<div class="quote_poster">Quote:</div><div class="quote_post">The Seattle SuperSonics suffered another free-agent defection Tuesday night when guard Antonio Daniels reached a verbal agreement with the Washington Wizards on a five-year contract worth an estimated $30 million. Daniels was also a prime target of the Los Angeles Lakers. Tony Dutt, Daniels' Houston-based agent, said Daniels will join the Wizards as soon as the moratorium on free-agent signings is lifted Friday, which the league has scheduled as the first day free agents can sign new contracts. "The more we talked with Washington, we just felt very comfortable," Dutt said. "When Larry Hughes went to Cleveland, it just became a perfect fit for Antonio." Daniels will join Caron Butler as the Wizards' two-pronged answer to the loss of Hughes, who is coming off a breakout season. Team officials are forbidden from commenting on the signing until the moratorium is lifted, but NBA front-office sources indicate Washington was drawn to Daniels for his playoff experience, athleticism and defensive skills. </div> <div align="center">Source </div>
Wow, this was unexpected. I don't know how good of a signing it is, either. Do the Wizards plan on moving Arenas to the 2? That wouldn't be consistent with what he's been trying to do, which is prove he's a true point. It makes for a weird situation for the Wizards, as they have a hole at the 2 and the only guys they have to fill the void are two point guards (Arenas and Daniels) and a wing (Hayes). I guess I don't understand them spending their money on Daniels rather than trying for Flip Murray, Keith Bogans, Marko Jaric or Wilile Green, all of whom would be better fits at the 2 than either Arenas or Daniels. At least he's a solid, defensive minded vet, and he'll find a way to help this team. He just doesn't make as much sense as a few other guys.
<div class="quote_poster">Quote:</div><div class="quote_post">I guess I don't understand them spending their money on Daniels rather than trying for Flip Murray, Keith Bogans, Marko Jaric or Wilile Green, all of whom would be better fits at the 2 than either Arenas or Daniels. </div> Marko Jaric is the only guy who is as good as Daniels, but he likely wasn't interested in Washington, and I heard nothing about the 2 sides getting together. Bogans is an okay player, but not good enough, and also a more natual SF. Willie Green is 6'4 like Daniels, and no nearly as good, and Flip Murray is also 6'4, and not near the defensive player or overally player, though a better scorer. Daniels is a nice addition if the Wiz are planning on playing small. He becomes the teams best perimeter defender, he takes care of the ball, he's a fairly unselfish guy, his shot has improved every year, and he can play both the PG and SG. It still makes me say, where's out PF? Though looking at the market, with Marshall gone, their were no other PF's worth a long term contract. Drew Gooden on Cleveland is likely available now, and is a guy the Wizards should look into possibly acquiring.
<div class="quote_poster">Quoting og15:</div><div class="quote_post">Marko Jaric is the only guy who is as good as Daniels, but he likely wasn't interested in Washington, and I heard nothing about the 2 sides getting together. Bogans is an okay player, but not good enough, and also a more natual SF. Willie Green is 6'4 like Daniels, and no nearly as good, and Flip Murray is also 6'4, and not near the defensive player or overally player, though a better scorer. </div> I certainly like Daniels, I just thought they'd be trying for a true 2 guard
Daniels is a combo guard, he can play SG at different times. They will probably use him like they used Hughes last year and let him handle the ball with Arenas at times.
I can't describe how good of a signing this is for the Washington Wizards. Out of all the guys that were signed this off-season, Daniels in Washington just may be the best fit out of all of them. He will fill most of the whole that Hughes left (except for the points), with his pont guard skills, defense, and passing ability, Daneils will likely share the point guard duties with Arenas. Also, he will probably teach Arenas what it takes to play defense at the point guard spot in the NBA. And best of all, they got him for only six million dollars a year, which in todays market, isn't that much. Also, don't worry about Daniels not fitting into the two guard very well. Daniels actually spent most of his playing time in the 2003 season with Seattle playing the two guard spot, but yes he is more of a point guard if you ask me.
Anytime you have a combo guard like Daniels, it's a good signing. The Wizards probably have the best future in the NBA. I would say the Bulls, but they might lose Curry. This is great! I loved the Butler pick up (who's better than Hughes), and now you combine that with a another solild guy in Daniels. I remember the Wizards SUCKED, but funny how the tables turn. I expect them to give Detroit, and Miami a run for they're money.
I can see the logic in this signing. I suppose if you have two combo guards its as good as one true point guard. I remember watching the Wiz a few time last year, and Arenas would sometimes defer point duties to Hughes. I guess the management felt that with Daniels you can still switch Arenas at the 2 and you bring back some of the defense you lost with Hughes. Now the Wiz have a very versatile and talented guard rotation. I'm still not sure why they haven't made a serious run for a 4 or 5. I suppose they intend to start Daniel / Arenas / Butler / Jamison. But I don't know if Jamison is as effective at the 4.
Washington`s really getting it done. Caron Butler now one huge underrated player in Antonio Daniels, and the Wiz is not done yet. Daniels really does fill Hughes` shoes and hopefully for Daniels he gets the starting spot he deserves.
I like this acquisition. Daniels is a good, defensive minded guard who will strive in the Washington system because it is guard friendly. Arenas can play the 2, so there is no reason to worry here. As for the PF situation, I think Drew Gooden is our only option. We need to put a package together to offer to Cleveland...unless we can get Kenyon Martin away from Denver because they want to start Nene at the 4, I don't think Kenyon will be happy with that.
Daniels is a nice signing for the Wizards...he just adds more depth to the backcourt, but I see this as the end for Blake and Dixon...but Daniels brings a combo guard who can pass and defend and hardly ever turns the ball over...they still need more help in the frontcourt but they could always slide Jamison to the 4, and start Butler at the 3, along with Arenas and Daniels...having Etan Thomas, Chucky Atkins, Jeffries and Hayes off the bench wouldnt be too shabby either...thats a pretty deep squad...Wizards recovered nicely after losing Hughes...
Hmm... I like what the Wizards are doing . I trust Grunfeld and his ability in putting together players. I can't wait for next season . They still need big men though.
Daniels is not as good as you guys are advertising. There is a reason why the teams that he has played for when his contract is up do not want to retain him. He had a career year last season in Seattle in part because he was going up against the other teams second unit. I assume if Grunfeld was willing to sign him up for 30 million dollars that he expects him to be a full time starter. Aside from the fact that he is 30 years old, plays the exact position of your best player, and there are more pressing concerns on this roster, I'm not exactly seeing why your full mid level exception was given to him. Larry Hughes is much better than AD and if you think you are going to get similar production from him, you are sadly mistaken. AD is a steady player who is not going to do anything that will hurt your ball club. But at the same time he isn't going to bring anything to the table that will push your team over the hump either. The great thing about the offseason is that most fans are optimistic about the moves that their teams make. When the lights turn on for real, you will see the worth of your general manager.
AD obviously doesn't compare to Hughes talent wise, but their's some positives he brings over Hughes: 1) He will fit better in the backcourt with Arenas as he's not as selfish as Hughes, and will promote more ball movment, which will actually have the Wizards playing basketball, not streetball on the court. 2) He's a more consistent man to man defender than Hughes was, while Hughes got his steals, his man to man defense wasn't very consistent. 3) He's a guy that takes care of the ball, and has had a good assists to turnover ratio the past 2-3 years. 4) He hasn't missed 21 games 2 seasons in a row, and 15 games the season prior to that. Hughes is a good player, but he's very injury prone, and with this team, when you consider all the injuries, the team can be just as good as last year even with the personell losses. Jamison only averaged 16 PPG after the All-Star break because of injuries. He was averaging about 20.8 PPG before that. If he goes back to being an ironman, the team will be better. Haywood missed 14 games, Hayes 28 games, Etan Thomas missed 35 games, and Steve Blake missed a few games too, he didn't play in 38, but some of those were DNP-CD's. Hughes like I already said missed 21 games, and Kwame who wasn't a factor in the team's success last season missed 40 games. Now consider this. Caron Butler while not as good as Hughes will likely play 80-82 games. The rest of the roster outside of Kwame and Dixon is the same, and their's also the addition of Daniels who is better than Dixon, and will play more games. Looking at that, this team is capable of winning more games next season because the key players are more likely to play the full season. I also was a little surprised at the signing at first, but the teams only other need was a PF, and their was no PF the Wizards could get that was worth the MLE. The other option a lot of us were thinking of was to trade for Drew Gooden, but that doesn't seem likely now.
A solid pick-up by the Wizards because Antonio Daniels is versatile enough to play PG or SG, and the Wizards keep him out of Cleveland. With Antonio Daniels aboard, the Wizards won't have to play Caron Butler out of position and allow him to be the starting SF. The age is a minor concern for the Wizards, but Daniels replaces some of the defensive presence Hughes left. I think the next logical move would be trying to trade Antawn Jamison for a real PF. The Wizards are still thin in the frontcourt and don't have a consistent post up player who can draw double teams.
Their should be no rush in trading Jamison though. While he's not a "true" PF, he's still a guy that can put up 20+ PPG, and 8+ RPG, and he shouldn't be traded for garbage just to have a real PF. Trading Jamison for a real PF who is less talented will not win the team more games or make the team better. Right now I can't really think of anyone that Jamison could be traded for and would fill the PF need.
Jamison is a proven scorer, but 75% of his offense comes from the outside. The Wizards don't have any player in the post who can draw double teams and consistently produce offense in the paint. If you look at the way the landscape of the East is turning out to be, most teams are getting bigger, and the top teams have go-to guys in the post. Pistons - Sheed & Big Ben Pacers - JO & Foster Nets - SAR & Kristic Cavs - Ilgauskas & Gooden 76ers - CWebb & Dalembert Bucks - Bogut & Gadzuric Bulls - Curry & Chandler Knicks - Frye & James Magic - Vazquez & Howard Heat - Shaq & Haslem The Wizards are going to have to compete with all those teams to make the playoffs next year. All those teams have a presence on the inside and a player capable of forcing a defense to double team or cheat over. The Wizards traded their best post-up scorer in Kwame Brown, and have not replaced that inside scoring. They have Etan Thomas and Ruffin to do the dirty work and provide energy off the bench. They have Haywood to anchor the defense, but none of those three are good enough on offense to have the respect of a defense. Jamison still has trade value and can help out a team who struggles to score. I still think he's most effective coming off the bench. With Butler on board, the Wizards have two capable scorers who can give you 20+ points a night. Chucky Atkins and Antonio Daniels can also score double digits efficiently. However, there is no balance from points in the paint and when post season comes around you have to be able to score inside and outside. Against the Heat, the Wizards were dominated on the inside, and against the Bulls, they were lucky Eddy Curry didn't play in the series. You have a player like Magloire being dangled out there, I think he'd be a great target for the Wizards. Another player they might want to inquire about is Memet Okur or Zach Randolph.
^ Randolph is the PF of the future for the Blazers. Maybe they could get Okur if they want to take on his contract.
The Blazers have shopped him around, but with Mo Cheeks gone and the Blazers going with a youth movement, Zach Randolph might be a favorite within the organization again. However, if the right deal comes along, the Blazers would trade Randolph. The team is trying to get better cap flexibility, and they might deal Randolph if a team is willing to take on Darius Miles, Ruben Patterson, Derek Anderson, or Theo Ratliff as well.
The Wizards would take Theo Ratliff in a heart beat I think. As for trading Jamison, I don't think it's necessary right away. I think we can make it to the deadline of the upcoming season without trading him. Then, we'll need to assess the situation, and if a trade is needed...shop Jamison around hard.
