Wizards are champions again!

[Phil89]

That's right, I'm sending Favors to OKC and bringing a guaranteed ring to Washington with the beast that is known as Hasheem Thabeet.

[Mark.]

Haha, building the hype. Come on, time to spill the deal!

[SuperHueyNewton]

Hasheem Thabeet... If only he actually played well, so much potential.

[Phil89]

5/2/14

Wall & Cousins reunited as Favors heads back west



The Sacramento Kings finally lost patience with controversial big man DeMarcus Cousins and have today announced that he has been traded to the Washington Wizards in exchange for Derrick Favors, JJ Hickson and Toronto's 2015 first round pick. Veteran John Salmons will join Cousins in Washington as part of the deal.

The fifth overall pick in the 2010 draft had been on thin ice with his team after a series of off-court outbursts criticizing the team's performances and questioning the team's direction. But the straw that finally broke the camel's back for Kings' management was apparently when Cousins and teammate Jason Thompson had to be separated by coaching staff after a rebounding drill became overly physical. Most reports suggested that Cousins was the instigator of the scuffle.

After the event became public knowledge it was assumed that Cousins would just be suspended by the Kings again. But they instead decided that his on-court talent just didn't justify putting up with all of the unprofessional behavior that he so often displayed off of it. So they've sent him packing and received a much more manageable young star in Derrick Favors.


---

The Alabama native has a fairly long history of clashing with authority figures during his short time with the Kings. In January 2012 head coach Paul Westphal was fired and many at the time suspected that his poor relationship with Cousins was the main reason for his axing. Then in March 2013 the Kings fired Keith Smart after only 13 months in charge. Again, it was rumoured that Cousins played a part in this decision, but officially it was because of the team's poor 28-46 record.

Another reason for them ditching Cousins was the fact that his rookie contract runs out next season and he hadn't given any indication at all that he was planning on returning to the Kings. Losing such a talented player for nothing would have been the final insult for a franchise that hasn't had the best of times in the last decade.

The Kings will be hoping that a new line-up of JJ Hickson, Derrick Favors, Tyreke Evans, Marcus Thornton and Isaiah Thomas will give them a solid base to build on in the next couple of seasons. They have a potential high lottery pick in the upcoming draft and now also the Raptors' pick in the following draft. Given that Toronto are currently the holders of the worst record in the league, it could prove to be a valuable asset to have if they don't vastly improve.

Evans and Thomas have signed long term extensions in the past 12 months and Hickson and Thornton have time remaining on their deals. They also have the 3rd overall pick form last year's draft, Ryan Harrow out of Kentucky. He was a surprise pick ahead of the likes of Cody Zeller, Ben McElmore and Otto Porter, but the Kings continue to show faith in him that he will become an elite level point guard in the future.

Sacramento are currently holding the 13th seed out west with a 20-30 record and sit 4.5 games out of playoff contention. It will be interesting to see if they make any salary shedding deals in the last few days before the trade deadline with the view to building around Favors and company, or stick with what they've got and make a last-ditch push to be apart of the post-season festivities.


---

Now Cousins is Washington's problem. Obviously if they can sort out his off-court issues he could be the piece that leads them to a championship in a couple of years. A not-so-secret weapon that they have up their sleeve in this battle is Cousins' former Kentucky classmate and close friend John Wall. The pair have remained close friends since their college days and keep in touch regularly to offer each other advice. Now Cousins can save money on his phone bill as he'll see Wall every day in practice.

Not only do the Wizards hope that Wall can keep Cousins' wild side under control, but the off-court chemistry the two share will more than likely translate itself onto the court and benefit the whole team. Cousins will only really have to focus on defending and rebounding as Wall will be feeding him all game long on the offensive end.

The former number one pick has been having a breakout season this year and is only behind LeBron James in the MVP race according to most experts. Wall is averaging 14.4 PPG, 4.0 RPG and 15.8 APG and has led the Wizards to the third seed in the eastern conference, only 3.5 games behind leaders Philadelphia.

The addition of Cousins gives the Wizards a mouth-watering frontcourt as he will pair with fellow Kentucky graduate and high lottery pick Nerlens Noel. Combine that pairing with the creativeness of Wall, the range shooting of Bradley Beal and the outright explosiveness of DeMar DeRozan - and the Wizards have one of the most exciting line-ups in the league. Add in the experience of Pau Gasol, Jarrett Jack and Thabo Sefolosha on the bench and they could be a real threat to the 76ers and Heat in the post-season.

Washington now find themselves in a similar position to what Oklahoma City were in a couple of years ago. They have four bright young talents developing together and gaining experience, but at some point they may well have to choose between their scoring guard or their interior defender. It's almost certain that they will do everything in their power to re-sign Wall and Cousins next season. In fact, the move to bring Cousins in to play alongside his great friend may have been partly done in order to convince Wall to commit his future to the Wizards.

This season Cousins is averaging 18.8 PPG, 10.3 RPG, 2.3 APG, 1.4 SPG and 1.5 BPG(49% FG, 25% 3pt and 62% FT). Last season he was selected as a reserve for the west team in the all-star game, made the third All-NBA team and also the all-defense first team.

The Wizards will likely have a top 5 pick in the upcoming draft and the decision to give up another potential lottery pick in this trade suggests that after the next draft they will go into 'compete now' mode and stop with their rebuilding.

---

Philadelphia earlier this year acquired David Lee from the Warriors to to create a big frontcourt pairing with Andrew Bynum. Now the Wizards have a solid duo to counteract them if they meet in the playoffs. Both will be tough opponents for Miami, but the Heat will not be fearing anyone. They still have their 'big three', last season's Most Valuable Player LeBron James and coach of the year Erik Spoelstra.

The Knicks will be the first team to face the new look Wizards line-up tomorrow night. They themselves have a fearsome frontcourt with Tyson Chandler, Amare Stoudemire and Carmelo Anthony, so they won't be fearing anyone. Cousins will have to wait until next season though to face his former team. Unless of course something incredible happens and we end up with a Wizards-Kings finals series.

Trade details



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Twitter reaction to the trade




Cousins and a few of his new teammates react to the news:



Favors stays classy despite it being a disappointing day:



Superstar reactions:

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Wizards rotation/contract situations

_C - DeMarcus Cousins / Pau Gasol / Chris Andersen
PF - Nerlens Noel / Earl Clark / Boris Diaw
SF - DeMar DeRozan / Thabo Sefolosha / John Salmons
SG - Bradley Beal / Daequan Cook / DeAndre Liggins
PG - John Wall / Jarrett Jack / Earl Watson

Expiring / Rookie Contract / Contracted

This deal came out of left field for me. I was originally going to do a trade that sent Favors & Jack to the Hornets, Ryan Anderson & JJ Hickson to the Warriors, Spencer Hawes & Hornets first round pick to Wizards. It was basically swapping Favors for another lottery pick, which would have saved me a lot of money. But then I decided that I just really wanted Cousins. I was going to throw money at him during the off-season anyway so at least giving up Favors and a future lottery pick weakens my team a bit as well. Cousins and Wall are undecided on signing extensions at the moment so I still have to convince them to stay.

Jack and Gasol want to be traded as well. So I'm not sure what to do with them because I was going to release them at the end of the season anyway. I want to just keep them but their ratings have dropped a whole lot.

[Phil89]

So yeah. Time to compete I think.

Also, I'm downloading the all-star DLC because Noel is in the dunk contest

[Mark.]

very very nice trade realistic too I think.

[Phil89]

5/2/14

2014 NBA All-Star weekend rosters announced

All-Star Game

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Rising Stars Challenge Game

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Sprite Dunk and Three Point Contest Line-ups

[Phil89]

Shabazz is going to have a busy weekend

Not sure about McAdoo and Selby in the dunk contest, but the 3pt contest looks pretty good.

[Durant35]

Pretty surprised that the Beard ain't in the ASG.

[Phil89]

6/2/14

Washington Wizards [33-14] vs New York Knicks [29-17]

Wall fired up in Cousins' Wizards debut



WAS - 32 28 23 30 113
NYK - 31 26 22 23 102

Player of the Game: John Wall
(23pts, 8reb, 14ast, 3stl, 2blk)
(10-15 FG, 0-1 3PT, 3-3 FT)


Top Scorers
Bradley Beal - 28
John Wall - 23
DeMar DeRozan - 18
Iman Shumpert - 17
Carmelo Anthony - 16
Nerlens Noel - 16
DeMarcus Cousins - 14
Tyson Chandler - 11
Raymond Felton - 10
Carl Landry - 10
Jason Kidd - 10

Rebounds
DeMarcus Cousins - 9
Nerlens Noel - 8
John Wall - 8
Carmelo Anthony - 6
Amare Stoudemire - 6
Bradley Beal - 5

Assists
John Wall - 14
Raymond Felton - 8
Iman Shumpert - 6
Jason Kidd - 6
DeMarcus Cousins - 5

Steals
Iman Shumpert - 5
Amare Stoudemire - 5
Raymond Felton - 4
John Wall - 3
Carmelo Anthony - 2
Jason Kidd - 2

Blocks
Earl Clark - 3
Nerlens Noel - 3
John Wall - 2

Cousins had a decent debut - 14p/9r/5a/1s (6-14 fg, 2-4 ft) The main differences that I noticed between him and Favors would be that he is a lot less mobile and gets tired quicker.

[Phil89]

Pretty surprised that the Beard ain't in the ASG.

It was weird that Parsons and Lin made it over guys like Harden and CP3. I'm sure there's a reason for it though.

[Durant35]

Damn son! Hopefully Cousins will work out right after a few games. Wall's dunk is firelicious.

[Mark.]

Nice game by Wall.

Cousins will deffo be a different dynamic to Favors, less pace but more skills in the paint for you, already showing by those 5 assists too IMO.
If you are looking for a lot of leg work from a big I think that will be coming mainly for Nerlens now.

Shabazz is having a nice season for Orlando.

[Phil89]

Shabazz is going to be LeBron in a couple of years I think. He's leading the ROTY race and is in every event for all-star weekend in his first season.

If Orlando manage to land Wiggins in the upcoming draft then there's going to be some very exciting division games for me.

[Mark.]

Man dream out come. A lot of very tradable pieces there as well (Harris, Harkless etc)

[Phil89]

7/2/14

Cousins: Will he propel the Wizards to another level or will this move backfire?



Newly acquired Washington big man DeMarcus Cousins has his fair share of baggage, but Wizards' general manager Steve Kerr believes that the Alabama native can keep his head down and work hard to win over the fans. "He knows that he has to work on some things and we'll certainly be here to help him with those," Kerr said during an interview after the Knicks game, "but we believe that he can take us to another level as a group and hopefully help us to compete at the upper levels of the league for years to come."

Kerr's main objective when hired by Ted Leonsis was to build a team without any big egos that could disrupt team harmony and create a 'team first' philosophy. Bringing in Cousins seemingly goes completely against that goal though. But then again, someone of his talent doesn't become available very often and you can understand why he's made this trade. Cousins' value had fallen severely since the day he was drafted with the fifth pick in the 2010 draft due to all of his off-court issues and indiscretions.

Keeping Derrick Favors would have been the safe move and may have panned out in the long run, but most people would agree that Cousins gives you a better chance of capturing that elusive championship prize. Favors was a very level-headed guy and is certainly going to develop into one of the top big men in the league, however he doesn't possess the X-Factor that Cousins does. The ability to put the team on his shoulders and carry them through tough games or the ability to make plays that energize the crowd and get them to lift the team to victories.

Cousins made his debut for Washington last night against the Knicks and signs are looking promising for the Wizards. He overcame a shaky start and eventually settled to finish the game with 14 points, 9 rebounds and 5 assists. It's well known that Cousins and John Wall are good friends and you could see an extra spring in Wall's step when they were on the court together. It was recently announced that Wall will play in his first all-star game and he celebrated the news with a 23 point, 8 rebound, 14 assist, 3 steal and 2 block game against New York.

One noticeable positive of having Cousins playing center was that rookie Nerlens Noel slipped into the power forward position and had much more license to roam around the paint looking to block shots, knowing that Cousins was under the rim waiting for any rebounds that may present themselves. As time goes by and they eventually develop a better understanding of each others games they could become as potent as Ben and Rasheed Wallace were for the Pistons during their glory years in the mid-2000s.

History will be the judge of whether this was a good trade or not. Derrick Favors could yet lead the Kings to multiple championships and the Wizards could fail to fulfill their vast potential. While that seems unlikely at this point, you can never predict the future, especially in such a competitive place as the NBA.

[Phil89]

Man dream out come. A lot of very tradable pieces there as well (Harris, Harkless etc)

Could be a big off-season in Orlando. They deserve some luck after that Dwight saga.

[Lamrock]

Great story, man! Cool to see you with a stacked roster after losing 23 in a row to start last season.

[Mark.]

Mean article. Hoping Cousin's can keep his head on straight for your team!

[Phil89]

Great story, man! Cool to see you with a stacked roster after losing 23 in a row to start last season.

It's definitely more fun to win games.

I actually don't want to be too good too early though. I'm trying to follow what the Thunder did in real life and just improve every season until I can compete for a title. Maybe I'll up the difficulty a little bit for the playoffs and if I struggle to win I can just put it down to the pressure of young guys in their first playoff campaign.

Mean article. Hoping Cousin's can keep his head on straight for your team!

Me too. Hopefully he can hold his own if I face Bynum/Hibbert/Bosh/Chandler/Lopez/Horford/Monroe or whoever in the playoffs.

[Phil89]

8/2/14

Washington Wizards [34-14] vs Boston Celtics [20-29]

Wizards overcome slow start with strong finish against Celtics



WAS - 19 25 25 33 102
BOS - 29 19 25 20 93

Player of the Game: John Wall
(7pts, 3reb, 17ast)
(2-8 FG, 0-2 3PT, 3-5 FT)


Top Scorers
Bradley Beal - 24
Nerlens Noel - 21
Brandon Bass - 16
Paul Pierce - 16
DeMarcus Cousins - 15
DeMar DeRozan - 14
Earl Clark - 12
Avery Bradley - 11
Rajon Rondo - 11
Kevin Garnett - 10

Rebounds
Brandon Bass - 15
DeMarcus Cousins - 9
Kevin Garnett - 8
Nerlens Noel - 7
DeMar DeRozan - 6

Assists
John Wall - 17
Rajon Rondo - 8

Steals
John Wall - 4
Pau Gasol - 2
Kevin Garnett - 2
Brandon Bass - 2

Blocks
DeMarcus Cousins - 2
Kevin Garnett - 2

[Mark.]

Cousins, quiet but effective. Can't really complain.

[Phil89]

11/2/14

Detroit Pistons [22-27] vs Washington Wizards [35-14]

Wizards share the load as Pistons are swept aside



DET - 26 17 22 26 91
WAS - 26 25 23 37 111

Player of the Game: Nerlens Noel
(19pts, 13reb, 3ast, 1stl, 2blk)
(8-11 FG, 0-1 3PT, 3-3 FT)


Top Scorers
DeMar DeRozan - 22
DeMarcus Cousins - 21
Bradley Beal - 20
Chauncey Billups - 20
Greg Monroe - 19
Nerlens Noel - 19
John Wall - 18
Rodney Stuckey - 15
Cody Zeller - 10
Byron Mullens - 10

Rebounds
Nerlens Noel - 13
Byron Mullens - 8
Greg Monroe - 7
DeMar DeRozan - 6
DeMarcus Cousins - 5
Andre Iguodala - 5

Assists
John Wall - 16
Andre Iguodala - 7
Chauncey Billups - 6
DeMarcus Cousins - 6
DeMar DeRozan - 5

Steals
Greg Monroe - 3

Blocks
Nerlens Noel - 2

[Phil89]

13/2/14

Indiana Pacers [29-24] vs Washington Wizards [36-14]

Wizards head into all-star break with win over Pacers



IND - 12 30 18 25 85
WAS - 21 26 27 20 94

Player of the Game: Nerlens Noel
(17pts, 7reb, 1blk)
(8-10 FG, 0-0 3PT, 1-3 FT)


Top Scorers
George Hill - 22
DeMarcus Cousins - 18
Bradley Beal - 18
Nerlens Noel - 17
DeMar DeRozan - 15
Danny Granger - 13
Paul George - 13
Vince Carter - 10

Rebounds
Danny Granger - 8
Paul George - 8
Nerlens Noel - 7
Earl Clark - 6
Pau Gasol - 5
DeMar DeRozan - 5
George Hill - 5

Assists
John Wall - 12
Earl Clark - 7
George Hill - 7

Steals
Channing Frye - 2
DeMar DeRozan - 2

As it was the last game before the all-star break I decided to give my starters a bit of a rest and played my bench for a lot of the second half.

[Mark.]

Nice. I think the Cousin's trade is deffo paying off. May not be huge numbers, but the picture they paint of a low post option providing threat to score and pass is promising.