The Official Washington Basketball Thread: Wizards, Mystics etc

[CRobi21]

 

[Ball Security]

Not unhappy about this big Serb. Even though we might not see him this year.

 

ESPN is showing we are getting Phoenix’s pick. Earlier reporting showed that the picks were starting in 2024.

[abdcskins]

Wouldn't be a Wizards draft without a random Euro nobody.

[FootballZombie]

This staff could not bear the idea that we gave away some twos so we had to re-coup them.

 

They love them some 2nd rounders.

 

 

Using them to move up in the 1st round to get the guy you want year in and year out may be an interesting way to maximize your early picks tho, if you don't end up really high in the lottery.

[Ball Security]

Unless there have been unannounced trades, they gave up Beal and Porzingis, and for 2023, only moved up one spot in the draft. 
 

I like their two selections so far though.

 

This is going to take a lot of time.

[Ball Security]

8 hours ago, Always A Commander Never A Captain said:

 

Suns are sending seconds in 2024, 2025, 2026, 2027, 2028 and 2030. Pick swaps in 2024, 2026, 2028 and 2030.

 

 

So was Woj’s reporting wrong here? Because it looks like we got Phoenix’s pick at 52.  Get it together, Woj.

[Llevron]

9 minutes ago, Ball Security said:

Unless there have been unannounced trades, they gave up Beal and Porzingis, and for 2023, only moved up one spot in the draft. 
 

I like their two selections so far though.

 

This is going to take a lot of time.

This is what I saw. I am unwilling to do the leg work to see which is true

 

 

[BRAVEONAWARPATH]

 

[abdcskins]

Wow, I actually really like the Jackson-Davis pick. 

[Ball Security]

21 minutes ago, BRAVEONAWARPATH said:

 

Beal, Goodwin, and Todd for Poole, Baldwin, and Shamet is not so bad.

[Ball Security]

 

 

pretty poor coverage by ESPN.

[Fergasun]

Can't even tell who is on the team.  I guess TJD is going to GSW.  

 

20 wins or bust!  

[FootballZombie]

Word is that Euro stash might not be big on the stash part. Some are reporting that they expect him to come over this year.

 

roster is full of bodies tho. Gonna need further moves to clear roster space.

 

 

[Going Commando]

Glad they swung on upside, but skinny, low-skill Internationals have very low hit rates.  The floor is super low on these kinds of players, and they often struggle to adjust to the culture of the US and NBA.  For every Pascal Siakam there are 50 Jan Veselys and Sekou Doumbouyas.  I'm not going to expect much, but hope for the best.

 

What I don't get is trading for Poole.  Why add that kind of long term salary to a team that is trying to tank?  Especially if the point of taking on bad long term money is to add near term draft capital that can help short cut a rebuild, which didn't happen.  You can find gunners way cheaper to command your tank.  They must actually like him.  Or at worst, they view him as a distressed asset capable of resuscitation playing a lead role on an empty team.  They could be right about that, we did that with guys like Porzingis and Bertans (only without following through and actually trading them when the iron was hot).

[FrFan]

8 hours ago, CobraCommander said:

J’aime le pick.

He's got dynamite in the legs, very fast, and is like a swiss army knife being able to play different positions. He's got to improve his shooting acuracy and playmaking skills.

 

 

[mhd24]

3 hours ago, Going Commando said:

Glad they swung on upside, but skinny, low-skill Internationals have very low hit rates.  The floor is super low on these kinds of players, and they often struggle to adjust to the culture of the US and NBA.  For every Pascal Siakam there are 50 Jan Veselys and Sekou Doumbouyas.  I'm not going to expect much, but hope for the best.

 

What I don't get is trading for Poole.  Why add that kind of long term salary to a team that is trying to tank?  Especially if the point of taking on bad long term money is to add near term draft capital that can help short cut a rebuild, which didn't happen.  You can find gunners way cheaper to command your tank.  They must actually like him.  Or at worst, they view him as a distressed asset capable of resuscitation playing a lead role on an empty team.  They could be right about that, we did that with guys like Porzingis and Bertans (only without following through and actually trading them when the iron was hot).

I initially didn't like taking on Poole, but the new CBA requires teams to pay 90% of the Cap (before, if you didn't reach that threshold, you could give out the difference to your existing players on the roster like OKC did a couple of years ago).  So, they needed to pay someone as they do not have any players with any big money on non-rookie deals after this year (Gaff makes relatively low money).

[Spaceman Spiff]

PBJ could be a good get. 

[zCommander]

5 minutes ago, Spaceman Spiff said:

PBJ could be a good get. 

 

Nothing like peanut butter and jelly

 

[Going Commando]

43 minutes ago, mhd24 said:

I initially didn't like taking on Poole, but the new CBA requires teams to pay 90% of the Cap (before, if you didn't reach that threshold, you could give out the difference to your existing players on the roster like OKC did a couple of years ago).  So, they needed to pay someone as they do not have any players with any big money on non-rookie deals after this year (Gaff makes relatively low money).

 

The floor is 90% of the cap now?  Still, if your goal is to truly tank, feels like you could easily get there taking on shorter contracts and extending dudes like Avdija rather than taking a guy who is kinda good on a four year deal.

 

To me it feels like they actually like Poole and aren't planning on having an extended tank, nor are they looking for big contracts they can flip as expirings in a year.  The Poole deal makes more sense if you grant that they view it as buying low on a player whose long term value they like for themselves.

 

I agree with PeterMP, it feels like they're building a team with about 30 wins in them next year, that's going to be in like the ~sixth pick range instead of what the Rockets/Pistons were.  You're not really gonna bottom out if six or seven guys in your ten man rotation are actually decent players.  Say next year's draft is as good as this one's and the top three have three future All Stars... It'll be tricky to move up from like six into that range with the assets we have because we didn't get anything starry back from our fire sale.  Unless Poole makes an unexpected leap.  But then would we want to deal him?

 

I don't think the window of our rebuild is set to be as long as people are expecting.  More like just planning on being pretty bad next year, but not truly tanking.  I'm ok with that because a Trust the Process style five year tank is dumb and doesn't work, plus it is a sure path for Winger getting fired.  We've got to build a culture here, and can't put that off for long.  Long tanks usually just mean you waste most of your young talent as you become a farm team for the rest of the league.  But we probably do need to actually be bad next season and finish in the top three of the lottery.  Gotta try and find that perennial All Star to build around.

[Renegade7]

I'm trying to convince myself Coulibaly isn't jus a more athletic version of Dani...any help while I continue going through scouting reports will suffice.

 

While the idea of him also turning into an above-average defender is intriguing, it's always concerning when you have multiple players on the floor you can't reasonable expect a certain amount of offense from.

[mhd24]

4 minutes ago, Renegade7 said:

I'm trying to convince myself Coulibaly isn't jus a more athletic version of Dani...any help while I continue going through scouting reports will suffice.

 

While the idea of him also turning into an above-average defender is intriguing, it's always concerning when you have multiple players on the floor you can't reasonable expect a certain amount of offense from.

Once the Thompsons were gone, Bilal was my guy.  Shoot for the home run.  No more Johnny Davis types.  If we didn't go Bilal, I probably would have drafted Bufkin (and he went 15th).  

[Going Commando]

Just now, Renegade7 said:

I'm trying to convince myself Coulibaly isn't jus a more athletic version of Dani...any help while I continue going through scouting reports will suffice.

 

While the idea of him also turning into an above-average defender is intriguing, it's always concerning when you have multiple players on the floor you can't reasonable expect a certain amount of offense from.

 

Deni is pretty strong.  Bilal looks thin and under powered to me.  He grew 9 inches in just over a year and the strength hasn't caught up yet, you can see even in his highlights that finishing through contact is going to take time for him.  I don't think he's going to play much at all next year.

 

I like the pick though, because the speed and leaping ability are that of a guy who is still 6' tall.  Could be that he's not done growing taller too.  He could end up legit PF sized in three years.  Feels like this was the right year to take a high upside project that can eventually support whoever we get either next year or in 2025, as an eventual Pascal Siakam type two way second option.  At that point, Deni will probably be long gone.

[mhd24]

Is Johnny Davis even going to get PT here? We traded for Patrick Baldwin too.  I think the Wiz philosophy is going to be let the cream rise to the top.

 

Right now (assuming no more trades (and there will be more trades)), our lineup is:

 

PG:  Jones/Morris/Wright

SG:  Poole/Wright/Shamet/Davis

SF:  Kispert/Bilal/Shamet

PF:  Deni/Gallo/Baldwin/Gill

C.  Gaff/Huff/Vukchevic

 

I figure we buyout Gallo and trade Morris/Wright for future draft picks and an equivalently salaried expiring big.

Just now, Going Commando said:

 

Deni is pretty strong.  Bilal looks thin and under powered to me.  He grew 9 inches in just over a year and the strength hasn't caught up yet, you can see even in his highlights that finishing through contact is going to take time for him.  I don't think he's going to play much at all next year.

 

I like the pick though, because the speed and leaping ability are that of a guy who is still 6' tall.  Could be that he's not done growing taller too.  He could end up legit PF sized in three years.  Feels like this was the right year to take a high upside project that can eventually support whoever we get either next year or in 2025, as an eventual Pascal Siakam type two way second option.  At that point, Deni will probably be long gone.

 

I think the new FO might actually like Deni.  We all know he has talent.  He's going to get all the PT he can handle this year LOL.  Deni can defend and has an all-around game (sans the shooting unfortunately).  Maybe we extend him at a cheap rate?  He's the only NBA caliber PF we have on the roster right now.

 

Yeah, this was the draft to take an upside pick.  We could have gone safe and taken Gradey Dick who will always be a role player.  Go for the home run.

[tshile]

Seems to me the people that usually are right about things have this new regime getting reasonably high marks for what they’ve done in the last… week and a half?

 

and a bunch of people I have no idea what their track record is because I don’t recall their previous opinions have found a reason to complain about every move. 
 

as a casual wizards fan I remain optimistic that the new regime is at least making quality decisions and trying to figure out how to get rid a large bag of **** they were handed, and come away with something significantly better

[method man]

47 minutes ago, mhd24 said:

Is Johnny Davis even going to get PT here? We traded for Patrick Baldwin too.  I think the Wiz philosophy is going to be let the cream rise to the top.

 

Right now (assuming no more trades (and there will be more trades)), our lineup is:

 

PG:  Jones/Morris/Wright

SG:  Poole/Wright/Shamet/Davis

SF:  Kispert/Bilal/Shamet

PF:  Deni/Gallo/Baldwin/Gill

C.  Gaff/Huff/Vukchevic

 

I figure we buyout Gallo and trade Morris/Wright for future draft picks and an equivalently salaried expiring big.

 

I think the new FO might actually like Deni.  We all know he has talent.  He's going to get all the PT he can handle this year LOL.  Deni can defend and has an all-around game (sans the shooting unfortunately).  Maybe we extend him at a cheap rate?  He's the only NBA caliber PF we have on the roster right now.

 

Yeah, this was the draft to take an upside pick.  We could have gone safe and taken Gradey Dick who will always be a role player.  Go for the home run.

They should focus on trading Jones. He is not going to resign here and his current salary is relatively cheap. Kind of surprising to me they couldn’t finagle something out of the Lakers or Clippers for him predraft. Of the guys on the roster, he brings in max value in my opinion

50 minutes ago, Going Commando said:

 

Deni is pretty strong.  Bilal looks thin and under powered to me.  He grew 9 inches in just over a year and the strength hasn't caught up yet, you can see even in his highlights that finishing through contact is going to take time for him.  I don't think he's going to play much at all next year.

 

I like the pick though, because the speed and leaping ability are that of a guy who is still 6' tall.  Could be that he's not done growing taller too.  He could end up legit PF sized in three years.  Feels like this was the right year to take a high upside project that can eventually support whoever we get either next year or in 2025, as an eventual Pascal Siakam type two way second option.  At that point, Deni will probably be long gone.

DA seemed to imply they were hoping for Anthony Black but the Magic messed that up for them, taking him at #6. At that point, it became obvious who they should take given Whitmore’s medicals. I totally buy that Indy was getting interest in the pick from other teams for Bilal - easy call for Indy to make the first call to us given they must have really wanted Walker and trading down 1 pick guaranteed they could still get him