John Morrow

@Steelers, @WashWizards & @Orioles fan. @TowsonU alum.

[John Morrow @jamorrow91]

@Stephen55675019 @GrantPaulsen So what is he then?

[John Morrow @jamorrow91]

@Artonio__ @GrantPaulsen Sure.

The price to acquire both them in February was muted. The Wiz could have done it then to make themselves the favorites to re-sign much like with Trae.

$25M is the most that I could see either guy getting, I am factoring the Wiz recent ineptitude into that number

[John Morrow @jamorrow91]

@Domo8186 Giannis was the upgrade.

They're in a real tough spot now. I don't see Brown returning given how public the negotiations were with him included.

I would want the Wiz to explore this using AD but prolly too much add'l cost of assets beyond him for their taste

[J.E. Skeets @jeskeets]

Hey, we're having fun now
Wizards throw in a future pick or two

[John Morrow @jamorrow91]

@fastbreakonomik Agree. Portis will be a big help too and they have Larsson, Jovic as rotation players and Fontecchio as another easy re-sign.

They’ll have their choice of the FAs in their range as well.

[John Morrow @jamorrow91]

@DubClayton unfortunately it's been reported that it's not a descending contract structure but includes 5% raises

[John Morrow @jamorrow91]

@itsbelal_a Which side is Scotto on?

[John Morrow @jamorrow91]

@Domo8186 He had a low number and Hornets had an established 1-3.

The acquisition cost wasn’t too different from Trae given no money went back to Chicago

Obv Trae is a better player but that $30M difference in salary will matter

[John Morrow @jamorrow91]

@Domo8186 I’m on the other side. I don’t prefer a ball dominant PG orchestrating always.

Coby not a true PG but he’s averaged 5 assists before, pressures the rim, better off ball.

[John Morrow @jamorrow91]

@OBtoojiveforyou @CheNorth11 No it’s not but it’s hard to not be skeptical bc there have been calls for Trae to play more off ball for years and he hasn’t done it

[John Morrow @jamorrow91]

Pretty major miss from @TheSteinLine on Trae's market being 3/$120M.

[Jake Fischer @JakeLFischer]

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[John Morrow @jamorrow91]

@GrantPaulsen @davidaldridgedc It's a shame to see this defeatist attitude.

What happened to DC being the place that Trae wanted to play? They had to match the entire cost offered by (most likely) Brooklyn or Chicago and give a player option?

Seems there was no advantage whatsoever for Wiz.

[John Morrow @jamorrow91]

@KeithSmithNBA Could it be the opposite, with declining 8% per year?

[John Morrow @jamorrow91]

Most players are slanted one way or another. You don’t list Ky and Sarr who are well balanced players.

Dawkins spoke a lot about pushing and expecting more defensively from Tre when drafted. The vision for Bilal wasn’t limited to his defensive strengths. Bub and Riley have good positional size and shouldn’t be complete losses on D.

Jamir and Vuk are prolly the strongest arguments but they were picked late

[John Morrow @jamorrow91]

Wouldn’t call him an awesome combo guard, he definitely needs to improve his play from the last two seasons. But largely agree.

Right now, I would like the ball in Riley’s hands on the second unit as the primary initiator. But I doubt the Wiz would put him in that role. So to start the season I wouldn’t mind DLo as a vet ball handler and shooter to complement the very young bench. Better him in PnR than Bub IMO.

DLo is a better player than Whitmore, Hardy and Vuk but the fan base seems lower on him. I realize he hasn’t earned a positive rep but he’s had many solid seasons and should be able to contribute and I’d rather the Wiz not spend money on another vet PG when he’s already on the books.

[John Morrow @jamorrow91]

@KeithSmithNBA Do you think if another team offered the non taxpayer MLE for 3 or 4 years that the Suns would keep him or let him walk?

[John Morrow @jamorrow91]

Well said.

Opting out, while not surprising, isn’t the preferred mechanism for Wiz if he remains in DC. Keeping him at $49M and then around $70M total for years two and three as was widely reported would’ve been helpful for the cap sheet and for his tradability later.

Maybe this opens up more sign and trade possibilities upfront because $49M was too high for many teams but I’ll guess it ultimately just improved the terms for Trae past year one of his next deal in DC.

Winger and Dawkins will be tested by this and by the forthcoming AD negotiations to keep the $ down.