4.9% chance of winning the lottery.]

But what currently causes the most angst amongst Wizards fans? Martell Webster and the forthcoming decision — Webster’s free agency. The Wizards took a chance this summer by signing Webster to a one-year contract at the rate of $1.75 million. At the time, they had no clue it would end up like this. Now, Webster is one of the best 3-point shooters in the NBA. And so much more, especially to his teammates, as evidenced by the above video. On Saturday night, Webster tossed in 7-of-10 3-pointers and scored a career-high 34 points, also becoming the first Wizard with a 30-point game this season.

The question at hand: What will Webster be worth on the open market? And, as he continues to play up his value, can the Wizards afford to keep him?

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Shaun Livingston won’t be wearing a cape when he takes the floor for the Wizards. They’ve lost seven games to start the season without him, Washington could very well lose the next seven games with him. Although, as a survivor of an infamous knee injury—one that not only could have been career-ending, but also leg-ending—he probably feels like he has protective cape on his back for the rest of his basketball playing days.

Livingston has been on three different NBA teams since his previous stint Wizards in the aftermath of the 2009-10 “Guns in the Locker Room” season—he signed late that February and appeared in 26 games. He called his time in D.C. a “turning point” for his career at his first practice on Friday afternoon, relishing in how it all came together: the chance and minutes that then-coach Flip Saunders gave him, his knee responding well, and finding confidence. But as fate would have it, the Wizards landed 2010 No. 1 draft pick John Wall, they dealt for Kirk Hinrich on the night of that draft, and they still had Gilbert Arenas on roster. Livingston was no longer needed. “That’s just the name of the game, those things happen,” he said.

Livingston signed with the Bobcats that offseason and continued his strong play in 2010-11. His career-high 14.4 PER in 26 games with the Wizards only dipped to 14.3 in 73 games with Charlotte. But then he was traded again in the offseason, this time to Milwaukee, where he appeared in 58 games during the lockout-shortened season with a PER of 11. Then, another offseason trade to Houston—Livingston was sent as part of a deal that allowed the Rockets to clear Samuel Dalembert’s contract off their books. But Livingston never suited up in Texas and was waived on October 29. It took a couple weeks for the Wizards to finally come calling.

“I haven’t played yet this year. Just anxious to get out there, very anxious. Just gotta get my legs back, get my wind up, and I’ll be alright,” said Livingston when presented to the media after Friday’s practice. It’s a totally new locker room, Livingston has noticed. As well advertised, John Wall, Trevor Booker and Kevin Seraphin are the longest-tenured Wizards. Livingston and Cartier Martin did, however, appear in eight games together at the end of that 2009-10 season.

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John Wall is a high concern for the Wizards. John Wall’s backup — whether Wall is healthy or injured — is a high concern for the Wizards. So much of a concern that they made a calculated decision to sign A.J. Price as backup in late July, which is way early in the time allowed to make roster decisions before the season. John Lucas III got more money from the Toronto Raptors, Keyon Dooling ultimately retired, and it didn’t look like the Houston Rockets would be parting ways with Shaun Livingston, at the time. What other backup point guard options were there?

And then Wall goes and gets injured. Timing is everything.

To compensate, the Wizards signed the 32-year old Jannero Pargo, and ultimately cut their 34th overall 2011 draft pick, Shelvin Mack, after training camp and preseason. About Pargo, the ever-lurking John Hollinger writes in his 2012-13 season preview on ESPN Insider:

Pargo played well for Atlanta last season but obviously his combination of age (32) and track record make him a somewhat risky investment. That said, this was by far the best point guard candidate left on the market and Washington did well to get him so inexpensively. I’d argue he was a better solution than Price, in fact.

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[An old Wizard and the newest Wizard unite in Portland circa 2010,
picture via the Internets.]

“This is the best my body’s felt in the last five years,” said Martell Webster in a conference call with D.C. media on Wednesday afternoon, fresh off officially signing a contract with the Washington Wizards.

He’d been training in Tampa, FL when his agent told him that Washington might be interested. Up to that point, the Wizards weren’t even on Webster’s radar.

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The Wizards have signed a shooter, potentially. We don’t know how much said shooter will contribute next season, if at all. We don’t even know if he was the “best” option on the market. We just know that at some point or another, he has shot the ball through the net at varying degrees of success. So let’s start with a song, Heath Brothers – Smiling Billy Suite Pt. 2… (recognize this?)

When reports surfaced that the Wizards might be set at 13 players, and that they weren’t willing to pay anyone more than the veteran minimum salary anyway, this was the gist of the message: “We like Roger Mason and James Singleton, but they didn’t want to play for the one-year vet’s minimum; they are now gone. Agents, if you have a worthy client who wants a job and will play for the minimum, holler at us.”

Names still surfaced, names of those hungry to stay in the league: Anthony Tolliver, Michael Redd, Terrence Williams, Shawne Williams, and Martell Webster.

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ShareBullets: things from around the web…

>> We start with a big Kevin Seraphin block versus Tunisia.

>> James Singleton is moving on; Roger Mason, too.

With the Wizards reportedly unwilling to pay anything more than the veteran’s minimum, John Singleton moving on and Roger Mason signing with the New Orleans Hornets represents cost-considered moves for the Washington franchise (see cliche phrase: “It’s a business”). In a sense, this is a disservice: not finding a way to reward the efforts of Singleton and Mason while offering some constancy to a young team. In reality, the Wizards weren’t offering much playing time. Shooting from Mason would have been nice, the same with the grit of Singleton, but with roster capacity now at 13 — and the need to see how all the new feature parts fit together first– the Wizards can afford to hold off on filling the last two available spots, per report of the Washington Post’s Michael Lee. Not retaining Mason and Singleton was not part of an ideal offseason plan for the Wiz, but that doesn’t mean someone else can’t come along an inspire the team from the end of the bench just as well.

>> ESPN’s Marc Stein reports (via Twitter) that the San Antonio Spurs and Miami Heat are interested in Andray Blatche. Both are solid organizations and could help turn Blatche into something. Each city also drastically differs in nightlight options, which understandably could have a significant influence on the overall “Party All-Dray” experience. Blatche has for the past couple of offseasons made his home in Miami. So there’s that. San Antonio has the Riverwalk. Also:

“Everyone knows San Antonio is a great city… they do have some big ol’ women down here,” famously said Charles Barkley.

Destination Blatche: To Be Determined. Read more »

Wizards fans might already love A.J. Price for his ability to mess with former Indiana Pacers teammate Tyler Hansbrough while on the bench.

Per the speculation that Truth About It.net reported on from Las Vegas, the Washington Wizards have officially signed A.J. Price to boost their depth at point guard.

“I think I’ll fit in. Looking at the roster, I can see the backup point guard position was a need,” said Price in a conference call with D.C. media on Tuesday afternoon. “I think I got the opportunity to come in and play, contribute right away. I know my role as a player in this league. I know my job. I’m more than willing to come in and do the best of my ability.”

Again, the decision to sign Price — set to turn 26-years-old in October with only three NBA seasons and 150 regular season games under his belt — is not so much an indictment of 2010 second-round pick Shelvin Mack. Although Mack didn’t impress team officials with his ability to run a team during the summer league, his experience and cool demeanor means the franchise will still invest in his development.

The signing of Price is more of an indication of reality; a reality in which the Wizards, if they want to be in playoff contention, needed one more guard with a little bit more experience to complement John Wall, Mack, Jordan Crawford, and Bradley Beal.

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If this summer’s frenzied free agent pace has taught us anything, it’s that vying for players on the market, restricted or unrestricted, can be more trouble than it’s worth.

Teams like the 2011 champion Dallas Mavericks can find themselves out in the cold, losing number one targets (like Deron Williams), as well as their own (Jason Kidd and Jason Terry). The Mavs are now scrambling to gauge interest in Elton Brand, the 13-year veteran who was surprisingly amnestied by the Philadelphia 76ers late last week — even a bid to secure his services would be unsure. Ramon Sessions is under consideration. Ramon Sessions. The question being whispered by NBA insiders and, likely, the Mark Cuban brain trust: Is it time to trade Dirk Nowitzki?

Other teams and their fan bases might currently be under the impression that they’ve “won” something in free agency, committing X amount of dollars in a chase to over-pay suspect basketball potential around the league. Money thrown at the likes of Brandon Roy (Minnesota, 2-years, $10 million), Landry Fields (Toronto, 3-years, $20 million), Michael Beasley (Phoenix, 3-years, $18 million), and Omer Asik (Houston, 3-years, $25 million), could quickly backfire. More crazed spending likely on the way.

And not to mitigate the risk involved with building a team almost exclusively through the draft and trades. The Wizards, as much as any franchise, know about the failures in those maneuvers. One only need to start rattling off names like Mike Miller, Randy Foye and Kwame Brown. Different options come with varying repercussions and risks across team situations.

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One of the benefits of the “soft salary cap” in the NBA is that it purportedly enables a team to retain its own players easier than a “hard salary cap.” Teams can offer their own free agents more money and more years than any other team, thus rewarding hometown fans and promoting player loyalty. Of course, it is not a flawless system, and there will always be players who have their minds firmly set on taking their talents to a different market to play with different teammates. But for the most part, a player’s current team will virtually always be able to offer a more lucrative and longer contract.

Back in 2003, the Washington Wizards were able to take advantage of one of the few loopholes in this soft cap system when they outbid the Golden State Warriors for Gilbert Arenas, a restricted free agent (RFA) after being a second round pick in 2001. The Warriors were over the cap and thus could only use an exception to re-sign Arenas. Gilbert was classified as an “Early Bird” free agent, meaning he had played with the Warriors over the previous two seasons without changing teams. A team can use the Early Bird exception to re-sign its own free agent for up to 175-percent of his salary in the previous season or 104.5-percent of the league’s average salary, whichever is higher. Therefore, Golden State could only match an offer sheet, or extend Gilbert’s contract, for up to the amount of the Early Bird exception ($4.9 million in 2003, the league average at the time). The Wizards smartly (two words you don’t hear next to each other very often) signed Arenas to an offer sheet nearly doubling Golden State’s exception, $8.5 million in starting salary, and left the Warriors without an option to legally match within salary cap rules.

This loophole was seemingly closed in the 2005 CBA with the “Gilbert Arenas Provision,” where it was ruled that an offer sheet made to a restricted free agent in his first or second year in the NBA could not contain a first-year salary greater than the non-taxpayer mid-level exception ($5 million for 2012-13) and a second-year salary no greater than the standard 4.5-percent raise from the first year. The third year of the offer sheet has no such restrictions and could be as high as the player’s maximum, given the offering team’s cap room. However, if a raise from year two to year three is greater than 4.5-percent, the team proposing the offer sheet must be able to fit the average of the entire contract under the cap, rather than the first-year salary, and that is how it is applied to their ledger. But if the original team decides to match the offer sheet, the annual salary is applied to the original team exactly as it is laid out in the standing offer sheet. To put this in context of 2003, the Wizards would only have been able to offer the full mid-level exception in the first two seasons, which at the time was $4.917 million. Golden State therefore would have at least had the option to match this offer sheet for Arenas, if they chose to do so.

The So-Called “Gilbert Arenas” Provision

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