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Good for him. I'll never forget what he did during the 2007 championship run. Best of luck.
Good luck to him.
Good for him. I'll never forget what he did during the 2007 championship run. Best of luck.
Buena suerte Fabricio!!! I'll surely keep an eye on your season with the Wizards.
"He knows he wants to go where he can play on a team that has a chance to win," Rudoy said.
Suns Kings Wiz and Thunder
Really:
Wizards fill gap at center with Oberto
Veteran agrees to deal for one year, $1.99M
By Mike Jones
The Washington Times
Veteran center Fabricio Oberto has agreed in principle with the Washington Wizards on a one-year deal worth the biannual exception of $1.99 million, according to his agent.
The 6-foot-10, 34-year-old Argentine was the prime target in free agency for the Wizards, who sought a veteran presence to provide depth to a frontcourt that featured eight-year veteran Brendan Haywood and second-year big man JaVale McGee.
Oberto, a starter on the San Antonio Spurs' 2006-07 championship team, was traded last month to Milwaukee as part of a deal that sent Richard Jefferson to San Antonio. Milwaukee then shipped Oberto to Detroit to complete the three-team deal, and the Pistons earlier this month waived the center, making him a free agent.
According to his agent, Herb Rudoy, Oberto also was being pursued by the Phoenix Suns and exploring options that included returning to the Spurs. But San Antonio signed center Theo Ratliff on Thursday, eliminating Oberto's hopes of returning.
Oberto was "very interested in the Wizards because they're going to have a very good team next year, being healthy again," Rudoy said. "And he wants to win another championship."
The signing puts the Wizards' payroll for the coming season at $77.79 million - nearly $8 million over the league spending limit, for which they will pay a dollar-for-dollar luxury tax penalty.
It is likely the last offseason move for the Wizards, who in June sent the fifth overall pick and center Etan Thomas and forward/centers Darius Songaila and Oleksiy Pecherov to Minnesota for guard Randy Foye and swingman Mike Miller.
That deal bolstered the Wizards' perimeter attack but left them with a roster that featured seven guards, four forwards and two centers.
Because of their financial situation, Haywood's recovery from the wrist surgery that kept him out of all but six games last season and the encouraging development of McGee, the Wizards weren't in the market for a high-profile free agent center.
Instead, they sought a veteran capable of playing five to 10 solid minutes a game behind Haywood and McGee who also would come at a relatively low cost.
As the free agency period began July 1, the Wizards eyed Rasho Nesterovic, Channing Frye, Jason Collins and Jamaal Magloire. But when Oberto was waived that day in a cost-cutting move, he immediately became Washington's top target.
Oberto, who came to the NBA four years ago after a strong European career, averaged 2.6 points and 2.6 rebounds in 12.5 minutes last season and was limited by injury to 54 games. But he's a savvy veteran who would meet the Wizards' needs.
Wizards president Ernie Grunfeld is in Israel and couldn't be reached for comment. An official announcement is expected from the team early next week once the paperwork is completed.
gl in dc oberto !!!
Good luck Fab!!! I hope he doesn't play too well against the Spurs though.
Good for him!Oberto was "very interested in the Wizards because they're going to have a very good team next year, being healthy again," Rudoy said.
Fail."And he wants to win another championship."
$2M Bi-Annual Exception money is good for an aging Big. I hope the Wizards' players appreciate what he brings to team basketball. He won't be as physical as Etan Thomas was, but his passing, screens, seals and saavy are not found in many players.
We'll miss you, Fab.
Good deal for Fab, hope he's past his heart problems. Awesome player to watch.
I was expecting him to go to Europe but its good to have him in the NBA. I think he'll get a warm reception when the Wizards visit SA.
Good luck FAB!! Atleast he already has a ring because he isnt getting 1 in Washington.
It's great that Oberto's surgery was a success and allowed him to continue playing BB.
Good luck to you, Fab.
I'll hope when the Spurs meets the Wizards, Oberto will not registered 20+ Pts and 10+ Rebs.I'll remember when the Spurs traded Udrih to the Kings and when they meet the Kings Udrih registered his career high and they beat also the Spurs, wow.
there's no way that Fab come back here, we already have 7 bigs on our roster. Unless, there's a trade involving multiple bigs
lol at Oberto turning down the Lakers.
Well, with his buy out he makes $4M next year!
You know that he will.I'll hope when the Spurs meets the Wizards, Oberto will not registered 20+ Pts and 10+ Rebs.
I hope he does,.....in a losing effort.I'll hope when the Spurs meets the Wizards, Oberto will not registered 20+ Pts and 10+ Rebs.
He might not have been blessed athletically, but he more than makes up for it in smarts. Good luck to him in DC!
This is from Truth About It.net, which is part of the TrueHoop Network Roster (like 48 Minutes of is). The blog also has some quotes from Spurs and Wizards bloggers, hit the link to read them.
Fabricio Oberto, You Complete Me
Fabricio Oberto can’t jump. He can’t lock down today’s athletic big man, nor keep up in a fast break sprint. Block shots? A career 0.6 blocks per 36 minutes says it all. He has a nice shooting touch, but don’t look for him to be a scorer. , his career 60% from the free-throw line knocks on the door of atrocious. The guy even fouls at a per 36 minutes rate slightly more than Andray Blatche (however, I’m willing to bet that Oberto’s fouls are “smarter” than Blatche’s). Oh, did I also mention that he recently had heart surgery? Yuck.
Oberto is exactly what the Wizards need.
I’ve been contentious about Ernie Grunfeld pigeon-holing the final free agent big man target to 8-10 minutes per game. That announced strategy put way too much trust in Blatche and JaVale McGee. Plus, it limited the attractiveness of the job opening.
But I’ll be the first to admit that I’m neither a GM nor a coach. If this is the direction in which the guy I’ve come to trust would like to go, so be it. I’ll be behind the movement.
What Oberto brings to the table is a composed veteran presence on offense. He’s fluid, he’s efficient, he’s smart. He can pass, and his hands don’t resemble oven mitts. Leave him open and he’ll gladly knock down that J. No, Oberto doesn’t have the floor spreading range of Darius Songaila. His .364 eFG% on jumpers is dwarfed by D-Song’s .460 eFG%. But Oberto’s overall .587 eFG% would have been tops on the Wiz last year, and much better than Songaila’s team best .532.
Why is this good? Well, Oberto works closer to the basket. Maybe this type of guy is better in Flip Saunders’ offense, but a down low banger is definitely more desired for someone playing limited time, especially when Jamison and Blatche tend to drift around the perimeter.
Another note about Flip’s offense, in his purportedly more efficient system, one that limits easy, fast-break opportunities for the opponent, the Wiz want a guy creating second chances. Oberto’s 11.6 offensive rebounding percentage in 08-09 more than doubles Songaila’s 5.6, and would have been third on the team after Oleksiy Pecherov’s 14.4 (an anomoly), and McGee’s 12.0 (mostly a result of length and athleticism … can you imagine when the kid learns technique?).
Defensively, as mentioned, Oberto is not going to ‘wow’ anyone. But the 34-year old vet is crafty. He knows the art of positioning, and the dude ain’t scared to throw his weight around. Let’s be honest, Oberto is a Euro flopper (note: Oberto is Argentinian, not European, this I know … but all those soccer-based countries get lumped into one when it comes to basketball and flopping).
He’s our answer to Anderson Varejao. Take that with a middle finger other NBA teams/fans.
So … maybe Oberto doesn’t complete ‘me’ per se. But when considering the wholeness of the 2009-10 Wizards, this passionate player, this piece who’s like no other currently on the team, the offseason has been brought to a close. I feel better about Grunfeld’s constructed roster. I now feel this team is complete.
It's official.
Wizards sign Fabricio Oberto for frontcourt depth
The Washington Wizards say they have signed forward-center Fabricio Oberto, giving the team added frontcourt depth.
The 6-foot-10, 245-pound Oberto averaged 3.6 points and 3.9 rebounds in four seasons with San Antonio. The Spurs traded Oberto to Detroit this summer as part of a five-player deal; the Pistons then waived Oberto.
Oberto helped the Spurs win the 2007 NBA le and Argentina win a gold medal at the 2004 Olympics.
“Fabricio is a proven winner with extensive playoff experience,” Wizards president Ernie Grunfeld said. “He is a skilled big man and a rugged veteran.”
Washington traded reserve forwards Etan Thomas, Darius Songaila and Oleksiy Pecherov to Minnesota in June.
I met him once at HEB, he was really nice. Good luck Oberto!
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