# Sam Smith on Jordan and Free Agents



## BCH (Jun 25, 2002)

http://msn.espn.go.com/nba/columns/misc/1425523.html

Ok lets critique Sam Smith and what he wrote.

Popeye Jones is looking around the league because the Wizards have no room to add another PF at this point. They have Kwame Brown, last years number 1 ready to get a shot, as well as Etan Thomas needing playing time. Jared Jeffires can also play some 4. Laettner happens to also play the 4 and he has a contract to be here quite a few more years. Would it be nice to have Popeye? Absolutely, but Smith makes it seem Popeye doesn't want to come back and that is hardly the truth. We do not have the roster space to carry 4 PFs.

He goes on to mention how Steve Francis signing with Houston was a bad thing for the Wizards because he was the Wizards guy. He claims that because Francis is a Maryland native he would want to come home and play for the Wizards and that his signing is some sort of shunning of the Washington franchise. What exactly is Smith smoking here? Francis has said from day one he had every intention of resigning with the Rockets. He has never spoken of returning home and he has never said he would ever consider leaving Houston. The Wizards certainly have not indicated they are pursuing him, and at this point do not even have the ability to sign a max free agent next year without making some deals.

Byron Russel fills a need for the Wizards, is cheap and can be had wil a probable sign and trade. Hard to imagine were there is something wrong with this. What is there to criticize? 

Smith's article is written as an outsider that thinks he has some sort of tie with Jordan. That is no longer the case. MJ is out of the Chicago scene, and Smith does a poor job of trying to understand what is going on in DC. He clearly puts his foot in his mouth and has nothing really to say.


----------



## BullsNews (Jun 7, 2002)

The way I took the article, Sam was alluding to people saying how free agents would jump at the chance to play for M Jeff, and that players like Larry Hughes and Byron Russell weren't exactly what they had in mind.

MJ moved Howard, Strickland, and Richmond while getting very little in return- Laettner, Thomas, Davis and Dixon and cap space.

With more and more of the big free agents of 2003 re-signing with their current teams, the chances of a big-time free agent signing with the Wiz are going down more and more. And with MJ's alleged biggest asset as a GM- his ability to attract big free agents- slipping away, I'd expect more and more journalists to pile on and say/write much worse things than Smith wrote.


----------



## BCH (Jun 25, 2002)

If you think MJ came to the Wizards thinking he would attract the big names, you were as wrong as Smith.

While an option, it certainly is not a make or break issue. As I said, the Wizards have not been paralyzed by the need to have max cap room for next offseason, and in fact, do not have the ability to sign a max FA at this point anyway.


----------



## GB (Jun 11, 2002)

> Originally posted by <b>BCH</b>!
> If you think MJ came to the Wizards thinking he would attract the big names, you were as wrong as Smith.


I have yet to see conclusive proof that Smith was wrong...we don't know what was in MJ's head...rather, instead, I think BNC hit the nail on the head...


----------



## BCH (Jun 25, 2002)

Just like Sam Smith is right about the Bulls abysmal failure this offseason right?


----------



## chifaninca (May 28, 2002)

IF any of you have read BCH's comments prior to this ....you'd know......BCH knows his stuff. He's not always right, but he's always informed and has an opinion.

On this topic, I think he's got some points. I would add that I do believe many around the league (Press, Management, and Players) did believe that his presence would make more of a difference than it has.

Did MJ? Well, he is very competitive, but my guess is he didn't sweat it. He's MJ.

Also, it's offseason and Sam smith has to stay sharp too.........LOL


----------



## local_sportsfan (Jul 24, 2002)

Smith's article is pure doo. He acts as if the Wiz were spurned by FA when in fact the Wiz never had money to play with. And like BCH pointed out, Pop just doesn't fit into our plans. just truly silly stuff here....

I disagree with whoever said we got nothing in return for strickland, howard, etc....IMO we got alot in return in Thomas and later, Dixon. No they are not great players right now, but they are young, blue-collar players that fit very well into the Wizards' future plans.


----------



## Da Grinch (Aug 17, 2002)

maybe its just me but giving away richmond, strickland & howard for what amounts to dixon (by most scouts opinion a reach at the draft position the wizards took him at ) E. Thomas & laetner isn't getting equal value especially when howard netted the tandem of lafrentz and van exel a year later 

strickland and howard both started for their respective teams last year and while richmond has very little left in the tank those 3 combined were far more productive than what the wizards replaced them with 

that in addition to MJ's lack of recruiting powers (deny it if you will but it all but assumed he would have snagged some1 valuable by this point on the free agent market and no bryon russell tyronne lue and larry hughes dont count as none of them are at all coveted least of all by the teams they were playing for be4 the wizards signed them )

a gm's main job on a rebuilding team is to aquire talent so that the team may be competitive again and MJ's lack of ability to do that should at some point start to worry people

and while a lot of wizard fans love to complain about the job of other GMs I think they should give that a little thought


----------



## BCH (Jun 25, 2002)

happygrinch,

You make those comments because you have no idea what haviong those 3 players entailed for the Wizards. Richmond and Strickland were bought out. Hey would have been under contract for last season along with Howard. Strickland had given up and was a cancer. Richmond was washed up as evidenced by his run with the Lakers, and he would have sat the bench behind Hamilton a much better player at this point. Howard was a contract hole and he netted 2 young guys in Thomas and Alexander and a mentor in Laettner, who has been an All Star, and a role player in Davis. Would the Wizards have even wanted Lafrenz and Van Exel? Are you making a joke. That seems to be a favorite. The Wizards would not have paid Lafrenz the contract hejust got at this stage, and Van Exel is not an option with his cancerous history.

You also bring up the lack of talent in Dixon. That is fine, you can try and judge someone before you have seen them play in the NBA, but if you are going to judge Dixon by his accomplishments so far, you might want to reconsider what he may be able to do. Ask Jay Williams who won ACC Player of the year.

There are plenty of posts made about what MJ has done. Like another GM in this league he could have cleared space, created the crappiest team in the league and waited for the talent to come to him. He did not do that, and he will not be burned on it like that other GM if it doesn't happen. That is not a bash at the other GM but no one can deny he got scorned and left with his pants down. Jordan cleared out the malcontents, brought in young guys and a mix of a few veterans that can contribute and made a run at the playoffs last season. Last years team was almost a complete makeover from the season before. What he has done is transform this franchise in the span of 2 seasons, bringing in new faces, trying to stay competitive, and maintaining as much flexibility as possible.


----------



## BullsNews (Jun 7, 2002)

> Originally posted by <b>BCH</b>!
> If you think MJ came to the Wizards thinking he would attract the big names, you were as wrong as Smith.
> 
> While an option, it certainly is not a make or break issue. As I said, the Wizards have not been paralyzed by the need to have max cap room for next offseason, and in fact, do not have the ability to sign a max FA at this point anyway.


Did I say that I thought MJ would attract big name free agents? NO. On the contrary, I've maintained all along that free agents wouldn't want to come play for the Wiz just because MJ is the GM.

What I wrote was that a lot of people said that free agents would jump at the chance to play for MJ, and that's true- a lot of people did think just that. Especially a lot of people in the media wrote that, and now that no above-average free agents have come to Washington, you can expect those same media people to criticize MJ just like Smith did.

While I always welcome your responses to my posts, BCH, at least respond to what I actually wrote.


----------



## BullsNews (Jun 7, 2002)

> Originally posted by <b>BCH</b>!
> Just like Sam Smith is right about the Bulls abysmal failure this offseason right?


This is the Wiz board, I thought we were here to discuss the Wiz- what exactly does the Bulls off-season have to do with MJ's ability to attract free agents?


----------



## local_sportsfan (Jul 24, 2002)

Bullnews you are arguing just for the sake of arguing. The Wizards never had caproom to sign free agents, so the argument is useless.

MJ could have offered a night with the Wiz cheerleaders to any top tier free agent and it still wouldn't matter....there was no money. of course if you want a real example of free agents spurning a team, look no further than your beloved bulls.


----------



## BullsNews (Jun 7, 2002)

Jeez...

OK now, 

I never said the Wiz had cap room to sign free agents.

I never said that MJ was planning to sign a big free agent as a main part of his rebuilding plan.

I never said that free agents would flock to sign with MJeff.

I said that *many other people* thoght that the Wiz were clearing cap room for 2003, and I said that *many other people* thought that free agents would flock to play for MJeff for less money.

Here are a few examples-


by John Mitchell of the Washington Times:

"their long-term goal is to clear up precious salary cap space for free agents, and the Wizards are hoping to be a major player after the upcoming season."

http://www.washtimes.com/sports/20020625-97550564.htm


by Mark Rich, basketballnews.com

"you would think free agents would jump at the chance to play for him."

http://archive.basketballnews.com/content/archives/nba_2000/daily_101800.asp


by Steve Wyche of the Washington Post

"The Wizards also want to save salary-cap space for next summer's free agents"

http://www.washingtonpost.com/ac2/wp-dyn?pagename=article&node=&contentId=A15651-2002Jul16


Now go back and slowly read my first post in this thread... I said that many people, journalists included, share Smith's opinion. And I said that many of them may very well write similar articles in the future.

I never said *anything* about *my* opinion on the subject of MJeff and free agents.

 BullsNews, I edited a couple of veiled references to not being able to understand English. You disagreement is noted, but your comments related to a specific user and not Sam Smith or the Wizards.


----------



## BullsNews (Jun 7, 2002)

> Originally posted by <b>local_sportsfan</b>!
> Bullnews you are arguing just for the sake of arguing. The Wizards never had caproom to sign free agents, so the argument is useless.
> 
> MJ could have offered a night with the Wiz cheerleaders to any top tier free agent and it still wouldn't matter....there was no money. of course if you want a real example of free agents spurning a team, look no further than your beloved bulls.


There was no money? Funny, I seem to remember Keon Clark signing for the mid-level exception, did the Wiz not have one this summer? 

Oh never mind, they *did*, I forgot.

I think that was Smith's point, and the point of several other journalists- that *in their opinion*, free agents like Clark would flock to the Wiz for the opportunity to play for MJeff, cap space or no.

But surprise, surprise, they would rather play for a *winning team*- something us Bulls fans have definitely learned the hard way over the last 3 years.


----------



## BCH (Jun 25, 2002)

> Originally posted by <b>BullsNews</b>!
> 
> 
> This is the Wiz board, I thought we were here to discuss the Wiz- what exactly does the Bulls off-season have to do with MJ's ability to attract free agents?


And my comment was directed at Sam Smith and the Bulls. What is your point? Sam Smith is being discussed here. His biasness and how he compares GMs since that is what he is doing is fair game.


----------



## BCH (Jun 25, 2002)

> Originally posted by <b>BullsNews</b>!
> 
> 
> There was no money? Funny, I seem to remember Keon Clark signing for the mid-level exception, did the Wiz not have one this summer?
> ...


BullsNews, the Wizards got Larry Hughes and he was wanted by several teams for the same amount of cash. The Wizards also will have cash next year, just not the max for a max FA.


----------



## BullsNews (Jun 7, 2002)

> Originally posted by <b>BullsNews</b>!
> Jeez...
> 
> OK now,
> ...


You're right, BCH- the "comprende englese" comment was over the line, and I apologize for making it.


----------



## BCH (Jun 25, 2002)

> Originally posted by <b>local_sportsfan</b>!
> Bullnews you are arguing just for the sake of arguing. The Wizards never had caproom to sign free agents, so the argument is useless.
> 
> MJ could have offered a night with the Wiz cheerleaders to any top tier free agent and it still wouldn't matter....there was no money. of course if you want a real example of free agents spurning a team, look no further than your beloved bulls.


Let him be contrary, it at least gives us something to talk about, and is a healthy part of discourse. He is making points that need to be explained to people not ntaive to DC.


----------



## BullsNews (Jun 7, 2002)

> Originally posted by <b>BCH</b>!
> 
> 
> BullsNews, the Wizards got Larry Hughes and he was wanted by several teams for the same amount of cash. The Wizards also will have cash next year, just not the max for a max FA.


You're right about that, but I certainly don't think that Hughes is in the same class as Clark (aka "smoke-it-if-you've-got-it).

In fact, IMO Clark was the #1 free agent in this year's class to actually switch teams. After that, I'd rank them: #2- Marshall, #3- Hughes...

Although I'm sure you'd disagree about that one... :grinning:


----------



## jazzy1 (Jul 16, 2002)

BCH is correct as well as localsportsfan, The Wiz had no cap room to chase a big deal free agent and think about it what big deal free agents have switched teams anyway, Vince Carter resigned as did Pierce, Baron Davis and Steve Francis,is ridiculous to call Jordan out as if he didn't somehow land the big free agent when all of them resigned with their teams before the free agency period, and about Keon Clark how could the Wizards have used him they couldn't,the Wizards have pf's galore they don't need a skinny one , and Rashard Lewis is the number 1 free agent this year in my opinion, Sam Smith somehow thinks just mentioning the letters MJ should poof make everyone flock to the Wizards regardless of contract situation or whatever MJ has done a great job with the Wizards he's made them more talented ,athletic, and younger all they need is time to develope, Jerry West considered the best GM in the league will take time to build them into a winner, there's no magical solution, so for Sam Smith to suggest that somehow Jordan has failed us is riduclous seeming as this is an ongoing process, just a few years ago the Wiz were old unathletic and had underachievers now thats the opposite.


----------



## Da Grinch (Aug 17, 2002)

> Originally posted by <b>BCH</b>!
> happygrinch,
> 
> You make those comments because you have no idea what haviong those 3 players entailed for the Wizards. Richmond and Strickland were bought out. Hey would have been under contract for last season along with Howard. Strickland had given up and was a cancer. Richmond was washed up as evidenced by his run with the Lakers, and he would have sat the bench behind Hamilton a much better player at this point. Howard was a contract hole and he netted 2 young guys in Thomas and Alexander and a mentor in Laettner, who has been an All Star, and a role player in Davis. Would the Wizards have even wanted Lafrenz and Van Exel? Are you making a joke. That seems to be a favorite. The Wizards would not have paid Lafrenz the contract hejust got at this stage, and Van Exel is not an option with his cancerous history.
> ...


i'll give you that richmond had no value and could have garnered nothing 

but strickland played very well last year (we'll never know what he could have garnered for a team in need at the all-star break last year when he would have been at his most vauable because MJ bought himout)

and howard for the mavs got a lot more than MJ's supposed GM abilities got for the wizards 

you talk of not wanting locker room cancers( i assume you were joking when you called laettner a mentor because) ...but isn't laetner a league wide known locker room cancer and one on a 5 year slide to boot and the fact that he is the best the wizards got for howard says enough about MJ's acumenin aquiring talent 

in addition to laettner he got burdened with hubert davis a player who gets no time on a decent team and shouldn't get anytime in wash. this year unless of course the draft selections of wash. (this means dixon) are busts


etan thomas a 24 year old bench player who amazingly gets less time than kwame brown which shows how well he is progressing 

and courtney alexander a player so great they gave him away for the chance to grab dixon a player i didn't say was garbage in fact he may have a long mediocre career much like hubert davis who by the way is aging 

the mavs a year later got lafrentz and van exel and while you say the wizards wouldn't want them i look at the wizards roster and i'm having a hard time seeing anyone who can outplay them at the spot those 2 players play

any gm can rid himself of players and get nothing back and if the player is worth nothing than nothing is what you should get 

but if that player can get quality players (as howard did in the mav's case) then to get a malcontent and some throw-ins is doing a bad job its that simple

and to deny that part of MJ's allure to the wizards was to get a quality free agent or 2 only makes you look naive 

and since you brought up the acc award for juan dixon i'm sure he's proud of it and he should be but um... danny ferry won it too and i think randolph childress did too so i'm pretty sure it means nothing as far as nba success goes but hey at least it means something to you which is why you mentioned it

you had the cojones to say he did this for cap flexibility ...flexible for what? not free agents because he's done a crap job at that

not trades becuase the only trade he's done this off season was alexander for the 18th pick and you dont need cap flexibility to lower salary liability(changing a 13th pic into an 18th) 


basically the wizards copped out with buy outs and a thow away deal when if they had a better man pulling the strings they didn't have to. you know it , I know as do most people which is why this thread was started because sam smith put in print for all to see


----------



## jazzy1 (Jul 16, 2002)

Happygrinch are you kidding did you actually watch the games when Howard, Richmond , and Strickland were on the team , First off we agree Mitch was washed up, Secondly, Strickland was refusing to play upset at the coaches and management pre- Jordan and when Jordan got here was injured and sick most of the time and when he did play he was pitiful, no defense no jumpshot, lockerroom cancer and arrested constatly, now Howard man please 105 million dollars for a player that was giving us his last couple of years 12 and 8 are you kidding everyone and I mean EVERYONE was saying his contract was untradeable, guess what,MJ traded him,Dallas thought so much of him they traded him , now about Laetner I agree with you he is a cancer and a serious problem for OUR TEAM, but Thomas isn't some bench player,did ou see him a the end of last season he's a really good young athletic player, Alexander he's so good as you say that he only got us a FIRST ROUND PICK which turned out to be DIXON , how can you draw a conclusion on DIXON when he hasn't played a pro game yet unless you have a crystal ball, now real quick back to Strickland If it wasn't for MJ and his relationship with David Faulk he wouldn't have never saved the Wiz about 5 million dollars on strickland thats a big deal to get a player to leave guranteed money on the table but Mj did it and by the way strickland was so well thought of around the league that no one picked him up until the Heat snagged him some games into the season, the Heat are so impressed the haven't signed him yet , back to MJ moves he got Vancouver to take IKE AUSTIN dumped another guranteed contract, and he pulled the trigger on a deal that brought us this years starting CENTER and last years ROOKIE OF THE MONTH Brendan Haywood for Laron Profit and a future Lottery protected first round pick Do you think the MAGIC could use Haywoood now or did they get suckered out of Haywood by MJ, I think they're pretty happy keeping Steven Hunter, Yeah Right he has a torn ACL and was lost last year on the court, Now lets talk about Davis , Did you not Davis lead us along with MJ, RIP and Haywood from the brink of collapse last year running the point and coming in hitting big shots and starting games, anyway I waiting on Grizzard to blow up so we can get another MJ steal but thats the future not crystal ball watching don't try to revise History and take the Chicago slant point of view unless you've actually saw what was going on, MJ's done a great job and SaM Smith's jealousy is obvious, he wishes MJ was still there in Chicago and so do you, BULLS FAN PEACE

all that FREE AGENT nonsense that Smith is talking is just that nonsense, most free agents have resigned with their teams, the Wiz don't have cap space until after this season, was Carter,Pierce,Francis,Davis,Marion supposed to wait on the Wiz for a couple years not knowing if they were exactly going to have enough cap space that's a ridiculous ascertion, Donyell Marshall,and Keon Clarke sure could've put the Wiz in prime position to be Champs when neither player really fits a need, Larry Hughes gives us a starter at the point which we need,he's not great but has better upside than either Marshall or Smokey.


----------



## BCH (Jun 25, 2002)

I would hardly rank Marshall ahead of Hughes though I would definitely place clark in that category if the Wizards needed a F/C. Hughes was a better pick than Marshall to me. No slam against Marshall but we have Jeffries and I think in the end their games will be similar with Jeffries having more versatility. Clark and Marshall were hardly going to be considered. Hughes was a player the Wizards targetted as early as last year and they got him. This is part of what the Wizards wanted to do, and their focus on Hughes brought him here. In fact with Hughes signing so quickly, and Rip asking for an extension, Russel trying to sign here, and Lynch asking to get traded here, you have to ask yourself what in the hell Smith is saying.


----------



## Da Grinch (Aug 17, 2002)

> Originally posted by <b>jazzy1</b>!
> Happygrinch are you kidding did you actually watch the games when Howard, Richmond , and Strickland were on the team , First off we agree Mitch was washed up, Secondly, Strickland was refusing to play upset at the coaches and management pre- Jordan and when Jordan got here was injured and sick most of the time and when he did play he was pitiful, no defense no jumpshot, lockerroom cancer and arrested constatly, now Howard man please 105 million dollars for a player that was giving us his last couple of years 12 and 8 are you kidding everyone and I mean EVERYONE was saying his contract was untradeable, guess what,MJ traded him,Dallas thought so much of him they traded him , now about Laetner I agree with you he is a cancer and a serious problem for OUR TEAM, but Thomas isn't some bench player,did ou see him a the end of last season he's a really good young athletic player, Alexander he's so good as you say that he only got us a FIRST ROUND PICK which turned out to be DIXON , how can you draw a conclusion on DIXON when he hasn't played a pro game yet unless you have a crystal ball, now real quick back to Strickland If it wasn't for MJ and his relationship with David Faulk he wouldn't have never saved the Wiz about 5 million dollars on strickland thats a big deal to get a player to leave guranteed money on the table but Mj did it and by the way strickland was so well thought of around the league that no one picked him up until the Heat snagged him some games into the season, the Heat are so impressed the haven't signed him yet , back to MJ moves he got Vancouver to take IKE AUSTIN dumped another guranteed contract, and he pulled the trigger on a deal that brought us this years starting CENTER and last years ROOKIE OF THE MONTH Brendan Haywood for Laron Profit and a future Lottery protected first round pick Do you think the MAGIC could use Haywoood now or did they get suckered out of Haywood by MJ, I think they're pretty happy keeping Steven Hunter, Yeah Right he has a torn ACL and was lost last year on the court, Now lets talk about Davis , Did you not Davis lead us along with MJ, RIP and Haywood from the brink of collapse last year running the point and coming in hitting big shots and starting games, anyway I waiting on Grizzard to blow up so we can get another MJ steal but thats the future not crystal ball watching don't try to revise History and take the Chicago slant point of view unless you've actually saw what was going on, MJ's done a great job and SaM Smith's jealousy is obvious, he wishes MJ was still there in Chicago and so do you, BULLS FAN PEACE
> 
> all that FREE AGENT nonsense that Smith is talking is just that nonsense, most free agents have resigned with their teams, the Wiz don't have cap space until after this season, was Carter,Pierce,Francis,Davis,Marion supposed to wait on the Wiz for a couple years not knowing if they were exactly going to have enough cap space that's a ridiculous ascertion, Donyell Marshall,and Keon Clarke sure could've put the Wiz in prime position to be Champs when neither player really fits a need, Larry Hughes gives us a starter at the point which we need,he's not great but has better upside than either Marshall or Smokey.


1t of all if you are going to talk directly to me and expect me to take you seriously try not to lie or embellish to make your argument not the farce that it is 

a. howard wasn't a 12-and 8 player his last 2 years (in fact at the time the wizards traded him he was avg. 18.2 ) the contract you say was so untradeable the mavs did pretty easily when they felt the need without all the fanfare the wizards seem to make it out to be

b. strickland was arrested 2 times during the jordanic era in wash. try letting it get above a couple before you make it sound like he visited the local prison like he visited the local coffee house


if thomas is really so good why does he get less time than every1 else in the wash. frontcourt ?
(kwame brown included)

was jahidi white that good ? did laetner have naked pics of MJ's mom or are you just overrating him (go with the latter, trust me )

did Mj really sucker the magic ? are you serious? the magic made a big error no doubt but they drafted 2 centers and they kept the one they thought was better(remember hunter was and is raw and was drafted for his upside unlike heywood who was touted as a finished product) they drafted a center this year too and didn't keep him did the jazz play them too or is it just bad GMing by the magic as they made the same mistake 2 years in a row?

as far as hughes as a free agent aquisition, c'mon he was beat out at point by gilbert arenas in g.s. and you think he's going to be the answer to your prayers at point do you honestly believe he is worth the exception see as he wasn't worth less than that to G.S. when they could have easily picked up his contract for another year at over a mil. less than what the wizards will pay him this year

i dont want mj back to me his days as a productive player are nearing an end and he is a hit and miss GM working without a plan and the team sans jordan in sneakers isn't at all better than the team he inherited 

if he were soo good as a gm and he was "trying to win " as he said he was dont you think he would have improved their play on the court when he himself was not playing 

2 seasons before MJ 50-62 44.6 winning pct

2 seasons after him becoming wizards management 56-108 34.1% winning pct.(and this is with him on the court for a year)

#s dont lie


----------



## BCH (Jun 25, 2002)

#s lie when you can't put them into context. What happened over that 2 year period when Jordan took over? Did he keep the same team or remove the 3 highest paid players?

happygrinch, as much turmoil as you feel the Wizards have been in the past couple of years under Jordan, they were still not the worst team in the league. That "honor" belongs to another.


----------



## Da Grinch (Aug 17, 2002)

in our opinion #s lie when you take them out of context 

and I assume you are saying I am doing that 

but all I'm really doing is holding MJ to his word 

http://www.nba.com/wizards/history/9900_recap.html

MJ clearly states he expected to go into the playoffs 2 seasons ago 

he didn't in fact they lost 10 more games than the previous year

he was going for immediate wins and his team got worse 

you can mad all you want but those my dear are the bottom line facts


So since you are trying to insinuate I'm lying either get your fact straight or learn the definition the word because your a little off on this one

the #s tell the story quite accurately


----------



## jazzy1 (Jul 16, 2002)

The contract I'm talking about was untradeable was not called untradeable by me it was said to be untradeable by the media locally as well as nationally, MJ did it with a few years still left on the deal not with a year and a half left when Dallas moved it .its alot easier to move that contract then , Howard was way overpaid and he's wasn't and isn't a good player worth a 105 million dollar contract, 

Strickland was arrested 3 times get your facts straight, twice for drunk Driving and once for being drunk at a club and refusing to leave the premises, I consider that a problem I don't know where you're from but the guy has a problem and if 3 arrests don't prove that then you must have lower standards when it comes to arrests and incidents, you still didn't deal with the injuries and problems he had with coaches and management, also what about how well he's thought of around the league, you didn't touch that I didn't think so , don't enbellish please you're the one embellishing I live here and am a fan. 

Etan Thomas man like I said didn't you watch the games last year at the end he was getting as much playing time as Kwame but then again why wouldn't you want to make the investment of playing time to the NUMBER 1 PICK you make no sense here, 


What are you talking about Jahidi White for anyway, I never mentioned him and I said Laetner was pathetic, Jahidi White is nothing special never claimed he was, 

The point you make about Haywood is ridiculous you give me credit by trying to discredit the Magic for being stupid man be consistnet either MJ suckered them or he didn't, Haywood was drafted by the Cavs they traded for him and traded him before he played a game he couldn't dunk as hard as Hunter so they took Hunter Jordan talked to Dean Smith who told MJ that Haywood was a steal if they could get him and that Haywood knew how to play , Hunters a bum and Haywood was rookie of the month, Haywood was the best rookie center in the league last year, I don't know about Borchardt who's hurt with the foot thing so before you call the Magic stupid for that maybe they knew he wasn't right and peddaled him off to the JAZZ for a player Humphries who can play and help them this year so that makes them smart and the Jazz stupid, WHICH DISCOUNTS YOUR THE MAGIC ARE STUPID ARGUMENT. 


And My Last point to rap this all up I shut down all your slants on the truth and you still didn't deal with half of my arguments, I dealt with all of yours we really don't disagree on hughes quick recap,

Dumped Strickland saved the Wiz 5 million 
Dumped Mitch saved the Wiz 10 mil, 
Dumped Ike Austins guaranteed contract. 
Stole Brendan Haywood
Dumped slumping Alexander for a first round pick Dixon Alexander wouldnt be the 13th pickmif that draft was held today,
Made team younger more athletic, cap friendly, bigger, and created a bigger national profile, MJ's a success sorry BULLS FAN goto your forum. stop slantying the truth, the END.


----------



## shroombal (Jul 17, 2002)

I'm just wondering... our cap numbers add up to like 32 million on sum where is dat general area. But we are over the cap. I would like to kno who we owe money to????

And why can't we sign a guy to the max and then sign Rip to max since we have his bird years. I would doubt that would put us over the luxury tax threshhold, but I haven't calculated the numbers, so I;m not sure...


----------



## Da Grinch (Aug 17, 2002)

> Originally posted by <b>jazzy1</b>!
> The contract I'm talking about was untradeable was not called untradeable by me it was said to be untradeable by the media locally as well as nationally, MJ did it with a few years still left on the deal not with a year and a half left when Dallas moved it .its alot easier to move that contract then , Howard was way overpaid and he's wasn't and isn't a good player worth a 105 million dollar contract,
> 
> Strickland was arrested 3 times get your facts straight, twice for drunk Driving and once for being drunk at a club and refusing to leave the premises, I consider that a problem I don't know where you're from but the guy has a problem and if 3 arrests don't prove that then you must have lower standards when it comes to arrests and incidents, you still didn't deal with the injuries and problems he had with coaches and management, also what about how well he's thought of around the league, you didn't touch that I didn't think so , don't enbellish please you're the one embellishing I live here and am a fan.
> ...


Edit by BCH: happygrinch - Please be kind enough not to bait, or insinuate as to the mental state of a fellow poster.

1st of all you said it was howard's contract untradeable ...you said nothing in your post about the media you are just convienantly adding it in 

i'll give you some parts of the media did agree but it wasn't the wizards traded with 2 and a half years left not the 3 you said in your post (its strange how you were able to get the # right in the mav's case to try make your argument hold a little more water (this is what i mean by embellishing)

and i said strickland was arrested 2 times during the time jordan was in wash. 

Edit by BCH: Blatant attacks removed. You had no reason to bring it to this level. Please do not do it again. If you want to get into specifics of what you did wrong, feel free to PM me.


----------



## jazzy1 (Jul 16, 2002)

After doing a little research Grinch Strick was arrested 4 times while he was here and thats what I said all along not just about when Jordan was here but anyway, Look Grinch I respect what you say its a valid criticism all I say is people have unreal expectations when it comes to Jordan, Sam Smith I believe falls victim to that he believes as others do that somehow magically the Wiz are supposed to have already been NBA champions bringing all the leagues top talent to town irregardless of contract situation or salary cap,running a team just doesn't work like that, he's done a much better job I think than previous management here and he's made the team younger and more athletic thats just a fact you can agree or not but its true,before him we had aging and underachieving ball players now we have younger ,more athletic ones. Jordan hasn't been perfect but he's still been pretty good, I have nothing negative to say about you personally and I apologize if I've offended you in any way, I like to discuss basketball topics with basketball knowledgable people like yourself civilly and hope to do so in further discussions, these are just opinions no one can be right or wrong even Sam Smith, peace.


----------



## WizardsKev (Jun 4, 2002)

> Originally posted by <b>shroombal</b>!
> I'm just wondering... our cap numbers add up to like 32 million on sum where is dat general area. But we are over the cap. I would like to kno who we owe money to????
> 
> And why can't we sign a guy to the max and then sign Rip to max since we have his bird years. I would doubt that would put us over the luxury tax threshhold, but I haven't calculated the numbers, so I;m not sure...


After signing Russell, the Wizards have $37.04 million committed to active players. This season, they owe Loy Vaught $5,512,025 and Lorenzo Williams $2,068,000. That pushes total Wizards salaries this season to $44.6 million.

I recently wrote an article at RealGM on why it'll be extraordinarily difficult for the Wizards to both keep Rip and sign a max free agent next offseason. http://wizards.realgm.com/showarticle.php?artid=108

Here's the nutshell: the accounting rules agreed upon in the last CBA means that Hamilton will count about $8 million against next year's cap unless the Wizards sign him to a new deal or renounce him. If they renounce him, they lose the Bird exception with him and can use only available cap space to re-sign him, or sign him to a minimum salary deal.

The old idea of signing someone else's free agents, then exceeding the salary cap to sign your own is a thing of the past.


----------

