2010 NBA Offseason: Washington Bullets

Written by Paul Banks of the Washington Times, David Kay and Peter Christian of the The Sports Bank. Send Paul an e-mail here: paulb05 AT hotmail DOT com.
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Washington Bullets (Last Year: 26-56)


Live 2010 NBA Draft Grades:

Wizards Overall Team Grade
Taking on Kirk Hinrich’s remaining two years, $17 million to move up and grab Kevin Seraphin, and then trading two picks to jump seven spots and take a second-round prospect in Trevor Booker? I feel bad for John Wall. Even landing the best prospect in the draft doesn’t help make up for a pair of bone-headed moves. (Grade: D)

1. John Wall, PG, Kentucky
Wall is the obvious choice here though maybe not the best fit in Washington since they already have Gilbert Arenas who will slide over the two-guard spot. He has the best chance of being the face of a franchise and Washington is need of a player like that since they blew up their roster at the trade deadline. (Pick Grade: Makes Sense)

17. Kevin Seraphin, PF, France
First off, LOVE the “USA, USA, USA” chants by the fans at the draft. Good stuff. And why were the ESPN announcers ignoring the fact that this pick is going to the Wizards? Washington needs size since they only have McGee and Blatche under contract and I know a lot of teams in the early 20s liked him so even though it might be a bit high, it’s another step towards them re-building. (Pick Grade: Meh)

23. Trevor Booker, PF, Clemson
Why would the Wizards trade the 30th and 35th picks to move up seven spots so they can take Booker, considered a second-round prospect by pretty much everybody? He does add some toughness inside which the Wizards need, but I think Washington incredibly overvalued him. (Pick Grade: HUH?)

56. Hamady Ndiaye, C, Rutgers
This pick is going to Washington who is need of bodies up front. Ndiaye was a solid shot blocker in college but not really known for anything else. The Wizards will hope he can bring some sort of a defensive presence off the bench since that is a gaping hole on their roster. (Pick Grade: Meh)



2009-10 Season Summary:
How is this for a timeline of the past season in the district: Get off to an awful start to the season, have your star player “jokingly” point a loaded gun at a teammate in the locker room over a gambling debt, trade the nucleus of your team for ten cents on the dollar, and end the season with a roster of players who probably couldn’t win the NBDL Championship. Ladies and gentlemen, your 2009-2010 Washington Wizards!





2010-11 Projected Depth Chart:


C: Javale McGee/Hilton Armstrong/Kevin Seraphin/Hamady Ndiaye

PF: Andray Blatche/Yi Jianlian/Trevor Booker

SF: Josh Howard/Al Thornton

SG: Gilbert Arenas/Nick Young

PG: John Wall/Kirk Hinrich



NBA Free Agents:


C Fabricio Oberto (UFA)

PG Earl Boykins (UFA)

PG Javaris Crittenton (UFA)

PF James Singleton (UFA)

G/F Cartier Martin (UFA)

G Cedric Jackson (UFA)



2010-11 Team Salary: Approximately $52.5 million


2010-11 League Salary Cap: $58 million



Offseason Moves:
  • Wizards sign G/F Josh Howard to 1-year, $4 million deal
  • Wizards sign C Hilton Armstrong to 1-year deal for league minimum
  • Wizards acquire PG Kirk Hinrich and PF Kevin Seraphin (17th pick) from Chicago for Cash Considerations
  • Wizards acquire PF Trevor Booker (23rd pick) and C Hamady Ndiaye (56th pick) from Minnesota for SF Lazar Hayward (30th pick) and Nemanja Bjelica (35th pick)
  • Wizards acquire PF Yi Jianlian and Cash Considerations from Nets for SF Quinton Ross



    NBA Offseason Needs:


    1. A metal detector outside the locker room- Seriously… wouldn”t a metal detector have saved the Wizards from a massive mess?

    2. Point Guard- You never know what you are going to get from Agent Zero. Health issues and the “incident” last season have limited Arenas to 47 games played during the past three seasons. He is not going away anytime soon either since he is on the books for around $20 million per year for the next four seasons. Still, the Wiz need to find a solid insurance policy in case Arenas is in the line-up or someone who can play minutes at the point while possibly shifting Arenas to the two.

    3. Size- In trading veterans Antawn Jamison and Brendan Haywood, the Wizards were left with a big hole to fill inside. JaVale McGee and Andray Blatche are the only two post players under contract for next season. McGee made the most of his minutes late in the season, but is still a long way from being a franchise center. Blatche has proven he can be a big time scorer but is still an enigma in other areas of his game. With a likely top five pick, the Wizards should grab one of the top post players in the draft but will need to bring in more help, preferably a veteran who can crash the boards and help mentor these young big men.

    4. Wing Help- Assuming Josh Howard”s player option is not picked up this off-season, the Wizards will be losing two experienced wing players in Howard and Mike Miller. Randy Foye and Al Thornton have not lived up to their lottery expectations so the district needs to find some punch at the two and three. With plenty of cap space, the Wiz should be able to make a run at one of the top free agent swing players, but will any of them want to come to a disoriented franchise that is beginning the re-building process?



    MISSING



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