Really? You wanted in on that deal? A couple of weeks ago, NO was rumored to be dangling the 10 pick as a way to get EITHER Ariza or Okafar's albatross contracts off their hands. The Wizards stroll in and take BOTH contracts, don't get any picks, and even threw in their own second round pick to sweeten the deal. Not to mention that Lewis' contract was eligible to be waived this summer. Wizards blew a huge chunk of their cap space on two average players. None of whom can shoot.
You talk about a balanced roster, but I see exactly one shooter in that lineup for the Wiz. This trade was definitely a desperate win-now attempt, and I see a team that will be decent defensively and mediocre offensively. It's a borderline playoff team in a bad year at best, and they now have very little room to maneuver in free agency.
NO wins this trade several times over, as they've just cleared out a crapton of cap space, giving them room to throw a big contract at Gordon and then go after another big name to form a big three with Anthony Davis coming aboard. That's a team that will have surpassed us, not the Wiz. We'll be catching up to the Wiz even if our lineup stays exactly the same as it is now. I'm glad we stayed away from that deal, if that was the asking price.
Yeah, I wanted part of that. First, you have to be careful about rumors. Yes it was rumored NO was dangling the #10 for either Okafor or Ariza, but that doesn't mean it was the reality of the situation. Still, looks like NO just wanted to dump salary and clear cap space after next season and the only expiring we have going into next season is Cisco, so I'm not sure how we would have been able to get a deal done, and I'm not sure how much we could have absorbed.
As for us, what are our two biggest needs? Defensive minded SF and PF/C, who don't seek shots. Both Okafor and Ariza are damn good at exactly that. Not perfect fits, nor the first on my list, but clear upgrades and would fit in very well Cuz/Reke/IT. It's not just about talent, it's about fit and how best to round out a team. We don't need offensive studs commanding lots of shots. We need defensive role players, and a SF who can hit an open jumper. Okafor and Ariza(to a certain extent) do exactly that.
Okafor/Ariza are due roughly 20M next season. I don't see you kicking and screaming about us paying our glorious SF rotation consisting of Salmons/Cisco/Donte/Outlaw 19M last year. They didn't contribute much of anything. Okafor and Ariza would greatly strengthen our starting lineup with balance, much needed defense both on the perimeter and in the paint, and help our offensive efficiency as we'd have three clear offensive players surrounded by two clear defensive players. This deal would have plugged the two largest holes in our starting lineup immediately, for 1M more than our impotent SF bench quartet who were so poor collectively, we had to switch our PG over to SF.
As for Wash, they're now heading towards the playoffs. Maybe not this year, although they'll be much improved, but the year after, although with this move I wouldnt be surprised in the least if they make it this coming year. They now have arguably the top defensive SF, PF, C combination in the East. They added veterans to a young locker room. They have cleared out guys like Lewis and Young who simply get in Wall's way. They have a top pick who'll pair very well next to Wall offensively. It's a good fit for Wash, as it would be here. For Mem, it wouldn't make any sense. For Ind, it wouldn't make sense either. It's all about team needs and filling holes. Too many people look away from defense simply because there's not enough shooting. Beal is a damn good threat from deep and Ariza can hit open 3's at a decent %. Crawford is a growing offensive spark off the bench for them as well who's a deep threat.
As for salary cap, Wash with this move they don't need cap space this summer. They've already improved greatly, and shooting/backcourt youth might be their only weakness in their starting lineup. They;ve also got some young, talented prospects on their bench. But next summer, they'll owe a little less given their high number of five players with a team option and Ariza with a player option, but two years down the road they'll have ample cap space, as Ariza and Okafor come off the books. If the two year run worked out, bring them back for less. If not, spend on replacements. But in the mean time they'll be considerably more competitive, much better defensively, have experienced vets changing the culture which is great for Wall, their pick and other youngsters, should make the playoffs, become a more attractive franchise for FA's, greatly increase the chances of Wall staying, and really overall, have the organization heading in the right direction. You have to spend to win and you need to take chances to succeed. All we've done is waste money and stack pieces which don't fit, and without any resemblance of balance. Is that preferred?
I few years ago we were surrounded by a bunch of team starting a rebuild, as we were. Well, unless we make some considerable changes aside from just a draft pick, I'd wager these teams which were right at the bottom rebuilding with us, would have passed us, as some clearly already have.
Wash
Minn
NO
LAC
GS
Mem
Tor and Char haven't. All those other teams took chances, balanced their lineups and appear to be more invested in spending to win and get back to the playoffs. Not just spending to spend either, but intelligently. None of those team have close to 30M sitting on the bench contributing nothing as we do. For having his hands tied, Petrie has wasted an incredible amount of money of aged, crappy bench players. And if all we were to add is a draft pick, well two considering the 2nd rounder, if healthy I definitely think those six teams all finish with better records than us, some considerably better.
Was funny to watch.
