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Report: Wizards signed Pierce to free space for Durant

Discussion in 'NBA Dish' started by westcoastin, Jul 14, 2014.

  1. westcoastin

    westcoastin Member

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    [​IMG]

    The ink on LeBron James' new contract barely had time to dry before the chase for the next big free agent began.

    The Washington Wizards dipped their toe into the free agent pool on Saturday, signing forward Paul Pierce to a two-year, $11-million deal while letting Trevor Ariza leave to make $8 million per year in Houston over the next four years.

    The reason for the switch reportedly has less to do with the current Wizards' roster than it does giving the team a shot at landing the big prize in 2016, Kevin Durant.

    The Wizards reportedly opted for Pierce due to the shorter contract length, meaning he will come off the books right as Durant becomes available. According to CSN Washington, the hiring of Durant's high school coach David Adkins, along with the expiring contracts of Pierce and Nene in 2016 point to the Wiz gearing up to bring the Washington, D.C. native back home.

    After watching LeBron pen a love letter to his hometown upon returning the Cleveland, it's hard to blame the Wizards for making a local pitch for the reigning MVP.

    Feature photo courtesy of USA TODAY Sports/Geoff Burke

    By Andrew Zuber @ TheScore.com

    http://www.thescore.com/nba/news/537316
     
  2. shastarocket

    shastarocket Contributing Member

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    pffffwww, what is this garbage?

    It was no secret that Ariza was the Wizards plan A and he only spurred them because of taxes (they offered him the same contract!)
     
  3. dobro1229

    dobro1229 Contributing Member

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    Good luck Wiz. You are going to join about 3/4 of the league that will jockeying for Durant in two years.

    Also... most contracts that are signed to two years this Summer have more to do with the new CBA than anything.
     
  4. delishman

    delishman Member

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    this.
     
  5. conquistador#11

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    they're hoping to bank on the 'i'm coming home' storyline which is just so hot right now. ok 2nd zoolander ref of the day. i need to stop.
     
  6. DCkid

    DCkid Contributing Member

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    Wall
    Beal
    Pierce
    Nene
    Gortat

    Not bad in a wide-open conference. Predicting a top 4 finish in the east (not saying much).
     
  7. Yung-T

    Yung-T Member

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    He's born there and the Wall-Beal-Nene-Gortat core is pretty nice, got some good youngsters in Porter, Rice, Booker, Seraphin.

    Wouldn't laugh about their plans, they could be a serious destination for him.
     
  8. ipaman

    ipaman Contributing Member

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    if durant doesn't come to h-town i hope he goes east.
     
  9. da_juice

    da_juice Member

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    If Durant was surrounded by a bad team- like Love and Melo are and Lebron/Dwight were - maybe he'd leave. But in OKC, he's playing with Westbrook (who's better than Wall) and Serge Ibaka (better than Gortat or Nene). He's already a contender in OKC- and he'd be taking a step back going to the Wizards.

    I think the only way Durant leaves OKC in 2016 is if something drastic happens (e.g. catastrophic Westbrook injury, major falling out etc.). If Durant was in his mid thirties and ringless, I could see him pulling a Gary Payton and hitching himself to another team- but I really doubt he leaves OKC for a team that isn't much better in Washington.
     
  10. Aleron

    Aleron Contributing Member

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    durant was a raptors fan growing up, not a bullets/wizards fan
     
  11. BleedRocketsRed

    BleedRocketsRed Contributing Member

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    Wizards still won't have the space though.

    Wall ~$13M
    Nene ~$13M
    Gortat ~$11M
    Pierce ~$5M (player option which he might exercise if Washington makes a deep run in the East)
    Webster ~$5M (wtf?)
    Beal ~$4M
    Porter ~$4M

    Thats $55M (or $50M if Pierce opts out)
     
  12. JayGoogle

    JayGoogle Member

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    Westbrook over Wall though...WAAAY over Wall.

    They better hope Beal busts out or that Wall becomes the best PG in the NBA suddenly.
     
  13. hoopster325

    hoopster325 Member

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    Durant to a big market makes sense. OKC is so tiny, Durant made $14m last year in his shoe deal, which is a 3rd of what Lebron made, and less than half of what Kobe made, also less than Rose.

    Durant on either New York team would make sense, Washington too because there is pretty much zero history with that club and he could make a name in that city.

    Yeah yeah he would be taking a step back going East but I have a hard time believing Durant wants to stay in Oklahoma during the entire prime of his life. At some point we all need a change in life.
     
  14. Zboy

    Zboy Contributing Member

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    Cool story brah.

    Will read again in two years.
     
  15. EightDoobies

    EightDoobies Member

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    Yeaaaah, I believe we have the biggest piece for Durant. Harden. They are best bros.
     
  16. Pieman2005

    Pieman2005 Member

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    He supports his DC area teams tho.
     
  17. J.R.

    J.R. Member

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    <blockquote class="twitter-tweet" lang="en"><p>Report: If Kevin Durant leaves Thunder as free agent, he’d probably sign with Wizards <a href="http://t.co/Oj8eq9BKvh">http://t.co/Oj8eq9BKvh</a></p>&mdash; Kurt Helin (@basketballtalk) <a href="https://twitter.com/basketballtalk/statuses/489061534945931265">July 15, 2014</a></blockquote>
    <script async src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
     
  18. Aleron

    Aleron Contributing Member

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    man, they really have nothing to write about now do they? 2 years away.... 2 years! KD would probably think it's all ridiculous at this point.

    I suppose ESPN need to create as many suitors for Durant over the next 2 years as possible though.
     
    #18 Aleron, Jul 15, 2014
    Last edited: Jul 15, 2014
  19. Pieman2005

    Pieman2005 Member

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    LOL wow. Seriously? Everyone knew LeBron would only leave Miami for Cleveland. :rolleyes:
     
  20. zeeshan2

    zeeshan2 Member

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    Wizards Coach Randy Wittman hired David Adkins as a player development assistant, filling a vacancy on the coaching staff left when Ryan Saunders departed for Minnesota.


    Adkins, 50, was an assistant on Brenda Frese’s coaching staff with the University of Maryland women’s basketball team for the past five years and helped the Terrapins reach the 2014 Final Four. Frese congratulated Adkins on the move on her Twitter account while adding that he had “a big impact on our program.” She also asked the question, “Curius? Has any women’s asst coach made the jump to @nba before?”

    Durant's former high school coach:

    While the Wizards’ hire might seem unusual, Adkins was a longtime high school boys’ basketball assistant coach at DeMatha and Montrose Christian, where he worked with future NBA players Kevin Durant, Greivis Vasquez and Victor Oladipo. He has also trained Linas Kleiza, Alex Len and Austin Freeman.

    Saunders left for Minnesota after the draft to join the staff of his father, Flip, who added coaching duties to his responsibilities as team president of the Timberwolves.

    http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/wizards-insider/wp/2014/07/11/david-adkins-hired-as-wizards-player-development-assistant/
     

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