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Here to provide the DC Council Opening Statements for Washington’s 54th game of the season at home against the Houston Rockets are TAI’s Rashad Mobley (@rashad20) and guest Michael Pina (@MichaelVPina) who writes about the Rockets for Red94, an ESPN TrueHoop Network blog.
John Wall, Bradley Beal, Martell Webster, Nene, Emeka Okafor
Jordan Crawford was traded today, ya heard? A former 24-year old rebuilding chip was jettisoned to Boston for a couple 30-year old NBA vagabonds, Leandro Barbosa and Jason Collins. #SoWizards? Perhaps. Here’s the rundown of reactions from the TAI crew…
It really is a shoulder shrugger (and a head-shaker). I mean, I care. I’ll miss Jordan Crawford. I wish he would have been a better player. I wish that the relationship between him and the franchise didn’t go down in such an epic, flaming bag of shit. But it did. Fighting off the desire to not overreact, but something is amiss with how this team handles players (not all players, mind you). Everyone in the league seems to know it and the owner seems completely oblivious to it. I’ll reiterate: During the time that Ernie Grunfeld has led the Wizards (since the ’03 Summer) only one NBA team has more losses than the Wizards: the Minnesota Timberwolves, with 482 losses to Washington’s 475. But now, Ernie is evidently doing exactly what Ted wants. So there’s that.
Crawford certainly did his part to wear out his welcome—an estimated 80 percent part, I’d say. In return for the diminished asset, the Wizards save a little bit of money. Nice, but certainly not part of the plan. The Theodore Unit wanted to develop young players who could either be used as trade pieces or as pillars for the rebuild. Instead, they are giving them away. On the other hand, Crawford was good, but he was not a system player. He wasn’t about quick ball movement, and he was rarely conscious about offensive spacing. He knew how to fire up shots with confidence, and he had the ability to drop fancy, no-look passes when his teammates weren’t ready. Hardly useful in terms of winning.
[This building is being rebuilt, Washington, D.C. -- photo: K. Weidie
Do the Wizards need to make a deal by 3 pm on Thursday? No, not at all. Why rush the rebuild when lottery chances are once again at stake? Could Team President Ernie Grunfeld still roll up his sleeves to expose some tricks? Indeed (Omar Little voice).
Well, we all know Josh Smith is available. But reports on top of reports on top of roast beef sandwiches indicate that the Wizards are now “coolin’” on a move for Smith, which means that the package they’re willing to offer for him is probably not as competitive as offers from Milwaukee or Brooklyn, for instance. I’m not so hot on Smith myself — with him “thinking” that he’s a max contract player and with Smith essentially being his agency’s only marquee player (also the agency of Javaris Crittenton, FWIW). Smith is not a max type player, at least not with his poor attitude. Although, colleague John Townsend informs me that Smith’s cumulative WARP (Wins Above Replacement Player, an advanced stat) over the past several seasons is very good. So, yea…
That’s the question I keep asking myself, continuing in circles without much of an answer.
Can the Wizards even get DeMarcus Cousins? Perhaps.
[Heaven is a playground in Oklahoma City--and perhaps Wizards fans will get there, one day.
Hat-tip SpreeGoogs.]
A word of warning: I’m Truth About It’s resident pessimist. You may remember me from such posts as “Memo to NBA: Contract the Wizards” and “Clearly, God Hates DC Basketball Fans.” (OK, I made that second one up.)
But I don’t feel like a pessimist today. Just a realist.
Kyle and John have artfully explained why the big Emeka Okafor-Trevor Ariza-Rashard Lewis deal is a net good for the Wiz.
Still, I think we need to go by a simple question: What Would Oklahoma City Do?
Answer: Not this.
Well, we had a trade.
On an off day between NBA Finals Games 4 and 5, involving the team formerly owned by the NBA, the New Orleans Hornets, and the model of NBA asphyxiation in the nation’s capital, the Washington Wizards, we had a trade.
Between the two cities in the U.S. I love most, we had a trade.
With Trevor Ariza and Emeka Okafor coming to D.C. in exchange for Rashard Lewis and the 46th overall pick in 2012, we had a trade.
Lot’s of questions, let’s FAQ… with myself (@Truth_About_It), along with some helpful additions from TAI’s John Converse Townsend (@JohnCTownsend), as well as some thoughts on the incoming Hornets from Jason Calmes, writer for the ESPN TrueHoop blog, Hornets 24/7 (@hornets247). Read more »
It’s been about three weeks since the Washington Wizards, Los Angeles Clippers and Denver Nuggets collaborated to exchange parts. The Wizards gave up Nick Young, JaVale McGee and Ronny Turiaf and got Nene, Brian Cook, and a 2015 second round draft pick belonging to the New Orleans Hornets (via the L.A. Clippers) in return. Los Angeles received Young in exchange for Cook and the second rounder, and Denver received McGee and Turiaf in exchange for Nene. The Nuggets soon thereafter waived Turiaf, who then signed with the Miami Heat. To check in on the aftermath of this trade, I turned to some authorities for the involved franchises for commentary. Nick Flynt (@ClipperBlogNick) of ClipperBlog, Jeremy Wagner (@RoundballMiner) of Roundball Mining Company, Sean Fagan (@McCarrick) of Bullets Forever, and Kevin Arnovitz (@KevinArnovitz) of ESPN.com/TrueHoop drop some knowledge on the Clippers, Nuggets, Wizards and Heat respectively. Read on…
Intro: The Clippers had to know what they were getting with Nick Young, right? In 1,211 minutes with Washington this season, Young had a FG% of 0.406 and an eFG% of 0.468; he also picked up 1.4 assists per 36 minutes. In his hometown of Los Angeles, Young’s FG% has dropped to 0.373, his eFG% to 0.444, and his assists/36 to 1.0. With a nice recent run of eight wins to one loss (vs. the Lakers), the Clippers are 9-4 since Young made his debut (although, 0-3 when Young starts). So… how’s that trade working out? (Bonus if you miss Brian Cook.)
[Note: I recent wrote a JaVale McGee scouting report of sorts for the ESPN TrueHoop Network blog Roundball Mining Company, check it out. In turn, Jeremy Wagner (@RoundballMiner) provides the readers of TAI with the below scouting report on Nene, who is set to make his debut against the New Jersey Nets tonight. Enjoy Jeremy's writing, contemplate Nene's presence. Oh yea... the picture of Nene below. It was tweeted by the official @WashWizards Twitter account with the message: "Nene and the #Wizards on their way to New Jersey. Nene expected to make his #Wizards debut in tmrw nights #WizNets game." -- I find this picture to be so fascinating, yet I can't explain why without sounding ominous. Carry on...]
[Nene Hilario's reaction to the trade? Here's hoping. Courtesy of SI Vault.]
JaVale and Nick Young go. Nene arrives.
Economist Tyler Cowen said in five words what I’m going to say in 250.
Pareto improvement for the Wizards, espn.go.com/nba/story/_/id…
— tylercowen (@tylercowen) March 15, 2012
Indeed. This trade was good for everyone–but especially for the Wiz.
Remember Gilbert Arenas’ final act as a Washington Wizard? It wasn’t pretty. It was self-destructiveness with a premonition. JaVale McGee’s exit act is not as egregious, but it’s so JaVale, with a twist of Wizards past to boot.
There were about 70 seconds left in Tuesday’s game at Dallas, the Mavericks holding a 107-96 lead. McGee blocked a Jason Terry shot and sprinted his hardest in the other direction, leaving his teammates to recover the ball. Jordan Crawford did, and he pushed it, eventually finding himself and McGee with a 2-on-1 advantage… Could the result be anything other than a lob dunk?
Unfortunately the oft-absent concentration was broken, McGee missed the easy dunk. Would it have made a difference in the outcome? You can never be sure (in most situations), but McGee didn’t play like that. He played within himself, as if that next offensive possession or that next block opportunity was his and his alone, and not a collection of game possessions that belonged to the team.
After McGee craned his neck to see the ball bounce behind him, he came down from high after his missed dunk and worked to run back uphill on defense. Meanwhile, former teammate Brendan Haywood, a guy who gave the impression that he wasn’t really a fan of McGee during Haywood’s own last playing days as a Wizard, positioned himself just so… in a manner to provide McGee with one last parting shot, former Wizard to future former Wizard.
When: Tues., May 21 - 7:30 pm
Where: Lou's City Bar - Columbia Heights, D.C.
Across The ESPN TrueHoop Network