The Official Washington Basketball Thread: Wizards, Mystics etc

[G.A.C.O.L.B.]

Who makes your short list of coaches for us next year?

I personally hope Lebron runs Spoelstra out of Miami. I think he'd be perfect. Young guy, connect with the younger players, grow with them, real basketball nerd, likes smart basketball, great for our super athletic franchise player PG, works hard, and would spend the rest of his career trying to **** Lebron anyway he can.

[BRAVEONAWARPATH]

I personally hope Lebron runs Spoelstra out of Miami. I think he'd be perfect. Young guy, connect with the younger players, grow with them, real basketball nerd, likes smart basketball, great for our super athletic franchise player PG, works hard, and would spend the rest of his career trying to **** Lebron anyway he can.

+1 +1 +1+

[G.A.C.O.L.B.]

+1 +1 +1+

Yeah man. Lebron has made him look bad this year but I really think that he has a chance to be something special. There's a reason Riley hand picked the guy to be his successor. Son of a long time NBA executive, played college ball as a PG, played over in Europe for a couple of years, started as a video coordinator with Miami at the age of 25, became a scout, worked his ass off, real big on technology, the basektball version of a sabermetrician, and still just 40 years old. Perfect for our team and perfect for our owner.

Edited December 15, 2010 by G.A.C.O.L.B.

[BRAVEONAWARPATH]

We need to start NY at the 3. With Wall in the lineup, you need more outside shooting and thats not Thornton's game.

[Sticksboi05]

Wall's injuries are ridiculous if they are what I think they are. It hurts, suck it up.

[BRAVEONTHEWARPATH93]

We need to start NY at the 3. With Wall in the lineup, you need more outside shooting and thats not Thornton's game.

+1

Oh and sorry for stealing your name bro lol

[No Excuses]

We need to start NY at the 3. With Wall in the lineup, you need more outside shooting and thats not Thornton's game.

Thornton doesn't really have a game. He pretty much sucks. Rebounds when he feels like it. Scores when he feels like. Inconsistent jump shot. Inconsistent energy every game. The guy is built like a prototypical SF but man his skills leave a lot to be desired.

[BRAVEONTHEWARPATH93]

Thornton doesn't really have a game. He pretty much sucks. Rebounds when he feels like it. Scores when he feels like. Inconsistent jump shot. Inconsistent energy every game. The guy is built like a prototypical SF but man his skills leave a lot to be desired.

It's weird cuz I remember he had an ok post game in college

I remember one game versus duke where dude was actually banging on the boards

Wonder what happened...

[Going Commando]

I'm debating with myself on two things:

1. Is this team poorly constructed.

2. Is this team poorly coached.

My answer right now: 40% for #1 and 60% for #2. This team has some really raw talent that needs time but it also has a bunch of guys that don't belong in the league (Al Thornton, Yi, Armstrong). Hinrich is a nice player but he's useless when Wall and Gilbert are healthy. We don't need 3 PG's, Kirk can't play SG.

Coaching is terrible. I'm sick of Flip's jump shooting system. His teams have never been good at attacking the rim. His offense does not put focus on big men doing work in the paint. His defense uses a lot of zone which sucks when you have low IQ players.

Give it a while. You can't totally remake the team in a single offseason. This time last year we were still trying to eke out some wins with Butler, Arenas, Miller, and Jamison. It hasn't been long since we made the determination to rebuild.

So as it is, there are going to be some parts that don't fit right until we can find better solutions through the draft or through FA. Thornton, Armstrong, and Hinrich are place holders until better solutions arise. I don't know WTF Yi is, but he's expendable enough that he doesn't really vex me.

Tune out those guys and look at the core: McGee, Young, Wall, Booker, Seraphin, Blatche. That's not a bad construction at all. You've got your superstar point guard. You've got a center who will be in the top 5 at his position in the East for the next decade. You've got a sweet shooting, offensively gifted swingman who seems to thrive in the sixth man role. You've got an extremely talented but extremely raw big who can knock heads with anyone in the league and set the physical tone for our entire team. And then you've got a rugged combo forward who brings energy off the bench and elite defensive potential, and if he ever develops some outside shooting, he'll be such a good utility player.

Blatche could be a valuable trade chip if Seraphin blossoms. If not, he'll remain a good scoring PF which is good enough to find a place on our team. Yi is a long term project with a great deal of athleticism and ability to play above the rim. He's not a bad 10th man when you get down to it. As for Arenas and Howard, I don't really know what to make of them. Arenas is kind of a millstone and doesn't have much of a place on this team any more. Best case scenario is that he could play lights out and them some desperate team will take him off our hands for 30 cents on the dollar.

Does anyone know what kind of contract Howard has? Assume he comes back mid season and has a solid year. Is he tradeable?

Every championship team seems to feature a strong 8 man core. Between Wall, McGee, Young, Seraphin, and Booker, I think we have five of those players right now. I think we could stand to add another great offensive player on the wing and I like Harrison Barnes specifically. I think we'll have a strong chance at him too. Then we're really cooking. I also want to see us add a true 2 who can play strong defense and shoot. I love Michael Gilchtist and wish the kid were draft eligible this year because he'd be my top choice to pair with Wall for the next decade. As it is, we probably won't be picking high enough to take him in 2012. What about making a play for someone like Corey Brewer? He'll be an RFA in 2011.

I also think it's fairly clear that Flip won't be our coach in the long term.

And another thing, think of Flip and John Wall's persistent injuries as blessings in disguise. Nothing is serious yet. But both are doing enough to keep us in the hunt for one final top draft pick, allowing us to add that perimeter star we need.

[No Excuses]

My problem isn't with the losing but with the way the team is losing. It's one thing to lose because you are not as talented as the other teams, but we are not only over matched by talent, but by effort and coaching as well. The minute distribution leaves a lot to be desired.

If you look past the glitz and glamour of having the #1 overall pick, this team has been really really ugly this year. Uglier than it should be. The record speaks for itself but it doesn't tell the entire story.

[G.A.C.O.L.B.]

Howard was a free agent this past offseason. Coming off a major knee injury he wasn't getting much action so he resigned here for one year for I think $4 mil.

Obviously I agree with McQueen but I get what you're saying Vishal. The Kings game really killed me and tonight I didn't even feel like watching. A big reason for that was because Wall wasn't playing. So I wonder if having the captain and #1 pick be in and out like this isn't a big cause for the pathetic play of the team. Save for I think the Detroit game, I can't remember another one where Wall was out and the team played worth a ****.

[Going Commando]

i try not to think about that trade, its quite painful. Grunfeld was only saved because we lucked into the #1 pick.

i think if we land Curry, we're probably not quite bad enough to land Wall

First, it's no certainty we would have taken Curry had we the chance. I seem to remember Rubio and Derozan being the ones everyone wanted. Even still, a lot of people wanted Thabeet or some more bigs. PF/C seemed like our biggest needs at the time because we had Caron Butler and Jamison playing the wings.

Then, If we had picked Curry and he'd had that sensational rookie season with us, there is no way we'd have been bad enough to get Wall. As it stands, I'd rather have Wall than Curry and Al Farouq Aminu or something.

The trade sucked and I hated it at the time, but we came out alright on it by ending up with Wall and a bunch of cap flexibility.

But I have thought about what it might be like to have Curry and Wall. Or what if Tyreke Evans had slipped just one more spot, what a freaking dynamic backcourt he and Wall would make.

Edited December 15, 2010 by stevemcqueen1

[BRAVEONAWARPATH]

+1

Oh and sorry for stealing your name bro lol

No problem lol

[G.A.C.O.L.B.]

****ing Reebok.

Edited December 17, 2010 by G.A.C.O.L.B.

[Duckus]

Ted's response:

****ing Reebok.

Oh. My. ****ing. God.

Only to the wizards would this happen. Our ****ing star player is ****ed up because of his shoe deal. :ols::ols:

[StillUnknown]

Oh. My. ****ing. God.

Only to the wizards would this happen. Our ****ing star player is ****ed up because of his shoe deal. :ols::ols:

i can't even laugh anymore

[BRAVEONAWARPATH]

We are cursed.

Seriously.

[Going Commando]

How ridiculous. A goddamn shoe deal gets in the way of the game.

Ugh whatever at least they've isolated the problem.

[Popeman38]

Kobe told him to come over to Nike last night.

[Going Commando]

I was thinking about it. We're constructed much like the Bulls are when you get down to it. Wall is to Rose only with a higher ceiling and better floor vision. Javale is to Noah with better athleticism and offensive potential but with worse toughness/IQ/rebounding ability. Young is to Deng only he's shorter and not as strong but he's faster and a better shooter.

Could Kevin Seraphin develop into our Carlos Boozer? We'd be a good team if he did. He'd certainly help McGee out if he became an elite defender so McGee could focus on playing his defense around and above the rim.

[G.A.C.O.L.B.]

No way Seraphin develops the skillset of Boozer. And Seraphin is big and strong, while Boozer is undersized and not that athletic. I think Blatche is more similar to Boozer except Blatche is bigger and is also, unfortunately, a *****.

[boofMcboof]

Darn, I can't believe he's sporting reeboks. I was looking forward to seeing John Wall again, he might be 2nd favorite non-Laker player. That guy has a natural feel for the game and he plays at a speed I haven't seen since Magic and Isiah.

[Duckus]

I won’t pretend to know if our management is purposely tanking the season or not. It sure feels that way, especially keeping Flip around. But it really is starting to feel like Ted is looking for his Nicholas Backstrom.

He got his Ovi with John Wall - a rare, once in 4, 5, 6 year talent. The center to build around, team captain. Now he sees the chance to get another top 5 picks, maybe even top 3 and pick up his Backstrom. A 1-2 punch for 10 years.

Obviously we have been talking about tanking and the lottery for pages in this thread, but the fact that the Capitals were SO successful with the Ovi-Backstrom picks makes me think Ted wants us to go down in flames.

At least that is what I tell myself to explain what I see on the court . . . .

Edited December 15, 2010 by Duckus

[No Excuses]

Ted has said himself that he doesn't expect this team to do much this year.

The only troubling thing for me is the effort. The only player who I think has given us solid consistent effort all year while staying healthy is Nick Young. I still like Javale but it's hard to do well when your coach has you on a ridiculously short leash.

Blatche to me has been the biggest disappointment. I really expected more from him, not only from a statistical stand point but from a veteran stand point. He's a pretty young guy himself but he's been in the league long enough to set an example for the others. I don't think that's been the case.

Had he performed like the guy we saw post all star break last year, we would have winning record. No question about it. Even if he gave half of that effort, we wouldn't look so terribly pathetic. I sincerely believed that he would be a big solution to our front court problems but I'm starting to feel that he may be a detriment rather than a solution.

Edited December 15, 2010 by No Excuses

[Sticksboi05]

Who the **** wears Reeboks? Honestly...it's Nike, Adidas or Converse.