My Proposed Wizards Trade
With plenty of time (basketball-wise) to speculate, let me propose my first trade to get the Wizards something I think they sorely need: a bench. I mentioned who should stay, maybe take another gamble on, and might be better off without awhile back, so I kept that in mind when I made this deal.
First, let me put my personal starting five out there (italicized players are players whose contract is up and could conceivably be gone):
With this lineup in mind, what would we need?
Depth at the guard positions. A scoring punch to keep the opposition's second unit on their heels. An extra big body so Songaila can slide over to PF on occasion. A decent swing man who plays defense (especially if Jarvis Hayes bolts).
OK, next: who are the players we can trade...but also worth losing? Two players come to mind: Brendan Haywood and Etan Thomas. Because of their scuffles, it's understood that they can't co-exist on any team that wants to make a serious run at a title. In addition, it would really be fair to "pick a side" and trade one but keep the other (they both have their share of blame). Plus, they make enough money to make most trades work.
So here goes. Suppose we go to Toronto and Houston for some help.
In this trade, who do we get? From the Rockets, we get John Lucas and Bob Sura. From the Raptors, we get Kris Humphries, Joey Graham and Juan Dixon.
Scoring punch? Check (if you go by Gilbert, anyway). Extra big body? Check. A swing man who can play some "D?" Check. Depth at the guard position? Check and Check.
Now by all accounts, the Wizards plan on keeping Andray Blatche, Antonio Daniels, Roger Mason, Michael Ruffin, Mike Hall, and Donell Taylor. The team can only have 15 players, and anyone whose ever watched the Wizards over the past three seasons know that it'll take something drastic for them to part ways with Jamison, Arenas and/or Butler. They had 15 players before the trade and traded 2 of that 15 for 5, so that leaves a total of 18 players. Minus the Big Three, that brings us to 15 players who are expendable...meaning that three would have to go (buyout, release, whatever).
Here's who I'd drop: Lucas (too small and probably wouldn't get much playing time), Calvin Booth (Ruffin and Blatche are favorites and Humphries could spell Jamison or Songaila better), and Mike Hall (never played much so his loss wouldn't be a big impact to the team).
So assuming that the players with one year left don't leave, here's the potential 2007-2008 Wizards' bench:
So check this out: with Taylor and Mason, you can go with a big back court. With Hayes, Blatche and Dixon, you have a scoring bench. Daniels, Sura and Ruffin gives you a veteran-sub lineup. You could even put Daniel and Dixon together in the back court, move Arenas to SF, and with Jamison and Butler play one hell of a round of SmallBall.
What's gained? Overall size (like Cleveland has; nobody really talks about their size as much as their new found sense of defense). Consistent scoring opportunities (you could potentially field a lineup with five scorers, like I suggested above). A nice balance of youth and experience (as long as your best three players aren't over the hill, you need this balance to keep up with both the slow-yet-experienced veteran teams as well energetic-yet-erratic young teams you meet in the playoffs.
What's lost? Size up front (but was it ever useful?). Rebounding (but I'll argue that a team's better when every one's forced to rebound as opposed to just having one of two guys be mainly responsible for it). And, to be perfectly honest, there still isn't a pure shooter in the bunch (I still contend that Arenas and Hayes are, at best, streak shooters).
Still, when the dust settles, wouldn't this be an ideal team to take on Cleveland, Miami and anyone else who might pop up in the East?
First, let me put my personal starting five out there (italicized players are players whose contract is up and could conceivably be gone):
Center: Darius Songaila
Forwards: Antwan Jamison, Caron Butler
Guards: Gilbert Arenas, DeShawn Stevenson
With this lineup in mind, what would we need?
Depth at the guard positions. A scoring punch to keep the opposition's second unit on their heels. An extra big body so Songaila can slide over to PF on occasion. A decent swing man who plays defense (especially if Jarvis Hayes bolts).
OK, next: who are the players we can trade...but also worth losing? Two players come to mind: Brendan Haywood and Etan Thomas. Because of their scuffles, it's understood that they can't co-exist on any team that wants to make a serious run at a title. In addition, it would really be fair to "pick a side" and trade one but keep the other (they both have their share of blame). Plus, they make enough money to make most trades work.
So here goes. Suppose we go to Toronto and Houston for some help.
In this trade, who do we get? From the Rockets, we get John Lucas and Bob Sura. From the Raptors, we get Kris Humphries, Joey Graham and Juan Dixon.
Scoring punch? Check (if you go by Gilbert, anyway). Extra big body? Check. A swing man who can play some "D?" Check. Depth at the guard position? Check and Check.
Now by all accounts, the Wizards plan on keeping Andray Blatche, Antonio Daniels, Roger Mason, Michael Ruffin, Mike Hall, and Donell Taylor. The team can only have 15 players, and anyone whose ever watched the Wizards over the past three seasons know that it'll take something drastic for them to part ways with Jamison, Arenas and/or Butler. They had 15 players before the trade and traded 2 of that 15 for 5, so that leaves a total of 18 players. Minus the Big Three, that brings us to 15 players who are expendable...meaning that three would have to go (buyout, release, whatever).
Here's who I'd drop: Lucas (too small and probably wouldn't get much playing time), Calvin Booth (Ruffin and Blatche are favorites and Humphries could spell Jamison or Songaila better), and Mike Hall (never played much so his loss wouldn't be a big impact to the team).
So assuming that the players with one year left don't leave, here's the potential 2007-2008 Wizards' bench:
Big Men (Centers/PFs): Ruffin, Blatche, Humphries.
Swing men (Small Forward): Hayes, Graham.
Guards (Shooting&Point): Dixon, Daniels, Sura, Taylor, Mason.
So check this out: with Taylor and Mason, you can go with a big back court. With Hayes, Blatche and Dixon, you have a scoring bench. Daniels, Sura and Ruffin gives you a veteran-sub lineup. You could even put Daniel and Dixon together in the back court, move Arenas to SF, and with Jamison and Butler play one hell of a round of SmallBall.
What's gained? Overall size (like Cleveland has; nobody really talks about their size as much as their new found sense of defense). Consistent scoring opportunities (you could potentially field a lineup with five scorers, like I suggested above). A nice balance of youth and experience (as long as your best three players aren't over the hill, you need this balance to keep up with both the slow-yet-experienced veteran teams as well energetic-yet-erratic young teams you meet in the playoffs.
What's lost? Size up front (but was it ever useful?). Rebounding (but I'll argue that a team's better when every one's forced to rebound as opposed to just having one of two guys be mainly responsible for it). And, to be perfectly honest, there still isn't a pure shooter in the bunch (I still contend that Arenas and Hayes are, at best, streak shooters).
Still, when the dust settles, wouldn't this be an ideal team to take on Cleveland, Miami and anyone else who might pop up in the East?
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