Ranking the Wizards

So today has been an interesting day for Wizards fans. First, the Marc Stein report that the Wiz were among teams expressing strong interest in Andrew Bogut, which implies, as Mike Lee reported, that there is a willingness to trade JaVale McGee. Then the tweet by Mike Lee that the Wizards are so desperate to trade Andray Blatche that they'd be willing to trade anybody on the roster not named John Wall to get rid of him. Upon following this all day, and reading Bill Simmons' annual trade value column, I decided to group our roster categories based on my willingness to trade them.

These Questions Need Answers

Going into the season, most Wizards fans had humble expectations. Just show us SOME improvement, and hopefully find answers to some pertinent long-term questions. I'd say that there were a few basic questions that one way or another everybody had, with a couple of subquestions thrown in there. As we inch closer to the All-Star break, many of the same questions that I had going into the season still need to be answered, and some new ones have arisen. I'm going to use the questions below as the starting point to several subsequent columns on these topics.

The Future of the Wizards and the Curious Case of JaVale McGee

What do you do with an enigmatic seven-footer with all the potential in the world and what sometimes seems like all the basketball sense of a pogo stick? He blows you away with his athleticism, his ability to block shots and send home an oop from anywhere, but in the same breath drives you nuts with his apparent obsession to make ESPN's Top Plays every night? His mom says he's "the future of the NBA". I just want to know if he's the future for the Wizards. He's a restricted free agent at the end of the season, and it has been rumored that he feels he is a near-max player. What do the Wizards do?

Amar'e to the Wizards?

Moke Hamilton of SheridanHoops.com recently posted a column suggesting five trade proposals for Amar'e Stoudemire, one of which landed him in Washington.

If you would, indulge with me in the hyperbole that is this scenario. The trade would make us instantly credible, give us a star to pair with Wall, and would turn the 'rebuilding' process into a 'what do we need to be a major contender' process. Not sure how Amar'e and McGee would work defensively, but I could imagine not worse than things are with Blatche. While I'd love to get rid of Blatche and Young and end up getting an All-star in Amar'e, I'm a bit conflicted on this trade that will never happen. Maybe it's worth the risk, but I'm not a huge fan of the idea of the Wizards taking on the risk of Amar'e's uninsured contract, with his bad knees and all. And Marvin Williams is Atlanta's Andray Blatche.

In the short-term, the trade would be a disaster for Atlanta, but for a team in NBA purgatory that has a couple of bad contracts and is in no way a title contender, this gets them out of the woods. Even though he's a good player, that Joe Johnson contract is well on its way to becoming the worst in the league. This would offer them the chance to get rid of that cap-crippling deal, and a prospect in the hometown Shumpert. Not sure what Cleveland gets out of the trade. The Knicks would have a void at power forward with these swaps, but would get an upgrade at two other positions.

Would this be worth the risk for the Wizards? As much as I try to sound all rational and sensible about the pros and cons, if this trade were to actually occur, I would most likely be through the roof at our overnight return to relevance.