Early rumors suggest that the Washington Wizards are going to sign nine-time all-star Dirk Nowitzki. If that happens then there will be pressure on the Wizards to resign Josh Howard to shore up the 3.
Although the Wizards have been burned recently by giving contracts to quasi-stars after serious knee injuries (three years into his big deal Gilbert Arenas has still not justified a $1.1 million contract, let alone his $110 million contract) but, Howard plays good defense, and led a D-league quality team to a 3-0 record before he went down with his season-ending torn ACL.
Assuming the Wizards draft Wall with their first pick that means their starting five would be Wall, Arenas, Howard, Nowitzki, and Blatche. Coming off the bench they'd have McGee and Thorton for size, and Miller, Foye and Livingston backing-up the three through one. Basically, most of last season's starting five becomes an impressive second team.
Considering the Celtics are only getting older and the uncertainty in Atlanta and Cleveland, this acquisition could easily make the Wizards a contender in the East. If they sign Nowitzki and resign Howard, and everyone stays healthy DBSF has them as a two or three seed in the East next year. Of course, this would also mean that the Wizards are rebuilding with veterans (besides Wall), which--in the case of Arenas, Butler, and Jamison--has proved unsuccessful in the past.
1) What would make Dirk want to come to the Wiz? Def would be awesome if he did, but I'm semi-out of the NBA loop right now so I might be missing something. It would probably take a max contract to get him, Is he worth 100 plus mil?
ReplyDelete2) I know "resigning" Josh Howard might mean to pick up with 14 million dollar team option next year....Would be still be able to do that and keep everyone else (W/Dirk)? I know we could buy him out, but that would count against the cap in addition to whatever we re-sign him for.
3) I'm pretty sure Miller is a pending free agent, and I thought Foye was too. Would Miller really want to stay in DC after the debacle that took place this season? Foye plays well in stretches, but he will probably command a bigger contract than he deserves.
4) As impressed as I was with Dre Blatche at the end of last year, I'm still not sold on him...certainly not as a starting center in the NBA. The bottom line is in the NBA, even the worst teams are going to score 90-100 points most games, and someone has to score those points. Dre Blatche had no problem suddenly taking 25 shots a game, and to be honest once Howard went down he was our best athlete and scorer. I love his skill set, but he's still a knucklehead and has yet to prove he can fit into a good team in a rotation.
5) If we can get rid of Arenas, most of this becomes irrelevent
1) It probably would require a max contract. Dirk probably has 4-5 good years left in him. Hopefully the Wiz can time a trade to get rid of him right when LeBron demands him in Chicago to win a championship.
ReplyDelete2) I blieve with Miller coming off the books they should. After the knee injury though the Wiz shouldn't offer above $9 million a year for Howard.
3) That's right. Miller falls off. Foye might have one more year on his contract.
4) Blatche has always been a project. Last season he showed what he can be when he keeps it all together. There are many players in the NBA who didn't reach their potential until they personally matured. If that happens with Blatche he could turn out to be a star and a steal of a pick (who was at once projected to go as high as mid-first round) for the Wiz.
5) If Wiz get rid of Arenas this becomes all the more relevant. Then they have the room to make a move for Carmelo in 2011. If that's the case a Wall-Nowiztki-Melo triumvirate will make the Wizards immediate contenders for not just the East but NBA champions (for a few seasons until age catches up with Nowitzki).
All this is hypothetical and based on uncertainty. But, there is reason to believe that Nowitzki would come to DC and Melo is a Baltimore native and might want to be closer to home.
Max contract for Dirk is a straight up Wes Unseld move and who would want to be closer to Baltimore? This blog is gay.
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