Offseason Outlook: Atlanta Hawks
Guaranteed Contracts
- Al Horford ($12,000,000)
- Jeff Teague ($8,000,000)
- Kyle Korver ($5,746,479)
- Thabo Sefolosha ($4,000,000)
- Mike Scott ($3,333,333)
- Shelvin Mack ($2,433,333)
- Kent Bazemore ($2,000,000)
- Dennis Schröder ($1,763,400)
Non-Guaranteed Contracts
- Mike Muscala ($947,276)
Options
- None
Restricted Free Agents/Cap Holds
- Pero Antic ($1,625,000) — $1,562,500 qualifying offer
Unrestricted Free Agents/Cap Holds
- Paul Millsap ($12,350,000)
- DeMarre Carroll ($3,175,192)
- Elton Brand ($2,600,000)
- John Jenkins ($2,228,025)
- (Gustavo Ayon $1,950,000)1
- No. 15 pick ($1,600,200)
Draft Picks
- 1st Round (15th overall)
- 2nd Round (50th overall)
- 2nd Round (59th overall)
Cap Outlook
- Guaranteed Salary: $39,276,545
- Non-Guaranteed Salary: $947,276
- Options: $0
- Cap Holds: $25,528,417
- Total: $65,752,238
It’s difficult to know just what to make of the Hawks. They were the league’s second-best team in the regular season, but they looked vulnerable against putatively inferior opposition in the first two rounds of the playoffs and were completely outclassed in the conference finals versus the Cavaliers. Some of that postseason trouble had to do with health, as Atlanta’s top three wing players were all either out or hobbled by the time the Cavs completed their sweep. Still, Thabo Sefolosha, who suffered a broken leg in an incident outside a nightclub in early April, was the only member of the Hawks rotation to miss a significant portion of time prior to the conference finals, aside from Shelvin Mack, who went about a month without playing from mid-January to the All-Star break. The Hawks were second only to the Warriors in net rating prior to All-Star weekend, according to NBA.com, and just ninth afterward, behind the Jazz and Pacers, who didn’t make the playoffs. Sefolosha, because of his broken leg and, before that, a calf strain, only played in seven games in the second half of the season. But surely the swingman the Thunder gave up on a year ago isn’t the difference between a team that won at a 65-game pace in the season’s first half and a 50-game pace for the balance of the regular season.
A 50-win team is still pretty strong, but it’s not on the level of a true championship contender, and certainly not close to the kind of excellence the Hawks showed for much of 2014/15. Coach and acting GM Mike Budenholzer has expressed confidence in the team’s star-less approach, but the Hawks have trained their sights on such luminaries as Dwight Howard, Carmelo Anthony and even LeBron James in the past few years. Atlanta would surely love to have a legitimate No. 1 option just as much as any other team in the league. It just seems as though Budenholzer believes there is a legitimate alternative if, as was the case with Howard, Anthony and James, the Hawks come up short in their star search.
Keeping this year’s team together is a “huge priority,” Budenholzer said last week, and that starts with Paul Millsap and DeMarre Carroll, Atlanta’s starting forwards and most prominent soon-to-be free agents. The Hawks scored Millsap at a sharp discount two years ago, nabbing him for two years and a total of $19MM. The length of the deal was by the design of Millsap and agent DeAngelo Simmons, as USA Today’s Jeff Zillgitt said recently. Millsap’s camp thought another, more lucrative deal would be easier to come by this summer, when he’ll be 30 years old, than in 2017, after the four-year contract the Hawks proposed would have ended, according to Zillgitt. In any case, Millsap appears to have been planning to seek a major payday this summer, though Millsap and Simmons have both made comments recently that suggest the Hawks will have every opportunity to re-sign him.
It’s unclear exactly what that will take, though it wouldn’t be surprising if Millsap commands the max or a salary close to it. The maximum starting salary for a player with Millsap’s nine years of experience would be an estimated $18.96MM, or about $2.3MM more than the $16.625MM the Hawks are limited to giving him through his Early Bird rights. Re-signing him for more would require the Hawks to use cap space they may well otherwise need to keep Carroll. Estimates of Carroll’s value from executives and other sources have shot skyward in recent weeks. One executive who spoke with Michael Scotto of SheridanHoops for a story that ran last month said he thought Carroll would end up making $8-9MM a year. Executives from whom Howard Beck of Bleacher Report heard peg the three-and-D prototype for anywhere from $9-12MM, as Beck wrote last week. Later, Kevin Arnovitz of ESPN.com wrote that league sources had estimates ranging up to a four-year, $50MM deal, which would be worth $12.5MM annually, and those sources wouldn’t rule out a deal even more lucrative than that.
It’s tough to find an accurate read on the value of a player whose stock seems to rise exponentially. Carroll signed his two-year, $5MM contract with Atlanta two years ago without fanfare, having never averaged more than 6.0 points or played more than 16.8 minutes per game in four NBA seasons. The Hawks made him their opening night starter that fall, and he never looked back, incorporating a three-pointer into his game with sudden effectiveness that saw his accuracy from behind the arc go from 28.6% on 70 attempts in 2012/13 to 36.2% on 278 attempts in 2013/14. This year, he poured in 39.5% on 304 tries and crept to 40.3% on 72 playoff attempts.
The Hawks also have Early Bird rights on Carroll, but because his salary this season is much lower than Millsap’s is, those rights don’t go nearly as far. Teams can sign use Early Bird rights to sign free agents to up to 175% of their previous salaries or the league’s average salary, whichever is greater. The 175% figure would be $4.274MM, so Carroll’s Early Bird number will almost certainly be the average salary, which, based on average salary figures over the past few seasons, should be close to $6MM when the league sets it during the July Moratorium. It won’t be enough to keep Carroll, unless he’s willing to take a sizable discount, so there’s a strong chance the Hawks will have to use cap room to retain both Carroll and Millsap.
Atlanta can strip down to a cap figure of $42,452,024 without making a trade. The cap is projected to come in at $67.1MM, so the Hawks would have roughly $25MM worth of flexibility, not enough for even the most conservative estimate offered for Carroll if Millsap’s deal indeed approaches the max.
Still, Carroll is making the Hawks his priority, and the Hawks like their chances to keep both. Millsap would presumably be the team’s first choice if it had to pick, but if Millsap insists on the max while Carroll is willing to come back at around $9MM a year, the Hawks would have to think seriously about what they could do with the money they’d have left over if they re-signed Carroll at a relatively low price and let Millsap walk. Grantland’s Zach Lowe pointed to Atlanta’s longstanding interest in Greg Monroe, who’s eligible for a lower max estimated at about $16MM. Tyson Chandler, Omer Asik, Robin Lopez and, if he opts out, Roy Hibbert would make for affordable choices if the team goes for a big man, and Khris Middleton, Tobias Harris and Jeff Green would make for intriguing possibilities as combo forwards.
The Hawks would have decidedly less attractive options if Millsap came back at market value and Carroll signed elsewhere. The Hawks will almost certainly operate below the cap, so they’ll have the $2.814MM room exception instead of the $5.464MM full mid-level. A max deal with Millsap would leave cap flexibility roughly equivalent to that $5.464MM amount, though it seems the Hawks would earmark part of that for a new deal with backup big man Pero Antic. Atlanta has Early Bird rights with him, too, but it also has the opportunity to make him a restricted free agent and match all offers. There’s a decent chance the Hawks will pass on making him a qualifying offer and end up renouncing his rights to clear the decks for Millsap and Carroll, though Atlanta could circle back to him with the room exception in that scenario. It’s possible that Antic could be had for the minimum, but anyone who’s 6’11” and can stay on the floor for a 60-win team while connecting on a passable rate of three-pointers usually merits at least the value of Antic’s approximately $1.56MM qualifying offer.
Given that the team’s most prominent free agents are in the frontcourt, expect the Hawks to prioritize small forwards and big men in the draft unless a guard the team really likes slips to them at No. 15. Small forwards Sam Dekker, Rondae Hollis-Jefferson and Kelly Oubre, power forwards Bobby Portis, Trey Lyles and Kevon Looney, and center Frank Kaminsky are all candidates for that pick. Our Eddie Scarito has the Hawks going with Lyles in the Hoops Rumors Mock Draft.
It’s tough to make a fully confident prediction about anything the Hawks will do given that the team is reportedly on track to formally change hands sometime between now and July, with the Board of Governors seemingly likely to OK the franchise sale to Tony Ressler and his bidding group. The new owners will probably soon thereafter decide the fate of GM Danny Ferry, who’s on a leave of absence that’s already stretched more than eight months, and whether Budenholzer’s leadership of the front office will continue. New owners tend to bring in new personnel, so there’s a decent chance that neither Ferry nor Budenholzer will be in charge of basketball operations before too long, though finding a replacement in time for the July free agency rush would be ambitious, if not impossible.
Perhaps most clear through all of the uncertainty in Atlanta is that the Hawks have found a formula that works, at least to a degree. Augmenting that mix will ultimately be the team’s goal, but simply bringing back a reasonable facsimile of the 2014/15 team would, given the cap constraints this summer, constitute a successful offseason.
Cap Footnotes
1 — See our glossary entry on cap holds for an explanation of why Ayon technically remains on the books.
The Basketball Insiders Salary Pages were used in the creation of this post.
Eastern Notes: Cavs, Sefolosha, Sessions
LeBron James admitted that Kyrie Irving was a factor in his decision to return to Cleveland, Chris Fedor of the Northeast Ohio Media Group writes.
“Part of the reason I decided to come back from the beginning was how special [Irving] was. I noticed that,” James said. “To see him grow and see him learn what it means to truly be a professional every day since I’ve been here is a been a huge reward and it’s great to see it. To see his mind process so many different things over the course of these months and be able to translate that not only on the court but off it as well, has been a treat to watch.”
The point guard didn’t fully appreciate how great James was on the court until the four-time MVP joined the team in July.
“I was just speechless,” Irving admitted. “I became a fan to be honest with you. It’s a different feeling when you’re on a team with someone you’ve watched for so long.”
James and Irving averaged 47.0 points per game as a a tandem, which was more than any other pair of NBA teammates. The Cavs will take on the Warriors in the NBA finals and they hope to bring Cleveland its first professional sports championship since 1964.
Here’s more from the Eastern Conference:
- Thabo Sefolosha believes his April arrest damaged his reputation, Kevin Arnovitz of ESPN.com writes. “We are talking about the stress that it has brought to the entire family, you know, my mom and dad in Switzerland, my brothers and sisters, my wife. Also, the damage to my reputation. I’ve had people texting me about what they saw in the newspaper and things like this. Every aspect of my life was affected by something like this, and I think putting light on the aftermath of something like this, I think that’s also something that’s important,” Sefolosha said. The forward is under contract with Atlanta through the 2016/17 season.
- Ramon Sessions, who filled in admirably for John Wall when the All-Star was injured, was a great mid-season acquisition by the Wizards, Brandon Parker of The Washington Post opines. The University of Nevada product figures to lead Washington’s second unit next season and he will make slightly over $2.17MM.
Southeast Notes: Hawks, Heat, Draft, Magic
The Hawks aren’t quite sure what went wrong in the conference finals, where the Cavs dismantled them in four games, but coach and acting GM Mike Budenholzer tells Grantland’s Zach Lowe that he wants continuity to be a major part of the team’s improvement. Atlanta is apparently sold on its chances to re-sign Paul Millsap and DeMarre Carroll, but Lowe isn’t so sure the Hawks can afford them both. “You can bet” that Atlanta’s front office would consider a sign-and-trade deal involving Millsap and fellow free agent Greg Monroe, Lowe writes, adding that rival executives get the sense that Pistons coach/executive Stan Van Gundy is eager to climb up the standings next season. Shams Charania of RealGM reported back in December that Atlanta planned to pursue Monroe. There’s more on the Hawks amid the latest from the Southeast Division:
- Lowe, in the same piece, identifies Gary Neal as a “name to watch” for the Hawks in the event the team goes under the cap and has the $2.814MM room exception to spend, though that’s likely just an educated guess. Neal, who finished up the season with the Timberwolves, used to play under Budenholzer, then a Spurs assistant coach, in San Antonio.
- Small forwards Justise Winslow from Duke and Stanley Johnson from Arizona as well as former Washington center Robert Upshaw were among the players the Heat interviewed at the combine this month, Ira Winderman of the Sun Sentinel notes. Heat personnel were also in attendance at an agent-run workout involving Johnson and Kansas small forward Kelly Oubre, while Florida big man Chris Walker and shooting guard Michael Frazier are expected to work out later for Miami, Winderman adds.
- Florida Gulf Coast point guard Brett Comer worked out with the Heat earlier this week, as he told Seth Soffian of The News-Press.
- The Magic reportedly expect to hire Scott Skiles, but Mike Bianchi of the Orlando Sentinel believes a relatively unappealing Magic roster and Tom Thibodeau‘s failure to get along with Bulls management make it tough to envision Thibs in Orlando even if Skiles doesn’t end up in the job.
Southeast Notes: Millsap, Skiles, Brand
Hawks forward Paul Millsap, who is set to become an unrestricted free agent this summer, said that his shoulder won’t require surgery, just rest, Chris Vivlamore of The Atlanta Journal Constitution relays (Twitter link). There have been reports that Millsap might need surgery to repair damage to his sprained right shoulder. Should the veteran ultimately require surgery, it is unclear how or if it would affect the market for the 30-year-old, who is expected to command a max salary or close to it on his next contract.
Here’s more from the Southeast Division:
- New Mexico State guard Daniel Mullings worked out for the Heat today, his agent Matt Slan of Slan Sports Management tweeted.
- With Scott Skiles reportedly the front-runner to become the Magic‘s next head coach, it had been noted that Skiles had a poor relationship with forward Tobias Harris when the two were with the Bucks. But sources have told Steve Kyler of Basketball Insiders (Twitter links) that there is no lingering issue between the two sides, and that Harris would like to continue to be a part of what the team is building. Harris can become a restricted free agent this summer if Orlando tenders him a qualifying offer.
- Hawks big man Elton Brand said that he will take several weeks to decide if he will return to the NBA for his 17th season, or call it a career and retire, Vivlamore writes. “I’ll see if I [have] another year of trying to get prepared and what it takes to be on an NBA roster,” Brand said. “There is a lot of work you have to put in. … After two or three weeks, I’ll know. See if I have that itch. This time I might not and just lay back on the couch. We’ll see.” The 36-year-old appeared in 36 games for Atlanta this past season, averaging 2.7 points and 2.8 rebounds in 13.5 minutes per contest.
Knicks Eye Paul Millsap, DeMarre Carroll
The two way games of soon-to-be Hawks free agents Paul Millsap and DeMarre Carroll have Knicks president Phil Jackson intrigued, according to Marc Berman of the New York Post. Still, the Hawks are “supremely confident” that they can retain both, according to USA Today. A source close to Carroll tells Berman he’d like to play with Knicks coach Derek Fisher, his former workout partner. Berman reported last month, when Carroll responded affirmatively to a question about whether he would have interest in playing in New York, that Fisher was similarly high on Carroll. Carroll nonetheless said in the wake of Tuesday’s season-ending loss to the Cavs that he’s prioritizing a new deal with the Hawks, according to Chris Vivlamore of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
“In the end my agent is going to do all the work,” Carroll said. “He understands [the] situation for me. Right now, I’m a Hawk until the Hawks don’t want me any more — that’s the way I look at it.”
Carroll’s agent, Mark Bartelstein, is believed to be looking for an average annual value of $12MM in his client’s next deal, Berman writes. The forward who blossomed on the two-year, $5MM deal he signed with the Hawks in 2013 admits that money will play a role in determining where he goes next but said city, team and fit would also be factors, Vivlamore notes. Reporters have heard estimates from executives and other sources ranging from $8-9MM to $9-12MM to $12.5MM or more about what Carroll can expect to receive each year in his next contract. The Lakers, in particular, and the Celtics and Pistons are also interested in Carroll, according to Sean Deveney of The Sporting News.
There are whispers that Millsap, ostensibly even more valuable, might need surgery on his sprained right shoulder, as Bleacher Report’s Howard Beck heard. Speculation suggests Millsap will command the max, or close to it. Still, Atlanta seems more confident in re-signing Millsap than Carroll, as USA Today’s Jeff Zillgitt said recently, and the power forward’s recent comments and remarks from agent DeAngelo Simmons support the idea that the Hawks need not fret.
The Knicks are armed with plenty of cap flexibility, since they only have about $32.4MM in commitments for next season, not counting the No. 4 overall pick. The Hawks have only Early Bird rights on both Millsap and Carroll, but with just approximately $39.3MM in guaranteed salaries for 2015/16, they can also use cap room to re-sign their talented forwards.
Southeast Notes: Hawks, Heat, Pierce
The Hawks are optimistic about their chances to bounce back next season despite the sting of having been eliminated from the playoffs by Miami, Paul Newberry of The Associated Press writes. ”It’s clear that we have some work to do as a team,” center Al Horford said. ”We will all learn from this process and I know it will make us a better team. We have a group that’s resilient. We have a group with a lot of high-character guys, guys that I’m willing to go to war with any day.”
If Atlanta decides not to reinstate GM Danny Ferry, coach Mike Budenholzer could take on an expanded role in player personnel matters, likely assisted by assistant GM Wes Wilcox, in an arrangement similar to the one in San Antonio between coach Gregg Popovich and GM R.C. Buford, Newberry adds. Budenholzer would like the team to add a rim-protecting big man to the mix for next season after being pushed around on the inside during the playoffs, the AP scribe notes.
Here’s more from the Southeast Division:
- The Heat held workouts on Tuesday for Rondae-Hollis Jefferson, Rashad Vaughn, Charles Jackson, and Mouhammadou Jaiteh, Barry Jackson of The Miami Herald reports. The team was especially impressed with Vaughn’s showing, Jackson tweets.
- Working out today for the Heat was potential lottery pick Sam Dekker, tweets Jeff Goodman of ESPN.com. The former Wisconsin forward is who Miami is projected to select in Hoops Rumors’ most recent mock draft.
- Paul Pierce had as much of an impact on the Wizards‘ locker room culture as he did with his production on the court, Jorge Castillo of the Washington Post writes in his season review for the veteran. Pierce has a player option for 2015/16 worth $5,543,725, though it’s unclear if he’ll retire, or possibly look to join the Clippers and his former coach Doc Rivers.
Hawks Rumors: Budenholzer, Carroll, Millsap
The Hawks crashed to earth in the conference finals after the high of a 60-win joy ride through the regular season, but a sweep at the hands of the Cavs hasn’t shaken the faith that coach and acting GM Mike Budenholzer has in his team. Paul Millsap, DeMarre Carroll, Pero Antic, Elton Brand and John Jenkins will become free agents this summer, when the Hawks have only about $39MM against a projected $67.1MM cap. Budenholzer wasn’t anxious to talk about the future so soon after Tuesday’s loss, but he made it clear that he’s not dreaming of changes, as Chris Vivlamore of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution relays.
“I will say that this is a hell of a group and to bring them back would be a huge priority,” Budenholzer said.
Here’s more from Atlanta:
- League sources tell Kevin Arnovitz of ESPN.com that Carroll is liable to see $50MM on a four-year deal this summer, with a chance for that figure to come in even higher if a front office is particularly enamored. The expectation is that Millsap will command the max or close to it, Arnovitz adds. Previous estimates for Carroll have come in at $8-9MM annually and $9-12MM a year.
- The tight-knit fabric of the Hawks will be a lure to re-sign with the team, Millsap admitted in the wake of Atlanta’s elimination Tuesday, notes Brian Windhorst of ESPN.com (on Twitter). “This team is family, this team is close and that will play into the decision,” Millsap said.
- Purpose and well-defined roles helped Carroll ascend from journeyman to sought-after free agent, as Eric Weiss and Kevin O’Connor of DraftExpress examine.
Southeast Notes: Wizards, Hawks, Thibodeau
Wizards majority owner Ted Leonsis said that the team will look to establish its own D-League franchise once its new practice facility was completed, Jorge Castillo of The Washington Post relays (Twitter links). Leonsis said the team wishes to have a site secured by the end of this offseason, and potential locales include Washington D.C., Maryland, and Virginia, Castillo adds. The Wizards were one of the 13 teams that shared the Fort Wayne Mad Ants this past season. Washington only assigned one player to the D-League during the 2014/15 campaign.
Here’s more from the Southeast Division:
- The Hawks‘ difficulties in this year’s NBA playoffs have shown the need for the franchise to add another outside shooter, as well as a defensive-minded big man this offseason, Jeff Schultz of The Atlanta Journal Constitution opines. Atlanta has been hampered by injuries, but the team’s lack of depth has certainly been exploited by the Cavs this postseason.
- Clippers coach/executive Doc Rivers, who has close ties to the Magic organization, has called the team advocating for the franchise to acquire current Bulls coach Tom Thibodeau, K.C. Johnson of The Chicago Tribune reports. Scott Skiles is the current front-runner for the team’s vacant coaching position, and the Magic are reluctant to offer Chicago compensation in return for Thibodeau, Johnson notes.
- The Heat would be best served not to deal the No. 10 overall pick in this year’s draft for multiple picks, opines Ira Winderman of The Sun Sentinel. Winderman’s reasoning is that the team doesn’t intend to rebuild anytime soon, so nabbing a potential starter at No. 10 would be a wiser move than hoping to get lucky with lesser picks.
Hawks Notes: Millsap, Carroll, Offseason
There are “whispers” that a sprained right shoulder that’s been nagging Paul Millsap since the end of the regular season might require surgery in the offseason, when he’s set to become a free agent, according to Bleacher Report’s Howard Beck. Millsap was vague about his free agent plans to Grantland’s Jonathan Abrams, but agent DeAngelo Simmons, Millsap’s uncle, had praise for the Hawks.
“Atlanta has treated us well,” Simmons said to Abrams. “They’ve treated us like first class. We’ve gotten a lot of support from them, so we’re excited to be a part of a great organization.”
The team is quietly optimistic about its chance to re-sign Millsap, as USA Today’s Jeff Zillgitt reported last week. There’s plenty more on the Hawks, who remain committed to their team-oriented roster approach even as they face an 0-3 hole against LeBron James and the Cavaliers. Here’s the latest:
- Millsap is in line with Atlanta’s philosophy, and made it seem as though he’s planning on sticking around in comments that Michael Lee of The Washington Post relays. “We don’t care what anybody else thinks,” Millsap said. “We feel like we’re a really good team. No matter what happens, still going to be confident. We feel like we’re going to do something special, whether it be this year, next year, or whenever. We’re going to stick to this.”
- Rival executives believe DeMarre Carroll could command $9-12MM a year on his next contract, as the execs tell Beck for the same piece. An executive who spoke recently with Michael Scotto of SheridanHoops pegged Carroll’s next salary at somewhere in the $8-9MM range. The Hawks are set to have competition for Carroll from teams including the Lakers, Celtics and Pistons, as Sean Deveney of The Sporting News reported last week.
- Millsap could get $16MM annually or more, Beck adds, though it’s uncertain if that figure also comes from executives or is merely Beck’s educated guess.
- The Hawks need another shooter, another big man, and most of all, to learn from the experience of going deep in the playoffs, writes Jeff Schultz of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
Southeast Notes: Winslow, Hawks, Wizards
The Heat would be wise to move up in the draft and select Duke’s Justise Winslow, Jason Lieser of the Palm Beach Post opines. Winslow has the total package the Heat need at small forward if Luol Deng declines his player option and becomes an unrestricted free agent, Lieser continues. Winslow is expected to be off the board by the time Miami’s lottery pick comes up at No. 10 since many of the teams drafting 5-9 need a small forward, in Lieser’s estimation. Winslow could also play shooting guard and that’s the other position where the club needs an upgrade, Lieser adds.
In other news around the Southeast Division:
- The Heat would not have traded two potential lottery picks to the Suns for Goran Dragic unless Miami got a guarantee of re-signing the unrestricted free agent, as Ira Winderman of the South Florida Sun Sentinel surmises. If the Heat fail to re-sign Dragic, they would be limited to using one of their exceptions to find a replacement since they would not have the cap space to chase a higher-level free agent, Winderman continues. Even a player such as Suns’ reserve and unrestricted free agent Gerald Green, who made $3.5MM last season, would be out of Miami’s reach if he wanted a raise unless a sign-and-trade was arranged, Winderman adds.
- The individual brilliance of LeBron James has the Cavaliers in full control of the Eastern Conference Finals, but Hawks coach/acting GM Mike Budenholzer is among those with the team who aren’t about to give up on an egalitarian philosophy, observes Chris Vivlamore of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. “Every team has different ways to build and different ways to give themselves what they feel is their best chance,” Budenholzer said. “There is no doubt the way we’ve built the team with a lot of really good players, a lot of high-character guys. We feel like we can compete and play with anybody in the league. They’ve done it a different way. It’s a great battle. Obviously someone is going to win and lose. This is the way we are built. We believe in it. We think we can win at a high level. We’ll continue to do that.”
- CSNWashington’s J. Michael gives his input on four key offseason decisions for the Wizards, who’ll seek a stretch four and have decisions to make regarding Nene Hilario, Martell Webster and soon-to-be free agent DeJuan Blair.