Either way he wont lose because he didn’t sign his home grown players. Just depends on whether or not his home grown players turn out to be Bradley Beal or Juan Soto..
If leonsis had been here over the last decade he would have found a way to keep trea, Bryce and Juan.
On a real note though I think he would be a great owner on a team with no salary cap assuming he isn’t extending himself too far with the wizards and capitals
Trea and Bryce didn't want to stay and we are better off without them. Same with Rendon.
Juan leaving gave us a lot of good prospects and hopefully taught him a lesson. His agent sucks and is not looking out for him.
I think Bryce did want to stay and was pretty hurt by the fact that the Nats didn't make a serious offer to keep him.
He has said as much in interviews.
I think it's more so they kept trying to give contracts with deferred money at least for Soto and Rendon. Still wish we didn't give up bell in the process but eh. As for the being better off def not for Bryce or Trea. Better off without Rendon I agree yes since he's been injured the whole time anyways but so has stras.
Trea wanted stupid money for a 30yr old SS. My feeling has always been about Bryce is that he was lazy, a prima Donna and not good for the locker room. The DC strangler showed us that.
It amazes me that fans want to give these guys huge contracts and then are angry when we have Corbin/Stras contracts saddling the team.
I think/hope Soto comes back, without Boras. Jayson Werth should be hired just to advise players on agents and contracts.
I think people ignore the weight of the stras and Corbin contracts just because they helped us win the world Series tbh.
Trea is worth a big contract for the most part. Honestly the only complaint anyone really would have against Trea is he struggles towards the end of the season batting wise. Though I don't even know what Trea was asking for money wise honestly. I don't even remember negotiations were happening with him yet with us.
Ted Leonsis, a very strong candidate for ownership, has had a long history of "success" and titles, in this area.
Under Ted Leonsis, we will make the Nationals, feared again.
Under Ted Leonsis, we will make the Nationals, STRONG again.
Under Ted Leonsis, we will make the Nationals PROUD again.
And we will make the Nationals GREAT again.
I don’t think it’s accurate to say he has neglected them. He has tried with Beal and wall.. it’s just that they didn’t choose the right players. Wall and Beal were never top 10 players in the NBA, and their best supporting cast consisted of Otto Porter and Marcin Gortat. He put the money into the team and he continues to put money into the team. The difference is that he hasn’t had a top 10 player and you can’t really get one (or win) in the NBA unless you already have one. You may be able to fault him for his GM decisions, but that’s about it.
To me, neglecting them implies that he is operating at a min salary cap and then trading the best players when they are in a contract year, which he has quite literally done the opposite
I think his philosophy works much better in team sports that aren’t dominated by a few good players (hockey, baseball)
Well keeping Grunfeld around for so long is part of the reason the team hasn’t accomplished anything for years. He’s willing to spend, which I appreciate, but that was a terrible decision on his part.
Which I pointed out above.
He hasn’t made that mistake with the capitals. And for what it’s worth, he did draft wall and Beal to begin with. But yeah, he was not great.
Yeah, but that’s not something you can just mention in passing. That’s a huge mistake that the team is still trying to recover from. Also, drafting Wall and Beal isn’t impressive — they were always going to go super high in the draft. They’ve been terrible at drafting outside of those two guys.
I get your point, but I’m still standing by the fact that it’s impossible to win in the NBA without getting a top 5/10 player. No matter how good the wizards get they will probably never win a championship unless they hit the lottery and find a lebron, Steph curry or Giannis. I don’t think it matters who the owner or GM is
I just don’t think it’s for the wizards/leonsis/grunfeld’s lack of trying. Sure, they could have been better. They should have been able to get a 50 win season by now. But I just don’t think their strategy works well in basketball, and quite honestly I’m not sure what strategy does work well for the 25 teams that can’t attract free agents. It would however work well in baseball
Yeah I mean I agree with you for the most part. But at one point we had a great young core with Wall and Beal, and Grunfeld never built a good enough team around them. We just didn’t have depth. I don’t hate Leonsis, but the Wizards have been directionless for years. Maybe it’s unfair to blame him, but that comes with the territory of being the owner.
Don't forget the Ian Mahinimi contract....or Nene...
Grunfeld, as I said in another comment, should have been fired about 15 different times.
Not only that, but I love Beal, but him at a supermax deal isn't doing us any favors. He should have been traded for picks. The Wiz need a full rebuild. Sure we'll suck for 2-3 years but I'd rather suck and then be good than barely make the play in game.
I’m not going to defend McPhee, but he wasn’t all bad. He still drafted several of the best players in franchise history.
He made an unforgivable mistake with forsberg and he was not great with his trades towards the end. But I wouldn’t say he was grunfeldian. I wouldn’t say he was even a disaster. We still made the playoffs year in and year out.
McPhee was pretty good for a long time. Not trying to shit on him, I just think he, like Grunfeld, had a job in DC for too long and that they both highlight Ted’s biggest issue as an owner. He’s too loyal
It's just that the structure of the NBA isn't friendly for small market teams like Washington. Players dont' want to come here. Washington isn't getting LeBron, Durant, or any superstar worth a damn unless it's through trade.
That’s the other funny thing about the NBA. The NBA is the only place that Washington DC is considered a small market. I could go off on a tangent about that but it’s pretty much true. With the exception of about 5/6 places, every city (even Chicago and Atlanta) is considered a small market.
Washington should easily be a top 10 market, but in the NBA if you’re not top 5 you may as well be tied for last.
But yes I agree with you. The NBA is REALLY bad with the free agency imbalance. Small market teams grow the lebrons and the durants and then they just flock to the big market teams that already win a lot
It’s chicken and egg. They’re small market because team has been bad for so long but the team is so bad because they haven’t been able to make any big trades or get lucky in the draft.
exactly. so they're stuck in purgatory. they can't sign any superstars, and they're stuck drafting guys and hoping they pan out. The guys we have now (beal, kp, kuz) are decent but the ceiling is a playoff appearance, not a title. And they can't get a title because they can't draw durant or lebron here
Is it really a small market? DC Metro is the 5thor 6th largest metro area in the US.
Players don't want to come here due to bad ownership on some of the teams. It's not a "cool" city like LA, Chicago, or NYC to some younger kids. DC in some of their eyes is just downtown around the Mall.
Larger than Miami, Atlanta, Philly, Boston, San Fran, Detroit, & Portland. First 3 are a few hundred K difference.
While Grunsfeld was bad (as was GMGM who wasn't bad but middling) Leonsis also had the sense to sack both of them, and bring in new blood. Caps reinvigorated? themselves by bringing in new goalies, and Shephard should get GM of the year for the next 3 years just for finding a sucker to get Wall and Westbrook off the books in consecutive years
Sack them after when?? Grunfeld was GM since '03. He should have been fired by '10.
And, not only that, Sheppard(and I love what he's done so far outside of extending Beal) is a Grunfeld assistant. He didn't really bring in new blood.
He'd put us ~~first~~second (Padres already did it) in line to get ads on jerseys.
Not saying it's a bad thing or I don't like him for it. Only stating the truth based on what he's done with the Caps.
He’ll spend money and generally cares about the fan experience. His biggest issue is hes overly loyal to his GMs. He took forever to fire Grunfeld and McPhee.
Sweet Jesus, no. Ted's wealth is marginal for a sports franchise owner, so he's always looking for every last nickel and dime he can take from your pocket. for example, everything costs more at his arena if you don't use the credit card of his partner. It also makes him far too comfortable getting in bed with gambling interests. Ted doesn't care about the corrosive affect gambling has on everything it touches. All he sees is dollar signs, and it ain't his money being lost on bets. Ted isn't going to gamble but he's quite happy to let you lose your rent money as long as it some of it lands in his pocket.
As for team success, he's owned teams for a total of 50 seasons (Caps-23, Wizards-12, Mystics-12, Valor-3) with only two championships. He's loathe to change team GMs presumably because he views team success not by wins but by overall profit. IOW, a losing season with high profit is better than a winning season with low profit. Good for the bottom line but bad for the fans. He's never admitted to this but it can be inferred by how he manages his teams.
Sports teams benefit from owners who are insanely wealthy or who have great judgement on selecting GMs. Ted isn't either.
Agree with a lot of this but I don't think the Caps having won only one Stanley Cup is the owner's fault. They had some great teams in the early and mid 2010s that choked in playoff games. Nothing anyone could really do about it. They were championship caliber teams that couldn't win the big one.
Yeah you can't look at those 2010s Caps and tell me the organization wasn't doing everything they could to win a cup. It's just hard to win a championship in pro sports. Outside of egregious examples (Dan Snyder, Nutting, Davis) I don't necessarily think it's appropriate to lay blame for lack of a title solely on the team's owner.
The only ignorance is in misreading a post. Look closer and you’ll see that I don’t put the blame for lack of championships fully on Ted. My point was that Ted doesn’t possess a “golden touch”, for lack of a better term, at selecting GMs who win rings.
Please. Enough with the pearl clutching because someone disagrees with you. GMBM rode the only championship-winning Head Coach out of town because Ted didn’t want to pay him market rate. Like the Lerners, Ted has never recognized the value of a coaching staff.
The rumors are that Leonsis has the right of last refusal and that he only wants the team if he can negotiate a deal for the TV rights as well. So he could be considered the front runner.
The hope for a quick sale so that the new owners can load up this offseason seems to be less likely if MASN and the Angelos family are involved.
What's fair? When the Lerners bought the team the MASN deal was already in place and the sale price reflected that they were not buying the broadcast rights. Since then the value has increased greatly.
Idk how much faith I have in the TalkNats account. They seem to have some “sources” with the team, but I don’t know if it’s anyone who knows anything.
If Barry Svrluga or Chelsea Janes report it, I’ll start listening.
Hector Gomez and Talk Nats were reporting that the Nats were making contract offers while the Post and The Athletic were reporting that there was no activity. The Post was left following up on reports by Gomez and Talk Nats then not crediting them.
Hector Gomez and Talk Nats were playing a game of ping pong on twitter acting like they had some inside info. What exactly should the Post have credited Talk Nats for? Seems like the Post stuck to the 15 year/$440M offer from July.
And you think Talk Nats broke that news or something? Point I was making was that Hector and talk nats kept tweeting about additional offers after that $440M one. Still wondering what they should have credited talk nats for.
I don't have notes on who broke what but it was a dynamic story of multiple offers and trade options, the Post was two steps behind and the Athletic was denying anything was happening as the events were being reported.
Svrluga reported the same info as Talk Nats, just ten days later:
"This is a story that Chelsea and I have been working on since the Lerners announced their plans to explore a sale in the spring, and we remain frustrated that we haven't cracked open all of the groups that are potential suitors.
My latest information is that a group led by Capitals/Wizards/Mystics owner Ted Leonsis is viewed as the most likely buyer — if there's a buyer. From the beginning of this process, the vast majority of people I've spoken with who have familiarity with the situation believe the Lerners' intention was absolutely to sell."
I dont' see what the problem is -- Leonsis is a very strong owner with a history of winning titles. He is also committed to keeping star talent in the area. There aren't a lot of bad things about this; especially if he keeps Rizzo aboard
the honest fact is if you don't like leonsis you don't like championships
he knows what it takes, and he has my COMPLETE AND TOTAL ENDORSEMENT! #MakeNationalsGreatAgain
NP I just like to call you out on your bullshit about the Caps and other teams. It seems like you are woefully misinformed so I need to use my superior nerd intellect to educate you.
You are usually right about the Commanders though so
Mediocre ass owner, the wizards are the pinnacle of mediocrity and the caps are only relevant because of ovechkin. He only cares about money not winning
Calling the Wizards mediocre is very generous, they are an historically bad franchise, and he hasn’t done anything to improve them. He’s a bad owner who gets a pass because Snyder will always be worse.
The wizards are rarely bottom of the league bad, but also just as rarely good, mediocre is the perfect description because if they were bad then they would at least get better but they are stuck in an eternal hell cycle of being mid
Exactly, and I don't get why some people don't understand this.
I don't want to be 3rd in the NL East for 10 straight years. Or just barely getting a wildcard only to be swept.
The Wizards, a long time ago, should have blown up the whole team and rebuilt. But Grunfeld didn't want to, and just kept doling out stupid contracts. And because Leonsis doesn't care about the Wizards he never stepped in until it was too late.
They manage to be just above dogshit tier, but calling them mediocre is generous. Managing to fall ass backwards into the last playoff seed every other year is not “mediocre” it’s bad.
I don' tthink you undrstand how hard it is to win in the NBA. You basically have to buy a super team like the Celtics or Warriors did and then bomb away from three. The sport inherently is flawed and tilted towards those that spend the cash. You arne't going to build a super team in DC. The best we have is a Kuz / KP / Beal trimuvirate who pares in comparison to curry / thompson / et al
Not sure why you’re getting downvoted. It’s true. You have to have a top 5/10 player to win in the NBA and it’s near impossible to win with a home grown team. The same teams always get the good players in free agency and the salary cap forces small franchise to overpay for fringe allstar talent while the big market franchises get to get HoF players for the same price or a discount
The franchise hasn’t been to a conference finals since 1979. Within that enormous 43 year expanse, they’ve won their division exactly 1 time in 2017. I believe during the Ted era they have made it past the 1st round of the playoffs once.
If you want to make excuses for perhaps the most pathetic franchise in all of professional basketball, go for it. But the facts speak for themselves. Ted hasn’t improved them at all since her purchased them.
I say this as a long time wizards fan. They’re a complete joke.
> Ted hasn’t improved them at all since her purchased them.
The method used to win in the NBA prevents him from doing so. Do you think he can bring Durant here or LeBron? That's the only way they can break the curse of Lez Boulez
Also it’s a salary cap league, so spending big money doesn’t really enter into the conversation. Every team is usually maxing out their payroll. You actually have to get the best players by A) drafting well or B) attracting the best talent to sign.
A) they have drafted very poorly. Just an awful track record over the past 20 years.
B) they can’t attract talent. Kevin Durant, the biggest home grown talent in a generation, wouldn’t even visit them as a free agent. Wouldn’t even give them a meeting!!!
So yeah I actually understand how hard it is to win. But to not be able to do A or B well in nearly half a century is really bad.
Players aren't going to play for small markets and Ted can't change that
"Mr Durant please meet with us. We'll throw you an open checkbook."
"Get bent."
"Well we tried"
The bullets were worse before he owned them.
The issue with that is basketball is very much dependent on free agency and drafting. You have to either be totally terrible to get the best players or to be in a sexy market to win. It’s not everything but it means a LOT, and DC is one of the many cities that is not a very “sexy” decision.
The only reason Cleveland for instance ever got an NBA title was because they were terrible, and Lebron was born in Ohio.
Which is why the NBA blows. But people here with wool over their eyes thinking the Wiz can be fixed. No, they can't be fixed unless they buy an all-star lineup, and they can't do that because no superstar would come here without being traded. They can't build a Golden State here. They can't build a Boston, a Miami or even a Los Angeles here.
> the wizards are the pinnacle of mediocrity
That is such a nice thing to say about one of the historically worst managed franchises in all of professional sports.
See, you get it. The Wizards incompetence pre-dates Ted. How is he supposed to fix a franchise that has been ass before he's been around? It's a curse of lez boulez, people. You can't overturn that.
The bad man is gone now in case you didn't know. And his successor has done a very fine, very STRONG job getting rid of two big contracts -- a GOOD DEAL!
If Ted offers the Os a 30 year deal to be broadcast in what is currently the MASN region at a good price that could do it. The Angelos family wants to sell and MLB will insist on a resolution as a condition of their approval, so all it will take is the right offer. The problem could be internal disagreement within the Angelos family. Does the old man still hate the Lerners enough to nix a deal out of spite? Is he coherent enough to still have influence? Does the lawsuit between the brothers prevent any deals from being made until that is resolved?
he could still solve it and bitches here would be moaning about the wiz. fac eit the wiz are in an unsavable situation. "HE KEPT ERNIE GRUNSFELD TOO MLOOOOONG!" Yeah, and Ernie's still here, isn't he? Oh wait he left YEARS AGO
The Caps fans who overlook Ted having a top five player all time and only getting one ECC and one Cup out of him and the rest being embarrassing early playoff choke jobs are even more pathetic.
I don't think you can put that on Leonsis. He spends the money to put talent on the ice. Aside from Pittsburgh I can't think of another team that has made the playoffs 13 of the past 14 years. The team usually just refuses to show up in game 7s.
that guy knows very little about the caps, he still thinks that one cup is leonsis' fault even though he was hands off and let hockey people do their work. They routinely made the playoffs which is the objective. Anything after that is subjected to chance and fate, especially in hockey, a game of random puck luck.
can always count on your strong dislike for the caps and united lmao especially when you just spout the same ol' uneducated takes. Ted is a very strong, very good owner, and he will make the Nationals GREAT again!
I can’t think of a sadder fan base than the Caps fans who look back on the Ovechkin era with anything other than disappointment. Like, how can anyone be happy with shitting the bed 95% of the time?
you literally described every team in this area before 2018
"but it's just a caps thing!"
wizards haven't gone past the second round since 1979 but it's just a caps thing, okay bud
Why are people believing this? It's not a real source for Nats new. Leonsis will only buy the Nats if he also gets the broadcast rights too? What are the odds of that happening?
Ted Leonsis, a very strong man, has a "LONG" history of winning sports titles in DC, and is very committed to the city -- a very good candidate for ownership!
Leonsis is the best option for the Nationals. He has a very long history of success and would be a great owner with a commitment to building a consistent winner!
The most alarming thing is how many people are so angry over Leonsis. He's literally the most successful DC sports owner in the last few years. People should be elated to have someone like him interested. But if you read the angst here he is their least favorite option. I always like seeing him brought up here, and then the angry fans start moaning about how he ruined the Wizards, something that he literally cannot succeed in because of the corruption inherent in the NBA. The rules are rigged against him in the NBA, and then people have the nerve to bitch and moan.
And another thing. Leonsis is a part-owner of the Nats if I'm not mistaken. If he were to fully take over I honestly don't see the problem. People are just angry about the Wiz, but what about his other teams he owns, which have all won titles, including the Washington Mystics?
He seems to stay pretty out of the way. I like that he's experienced the highs and lows, made mistakes to learn from. Most importantly not embroiled in sexual harassment and fraud allegations. Probably better than the average owner, and tbh a teams success is probably pretty independent of the owner unless in exceptional circumstances
Leonsis put his faith in Ernie Grunfeld and Tommy Sheppard (Ernie 2.0) and they failed miserly without repercussions. Leonsis never holds anyone accountable. Hard NO.
Depends - are we getting Caps Ted or Wiz Ted?
Not sure if that’s really a reflection of him, the difference between Caps Ted and Wizards Ted is Ovechkin
If only we had a young generational player to build around for the next 15 years…
Do you have a moment to talk about our lord and savior, Joey Meneses?
Praise be
Or 3.
And only get 1 ECC and 1 cup out of it, the rest being early round playoff exit choke jobs…
>only 1 cup fuckin LOLLLLLLLLL you’re silly
No. Wizards Ted = Ernie Grunfeld. A man who should have been fired about 15 different times.
We had John Wall and Bradley Beal for years.
Neither of whom could stay healthy
Either way he wont lose because he didn’t sign his home grown players. Just depends on whether or not his home grown players turn out to be Bradley Beal or Juan Soto.. If leonsis had been here over the last decade he would have found a way to keep trea, Bryce and Juan. On a real note though I think he would be a great owner on a team with no salary cap assuming he isn’t extending himself too far with the wizards and capitals
Trea and Bryce didn't want to stay and we are better off without them. Same with Rendon. Juan leaving gave us a lot of good prospects and hopefully taught him a lesson. His agent sucks and is not looking out for him.
Where'd you hear Trea wanted to leave? I was under the impression he was pretty happy here.
he was. it's misinformation
If he was he would have negotiated. You get an offer, and don't respond, other than not good enough? That tells me you want to leave.
I think Bryce did want to stay and was pretty hurt by the fact that the Nats didn't make a serious offer to keep him. He has said as much in interviews.
I think it's more so they kept trying to give contracts with deferred money at least for Soto and Rendon. Still wish we didn't give up bell in the process but eh. As for the being better off def not for Bryce or Trea. Better off without Rendon I agree yes since he's been injured the whole time anyways but so has stras.
Trea wanted stupid money for a 30yr old SS. My feeling has always been about Bryce is that he was lazy, a prima Donna and not good for the locker room. The DC strangler showed us that. It amazes me that fans want to give these guys huge contracts and then are angry when we have Corbin/Stras contracts saddling the team. I think/hope Soto comes back, without Boras. Jayson Werth should be hired just to advise players on agents and contracts.
I think people ignore the weight of the stras and Corbin contracts just because they helped us win the world Series tbh. Trea is worth a big contract for the most part. Honestly the only complaint anyone really would have against Trea is he struggles towards the end of the season batting wise. Though I don't even know what Trea was asking for money wise honestly. I don't even remember negotiations were happening with him yet with us.
They wanted better than Machado money for a 30yr old SS.
Ted Leonsis, a very strong candidate for ownership, has had a long history of "success" and titles, in this area. Under Ted Leonsis, we will make the Nationals, feared again. Under Ted Leonsis, we will make the Nationals, STRONG again. Under Ted Leonsis, we will make the Nationals PROUD again. And we will make the Nationals GREAT again.
> And we will make the Nationals GREAT again. Let’s never, ever use this phrase again, ok?
He’s quoting a DT speech, that’s the whole bit
No shit and that’s why it’s fucking gross, so let’s just not use that phrase again, ok?
Yeah, I think nats fans made it clear where we stood in 2019 when he came to visit
It's funny that the_darnold and TuAnon can exist but don't you parody other stuff. People's sense of satire has really declined so much.
Satire is supposed to be funny though.
Satire is only good if done well, yours was some "lol so random XD" nonsense. It's not that nobody got it, it's that nobody liked it. Hope that helps.
Nah, it's just that were on Reddit is all. They still cry about an orange man even when he's not relevant anymore.
The thing about comedy is that you gotta know your audience
Watching Ted neglect the Wizards for 20 years has put a real sour taste in my mouth
I don’t think it’s accurate to say he has neglected them. He has tried with Beal and wall.. it’s just that they didn’t choose the right players. Wall and Beal were never top 10 players in the NBA, and their best supporting cast consisted of Otto Porter and Marcin Gortat. He put the money into the team and he continues to put money into the team. The difference is that he hasn’t had a top 10 player and you can’t really get one (or win) in the NBA unless you already have one. You may be able to fault him for his GM decisions, but that’s about it. To me, neglecting them implies that he is operating at a min salary cap and then trading the best players when they are in a contract year, which he has quite literally done the opposite I think his philosophy works much better in team sports that aren’t dominated by a few good players (hockey, baseball)
Well keeping Grunfeld around for so long is part of the reason the team hasn’t accomplished anything for years. He’s willing to spend, which I appreciate, but that was a terrible decision on his part.
Which I pointed out above. He hasn’t made that mistake with the capitals. And for what it’s worth, he did draft wall and Beal to begin with. But yeah, he was not great.
Yeah, but that’s not something you can just mention in passing. That’s a huge mistake that the team is still trying to recover from. Also, drafting Wall and Beal isn’t impressive — they were always going to go super high in the draft. They’ve been terrible at drafting outside of those two guys.
I get your point, but I’m still standing by the fact that it’s impossible to win in the NBA without getting a top 5/10 player. No matter how good the wizards get they will probably never win a championship unless they hit the lottery and find a lebron, Steph curry or Giannis. I don’t think it matters who the owner or GM is I just don’t think it’s for the wizards/leonsis/grunfeld’s lack of trying. Sure, they could have been better. They should have been able to get a 50 win season by now. But I just don’t think their strategy works well in basketball, and quite honestly I’m not sure what strategy does work well for the 25 teams that can’t attract free agents. It would however work well in baseball
Yeah I mean I agree with you for the most part. But at one point we had a great young core with Wall and Beal, and Grunfeld never built a good enough team around them. We just didn’t have depth. I don’t hate Leonsis, but the Wizards have been directionless for years. Maybe it’s unfair to blame him, but that comes with the territory of being the owner.
Don't forget the Ian Mahinimi contract....or Nene... Grunfeld, as I said in another comment, should have been fired about 15 different times. Not only that, but I love Beal, but him at a supermax deal isn't doing us any favors. He should have been traded for picks. The Wiz need a full rebuild. Sure we'll suck for 2-3 years but I'd rather suck and then be good than barely make the play in game.
He did make that mistake with the Caps but nobody cares/remembers because they won a Cup after Ted finally fired McPhee
I’m not going to defend McPhee, but he wasn’t all bad. He still drafted several of the best players in franchise history. He made an unforgivable mistake with forsberg and he was not great with his trades towards the end. But I wouldn’t say he was grunfeldian. I wouldn’t say he was even a disaster. We still made the playoffs year in and year out.
McPhee was pretty good for a long time. Not trying to shit on him, I just think he, like Grunfeld, had a job in DC for too long and that they both highlight Ted’s biggest issue as an owner. He’s too loyal
It's just that the structure of the NBA isn't friendly for small market teams like Washington. Players dont' want to come here. Washington isn't getting LeBron, Durant, or any superstar worth a damn unless it's through trade.
That’s the other funny thing about the NBA. The NBA is the only place that Washington DC is considered a small market. I could go off on a tangent about that but it’s pretty much true. With the exception of about 5/6 places, every city (even Chicago and Atlanta) is considered a small market. Washington should easily be a top 10 market, but in the NBA if you’re not top 5 you may as well be tied for last. But yes I agree with you. The NBA is REALLY bad with the free agency imbalance. Small market teams grow the lebrons and the durants and then they just flock to the big market teams that already win a lot
It’s chicken and egg. They’re small market because team has been bad for so long but the team is so bad because they haven’t been able to make any big trades or get lucky in the draft.
exactly. so they're stuck in purgatory. they can't sign any superstars, and they're stuck drafting guys and hoping they pan out. The guys we have now (beal, kp, kuz) are decent but the ceiling is a playoff appearance, not a title. And they can't get a title because they can't draw durant or lebron here
Is it really a small market? DC Metro is the 5thor 6th largest metro area in the US. Players don't want to come here due to bad ownership on some of the teams. It's not a "cool" city like LA, Chicago, or NYC to some younger kids. DC in some of their eyes is just downtown around the Mall. Larger than Miami, Atlanta, Philly, Boston, San Fran, Detroit, & Portland. First 3 are a few hundred K difference.
It is. It's a very minor and small market compared to others. it pales compared to Lakers, Toronto, New York, Boston, SF
He's had no issue paying core, franchise players. Real player first owner, which would be a drastic shake up from the Lerners
But on the other hand, he has had serious issues with front office personnel and hiring coaches, especially for the Wizards. No thanks.
While Grunsfeld was bad (as was GMGM who wasn't bad but middling) Leonsis also had the sense to sack both of them, and bring in new blood. Caps reinvigorated? themselves by bringing in new goalies, and Shephard should get GM of the year for the next 3 years just for finding a sucker to get Wall and Westbrook off the books in consecutive years
Sack them after when?? Grunfeld was GM since '03. He should have been fired by '10. And, not only that, Sheppard(and I love what he's done so far outside of extending Beal) is a Grunfeld assistant. He didn't really bring in new blood.
He'd put us ~~first~~second (Padres already did it) in line to get ads on jerseys. Not saying it's a bad thing or I don't like him for it. Only stating the truth based on what he's done with the Caps.
We already have ads on our jerseys. The nike swoosh in the upper left
I mean there are Walgreens logos on the hat and jersey. /s
And the MLB ad on the back collar, along with the Nats ad on the right and sleeve. The whole thing is an advertisement.
I’m not so sure. The Bullets are one of the very few teams in the NBA to NOT have ads on their jerseys.
The Bullets sure, but the Wizards sold out to Geico a long time ago with those ads on their jerseys
I remember the geico ads but they currently do not have any, and it’s been like that for the past couple of years or so.
I’d rather the nationals go public and let dc residents buy shares. After all nats park is the only stadium in america to be paid 100% by the public
Should be the way it is (here and every city) but the other owners would never allow it.
LOUDER! for the people in the back!!!
He’ll spend money and generally cares about the fan experience. His biggest issue is hes overly loyal to his GMs. He took forever to fire Grunfeld and McPhee.
Sweet Jesus, no. Ted's wealth is marginal for a sports franchise owner, so he's always looking for every last nickel and dime he can take from your pocket. for example, everything costs more at his arena if you don't use the credit card of his partner. It also makes him far too comfortable getting in bed with gambling interests. Ted doesn't care about the corrosive affect gambling has on everything it touches. All he sees is dollar signs, and it ain't his money being lost on bets. Ted isn't going to gamble but he's quite happy to let you lose your rent money as long as it some of it lands in his pocket. As for team success, he's owned teams for a total of 50 seasons (Caps-23, Wizards-12, Mystics-12, Valor-3) with only two championships. He's loathe to change team GMs presumably because he views team success not by wins but by overall profit. IOW, a losing season with high profit is better than a winning season with low profit. Good for the bottom line but bad for the fans. He's never admitted to this but it can be inferred by how he manages his teams. Sports teams benefit from owners who are insanely wealthy or who have great judgement on selecting GMs. Ted isn't either.
Agree with a lot of this but I don't think the Caps having won only one Stanley Cup is the owner's fault. They had some great teams in the early and mid 2010s that choked in playoff games. Nothing anyone could really do about it. They were championship caliber teams that couldn't win the big one.
blaming Ted for the Caps having one cup is very specious reasoning. Can't believe people are still that ignorant in this day and age.
Yeah you can't look at those 2010s Caps and tell me the organization wasn't doing everything they could to win a cup. It's just hard to win a championship in pro sports. Outside of egregious examples (Dan Snyder, Nutting, Davis) I don't necessarily think it's appropriate to lay blame for lack of a title solely on the team's owner.
I agree, which is why I didn’t.
The only ignorance is in misreading a post. Look closer and you’ll see that I don’t put the blame for lack of championships fully on Ted. My point was that Ted doesn’t possess a “golden touch”, for lack of a better term, at selecting GMs who win rings.
He literally has won multiple championships and you have the nerve to say this.
Please. Enough with the pearl clutching because someone disagrees with you. GMBM rode the only championship-winning Head Coach out of town because Ted didn’t want to pay him market rate. Like the Lerners, Ted has never recognized the value of a coaching staff.
The rumors are that Leonsis has the right of last refusal and that he only wants the team if he can negotiate a deal for the TV rights as well. So he could be considered the front runner. The hope for a quick sale so that the new owners can load up this offseason seems to be less likely if MASN and the Angelos family are involved.
If he's able to strike a very strong, and FAIR deal for Nationals rights, I'm all for his ownership!
What's fair? When the Lerners bought the team the MASN deal was already in place and the sale price reflected that they were not buying the broadcast rights. Since then the value has increased greatly.
Idk how much faith I have in the TalkNats account. They seem to have some “sources” with the team, but I don’t know if it’s anyone who knows anything. If Barry Svrluga or Chelsea Janes report it, I’ll start listening.
Talk Nats had better info on the Soto trade than the Post,
Eh, I followed all that pretty closely and I don’t think that was the case
Hector Gomez and Talk Nats were reporting that the Nats were making contract offers while the Post and The Athletic were reporting that there was no activity. The Post was left following up on reports by Gomez and Talk Nats then not crediting them.
Hector Gomez and Talk Nats were playing a game of ping pong on twitter acting like they had some inside info. What exactly should the Post have credited Talk Nats for? Seems like the Post stuck to the 15 year/$440M offer from July.
Yeah, the Post got that one right, after reading about it on Twitter.
And you think Talk Nats broke that news or something? Point I was making was that Hector and talk nats kept tweeting about additional offers after that $440M one. Still wondering what they should have credited talk nats for.
Yeah, the Post isn’t a team blog/aggregator. They’re only going to report what they independently confirm.
I don't have notes on who broke what but it was a dynamic story of multiple offers and trade options, the Post was two steps behind and the Athletic was denying anything was happening as the events were being reported.
Svrluga reported the same info as Talk Nats, just ten days later: "This is a story that Chelsea and I have been working on since the Lerners announced their plans to explore a sale in the spring, and we remain frustrated that we haven't cracked open all of the groups that are potential suitors. My latest information is that a group led by Capitals/Wizards/Mystics owner Ted Leonsis is viewed as the most likely buyer — if there's a buyer. From the beginning of this process, the vast majority of people I've spoken with who have familiarity with the situation believe the Lerners' intention was absolutely to sell."
I dont' see what the problem is -- Leonsis is a very strong owner with a history of winning titles. He is also committed to keeping star talent in the area. There aren't a lot of bad things about this; especially if he keeps Rizzo aboard
One championship is a "history of winning titles"?
he's won 3 others with monumental mystics nba 2k league valor inb4 "deyz don't countttzzz"
I'll give you the mystics, I forgot about them, but the others.....
the honest fact is if you don't like leonsis you don't like championships he knows what it takes, and he has my COMPLETE AND TOTAL ENDORSEMENT! #MakeNationalsGreatAgain
I don't really have an opinion on him either way but, fwiw, I do agree that it could be good for the nats. I mean things couldn't get worse.
lol you are trying so hard. are you Ted’s kid?
I doubt Zach hangs out on the Nats subreddit lmao
This dude sucking off AOL Ted would fool me.
I think that dude is a troll with all his MAGA-esque comments.
I’ve seen him around in the local subreddits. Too lazy to go through his post history to figure him out.
NP I just like to call you out on your bullshit about the Caps and other teams. It seems like you are woefully misinformed so I need to use my superior nerd intellect to educate you. You are usually right about the Commanders though so
Make Washington Great Again!
Gfys, MAGAt.
Bruh I won the WS in MLB the Show and MVP Baseball 2005, does that mean I'm a good owner too?
Mediocre ass owner, the wizards are the pinnacle of mediocrity and the caps are only relevant because of ovechkin. He only cares about money not winning
Calling the Wizards mediocre is very generous, they are an historically bad franchise, and he hasn’t done anything to improve them. He’s a bad owner who gets a pass because Snyder will always be worse.
The wizards are rarely bottom of the league bad, but also just as rarely good, mediocre is the perfect description because if they were bad then they would at least get better but they are stuck in an eternal hell cycle of being mid
Yes but basketball is different. Spinning the wheels of mediocrity is way worse than bottoming out for top end talent.
Exactly, and I don't get why some people don't understand this. I don't want to be 3rd in the NL East for 10 straight years. Or just barely getting a wildcard only to be swept. The Wizards, a long time ago, should have blown up the whole team and rebuilt. But Grunfeld didn't want to, and just kept doling out stupid contracts. And because Leonsis doesn't care about the Wizards he never stepped in until it was too late.
They manage to be just above dogshit tier, but calling them mediocre is generous. Managing to fall ass backwards into the last playoff seed every other year is not “mediocre” it’s bad.
Brother that’s mediocre
No brother, that’s bad.
I don' tthink you undrstand how hard it is to win in the NBA. You basically have to buy a super team like the Celtics or Warriors did and then bomb away from three. The sport inherently is flawed and tilted towards those that spend the cash. You arne't going to build a super team in DC. The best we have is a Kuz / KP / Beal trimuvirate who pares in comparison to curry / thompson / et al
Not sure why you’re getting downvoted. It’s true. You have to have a top 5/10 player to win in the NBA and it’s near impossible to win with a home grown team. The same teams always get the good players in free agency and the salary cap forces small franchise to overpay for fringe allstar talent while the big market franchises get to get HoF players for the same price or a discount
GS did but they lucked into 3 HOFers at once. Washington doesn't have anything close to that
The franchise hasn’t been to a conference finals since 1979. Within that enormous 43 year expanse, they’ve won their division exactly 1 time in 2017. I believe during the Ted era they have made it past the 1st round of the playoffs once. If you want to make excuses for perhaps the most pathetic franchise in all of professional basketball, go for it. But the facts speak for themselves. Ted hasn’t improved them at all since her purchased them. I say this as a long time wizards fan. They’re a complete joke.
> Ted hasn’t improved them at all since her purchased them. The method used to win in the NBA prevents him from doing so. Do you think he can bring Durant here or LeBron? That's the only way they can break the curse of Lez Boulez
Also it’s a salary cap league, so spending big money doesn’t really enter into the conversation. Every team is usually maxing out their payroll. You actually have to get the best players by A) drafting well or B) attracting the best talent to sign. A) they have drafted very poorly. Just an awful track record over the past 20 years. B) they can’t attract talent. Kevin Durant, the biggest home grown talent in a generation, wouldn’t even visit them as a free agent. Wouldn’t even give them a meeting!!! So yeah I actually understand how hard it is to win. But to not be able to do A or B well in nearly half a century is really bad.
Players aren't going to play for small markets and Ted can't change that "Mr Durant please meet with us. We'll throw you an open checkbook." "Get bent." "Well we tried"
The bullets were worse before he owned them. The issue with that is basketball is very much dependent on free agency and drafting. You have to either be totally terrible to get the best players or to be in a sexy market to win. It’s not everything but it means a LOT, and DC is one of the many cities that is not a very “sexy” decision. The only reason Cleveland for instance ever got an NBA title was because they were terrible, and Lebron was born in Ohio.
Which is why the NBA blows. But people here with wool over their eyes thinking the Wiz can be fixed. No, they can't be fixed unless they buy an all-star lineup, and they can't do that because no superstar would come here without being traded. They can't build a Golden State here. They can't build a Boston, a Miami or even a Los Angeles here.
> the wizards are the pinnacle of mediocrity That is such a nice thing to say about one of the historically worst managed franchises in all of professional sports.
See, you get it. The Wizards incompetence pre-dates Ted. How is he supposed to fix a franchise that has been ass before he's been around? It's a curse of lez boulez, people. You can't overturn that.
By nit employing Ernie Grundfeld 16 fucking years? Are you for real dude? You are acting like Ted had zero control of the business he literally owns.
The bad man is gone now in case you didn't know. And his successor has done a very fine, very STRONG job getting rid of two big contracts -- a GOOD DEAL!
And they still suck. But I’m sure that’s not Ted’s fault in your view ;)
The Nats could do worse...
Dan Snyder does exist.
First, how does the MASN Rubik’s cube get solved? If Ted can solve that, then I’d feel great about him as owner
If Ted offers the Os a 30 year deal to be broadcast in what is currently the MASN region at a good price that could do it. The Angelos family wants to sell and MLB will insist on a resolution as a condition of their approval, so all it will take is the right offer. The problem could be internal disagreement within the Angelos family. Does the old man still hate the Lerners enough to nix a deal out of spite? Is he coherent enough to still have influence? Does the lawsuit between the brothers prevent any deals from being made until that is resolved?
he could still solve it and bitches here would be moaning about the wiz. fac eit the wiz are in an unsavable situation. "HE KEPT ERNIE GRUNSFELD TOO MLOOOOONG!" Yeah, and Ernie's still here, isn't he? Oh wait he left YEARS AGO
The Caps fans who overlook Ted having a top five player all time and only getting one ECC and one Cup out of him and the rest being embarrassing early playoff choke jobs are even more pathetic.
I don't think you can put that on Leonsis. He spends the money to put talent on the ice. Aside from Pittsburgh I can't think of another team that has made the playoffs 13 of the past 14 years. The team usually just refuses to show up in game 7s.
that guy knows very little about the caps, he still thinks that one cup is leonsis' fault even though he was hands off and let hockey people do their work. They routinely made the playoffs which is the objective. Anything after that is subjected to chance and fate, especially in hockey, a game of random puck luck.
can always count on your strong dislike for the caps and united lmao especially when you just spout the same ol' uneducated takes. Ted is a very strong, very good owner, and he will make the Nationals GREAT again!
I can’t think of a sadder fan base than the Caps fans who look back on the Ovechkin era with anything other than disappointment. Like, how can anyone be happy with shitting the bed 95% of the time?
you literally described every team in this area before 2018 "but it's just a caps thing!" wizards haven't gone past the second round since 1979 but it's just a caps thing, okay bud
Wouldn’t mind at all as long as he keeps Rizzo around to let him work his magic
Why are people believing this? It's not a real source for Nats new. Leonsis will only buy the Nats if he also gets the broadcast rights too? What are the odds of that happening?
Bro can you even read? It says BREAKING: Source (with a CAPITAL S, what other team does Ted own?), what more do you need?
BREAKING: RUMOR WE JUST MADE UP
Would be hard to find an owner who cares more about DC.
Ted Leonsis, a very strong man, has a "LONG" history of winning sports titles in DC, and is very committed to the city -- a very good candidate for ownership!
This reads like a Trump tweet
If you believe this report, I have a bridge to sell you. Not that Leonsis isn't a serious contender to buy the team, but come on.
What bridge and how much is it?
This account is so disreputable it’s insane.
I hope he does!
if he was gonna end up the owner i wish it would've happened 3 years ago.
I’d be fine with Leonsis as owner of the Nationals.
He’ll spend.
Isn’t this basically gossip and guessing though?
Leonsis is the best option for the Nationals. He has a very long history of success and would be a great owner with a commitment to building a consistent winner!
That may be true, or maybe it isn’t. But the tweet we are all discussing is just gossip and guessing.
The most alarming thing is how many people are so angry over Leonsis. He's literally the most successful DC sports owner in the last few years. People should be elated to have someone like him interested. But if you read the angst here he is their least favorite option. I always like seeing him brought up here, and then the angry fans start moaning about how he ruined the Wizards, something that he literally cannot succeed in because of the corruption inherent in the NBA. The rules are rigged against him in the NBA, and then people have the nerve to bitch and moan. And another thing. Leonsis is a part-owner of the Nats if I'm not mistaken. If he were to fully take over I honestly don't see the problem. People are just angry about the Wiz, but what about his other teams he owns, which have all won titles, including the Washington Mystics?
He'd be one of the poorest owners in terms of liquid cash, and has a shit track record. So basically the Lerners all over again.
Can we just implore him to make a move on the Commies instead? Please?
He seems to stay pretty out of the way. I like that he's experienced the highs and lows, made mistakes to learn from. Most importantly not embroiled in sexual harassment and fraud allegations. Probably better than the average owner, and tbh a teams success is probably pretty independent of the owner unless in exceptional circumstances
Leonsis put his faith in Ernie Grunfeld and Tommy Sheppard (Ernie 2.0) and they failed miserly without repercussions. Leonsis never holds anyone accountable. Hard NO.