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The Official Washington Basketball Thread: Wizards, Mystics etc


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Morris is a starting right now stretch 4 talent. A draft pick is a sitting one year, bench player 2nd year, if stars align role player in 3 years.

You can't look at it in a vacuum. It's a cumulative problem with getting less than necessary from the draft. Over time this becomes more and more of a problem as the team needs to continue trading either spending too much or trading assets to cover the holes.

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The biggest problem is that our coach has red-shirted all of our young talent 1-2 seasons each save for wall and beal. On a team that has been terribly injured all season long, one would think oubre and Eddie, players occupying valuable roster spots, would have played much more than they have. I truly believe a good coach gets us 50 wins with the same roster. I still want eg gone though.

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I think a better coach could have gotten much better results but not by relying on rookies and young players. That's not how things work in the NBA. The offense is poorly designed, his subs are a mess, he doesn't know how to use time outs, the team is constantly lost on defense, and they still can't draw up an inbound play to save their lives. Wittmans strength was coaching defense and that fell apart this season.

I do agree that he's not played young players enough. Only that success wasn't found or lost in that area.

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I don't mean playing rookies would have saved this team. Rather playing a natural 3 and a combo 3 over the 3/4 guard lineups staring temple/sessions/neal that was repeatedly used for about half the season would have been addition by subtraction. Not only would we have performed better than the all guard lineups that produced defensive drives, but the rookies would have gained extremely important experience. Now they will basically have lost a year.

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I don't mean playing rookies would have saved this team. Rather playing a natural 3 and a combo 3 over the 3/4 guard lineups staring temple/sessions/neal that was repeatedly used for about half the season would have been addition by subtraction. Not only would we have performed better than the all guard lineups that produced defensive drives, but the rookies would have gained extremely important experience. Now they will basically have lost a year.

 

I agree and I think it's part of a larger pattern with Wittman.  Randy loves to screw with the game of young players, including irrationally pushing them away from their natural positions on the floor.  I don't think this has ever helped.  Otto was a cutting machine that got open looks easily and frequently when sharing the floor with Wall, seemed like he finally found his role.  Naturally Wittman decided that the kid that weighed as much as his guards should try some time at PF.  When that failed Wittman decided that he could be a spot up shooter and glued him to the floor outside of the three line.  Why?  Well to free up Beal of course, because why would you want your best often injured shooter shooting threes?  Much better to send him crashing to the rim, with predictable results, and let Otto's confidence die on the perimeter.  

 

Unless a player looks like a star immediately he seems to revel in beating them down.  Especially by denying them playing time and crushing their confidence with a quick hook followed by a long period of not seeing the floor at all.  Young players all make mistakes, all miss defensive assignments, and all take bad shots.  Wall and Beal did a ton of this, but I don't think he was allowed to screw with them.  Those same protections have clearly not been extended to Otto and Oubre. 

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I actually agree with this.
 

Michael Lee 

That draft pick isn't that big of a deal. Markieff Morris is pretty good & a lot better investment over next 3 years

 

 

Grunfeld agrees also

 

A competent GM gets Morris and keeps the damn draft pick. It ain't that complicated

Edited by StillUnknown
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It needs polish and consistency. It needs to finally mature from talented group to professional group set on winning every time they step on the court.

 

I was just thinking about that mentality the other day in regards to the Jordan led Bulls. I recall a video/interview (wish I could remember who) where a player was talking about the Bulls and basically said, ' when they walked out for warm-ups they had an aura to make you think that they would not lose'. 

 

I think that 69 win Lakers team had that, the 72 win Bulls team had that, and I think the Warriors have that now. 

 

Wizards need that. Heck, the Redskins need that as well. That confidence, that fear put into the opponent. I don't think they will have that with the current situation. I think most teams fear the Warriors, Spurs, and to a lesser extent the Cavs. 

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Wizards need that. Heck, the Redskins need that as well. That confidence, that fear put into the opponent. I don't think they will have that with the current situation. I think most teams fear the Warriors, Spurs, and to a lesser extent the Cavs. 

The Redskins have at least taken that first step. Now, when opponents take the field they are thinking "We're going to be in a game. We're going to get hit." It's a long distance from being afraid of the 'skins, but they've also come pretty far forward from the team that everyone checked off as an automatic and easy win.

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You can't look at it in a vacuum. It's a cumulative problem with getting less than necessary from the draft. Over time this becomes more and more of a problem as the team needs to continue trading either spending too much or trading assets to cover the holes.

 

I agree.  It's not so much the Morris trade was bad (which it wasn't)...it's just that our GM has a history of botching/disregarding draft picks. 

 

This is a HUGE summer because there will be a lot of roster and front office turnover.  There will be money to spend, so I hope we have a fresh pair of eyes to oversee what needs to be done going forward. 

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Grunfeld agrees also

 

A competent GM gets Morris and keeps the damn draft pick. It ain't that complicated

Phoenix was in a desperate spot with Morris and needed to dump him. We paid full price.

But even without considering that context, the Morris trade was a deadline desperation move to save the season and it didn't work.

Not to mention Kieff has a history of being a headcase and could blow up on us at any point over the next few seasons. There is that fun little element of risk to the trade too.

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Phoenix was in a desperate spot with Morris and needed to dump him. We paid full price.

But even without considering that context, the Morris trade was a deadline desperation move to save the season and it didn't work.

Not to mention Kieff has a history of being a headcase and could blow up on us at any point over the next few seasons. There is that fun little element of risk to the trade too.

 

like it has been mentioned by others, you can't look at the trade by itself.

 

its the continuing practice of Grunfeld playing from behind. There is not an ounce of vision in the man.

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like it has been mentioned by others, you can't look at the trade by itself.

 

its the continuing practice of Grunfeld playing from behind. There is not an ounce of vision in the man.

Or ambition. His highest ambition is to have fun and do just well enough to keep his job. Five seeds and 45 win seasons for the rest of his career would suit him fine.

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https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/wizards-insider/wp/2016/04/05/ernie-grunfeld-is-under-contract-for-next-season-indicating-hell-be-back-as-wizards-president/?postshare=8761459877117081&tid=ss_tw

 

 

Coach Randy Wittman’s future is uncertain because next season — the final year of his three-year contract — is only partially guaranteed, but President Ernie Grunfeld is under contract for next season, according to a league source with knowledge of the situation, which strongly suggests that he will return for his 14th season as the franchise’s general manger. It is not known when owner Ted Leonsis and Grunfeld agreed to the extension.

 

 

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Edited by StillUnknown
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Grunfeld is Vinny Cerrato tight with the owner and Jim Haslett cool with the press. Only he's managed to hold on for over a decade like some kind of curse.

A fan card movement wouldn't hurt, but the media wouldn't be on board, an there are enough schmucks that parrot what they read that they'd probably start a support petition.

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