When I see all of the activity going on in NBA free agency, I find it very frustrating that the Wizards are not making that much-needed splash.
Courtesy:Sportlogos.net
The perception is that no one wants to come to Washington, D.C., and play for the Wizards. The reality is that someone out there does and you just have to show him the money. That is exactly how the Nationals operated when getting Jayson Werth. Most would agree that Werth is not worth the seven-year, $126 million deal they are paying him, but it opens the door for other free agents to consider Washington as a baseball destination.
Washington Redskins owner Dan Snyder has been criticized for a lot of things, but thinking big is not one of them. He has been overpaying football players for years in order to build a winner. Sometimes, it is the cost of doing business. This is the offseason to make a splash for the Wizards and they are nowhere to be found.
Wizards and Capitals owner Ted Leonsis can’t lock up basketball superstars for long-term deals like he could with Alex Ovechkin on the hockey side, but the Wizards can definitely give us more than Courtney Lee.
Right now, the Wizards are invisible and irrelevant. They need to think big. I recently saw the Houston Rockets’ name come up in the whole Dwight Howard trade negotiations. How is it that the Wizards’ name is not coming up anywhere? What does Houston have that Washington does not? Not only do Leonsis and general manager Ernie Grunfield need to think bigger, they also need to use some big-time sale skills. No more NBA lottery, please.
Bradley Beal (Courtesy: Associated Press)
I realize that the Wizards were, in a way, proactive in free agency via trades that brought Nene here last season – and more recently, Emeka Okafor and Trevor Ariza – but please tell me that they are not finished with offseason press conferences and jersey photo opportunities. Bradley Beal is not enough. Please tell me there is more to come.
What do you think the Wizards should be doing in free agency?
*Originally Posted at http://www.masnsports.com/holder_on/on July 11th*
Hey Lou how are? Sorry it’s taken me so long to comment on your Wizards free agency story. I’ve been busy trying to make a dent in TheSportsColumn nation myself. Anyway, I agree with everything you’ve said in your article. It’s going to take so much to convince high talent guys to commit to the Wizards. I think that if Grunfeld can package some guys together like the Heat did with the “Big 3”, he can definitely land quality player that can begin to turn the franchise’s fortunes around. The areas of a franchise are no longer the lone factor in selling free agents on your team. With Lebron cashing in on his first title, guys are starting to see that teaming up with another talented player with the right role players in place, can equal greater success than with just one superstar. As talented as John Wall is, the Wizards have somehow got to manage to sure up that depleted bench. If they sure up that bench just a little and give Wall a young wing slasher to complement him, the pieces just may start to fall into place. I love debating sports so anytime you have a topic you would like to chat about, you can hit me up on twitter like Brett does. My twitter feed is Mrsportz718.