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Gortat

skinz2winz

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I think we can see now how ridiculous the comments were about Gortat. The guy was absolutely huge all season and in the playoffs. Earned himself a big time pay check this off season. Will be a valuable piece to a playoff team and I would like to see the Wiz resign him. Far better player than PHX fans or Tlance give him credit for.
 

ThruTheEyesOfRuby

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Someone was feelin' loose and limber yesterday!

:laugh:
















(I hope we resign this guy.)
 
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skinz2winz

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Welcome back Marcin!!!
 

tlance

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I think we can see now how ridiculous the comments were about Gortat. The guy was absolutely huge all season and in the playoffs. Earned himself a big time pay check this off season. Will be a valuable piece to a playoff team and I would like to see the Wiz resign him. Far better player than PHX fans or Tlance give him credit for.

LOL.

Gortat played very well and contributed more than I ever thought he would.

Tell me this, however, now that we have re-signed Gortat and will attempt to re-sign Ariza (both necessary moves) what is the next step for this team? How does it get better?

What I said last off season was based more on the fact that I believe the Wizards franchise has always set their sights too low. This roster, as currently constructed should be somewhere between a 3 and a 6 in the Eastern Conference for years to come. While it was fun to watch the Wizards in the playoffs this year, is this core ever going to be a real contender?

I still believe that they made their move 1 year too early. Beal and Wall are both very good players, but neither are likely to be good enough to make this team a real championship contender unless Beal develops into a legit superstar. The pieces around them fit very nicely, but the Wizards are a 50-55 win team in a weak conference. Ever since I began following the Wizards/Bullets in the mid 80s, it has seemed like the goal of the franchise is to get to the playoffs, not to build a contending core.

Rebuilding shortcuts have continually cost this group opportunities to build something special. While the current regime has exercised more patience than past groups, the team still lacks that franchise cornerstone player that can lead them to the promised land and Gortat and Ariza won't get us there.
 

skinz2winz

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LOL.

Gortat played very well and contributed more than I ever thought he would.

Tell me this, however, now that we have re-signed Gortat and will attempt to re-sign Ariza (both necessary moves) what is the next step for this team? How does it get better?

What I said last off season was based more on the fact that I believe the Wizards franchise has always set their sights too low. This roster, as currently constructed should be somewhere between a 3 and a 6 in the Eastern Conference for years to come. While it was fun to watch the Wizards in the playoffs this year, is this core ever going to be a real contender?

I still believe that they made their move 1 year too early. Beal and Wall are both very good players, but neither are likely to be good enough to make this team a real championship contender unless Beal develops into a legit superstar. The pieces around them fit very nicely, but the Wizards are a 50-55 win team in a weak conference. Ever since I began following the Wizards/Bullets in the mid 80s, it has seemed like the goal of the franchise is to get to the playoffs, not to build a contending core.

Rebuilding shortcuts have continually cost this group opportunities to build something special. While the current regime has exercised more patience than past groups, the team still lacks that franchise cornerstone player that can lead them to the promised land and Gortat and Ariza won't get us there.

You make some good points TLance. The problem with this core is WALL has to absolutely get better shooting the ball and limit turnovers. He seems to place himself on cruise control sometimes and disappear in games. He needs to be that constant in the lane threat with his quickness and up tempo style. When he is on, he makes those around him better but his shooting is so inconsistent. Beal seems to be coming along quite nicely and I believe the playoff experience will certainly carry over into next season.

To answer your question about the next step, I would say this. If Ted & Co are serious about contending for a title, you have to find a way to fit a great 6th man into your cap. The likes of a Paul Pierce who can add a punch to the 2nd unit. A proven guy who can score and will buy into assuming that role, even if it's on a 1 year deal. That send the message to the team and fans, "hey, were all in on this thing". When is the last time we won 50-55 games? I don't care what conference it is in, I'll take it.

While your correct about rebuilding shortcuts, I think the current core is right in line with building a Championship caliber team not going the shortcut route. We need Wall to blossom into that player you mention and yes, we need that veteran who can provide leadership, scoring and the "I have been there" attitude coming off the bench in that role.
 

tlance

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You make some good points TLance. The problem with this core is WALL has to absolutely get better shooting the ball and limit turnovers. He seems to place himself on cruise control sometimes and disappear in games. He needs to be that constant in the lane threat with his quickness and up tempo style. When he is on, he makes those around him better but his shooting is so inconsistent. Beal seems to be coming along quite nicely and I believe the playoff experience will certainly carry over into next season.

To answer your question about the next step, I would say this. If Ted & Co are serious about contending for a title, you have to find a way to fit a great 6th man into your cap. The likes of a Paul Pierce who can add a punch to the 2nd unit. A proven guy who can score and will buy into assuming that role, even if it's on a 1 year deal. That send the message to the team and fans, "hey, were all in on this thing". When is the last time we won 50-55 games? I don't care what conference it is in, I'll take it.

While your correct about rebuilding shortcuts, I think the current core is right in line with building a Championship caliber team not going the shortcut route. We need Wall to blossom into that player you mention and yes, we need that veteran who can provide leadership, scoring and the "I have been there" attitude coming off the bench in that role.

I think they have to somehow find a way to get a max type FA in the next couple years. I don't know how, But I see Wall and Beal as really nice support players, but neither are really the guy. I hope I am wrong again, but that is what I see.

A couple more years of not winning, and maybe KD can be lured back home? That is the type of move we would need to make IMO, and think it would be really difficult to clear the cap space to do it.
 

DJ

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I think they have to somehow find a way to get a max type FA in the next couple years. I don't know how, But I see Wall and Beal as really nice support players, but neither are really the guy. I hope I am wrong again, but that is what I see.

A couple more years of not winning, and maybe KD can be lured back home? That is the type of move we would need to make IMO, and think it would be really difficult to clear the cap space to do it.

IMO.....Wall really developed this past season into a full fledged superstar and is a stud.
 

tlance

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IMO.....Wall really developed this past season into a full fledged superstar and is a stud.

He is a star, not a superstar. The superstar label gets thrown out way too easily these days.

Superstars can carry their teams in the playoffs. There are like 3 or 4 in the NBA today. IMO, they are LeBron, Durant and CP3. You can make a strong case for Steph Curry also, but I don't think he is on the same level. Duncan used to be a superstar, but now he is just a star on a great team. I will reserve judgement on Kobe until we see how healthy he is next year. Aside from those guys, there are some very talented players, but superstars are the best of the best.

I like Wall, but he is not close to that level. He has the athletic upside to get there someday, but he needs a lot of work on his skills and his decision making. The Wizards needed Wall to create plays down the stretch against the Pacers and he was unable to do it. He is still a good way away from superstar status.
 
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SoCalWizFan

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I think they have to somehow find a way to get a max type FA in the next couple years. I don't know how, But I see Wall and Beal as really nice support players, but neither are really the guy. I hope I am wrong again, but that is what I see.

A couple more years of not winning, and maybe KD can be lured back home? That is the type of move we would need to make IMO, and think it would be really difficult to clear the cap space to do it.

As you have seen in other cases - if there is a good match where both the team & player agree they will somehow find a way to make it work (if this appears to be the case for Durant & the Wizards they have 2 years to start planning). The Wizards appear to be showing some financial restraint at this time to plan for the future.

Unlike in the past - I like how they have built the team to date. You cannot simply have a team of all young guys & the Wiz have used the right mix of vets who not only contribute but are also solid mentors for the younger guys. They appear to be in good shape to be solid in another few years - if they cannot get Durant then perhaps another very solid FA. By that timr Beal & perhaps some others should be very, very good.
 

SoCalWizFan

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BTW - how can you view Beal as simply a nice supporting player? This guy shows signs of being a all-star & a major force in the NBA. Will he achieve that status? Who knows, but there is a very strong possibility.
 

SoCalWizFan

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He is a star, not a superstar. The superstar label gets thrown out way too easily these days.

Superstars can carry their teams in the playoffs. There are like 3 or 4 in the NBA today. IMO, they are LeBron, Durant and CP3.

Excuse me but how exactly has CP3 carried his team in the playoffs? The Clippers have been a major disappointment in this area while Paul has been with the team. Over the past few years several folks have picked the Clippers to win it all or at least reach the Finals yet they fall way short.

Granted the Clippers are in the tougher conference, but Paul & the rest of the team have been far from impressive during the postseason. You could make a case that Wall & the Wizards actually performed better this postseason.
 

skinz2winz

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And we sign Pierce for 2 years. Must be my magic ball...
 

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skinz2winz

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You make some good points TLance. The problem with this core is WALL has to absolutely get better shooting the ball and limit turnovers. He seems to place himself on cruise control sometimes and disappear in games. He needs to be that constant in the lane threat with his quickness and up tempo style. When he is on, he makes those around him better but his shooting is so inconsistent. Beal seems to be coming along quite nicely and I believe the playoff experience will certainly carry over into next season.

To answer your question about the next step, I would say this. If Ted & Co are serious about contending for a title, you have to find a way to fit a great 6th man into your cap. The likes of a Paul Pierce who can add a punch to the 2nd unit. A proven guy who can score and will buy into assuming that role, even if it's on a 1 year deal. That send the message to the team and fans, "hey, were all in on this thing". When is the last time we won 50-55 games? I don't care what conference it is in, I'll take it.

While your correct about rebuilding shortcuts, I think the current core is right in line with building a Championship caliber team not going the shortcut route. We need Wall to blossom into that player you mention and yes, we need that veteran who can provide leadership, scoring and the "I have been there" attitude coming off the bench in that role.

Well TLance, the Wiz picked up Pierce, albeit, not as the 6th man I projected but to replace Ariza. He has shown veteran leadership and will act as a good mentor to Wall & Beal. Having said that, Wall is playing like the Super Star you envisioned he could not and is currently proving you wrong once again. This team is thriving even without Beal right now. We picked up some nice pieces in Humphries and Blair all though I don't understand why Blair doesn't get more minutes. None the less, this will in turn help Nene save his body for the 82 game season playing less minutes with manageable bench replacements like Humphries, Blair, Gooden & Seraphin. When is the last time we could say that. We are still thin in the backcourt with Temple, Rice Jr and Miller but they are holding up nicely as well. Porter is getting more run and more comfortable with each minute played. I believe they are headed in the right direction at the current moment.

Is there a trade to be made or one we didn't that you think would put this team in the NBA Eastern Conference Finals? Kobe perhaps but he is on his last legs imo. Would you trade Beal & Porter plus next years 1st for Kobe? I know there has been talk about moving Kobe but if I'm running the Wiz franchise, I say stay put with our young core and continue to build on that.

Go Wiz!
 

Krusheasy

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Gortat discusses his early impressions of head coach Scott Brooks, the much-discussed John Wall-Bradley Beal relationship, why the Wiz struggled on defense and in rebounding last season and much more. (Date Added: 10/27/16)

ESPN 980 Audio Vault - Play Now
 

Krusheasy

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