Lamrock wrote:Good luck against the juggernaut you created in OKC!
Martti. wrote:It will be interesting, you've created quite a rivalry.
Washington general manager Steve Kerr has never been afraid to make a move if he thinks he can improve his roster. He has been busy today with a trade, some free agent moves and a contract extension for youngster Perry Jones.
The trade sees veterans Pau Gasol and Eric Maynor sent to Phoenix in exchange for swingman Arron Afflalo. It's a deal that sees Washington move out a couple of senior players on expiring contracts and a probable late first round pick in 2017 to bring in an experienced player who can make a difference at both ends of the court.
Afflalo is a good defender and can also be a solid scorer. His addition to this team will allow the Wizards to play small ball with Kevin Durant playing at power forward and Kevin Martin or Shannon Brown providing an extra scoring threat. It remains to be seen which one of Afflalo, Martin or Brown will be given the starting role at shooting guard, but Perry Jones will definitely be taking over from Gasol at power forward. It gives Washington a much more athletic line-up and will help their up-tempo style.
Gasol and Maynor hadn't really made the type of contribution that Kerr had wanted from them when he signed them in the off-season. Gasol is 35 now and possibly in his final NBA season, so the move to Phoenix to be a starter again may be a nice way to spend the twilight of his career. The Suns needed a big man after Andrew Nicholson injured himself last week and is out for two weeks. Maynor may not be as lucky though as the Suns already have a wealth of point guards including Eric Bledsoe, Goran Dragic and Jeff Teague.
The Suns are still in the middle of a rebuild after the Steve Nash era ended a couple of years ago. They add another draft pick to the pile and clear a few million more off their wage bill in preparation for a deep free agent class in 2016. They probably won't be able to attract the likes of Anthony Davis, Andre Drummond or Bradley Beal, but signing any out of Harrison Barnes, Tobias Harris, Terrence Ross, Jonas Valanciunas or Enes Kanter would really improve their team and give them something to build on in the future.
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Kerr also made some changes to his roster via free agency today by waiving Axel Toupane and Kevin Buchanan. The two rookies had been acquired from Oklahoma City as part of the Kevin Durant trade and neither saw any game time with the Wizards.
This cleared up room on the roster for veteran Mike Dunleavy to sign a one-year deal for the veterans minimum salary. It's another move aimed at adding much needed bench scoring to the team. Having perimiter threats like Dunleavy, Afflalo, Martin, Jones, Wall, Brown and Miller should come in handy when Durant is getting double teamed.
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The last piece of business that Kerr conducted was signing exciting young prospect Perry Jones to a four year $16 million extension. The fourth year of which is a player option. Jones was highly rated heading into the 2012 draft, but fell to pick 28. Since being traded to the Wizards last season for a first round pick and veteran Antawn Jamison he has shown glimpses of what he can do.
His breakout game for the Wizards occurred on the 4th of March last year in New Orleans. He scored 31 points - which more than doubled the next best Wizards player - in a convincing 98-76 win. The next impressive display came against Orlando in the first round of the playoffs. The Wizards were trailing 2-1 in the series heading to Orlando for game 4. Jones not only top scored with 29 points, but also made some key defensive plays against LeBron James as the Wizards won 107-100. It was the turning point in the series as Washington went on to win the next two games and advance.
On May 19th last year Jones recorded 25 points and 8 rebounds in a 104-89 win over the Bulls that gave Washington a 2-0 lead in the eastern conference finals. It seems that those glimpses of potential were enough to convince Kerr to give the athletic seven-footer a new contract. He is versatile enough to play in any position in the frontcourt and has experience beyond his years having won a title alongside Kevin Durant and Kevin Martin with Thunder in 2013.Phoenix receive
Pau Gasol - 35 - PF - $2.50m - 1 year (75)
Eric Maynor - 28 - PG - $3.00m - 1 year (68)
Wizards' 2017 first round pick
Projected line-up:
Marcin Gortat - Pau Gasol - Al-Farouq Aminu - Goran Dragic - Eric Bledsoe
Bench:
Isaiah Austin - Jeff Teague - Markieff Morris - DeShaun Thomas - Eric Maynor - Draymond Green - Andrew Nicholson
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Washington receive
Arron Afflalo - 30 - SG - $18.00m - 3 years (76)
Projected line-up:
DeMarcus Cousins - Perry Jones - Kevin Durant - Arron Afflalo - John Wall
Bench:
Kevin Martin - Shannon Brown - Ian Miller - Nick Collison - Thabo Sefolosha - Mike Dunleavy - Lucas MadsenTwitter News Adrian Wojnarowski @WojYahooNBA
Player movement in Washington. Axel Toupane + Kevin Buchanan waived by Wizards. Vet Mike Dunleavy jr. signs for rest of seasonAdrian Wojnarowski @WojYahooNBA
Wizards sign forward Perry Jones to 4yr/$16m extension. Fourth year player option. Looks set to solidify starting role with Gasol goneAdrian Wojnarowski @WojYahooNBA
Wizards acquired Jones in November 2014 from Thunder for Antawn Jamison + pick 29 of the 2014 draft. Can play multiple positionsAdrian Wojnarowski @WojYahooNBA
Extremely athletic and has shown he can score in big games. Single-handedly won a game in NOLA for Wizards with 30 odd points last season
Twitter News Adrian Wojnarowski @WojYahooNBA
Wizards sign vet big man Dalembert for rest of the season. They feel rookie Lucas Madsen isn't ready for extended minutes yet
Detroit receive
Jeff Teague - 27 - PG - $6.00m - 1 year* (76)
Markieff Morris - 26 - PF - $8.00m - 2 years (71)
Projected line-up:
Andre Drummond - Greg Monroe - Andre Iguodala - DeMar DeRozan - Jeff Teague
Bench:
Brandon Jennings (Inj.), Wesley Matthews, Kosta Koufos, Markieff Morris, Wayne Blackshear, Kyle Singler, Rodney Purvis
Phoenix receive
Byron Mullens - 26 - PF - $3.00m - 1 year (72)
JJ Redick - 31 - SG - $4.00m - 1 year (70)
Pistons' 2017 first round pick
Projected line-up:
Marcin Gortat - Pau Gasol - Al-Farouq Aminu - Goran Dragic - Eric Bledsoe
Bench:
Isaiah Austin, Andrew Nicholson, Byron Mullens, Dwight Powell, Draymond Green, JJ Redick, Eric Maynor
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