Buzz.

Buzz.

Buzz.

Are extra z’s necessary?

Wizards owner Ted Leonsis is the sole author of an appropriately named blog, Ted’s Take. This blog houses takes on a variety of subjects, but the Venn Diagram overlap between Leonsis’ blog and our blog is limited to the Washington Wizards. Early on Wednesday, Ted had an interesting take regarding who the four most important Washington Wizards were. Later, that take was edited substantially. So it is that this take concerning Ted’s Take(s) concerning the Wizards was brought into the world.

Most notably, Leonsis’ initial post listed every Washington Wizards starter other than Trevor Ariza as one of the four most important Wizards. The exact quote:

“Several have mentioned to me how fortunate we are as a franchise this off season to now have under contract our four most important players, John Wall, Bradley Beal, Nene and Marcin Gortat.”

Aside from the fact that neither the tape, nor the numbers, bear that statement out (at least not as far as the 2013-14 Wizards went), Ariza’s omission was especially conspicuous due to his current status: an unrestricted free agent who, according to the Washington Post’s Michael Lee, may be seeking a hefty raise in the $48 million over four years department. As Lee notes, that’s Andre Iguodala money. The internet noticed Ariza’s exclusion from the aforementioned “most important Wizards list,” and it seems that Mr. Leonsis may have noticed the exclusion’s effect on the internet, or at least noticed how such a sentence may be perceived in presumably ongoing negotiations with Ariza.

Ariza’s desired number, in the turgid doldrums of pre-Decision free agency, has seemingly swelled every few days. The Wizards and Ariza are presumed to still have mutual interest, but the disconnect is, as Lee reported, that the Wizards have “a number” that they won’t go above (and are limiting themselves to a four-year contract). That number could be a max contract, or it could be $1, but if Ariza has been presented with the Wizards’ best offer, it may already be obsolete. David Aldridge reports that Washington’s current ceiling is $9 million per year.

Ariza could also be waiting, like everyone else, for the market to truly come calling when LeBron makes his decision. Other than the Wizards, the Mavs, Cavs, Lakers and Heat have shown interest in acquiring his services, according to Ken Berger. You can add the Rockets, Clippers, Bulls, and Hawks to the list, according to Chris Broussard. The Mavericks tendered an offer sheet to Houston’s Chandler Parsons, a restricted free agent, and whether Houston matches the offer will determine which of Dallas or Houston pursues Ariza. Either the Cavs or the Heat will sign LeBron, and the loser of that battle may make Ariza their Plan B. The Clippers could have interest in a sign-and-trade. The Bulls, after amnestying Carlos Boozer, could just pay the man. As could Atlanta. Of course, there’s also the Lakers, and Ariza’s affinity for his hometown, Los Angeles, may play a part.

Which is why the redaction from Ted’s Take shown below is interesting, because a public proclamation by an owner stating that the team’s most important players are already under contract during negotiations with Ariza — the team’s stated target — would seem to undercut the pitch, especially given how important Ariza was to the Wizards last year. After all, it was reported by CSN’s J. Michael that the Wizards considered Marcin Gortat and Trevor Ariza “priority 1A and 1A.”

And while the post was eventually edited and re-published, the internet never forgets.

Ted’s Take, original post, around 9:30 am on July 9.

[Ted’s Take, via Google cache]

Notice what’s missing (also highlighted)?

“Several have mentioned to me how fortunate we are as a franchise this off season to now have under contract our four most important players, John Wall, Bradley Beal, Nene and Marcin Gortat.”

Ted’s Take, adjusted post, around 2:30 pm on July 9.

[h/t @nbilka]

[via Ted’s Take]