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wizards

Wizards reach deal with Flip Saunders

by The Boss on April 14, 2009

in Rumors

Flip Saunders - Wizards
The World Famous LayupDrill Rumor Mill
4/14/09

The Washington Wizards are wasting no time making moves for the 2009-10 season, and their first big one is reportedly a done deal. Yahoo! Sports broke the story late last night that the Wizards have agreed to terms with former Pistons coach Flip Saunders on a four year, $18 million dollar contract. Neither side would confirm the deal, though it is expected there will be a formal press conference next week to announce the move. Saunders is expected to be bringing veteran guard Sam Cassell in as an assistant coach as well. [click to continue…]

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Worst to First in 2010?

by The Boss on April 12, 2009

in Bobcats, Editorials, Wizards

When you take a look at this years Eastern Conference Playoff teams, the gap between the really good squads(Cleveland, Boston, Orlando), and the rest of the conference is pretty wide. Sure, you can say Atlanta and Miami are next in line in the East, but its not by much. The Bulls, who just a few weeks ago looked like they were headed to the lottery, now could sneak up to steal the 5th seed in the playoffs. The Heat are a great example of what can happen when you get your stars healthy, and get a little lucky in the lottery. Miami landed Michael Beasley in the draft, and he is really paying off dividends. Teaming him with fellow rookie Mario Chalmers and Miami’s 2008-09 Draft Grade looks to be an A.

With the NBA Lottery looming for the following teams in the East(Indiana, Charlotte, New Jersey, Milwaukee, New York, Toronto, and Washington), there are two teams that stand out to me as most probable to make the jump from the basement to the penthouse next year.

1. Charlotte Bobcats – Bobcats head coach Larry Brown should be in the running for coach of the year, with the job he has done turning that team around this season. The in-season trade that brought Raja Bell and Boris Diaw to Charlotte looks very good right now, and while the Bobcats flirted with the idea of moving Gerald Wallace and Raymond Felton earlier, the core of talent they have in place is not that far away from being in the playoffs and making some noise. Still, there are some decisions that they will have to make.

The Burning Question for Charlotte:
Do they re-sign Raymond Felton? The odds are against having Felton back in Charlotte, and with rumors swirling around that Larry Brown and Allen Iverson could reunite, “The Answer” may bring more questions, and baggage, with him. Do you take the risk of bringing in a talent like Iverson who could be the face of a young franchise, but could also cause chemistry issues?

2. Washington Wizards – The Wizards, even more than Charlotte, could go from worst to first realistically next season. The injuries of Gilbert Arenas and Brendan Haywood are hopefully in the past, and the core of their team should be all healthy for the first time in nearly three seasons next fall. The potential to draft either a top flight guard(Ricky Rubio) or a dominant force in the paint(Hasheem Thabeet, Blake Griffin), will make this team playoff bound without question.

The Burning Question in DC:
Who do you move? The Wizards core of Jamison, Butler, and Arenas are good, but not great. The Wizards have probably gone as far as that trio can take them, yet Arenas’ contract is too high for anyone to pick him up. Jamison has some trade value, but not what Wiz fans would like. Caron Butler could bring back the most bang for the buck in a deal, if the Wizards decide via free agency or the draft they are willing to go in a different direction. Trading one of the teams most popular players with the fans would only be accepted if they really returned some beneficial pieces to the puzzle.

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Veterans on many teams short list

April 11, 2009

The World Famous LayupDrill Rumor Mill
4/11/09

As the season quickly comes to an end for many teams, franchises will begin to look at filling head coaching vacancies as soon as possible. Often teams like to get their new regime in before the NBA draft, so the new coach can have a say on the player their [...]

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Pistons to use Rasheed off the bench

April 2, 2009

The World Famous LayupDrill Rumor Mill
4/2/09
As the Pistons continue to struggle to remain in the playoff race in the East, the list of disgruntled veterans gets longer. Yesterday, we reported Allen Iverson was upset about coming off of the bench playing limited minutes. Now word from the Detroit News that Rasheed Wallace may be joining [...]

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Cavs have a chance at history

March 30, 2009

Monday Morning Point Guard
3/30/09
With just a handful of games left in the regular season, there is little doubt for even the haters, Lebron James and the Cleveland Cavaliers are having a very special season. Just how special? That remains to be seen. With the Cavs sitting currently at 60-13, and a firm grip on homecourt [...]

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Gilbert Arenas makes his return kinda

March 28, 2009

With Agent Zero set to make his return for the Wizards tonight, I thought it would be right to remind many of our fans how good he used to be. Check out these two youtube video highlight reels showcasing the best of Gilbert. Wizards fans can only hope Gil can be a shell of [...]

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