Fabricio Oberto will be a Wizard

In fairly desperate need of an experienced big man [or two], the Wizards have offered a contract to ex-San Antonio Spur Fabricio Oberto, a 34-year-old veteran from Argentina with a championship ring. Oberto is about 6’10″ and weighs roughly 245 pounds, so he’s a legitimate big man, though hardly an intimidating bruiser. Oberto was part of the trade that brought Richard Jefferson to the Spurs and he was recently waived by the Detroit Pistons, who are nevertheless on the hook for fully half of Oberto’s guaranteed $3.8 million guaranteed contract this season.

Don’t worry as much about Oberto’s age as you might think. He’s not a speed or quickness guy so losing those things really isn’t an issue. Oberto is an annoying harasser on defense, waving his arms all over the place and constantly trying to disrupt the offensive player’s rhythm. He shoots a very high percentage from the field [59% last year], but not from the free throw line [57% last year]. He’s a decent rebounder who will take almost no shots and he gets his points from tap-ins or by cutting to the basket and receiving a pass out of the double-team. [Gilbert Arenas might like this guy.] 

Oberto is a guy who is good for 10-17 minutes per game. Don’t expect him to score one-on-one or block a shot [he doesn't do that], but he’ll work hard on defense, throw his body around some, and grab a few rebounds. His 10.59 PER confirms that any scoring you get from him will be gravy and, quite possibly, unintentional.

The Wizards will give Oberto the team’s bi-annual exception, worth about $2 milion. Oberto is also due $1.9 million from the Detroit Pistons. 

This probably means the Wizards are done with free agency. They’ve discarded Oleksiy Pecherov, Darius Songaila and Etan Thomas, while adding Randy Foye, Mike Miller and Fabricio Oberto. Of course, the healthy return of Arenas and Brendan Haywood is like getting two more players, one a great offensive player and the other the team’s best defender. 

I like the Oberto signing a lot. He does exactly what the Wizards need done and he won’t ask for more shots, won’t cause trouble in the locker room and won’t bitch about how many minutes he’s not getting. He’ll be a hard-working, physical presence in the paint and might even show Andray Blatche and Javale McGee a thing or two about leaving everything they’ve got on the court. If McGee and Blatche are not ready to take over when Haywood’s resting, the team has another, experienced option. If the young players ARE ready, Oberto won’t whine to the papers about his minutes going to McGee and Blatche. 

A solid, if un-glamorous move by GM Ernie Grunfeld.