Buying Washington's #1

by Ziller on Feb 18, 2009 10:52 AM PST in Free Agency/Trades Comment 44 comments

At FanHouse, I explain why Washington is dumb to trade its draft pick to keep its veteran core (Antawn Jamison, Caron Butler) in tact. The popular rumor is that the Wizards will attempt to package the pick (unprotected, no doubt) with either Etan Thomas or Mike James in exchange for an expiring contract. Thanks to the extensions for Gilbert Arenas, Jamison, Darius Songaila, DeShawn Stevenson and others, the team is due to pay $7-8 million in luxury tax in 2009-10. The Wizards do not pay the tax. Given the team's record, I don't blame them.

The Kings have some expiring contracts. Bobby Jackson, in particular, could be traded for Thomas or James straight up. (I believe this to be the case; Thomas apparently has a 20% trade kicker. If the kicker is larger than 20%, there would need to be a Bobby Brown or Quincy Douby involved. If the kicker is 20%, Jackson-for-Thomas works.)

Thomas is owed (assuming the 20% kicker) $8.8 million in 2009-10. That's a lot of money for someone who wouldn't likely play well or often. He'd be Kenny Thomas Part II, assuming the King are not able to trade Kenny Thomas Part I this season.

But you'd be getting another top-six pick. Washington is currently 29th in the league, better only than Sacramento. I assume Minnesota has a fighter's chance of getting into the bottom two in the league, which would bump Washington to No. 28 at best. That would guarantee a pick no worse than No. 6.

Shareef Abdur-Rahim is officially off the 2009-10 payroll, assuming he does not pull a Darius Miles next year. By trading expiring contracts for Thomas and no other moves, the Kings would sit at $60 million in payroll. Add $8 million in the event the Kings get the No. 1 pick and the Washington pick ends up No. 2. In all likelihood, the team would be safely under the luxury tax threshold by a small amount.

And the team would own: Kevin Martin, Jason Thompson, Spencer Hawes, two of the top six picks in the 2009 draft, Donté Greene, a late first-round 2009 pick, $28-33 million in '10 expiring contracts, Francisco Garcia and Beno Udrih. The team would have only $35 million locked in for 2010-11.

And again, this assumes no other deals. If you want to start from scratch, adding two top-6 picks ain't a bad way to go. (I'm a bit skeptical Washington will actually trade its pick this week, but the rumor has popped up in multiple legit places.)

Poll

Would you trade Bobby Jackson's Expiring Contract for Etan Thomas' Ornery 2009-10 $8 Million Obligation and Washington's unprotected 2009 first round pick?

Yes

287 votes

No

53 votes

340 votes | Poll has closed

0 recs | Comment 44 comments | Share

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Comments

If this happens

I will do the dance of joy.

by nbrans on Feb 18, 2009 10:54 AM PST reply actions 0 recs

I saw that referred to as well

Good question – but would they really do it?

My answer is yes, definately yes.

So imitate the action of the tiger!
Stiffen the sinews, summon up the blood,
Disguise fair nature with hard-favoured rage.
- lend the eye a terrible aspect,

Now set the teeth - and teach them how to war!
Henry V iii

by lietothegirls on Feb 18, 2009 10:55 AM PST reply actions 0 recs

(yes that WE should go for it)

In addition this may put a big trade back in play as we could do a ‘whichever is worse’ with our two 1-5 picks.

So imitate the action of the tiger!
Stiffen the sinews, summon up the blood,
Disguise fair nature with hard-favoured rage.
- lend the eye a terrible aspect,

Now set the teeth - and teach them how to war!
Henry V iii

by lietothegirls on Feb 18, 2009 10:57 AM PST up reply actions 0 recs

This is a no brainer,

however you have to worry that the financial obligations Petrie has to the Maloofs would prevent such a move.

There now I've met the 75 word count. -pookeyguru

by moproblemz on Feb 18, 2009 10:56 AM PST reply actions 0 recs

I just wet myself a little bit

www.mancancook.net

by vfettke on Feb 18, 2009 10:58 AM PST reply actions 0 recs

TZ won't they be about 5-6 mil over the tax?

meaning they have to double that?

thats a big bill.

So imitate the action of the tiger!
Stiffen the sinews, summon up the blood,
Disguise fair nature with hard-favoured rage.
- lend the eye a terrible aspect,

Now set the teeth - and teach them how to war!
Henry V iii

by lietothegirls on Feb 18, 2009 11:00 AM PST reply actions 0 recs

And thats Before they pay thier #1 pick?

and pay tax on that?

So imitate the action of the tiger!
Stiffen the sinews, summon up the blood,
Disguise fair nature with hard-favoured rage.
- lend the eye a terrible aspect,

Now set the teeth - and teach them how to war!
Henry V iii

by lietothegirls on Feb 18, 2009 11:01 AM PST up reply actions 0 recs

Yet another $4-$6 mil x 2?

So imitate the action of the tiger!
Stiffen the sinews, summon up the blood,
Disguise fair nature with hard-favoured rage.
- lend the eye a terrible aspect,

Now set the teeth - and teach them how to war!
Henry V iii

by lietothegirls on Feb 18, 2009 11:04 AM PST up reply actions 0 recs

This is the most exciting trade proposal given out yet

bar none.

Donte? Donte'! Donté?!?!
'spect da 'xtra E'

by iashwash on Feb 18, 2009 11:08 AM PST reply actions 0 recs

Who in the heck voted no?

by nbrans on Feb 18, 2009 11:09 AM PST reply actions 0 recs

I did

Thomas has 2 years left after this one as far as I can tell, not one. The second year is a player option.

If he only has one year left I’d be interested, but two years of another terrible contract is pretty rough to take back.

by ForThree on Feb 18, 2009 11:15 AM PST up reply actions 0 recs

A player option at $7.35 mil next year from what I can see on Sham

So imitate the action of the tiger!
Stiffen the sinews, summon up the blood,
Disguise fair nature with hard-favoured rage.
- lend the eye a terrible aspect,

Now set the teeth - and teach them how to war!
Henry V iii

by lietothegirls on Feb 18, 2009 11:19 AM PST up reply actions 0 recs

yeah

shamsports, hoopshype, and ESPN don’t have any option for 2010-11. Where do you see that?

by furious.d on Feb 18, 2009 11:20 AM PST up reply actions 0 recs

my fault then. If its just one year of a terrible contract, I’m in.

by ForThree on Feb 18, 2009 11:22 AM PST up reply actions 0 recs

No way

Someone isn’t offering something better than Bobby Jackson’s expiring contract for ET and this pick. That said, I’d throw the Rockets’ pick their way in a heartbeat if it would get this deal done.

Now let’s stop all this bickering about Thabeet and Griffin and just take both.

by furious.d on Feb 18, 2009 11:19 AM PST reply actions 2 recs

Excellent!

So imitate the action of the tiger!
Stiffen the sinews, summon up the blood,
Disguise fair nature with hard-favoured rage.
- lend the eye a terrible aspect,

Now set the teeth - and teach them how to war!
Henry V iii

by lietothegirls on Feb 18, 2009 11:22 AM PST up reply actions 0 recs

Clear up some space and snatch Sessions

and we have a future

So imitate the action of the tiger!
Stiffen the sinews, summon up the blood,
Disguise fair nature with hard-favoured rage.
- lend the eye a terrible aspect,

Now set the teeth - and teach them how to war!
Henry V iii

by lietothegirls on Feb 18, 2009 11:23 AM PST up reply actions 0 recs

Here here!

by kingsfan300 on Feb 18, 2009 12:17 PM PST up reply actions 0 recs

Who keeps voting No?

It has to be one person voting over and over because this seems like a no brainer.

by MITCH FRONTAGE on Feb 18, 2009 11:32 AM PST reply actions 0 recs

some troll

So imitate the action of the tiger!
Stiffen the sinews, summon up the blood,
Disguise fair nature with hard-favoured rage.
- lend the eye a terrible aspect,

Now set the teeth - and teach them how to war!
Henry V iii

by lietothegirls on Feb 18, 2009 11:32 AM PST up reply actions 0 recs

Has anyone figured out how this would affect our cap with two top six picks?

This would make trading Miller and Salmons for expirings seem a whole lot better.

by MITCH FRONTAGE on Feb 18, 2009 11:35 AM PST up reply actions 0 recs

yep

depends on what else happens. If nothing else happened we’d still be under the Tax next year but over the cap I think, close to where we are now.

A Lot of cap space in 2010 still

So imitate the action of the tiger!
Stiffen the sinews, summon up the blood,
Disguise fair nature with hard-favoured rage.
- lend the eye a terrible aspect,

Now set the teeth - and teach them how to war!
Henry V iii

by lietothegirls on Feb 18, 2009 11:38 AM PST up reply actions 0 recs

Actually - roughly doing the numbers

assuming two top five picks at an average of 5 mil each

We’d be over the tax by a few mil.

Something else needs to happen.

So imitate the action of the tiger!
Stiffen the sinews, summon up the blood,
Disguise fair nature with hard-favoured rage.
- lend the eye a terrible aspect,

Now set the teeth - and teach them how to war!
Henry V iii

by lietothegirls on Feb 18, 2009 11:42 AM PST up reply actions 0 recs

This is the perfect storm if it did happen,

it would allow us to take Rubio at 2 (if we were lucky) stash him for a year, and also get immediate help from the wizards pick.

There now I've met the 75 word count. -pookeyguru

by moproblemz on Feb 18, 2009 11:35 AM PST reply actions 0 recs

If this happens

I’d point to the ‘Ranking the Assets’ thread and reshuffle ‘expiring contracts’ to near the top. Something most left out.

So imitate the action of the tiger!
Stiffen the sinews, summon up the blood,
Disguise fair nature with hard-favoured rage.
- lend the eye a terrible aspect,

Now set the teeth - and teach them how to war!
Henry V iii

by lietothegirls on Feb 18, 2009 11:35 AM PST reply actions 0 recs

(Putting Down Cigarette)

Whew! Was that good for you?

Yes! Yes! Yes!

SACTOWN ROYALTY - Try our thick creamy shakes!

by section214 on Feb 18, 2009 11:53 AM PST reply actions 1 recs

Only if you call me in the morning

and tell me it was real – not another wet dream

So imitate the action of the tiger!
Stiffen the sinews, summon up the blood,
Disguise fair nature with hard-favoured rage.
- lend the eye a terrible aspect,

Now set the teeth - and teach them how to war!
Henry V iii

by lietothegirls on Feb 18, 2009 12:14 PM PST up reply actions 0 recs

Wanna cuddle?

Wait....Why is everybody clapping? Everyone around me is clapping.... I guess I should be clapping too... GO LAKERS!!! I hate living in So Cal

by 27freethrows on Feb 18, 2009 1:25 PM PST up reply actions 0 recs

should we go spread misinformation on the other blogs

so that no one else knows about this free top 5 pick?

(I assume that NBA GMs get their info the same way I do, from SBNation blogs)

by furious.d on Feb 18, 2009 12:00 PM PST reply actions 0 recs

abso-freakin-lutely

throw them Houston’s pick, do a side deal with another expiring (Douby or Shelden) for another ornery contract of there’s, do whatever it takes save for trading Kevin, Jason or Spencer, really. That core, plus two likely top 5 picks, would be a beautiful thing. Which means, of course, that it’s never going to happen.

by LPKingsFan on Feb 18, 2009 12:21 PM PST reply actions 0 recs

completely agree

whatever it takes to make this happen without touching our big 3, do it. i would probably wet my pants if this happened.

by coachtheus on Feb 18, 2009 2:28 PM PST up reply actions 0 recs

Hmm...

Hawes
Shock
Griffin
Martin
Rubio

Yes please.

A lonely Kings fan in a sea of gold and purple...

by Jaycee on Feb 18, 2009 12:47 PM PST reply actions 0 recs

Hell yes.

Could you imagine if we had the top 2 picks in the draft? Which is why I don’t think Washington does this.

by Aykis16 on Feb 18, 2009 12:50 PM PST reply actions 0 recs

an $80 mil payroll and 11 wins

NewOrl did more and they were in the playoff hunt

So imitate the action of the tiger!
Stiffen the sinews, summon up the blood,
Disguise fair nature with hard-favoured rage.
- lend the eye a terrible aspect,

Now set the teeth - and teach them how to war!
Henry V iii

by lietothegirls on Feb 18, 2009 12:51 PM PST up reply actions 0 recs

12 wins

They won last night :P

I guess its possible. I think they try to get something better first though.

by Aykis16 on Feb 18, 2009 12:57 PM PST up reply actions 0 recs

MAKE-IT-HAPPEN.

’nough said.

Wait....Why is everybody clapping? Everyone around me is clapping.... I guess I should be clapping too... GO LAKERS!!! I hate living in So Cal

by 27freethrows on Feb 18, 2009 1:25 PM PST reply actions 0 recs

No crap - we'll give 'em the Houston pick or next years #1 if they're that worried about the cap

So imitate the action of the tiger!
Stiffen the sinews, summon up the blood,
Disguise fair nature with hard-favoured rage.
- lend the eye a terrible aspect,

Now set the teeth - and teach them how to war!
Henry V iii

by lietothegirls on Feb 18, 2009 4:48 PM PST up reply actions 0 recs

Just for clarification

Etan Thomas has a 15% trade kicker, adjust your level of excitement accordingly.

And just so we’re clear, the Houston pick would not be a deal breaker on this move, would it?

Bullets Forever: A blog dedicated to the Washington Wizards with analysis, commentary, and more YouTube videos than your eyes can handle.

by JakeTheSnake on Feb 18, 2009 5:57 PM PST reply actions 0 recs

I'd still be OK with that

As of this moment, this would be a darn near 50% chance at the #1 pick, with a shot at (maybe) Griffin and Rubio.

During last year’s draft, we were railing over the fact that Portland would buy a late 1st round pick and we wouldn’t. Well, here’s our chance.

SACTOWN ROYALTY - Try our thick creamy shakes!

by section214 on Feb 18, 2009 7:49 PM PST up reply actions 0 recs

Ziller

I don’t like you. Oh wait, that’s a personal attack and the rules clearly state no personal attacks. oh well.

rockin' the crab dribble since 2009

by hibachi on Feb 18, 2009 8:02 PM PST reply actions 0 recs

Just kidding

but I’d really hate to see this trade go through. I think there has to be a better way to cut costs but maybe that’s just my love for Rubio blinding me

rockin' the crab dribble since 2009

by hibachi on Feb 18, 2009 8:04 PM PST up reply actions 0 recs

I cannot even begin to express

How dumb this would be for the Wizards.

You know you'll get devoured by Cheaney, Wallace, and Juwan Howard.

by Mike Prada on Feb 18, 2009 11:21 PM PST reply actions 0 recs

I concur

And, umm Prada, nice to see you hanging around some.

No mistakes in the tango, darling. Not like life. Simple. That's what makes the tango so great. If you make a mistake, and get all tangled up, you just tango on.....

I am the stone that builder refused..I am the visual...The inspiration..That made lady sing the blues....I'm the spark that makes your idea bright.....The same spark that lights the dark....So that you can know your left from your right...I am the ballot in your box....The bullet in your gun...The inner glow that lets you know...To call your brother son....The story that just begun...The promise of what's to come...And I'm 'a remain a soldier till the war is won....

by pookeyguru on Feb 19, 2009 8:05 AM PST up reply actions 0 recs