Posts Tagged ‘John Wall’

Doc Stays, Pierce Opts Out and More Celtic Pre-Free Agency News

July 1st, 2010
To many, the Celtics window of opportunity to win a championship closed after the Lakers beat Boston in the 2009-2010 NBA Championship series. The Celtics coach Doc Rivers (pictured doing the John Wall dance) was unsure if he would return to coach the Eastern Conference Champions next season. The legacy of the Big Three was thought to be over once Ray Allen entered free agency. Celtic big man Rasheed Wallace played the one and done card in Beantown. At first glance, many NBA fans looked over the Celtics as legitimate threats and thought Boston would go into a rebuilding stage. With only less than an hour left until the free agency frenzy begins, the Celtics look to avoid rebuilding and build onto their roster to form a championship team. Read on to dive into the Boston Celtics guide to pre-free agency.

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John Wall Selects #2 As Washington Wizards Jersey Number

July 1st, 2010

John Wall is without a doubt the most easily branded player in this year's draft. The one electrifying season he played at Kentucky had anyone following college basketball on notice.

The Wizards are lucky to have him, but the Washington franchise's long history has made Wall alter one fundamental part of his brand.

His number.

The Wizards, before they became the Wizards, actually retired number 11 to honor Hall of Famer Elgin Baylor. Wall was forced to pick a new number, and he did. Number 2.

If you look at his Twitter background, you can see the “11″ built into the J and W, similar to what LeBron has done with his LBJ playing off 23. Now, Wall has selected number 2, and it’ll be the focus of his marketing team to come up with a new logo for their star point guard.

His reason for selecting 2, “just felt #2 was a good number.” I suppose he simply added 1 + 1 to come up with it. He also mentioned he’ll be wearing it for next year, so maybe we could see a number change in his future a la LeBron and Kobe.



Spartan Hoopla News Brief: Raymar Morgan Signs With Washington Wizards

July 1st, 2010

Going undrafted wasn't the end of Raymar Morgan's NBA dream.

The former Michigan State Spartan signed late last week with the Washington Wizards to play summer ball, after reportedly shrugging off multiple offers from other organizations.

The Wizards are a franchise in rebuilding mode. The gun-play between Gilbert Arenas and Javaris Crittenton kept the team in the news for the wrong reasons.

Arenas' future with Washington is in jeopardy, and Crittenton is reportedly playing on the Los Angeles Lakers' summer team.

All is not bleak in our nation's capital. The Wizards snagged the gem of the NBA draft class when they selected John Wall of Kentucky first overall.

With the young talent in Washington, Morgan will have his work cut out for him if he earns a spot on the Wizards' roster. He will undoubtedly be a bench piece and fill in at the No. 3 spot (small forward). Morgan's length, speed, and athletic ability could be useful at shooting guard, too.

The six-foot-eight Morgan would play a utility-role in a shuffling Wizards lineup . Perhaps a rookie-duel will take place with Trevor Booker, formerly of Clemson. Booker is nearly identical in size at 6'8", 240 pounds, but lacks the quickness and court vision Morgan possesses.

Washington Wizards Try to Move Gilbert Arenas and Face Roster Uncertainty

June 29th, 2010

The Wizards are in the midst of one of the most exciting offseasons in recent history. In the last few months alone, the team has won the first pick in the draft lottery, welcomed Ted Leonsis as full owner of the team, and netted three first round picks including John Wall. The future looks bright at a glance, but one glaring problem still remains.

Gilbert Arenas is due to make $80 million over the next four years if he plays his contract out in Washington.

Luckily, there is a prevalent rumor circulating that the Orlando Magic are interested in the maligned guard. Any deal would be a win-win for Washington at this point. The Wizards get out from under a hefty cap hit and the Magic earn a good player to help them through the playoffs where their role players failed.

Word has it, such a deal would require Dwight Howard's approval on whether Arenas would "fit in" or not.

The prospective deal would send Arenas to Orlando, which would send Vince Carter to Washington. There would likely be other pieces involved, but they would all come the Wizards' way because of the inequality of the one-for-one deal.

For a team with six players under contract and four draft picks to sign, the Wizards could use the extra bodies.

Say what you want about Carter's playing style and his age, but he only has one year left on his contract. Once that contract expires, there will be more cap space for smaller free agent building blocks in the future. Carter is more of a real shooting guard than Arenas. His skills have him at a point where he can hang on the perimeter and wait for passes from his slashing point guard counterpart--Wall in this case.

Beyond talk about Arenas and the new draftees, everyone is focused on the impending free agent class set to hit the market in a few days.

The one issue many fans should be taking with the Wizards this offseason is owner Ted Leonsis' statement that the team would not seek involvement in the talent-laden free agent pool.

Any other year, I would agree with Leonsis' blueprint for the team. Build through the draft and fill in the blanks with a free agent or two. But with names like LeBron James, Chris Bosh, Dwyane Wade, Dirk Nowitzki, Carlos Boozer, and Amar'e Stoudemire out there, it is impossible to count the Wizards out of the running no matter what their plan is. These are players that, for the most part, can come in and help a team compete immediately.

If it comes down to it, I think a guy like Rudy Gay would be right at home in Washington.

Gay is a small forward who is younger and doesn't have the injury history that Josh Howard has recently amassed. Howard's contract has a team option, but it is unlikely Washington will exercise it following his ACL injury. Gay is a good option at small forward, but may be a man on a mission for the big paycheck this season could offer him.

The issue with any free agency involvement is the current state of the roster. Without re-signing anyone, the Wizards will have 11 players under contract if you factor in the four draft picks, six returning players, and new addition Kirk Hinrich. Wall, Arenas, Andray Blatche, and JaVale McGee are the likely starters, but who moves into the small forward spot?

Do the Wizards intend to start newly draft Trevor Booker at small forward? Will they bring back some of the 10-day contract players from last season to fill out their roster for cheap?

It seems nearly impossible to assemble a legitimate starting five as the roster is currently constructed.

There are a lot of questions facing the front office for the Wizards, and there a lot of blanks left to fill before this team can make it back to winning ways, the playoffs and beyond. Whether a deal for Arenas comes to fruition remains to be seen. The only thing coming out of Orlando is that a move for Arenas remains a "definite possibility."

Gilbert Arenas: Agent Zero’s Top 5

June 29th, 2010
Over the past three years, NBA star Gilbert Arenas has played 48 of a possible 246 regular season games. Let's try stating the sentence this way: Over the past three years, NBA star Gilbert Arenas has MISSED 198 of a possible 246 regular season games. (That's about 81%.) It's clear that with the recent selection of John Wall, the Wizards and Gilbert Arenas will likely part ways by next season. Question is: Where will Gilbert end up?

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