Man what a game against the Thunder on Monday. If that wasn’t what all of us Wizards fans needed I don’t know what is? And what’s the best way to follow-up a 2-point victory over the league’s best team that saw our rookie Bradley Beal ice the game winner? A few days rest and the possible return of John Wall that’s how.
Saturday night’s game against the Hawks could be John Wall’s first game of the season, and even though pictures have surfaced of Wall being slightly out of shape, us Wiz faithful finally have a little pep to our steps and are getting real excited for the first time this season. While the playoffs are still out of the question barring a John Wall half season MVP campaign and a collapse by several teams, I’m starting to get that excitement back that I had at the beginning of the season. And that excitement would certainly multiply if Leonsis would go ahead and fire Grunfeld.
But Grunfeld is still in the picture and since he’s probably not looking around the league at cap friendly moves or moves that would actually benefit the Wiz, I sure am, so here are some trades that I hope Grunfeld or whoever else might be at the helm when he’s fired might entertain.
Nene and Trevor Ariza for Caron Butler and Lamar Odom: (Trade Machine)
This is a trade that I certainly see the Clippers entertaining. For us we need Nene to be a 30 plus minute big man and one that is usually the center of our offense when on the court. In LA Nene could be the primary backup to Blake Griffin and DeAndre Jordan and he would only be forced to play minutes in the upper 20s which is what he seems most comfortable with and what he’s actually able to do. Also Ariza is posting a better PER than Caron Butler and could easily slide in and take his role in the Clippers rotation. Butler is only playing a hair over 20 minutes a game and has seen his role diminish. A change of scenery might serve Butler well and what better place than a place where Butler used to call home for four plus seasons and averaged nearly 19 points a game.
Lamar Odom would be an oversight where we either reach a buyout with him or ship him to a third team for a future pick. While if we have an energized and dedicated Odom I would love to have him on our team, I don’t see us receiving that Lamar Odom. If he wasn’t happy in Dallas, he sure wouldn’t be happy in Washington. Still he clears close to 9 million in cap space for the following year which would be very nice.
This trade would get us out of Nene’s contract which we owe him $13 million each of the next 3 seasons and upgrade the small forward position. Butler would be our starter the rest of the season and next year he could either start or be one of the first men off the bench and mentor whoever we draft. Also in this trade I would like to see us give the Clips our second second-round pick in exchange for the Clips first rounder. Even if we couldn’t get the pick, I would be happy with this trade as-is.
Starting Line-Up After Trade
PG-Wall, SG-Beal, SF – Butler, PF – Seraphin, C – Okafor
Trevor Ariza and Jan Vesely for Andrea Bargnani: (Trade Machine)
It’s a well-known fact that the Raptors want to unload Bargnani. They also have been rumored to want more of a defensive presence (Ariza and Vesely) in return for the former first overall draft pick. Bringing in Bargnani would give us a true stretch 4 who can run with John Wall and company. I think playing alongside a defensive center in Okafor, Bargnani could really shine and give us some offensive firepower, because we all know where we rank in the league in offensive output (dead last).
While some people in the organization (Grunfeld) think Vesely can develop into a good player, I do not see it. Even if we wanted to keep Vesely and give him another season to try and develop, we could ship out Kevin Seraphin in place of Vesely if the Raptors wanted a true big man in return. Still I think Bargnani would be an upgrade over Seraphin, especially if Nene is still on our roster. That’s one of our biggest problems with our current roster; too many players play the same style and same position. The Wiz could really benefit from having a 7-foot big man that can stroke the three ball instead of a couple of under 7-foot big men who play best right under the basket.
Starting Line-up After Trade
PG – Wall, SG – Beal, SF – Webster, PF – Bargnani, C – Nene/Okafor
Nene for Stephen Jackson and DeJuan Blair: (Trade Machine)
This trade would simply be a cap friendly move. Again I doubt Big Shot Jack would want to play in Washington so this would be a buyout move again or add a third team to the deal and receive a future pick. This would get us off the hook for Nene’s contract as this is the last year of Jackson’s deal and Blair would give us a nice back-up big for a reasonable price that we should have drafted back in 2009. Like I said before, I love what Nene brings to the table but if he can’t stay on the court, we don’t need to pay him $13 million a year. In this situation he could either start alongside Tim Duncan or be the first big man off the bench. Still I think the Spurs could easily entertain this offer and would think hard about it.
Starting Line-Up After Trade
PG – Wall, SG – Beal, SF – Webster, PF – Seraphin, C – Okafor
Emeka Okafor, Jordan Crawford, Trevor Ariza and our 2014 First Rounder for Rudy Gay and Jerryd Bayless: (Trade Machine)
While at first glance this trade might be a bit of a stretch, it might actually be enough to get it done. Rumors have been swirling that the Grizzlies want to unload Rudy Gay and the team that is rumored to most interested (the Suns) couldn’t put a better package than this together.
Now a few factors would have to come together for the Grizzlies to pull the trigger on this trade. The first would be that no other team offers the Grizzlies an outstanding offer. The second would be that Ariza and Okafor re-structure their deals for next season. One of the reasons the Grizzlies want to trade Gay is because they want to lower their salaries to get them out of the luxury tax. This deal would actually cost them more this season, but Ariza and Okafor could re-structure their deals, which they might consider in order to play on a title contender. Also if this trade didn’t work out on the court, both of their deals would expire after the following season so they could cut them loose if need be.
While it pains me to put Steezy in a trade shipping him out of Washington, Rudy Gay would be one person that would be worth the pain. Crawford would give them a stronger scoring punch off the bench than what Bayless gives them plus they would be getting another first rounder in next year’s draft which draft experts are expecting to be a strong draft. I would also do this deal if instead of next year’s pick we swapped them first rounders this year. We are obviously looking for a wing scorer in this year’s draft, and Rudy Gay would certainly fill that bill. In Bayless we would be getting back someone to take Crawford’s place off the bench. Plus according to Hollinger’s analysis, who just happens to be an executive for the Grizzlies, it would add two wins for Memphis.
Starting Line-Up After Trade
PG – Wall, SG – Beal, SF – Gay, PF – Seraphin, C – Nene
These are all trades that are not out of the question and would improve our team going forward. Let’s just hope the Wizards brass has as much enthusiasm as I do to make this team better. Closer to the trade deadline I will revisit the trade market and give you all some updated trade scenarios depending on who’s known to be available and our current roster. But until next Wednesday, Stay Steezy Wiz fans!
And let’s hope we get to see Wall’s debut on Saturday!
*Got some other trades in mind? Share yours in the comment section*
35 Comments
Out of the ones you proposed I really only like the one to get Bargnani and to trade Nene to get Blair and Stephen Jackson or… Essentially just Dejuan Blair. Of course IMHO we have a Blair type player whos more athletic in Trevor booker and have missed him dearly while he’s dealt with a knee injury for nearly two months. Anything that moves one of the 3 big contracts of Nene, Ariza or Okafor I’m generally in favor of but I don’t want to lose the #1 pick, even for Rudy Gay. Shabazz Mohammed or one of the young bigs have a brighter future than Bayless and Gay.
My thought process is to try to trade for Demarcus Cousins… I know, I know attitude problems but he and Wall are close and I think Wall can keep him in better spirits and more in control than anyone else. I’d be for trading just about anyone but our #1 pick,Wall, Beal and Seraphin to make it happen.
If doable….I would throw Seraphin in there no worries.
Cousins would easily be the #1 overall pick in this upcoming draft if he had stayed in school.
I tried the trade machine and came up with this:
Washington receives: Joe Johnson, SF, John Salmons, SF/SG and DeMarcus Cousins, C
Sacramento receives: Emeka Okafor and Jordan Crawford
Seems fair to me.
I would love Cousins too, but I think with the team on the move to Seattle I think they, at least temporarily, took him off the market.
Yea i thought long and hard about doing a trade for Cousins but with not having a strong head coach in place i wouldn’t want to take a risk on Cousins at this point in time. I love Cousins and i agree with you that Wall would help his case, but until our long term coach is in place i don’t want to take a gamble on someone like Cousins.
And yes i was hesitant on trading our first round pick as well. Like i said i would much rather give them our first next year but if that’s what it takes to land someone like Rudy Gay i would do it. We have plenty of young guys still under the age of 25 and i really like the sound of a Wall, Beal, Gay, and Nene line-up.
But thanks for the read. Spread the word and keep throwing us feedback. We love it! Stay Steezy my friend
You know Rudy Gay is younger than I thought. He’s been in the league for so long I figured he was around 30. I’d definitely be down for that trade. Like you said, he Wall, Beal and Nene would make us a playoff team and possibly attract a free agent for once! Lol
Sounds like ESPN has the same idea of a trade for the Grizz and Wiz
http://insider.espn.go.com/nba/story/_/id/8827766/nba-derrick-williams-jordan-hill-top-10-trade-chips
What’d they say exactly? I’m not an ESPN insider, I refuse to pay for their information when I can get just as good or most of the times better information elsewhere. Lol
Screen shot below
That has me doing backflips! Lol
[...] our writer Cory Grubbs took a look at a few trade possibilities that Washington could make. One of those trades happened to be with the Memphis Grizzlies and in [...]
Nene’s demise is greatly exaggerated. I don’t see the point of getting rid of him for cap space. At all. Even playing with plantar fasciitis, his 82games simple rating is the 4th best in the NBA. And yes, that says a lot about how bad Seraphin actually is this season.
I say no to any move involving Okafor or Nene. Okafor will have a ton of value this offseason and at the next trade deadline. If Ariza and some combo of Seraphin / Booker / Crawford / Vesely / Singleton / Price can be packaged for something, entertain offers.
I doubt we could pull Cousins without Beal AND the pick. Price is just too high. Boston is dangling Avery Bradley, and he had more value than Beal or that pick does, and Sac isn’t budging.
I doubt Memphis needs Crawford.. The Jazz do though. T Wolves? Not really. They already have slashers who aren’t great 3 point shooters in Rubio and Barea.
What makes the most sense is to wait. Then let Okafor and Ariza expire or trade them at the deadline in 13-14. No move is going to make us a contender, it’ll be hard to swallow, but all these deals would be the Ernie Trying To Save His Job variety.
Did you know Bargnani is one of the least efficient offensive players in the league? He nd Seraphin are virtually identical in efficiency , but Bargnani costs a ton of cash. His 3 point “stroke” is a joke. Vesely had double digit points or boards in 13 of the last 18 games last year. I’d rather see how he does with Wall than take on Bargnani, the Michael Beasely of centers, the BJ Mullens of the north.
Hiw about Ilyasova? I think he can stop regressing with regular minutes. Unfortunately we have the worst coach in NBA history AND the only guy who jerks his rotations around with less provocation than Scott Skiles.
Lets just wait til wr have a real coach and 20 mil in expirings and another top 3 pick. It’s what a smart team would do.
I agree about Nene. I don’t want to get rid of him at all. But I think his point was that if we owe him $13 mil for the next 3 years and he isn;t going to give us 30 mins a night, than it would be better off long term to trade him.
I too agree that Okafor is going to have a lot of trade value, but I think if moving him now can get us the right type of player for our future, than we should do it. If we end up holding him, I won’t be mad though. He is still a great defensive player and might buy us a nice piece next year.
I believe the wizards should trade Emeka Okafor, Trevor Ariza, and our future 2014 first round pick to the Lakers for Dwight Howard, Devin Ebanks and their future 2014 2nd round pick.
That would be great! Dont see that happening. The Lakers wanted to get younger and faster. That trade doesnt make it happen even though they will have a likely top 5 pick. Im sure other teams would offer a much better package
I was going to say the same thing. Good response Cory
Why can’t you see that happening. The Lakers are going to want to trade Dwight out of the Western Conference and to a non- contending team. On the other hand, many players are not comfortable with playing with Kobe, because they are not going to get many touches. So why not send players who are comfortable with playing with Kobe, Ariza already has and Okafor will be a great fit for the Lakers. The Lakers want experience, not young players. So I believe this will be a great fit for both teams. I can promise that if Dwight goes to the Wizards, and the Wizards draft a elite player this draft, then they will be a playoff contending team in the next year or two.
I def see where you’re coming from, but i just think there will be a lot of teams that can make a better off than that. Don’t get me wrong i would for sure offer that to the Lakers, i just think they will have better offers on the table. And of course the trade would have to have something saying Dwight would re-sign with us and I’m not sure he would oblige. We certainly have lots of selling points..John Wall, Beal, Nene, whoever we draft…And he could be the focus point of our offense. A inside-out attack with Beal raining threes would be sweet. Maybe we could put the bug in management’s ear to offer such a trade!
To Cory: I’m happy you see where I am coming from , i already tweeted my proposed trade to WizardsTalk, so I’m pretty sure they will see it. A lot of excitement surrounds this trade offer.
If only us die-hard fans could run the franchise. Haha. Give me a follow on twitter. @CoryGrubbs10 . And thanks for the feedback. Keep it rolling man
Haha, will do, follow back! @theone_1106
Love your input. Like Trevor said I would love to keep Nene but if he is constantly going to be hurt and had to take games off, i dont see how we can pay him $13 million a season for the next three. If he can get healthy and play regularly I would love to keep him.
I agree with you that Bargnani is overrated but i think with Wall as his point guard and a change of scenery, i think he would by far be a better player.
I also like the idea of keeping Okafor and Ariza until next season when they have more value with their expiring contracts. But if we can net Rudy Gay then i gladly trade them.
But yes before we make any drastic changes we need our new coach in place. Which for some insane reason we didnt address that in the offseason. Thanks for the input!
I agree with Cory and Trevor. If nene is healthy we aren’t having a discussion about trading him. At this point he can’t be relied upon to be a starter for us but a team like Memphis could certainly use him as a reserve to Ranfolph and Gasol playing 20 minutes a game or so.
Rudy!
The Wizards should make Sam Cassell their head coach.
I’d hire Avery Johnson and keep Sam as his top assistant
Yea that might work, but what if someone tries to go after Sam Cassell to be their head coach. Sam Cassell is going to try to bring John Wall to his team because their bond is inseparable. Avery Johnson is like Sam Cassell, they have the same coaching philosophy.
I would love Cassell as a coach. I wrote about getting rid of Wittman and giving Sam a chance all the way back in November…Its been long overdue for a coaching change.
Wittman is too much of a laid back coach and the only time he really coaches is when the Wizards fall behind by a big margin, and we start making a comeback.
I wouldn’t be mad if they went after an up and comer coach who is currently a top assistant for one of the winning teams….or even someone like Callipari.
Like that too Trevor. Yea i wanted us to make a run at Brian Shaw in the offseason. A younger coach with championship experience as a player and as an assistant.
yea i was thinking that at first, but if you look at how he is coaching his team this year, i believe he is not a NBA ready coach. So why not get experience with Sam Cassell who everyone on the team loves.
Pretty simple solution to that…at least in my eyes. Fire Randy Wittman now or before the All-Star break and make Sam the interim head coach. Let him show what he can do with the team. If it doesn’t work out or there are no improvements….move on. Win win I feel like.
Yea i love that idea Trevor….I just dont think Grunfeld is capable of such a smart move