The Official Washington Basketball Thread: Wizards, Mystics etc

[Kosher Ham]

Ray Allen ? Really ? That's terrible at this point.

[Samuels]

Ray Allen ? Really ? That's terrible at this point.

He was with EG in Milwaukee.

If healthy he is still very effective shooter and a 14-16ppg scorer.

Thats why i'd imagine we would be interested plus vet leadership. It would only be a 1-2 year deal. I doubt he comes here though

[nuposse87]

I don't dislike having Robinson on our team...I do have wonders though. Both Booker and T-Rob have the same standing reach, which is most important when guarding opposing 4s, Booker has a higher vertical, and is considerably stronger than Robinson. They have a similar offensive style of play and Booker has finally shown he can hit the mid range jumper. What are we going to get with Robinson that we haven't already gotten with Booker? More hustle plays? Only advantage to Robinson is that we may be able to deal Booker for a mid round pick, and Booker being somewhat injury prone is a bit concerning. That and he has two years left I believe, and odds are we'd rather pay Seraphin than Booker.

[RonArtest15]

Ray Allen ? Really ? That's terrible at this point.

We need shooters, and Ray can still play at a high level despite his age. On top of it all, he's another guy who would help with the whole "culture change," and bring MORE professionalism to the roster. Dude has a LEGENDARY work-ethic and would be an asset to the Wizards going forward.

Wall

Allen

MKG

Nene

Seraphin

Not bad...not bad at all.

---------- Post added June-18th-2012 at 01:30 PM ----------

I don't dislike having Robinson on our team...I do have wonders though. Both Booker and T-Rob have the same standing reach, which is most important when guarding opposing 4s, Booker has a higher vertical, and is considerably stronger than Robinson. They have a similar offensive style of play and Booker has finally shown he can hit the mid range jumper. What are we going to get with Robinson that we haven't already gotten with Booker? More hustle plays? Only advantage to Robinson is that we may be able to deal Booker for a mid round pick, and Booker being somewhat injury prone is a bit concerning. That and he has two years left I believe, and odds are we'd rather pay Seraphin than Booker.

Defensive. Rebounding.

This is where Robinson has a HUGE advantage over Booker. He's a major upgrade (even on the offensive end).

*I think to some extent we're over-valuing Booker. He's a quality role player, but I think he's easily replaceable.

Edited June 18, 2012 by RonArtest15

[nuposse87]

I'll give you rebounding, but booker is no slouch on defense. Robinson isn't the most intelligent defensive player in the world but I think he has the potential to be great. Offensively...he is younger so he does have the potential to be better. If we do get him, I won't throw a tantrum...I'd just like to see how we address our putrid wing play.

*btw just an interesting note, Booker had a higher bench press than anyone in this draft. I know basketball isn't necessarily a strong man's game, but it isn't like Booker is getting pushed around the block. I also recall in an interview last season Booker saying seraphin is the strongest player he's banged with down low, we may have some the strongest low post play in the league.

Edited June 18, 2012 by nuposse87

[Kosher Ham]

Fair enough that you need shooters. But...

Ray at this point in his career to the Wizards ?

You think so ?

I think he has a better chance of landing in a spot where he can/might win another ring. Not that the Wiz can't but it will be an amazing turn for the Wiz to pull that off.

[Warhead36]

Ray Allen isn't coming to the Wizards and I honestly wouldn't want him. He's going to a team where he can win.

[Destino]

Why on earth would this team want Ray Allen? He's a turnover machine if he so much as attempts to dribble the basketball and he can't play defense worth a damn. As a shooter on a team that has an abundance of talent and an offense that fits his style he can help in the post season. On the Wizards he'd be more of a liability than anything else and he'll likely want around 8 - 10 million.

From Ray Allen's perspective there is absolutely no reason to come to the Wizards at all. Why cap off a long brilliant career with a stint at the basketball youth academy known as the Washington Wizards. He'd be better off coming here as a coach as he'd essentially be doing the same thing without having to run around on the court frustrated with all the inexperience and failure.

[SuperBash]

Ray Allen isn't coming here. We have a better shot at looking at Jodie Meeks or Marco Belinelli who could be a nice spot up shooter off the bench for this team.

[Going Commando]

Even with the stockpiling of young talent (assuming we somehow also landed Beal), the maturity level of guys like MKG/Beal is FAR > than that of the likes of Chandler/Curry/Q-Rich/Miles/Odom/etc...

I wouldn't be AS concerned if this is the route we go. Wall would be in his 3rd year, and with having an excellent veteran mentor in the roster in Nene, I'd like to think that anything less than 30-35 wins would be a major disappointment.

If we're going to be immature somewhere, best it be at the 2 and 3.

If Wall really makes strides as a player, it won't matter how young we go. Having great PG play means we'll only be so bad. The front court is also knocking on the door of being a good unit. Nene is veteran and Booker and Seraphin are getting there.

If Wall and Seraphin progress and Booker and Nene stay healthy, we'll win 30 to 35. That's not an unreasonable expectation.

Plus Crawford will be in his third year. I could see him having a big year and surprising all of us.

We wouldn't need major contribution from our rookies to really improve. But judging by how quickly Beal and MKG each seized big time roles as 18 year old freshmen at power programs, they'd contribute early.

---------- Post added June-18th-2012 at 03:11 PM ----------

*btw just an interesting note, Booker had a higher bench press than anyone in this draft. I know basketball isn't necessarily a strong man's game, but it isn't like Booker is getting pushed around the block. I also recall in an interview last season Booker saying seraphin is the strongest player he's banged with down low, we may have some the strongest low post play in the league.

Seraphin's a hoss. Against Orlando and L.A. last year he was actually successful at pushing Dwight and Bynum out of their spots. He's 268 pounds, which is bigger than most, but he's also a very chiseled 268, so he's even stronger than he looks.

Seraphin is a pure 5 IMO, and a pretty good athlete for a pure 5 considering. The only thing holding him back is his length. I've read he's got a 7'1 wingspan. That's very ordinary, but his strength and solid leaping ability compensate.

Seraphin developing some offensive polish with his inside game was just about the best story we could here out of a nightmare season. If he can become a better and more cognizant rebounder, we'll have such a gem. French players fall farther than they should in the draft.

---------- Post added June-18th-2012 at 03:14 PM ----------

Is Seraphin playing in the Olympics? I'd assume he is.

France is going to have a good team then between him, Beaubois, Parker, and Batum.

I'm not sure how I feel about him playing in the Olympics. On the one hand, I think it'd be tremendous experience for him. On the other, I don't want him to get hurt or burned out. He's probably our second most important player now.

---------- Post added June-18th-2012 at 03:14 PM ----------

Same goes for Vesely, anyone know if he's playing for his national team? What about Nene?

[nuposse87]

There are some pros and cons obviously about olympic play. On one hand, It will provide good structure and high level of competition for him. I have no doubts that he can become a premier low post threat. His defensive rebounding and TOs are my only concern. Now if he excels in Olympic play and has a stellar season I have a feeling other GMs will take note, and we're going to have to pony up lol. I believe seraphin is J. Noah's backup for the french national team.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/France_national_basketball_team

Seraphin is one off season with Hakeem from being where I want him to be. I also see a little Z-bo in his game.

[DallasBlowsBig]

He was with EG in Milwaukee.

If healthy he is still very effective shooter and a 14-16ppg scorer.

Thats why i'd imagine we would be interested plus vet leadership. It would only be a 1-2 year deal. I doubt he comes here though

Samuels, thanks for the info. I am guessing you have some inside info on the Wiz? From what I hear Charlotte will take Trob @ #2. I hope Teddy is making wise basketball decisions and not doing stupid stuff that Abe used to do. I know Leonsis is a good owner but I want him to be an owner, NOT making basketball decisions.

[Going Commando]

If Charlotte stays at 2, I think it makes a lot of sense for them to draft TRob.

You can start your rebuild around a power forward that's a demon on the glass. From there, go out and find a point guard and a center who can defend and you've got something on your hands.

TRob is who I would draft if I were them. Him or Drummond (and pray I can flip Drummond for something good). TRob was the clear runner up for POTY/second best NCAA player last season. He carried a very mediocre Kansas team to the NC game. Tyshawn Taylor is not that good a player and a marginal NBA prospect. Jeff Withey is a good player, but a mid first prospect at best. That was all TRob pulling that sled. He's shown he can carry teams.

If he goes second, we'll take MKG third.

Then hopefully Cleveland truly does prefer Barnes at four, or is willing to swap picks with Portland for Drummond. Either way, hopefully Barnes or Drummond is the pick at four.

I think Barnes might be a better fit for Cleveland than Beal outright. They took a hot shooting guard last year first overall. Makes sense to get a scoring wing like Barnes to run with him. Irving/Beal is too undersized of a backcourt.

Sacramento doesn't take Beal. Either Sacramento at 5 or Portland at 6 is our ticket to getting both Beal and MKG.

[Skins199021]

Still wish we would trade number 3, our 2nd 2nd round pick, and a future 2nd to the Blazers for numbers 6 and 11

Draft Barnes, Ross in the 1st and Festus Ezeli with the 2nd pick in the 2nd round

I really do not want MKG, another player who cannot shoot would no progress this team anywhere. Singleton is probably better at defense anyways and he should be a bench player

Barnes reminds me of Granger. We need scorers, defense is not as much as a problem as people make it out to be. Especially after Young and Mcgee were traded and Blatche stopped playing. Plus Barnes/Ross >> than just one of Beal or MKG and thats not even close.

Wall

Ross

Barnes

Nene

Seraphin

Mack/Crawford/Singleton/Booker/Ezeli

would be damn good, starters and bench

I just don't like MKG on the wing, he shot 25% from the 3 in COLLEGE. To put that in perspective Wall shot 32.5% in college, Singleton 33%, hell even RONDO shot 28.2% from out there which is really bad but better than MKG. Plus his shot looks absolutely disgusting

[No Excuses]

Still wish we would trade number 3, our 2nd 2nd round pick, and a future 2nd to the Blazers for numbers 6 and 11

Why would we give up more picks to trade down in the draft? That doesn't make much sense.

[Warhead36]

I love when people throw in 2nd round picks when discussing draft day trades. They're almost useless. That's like throwing in 7th rounders in NFL draft trades.

Edited June 18, 2012 by Warhead36

[Going Commando]

Seraphin = 9'1" standing reach apparently. Very average for a starting center, but not the end of the world because of how strong he is. He's also a relatively good leaper for a center.

Check this out though. Seraphin has a nasty jump hook that he gets with either hand: http://www.basketball-reference.com/play-index/plus/shot_finder.cgi?request=1&player_id=&match=single&year_id=2012&is_playoffs=N&team_id=&opp_id=&game_num_min=0&game_num_max=99&game_month=&game_location=&game_result=&shot_pts=&is_make=&shot_type=HOOK_SHOT&shot_distance_min=&shot_distance_max=&q1=Y&q2=Y&q3=Y&q4=Y&q5=Y&time_remain_minutes=12&time_remain_seconds=0&time_remain_comp=le&margin_min=&margin_max=&c1stat=fga&c1comp=ge&c1val=75&c2stat=&c2comp=ge&c2val=&c3stat=&c3comp=ge&c3val=&order_by=fg_pct

Seraphin had, by far, the best field goal % on his hook in the league (minimum 75 attempts).

It'll come down when he shoots it more and once defenses start becoming aware of his ability to shoot it. But even accounting for that, his back to basket jump hook is one of the best shots in the league. It's a legit offensive weapon.

I think he's our center long term. He's got to improve his rebounding though. His surprisingly high per minute block numbers + his terrible rebounding rate demonstrate he's abandoning his position to contest shots. Maybe if he can eliminate that and play with discipline he can improve a great deal as a rebounder.

[SuperBash]

I think Singelton was a great defender coming into the draft and one of the top defenders. But I consider MKG to be on a different level in terms of defending. He'll be that good at defense.

[No Excuses]

I think Singelton was a great defender coming into the draft and one of the top defenders. But I consider MKG to be on a different level in terms of defending. He'll be that good at defense.

He played four years in college which was disappointing considering how much he struggled during large stretches of the season.

[BRAVEONAWARPATH]

I love when people throw in 2nd round picks when discussing draft day trades. They're almost useless. That's like throwing in 7th rounders in NFL draft trades.

Normally, I would agree but 2nd round picks in THIS draft have more value than the norm. :2cents:

Edited June 18, 2012 by BRAVEONAWARPATH

[SuperBash]

The Bulls are shopping Deng for a Lottery pick and the Warriors want a vet SF for their pick.

It would be crazy if the draft went

1. Davis

2-6 MKG, TRob, Drummond, Barnes, Lillard(Portland's)

7 Bulls: Beal.

Rose is out for the year but in 2013

Rose

Beal

Maybe they draft a Royce White/Jeff Taylor/Darius/Quincey Miller with this year's first for SF

Gibson/Boozer

Noah

That to me could be a scarier team than the Bull's last year's team and this year's in the reg season.

---------- Post added June-18th-2012 at 06:02 PM ----------

Oddly enough, Hollinger has Terrell Stoglin 33rd on his draft board.

Edited June 18, 2012 by SuperBash

[StillUnknown]

Chad Ford

‏@chadfordinsider

Just filed to ESPN: Sources: Jared Sullinger medically red-flagged by some NBA doctors for back issues

[RonArtest15]

Chad Ford

‏@chadfordinsider

Just filed to ESPN: Sources: Jared Sullinger medically red-flagged by some NBA doctors for back issues

I wonder if he'll have a DeJuan Blair type of slide?

[ACW]

http://www.tedstake.com/2012/06/18/update-on-verizon-center-signage/

Interesting...And I'm fine with the new signage. Rather that than the DC taxpayers getting :hump: :moon:

[Going Commando]

He played four years in college which was disappointing considering how much he struggled during large stretches of the season.

He only played three years.

He was ACC DPOTY his sophomore and junior seasons. He was a beast, defending all five positions. Lockdown post defender with his strength and 7'1 wingspan, but amazing lateral speed to defend the perimeter.

His defensive potential was supposed to be sky high. I think he was a major disappointment. He definitely doesn't have MKG's motor, that's for sure.

Singleton's problem is that he has to be perfect on defense to justify his minutes because he brings negative value on the offensive end. He was terrible, couldn't shoot spotting up, couldn't shoot off the dribble, and couldn't pass. He also didn't really rebound either. MKG is waaaaay ahead of him as an offensive player, and he's probably just as good a defender as Singleton--just as quick and strong and has basically the same length.

---------- Post added June-18th-2012 at 07:46 PM ----------

The Bulls are shopping Deng for a Lottery pick and the Warriors want a vet SF for their pick.

It would be crazy if the draft went

1. Davis

2-6 MKG, TRob, Drummond, Barnes, Lillard(Portland's)

7 Bulls: Beal.

Rose is out for the year but in 2013

Rose

Beal

Maybe they draft a Royce White/Jeff Taylor/Darius/Quincey Miller with this year's first for SF

Gibson/Boozer

Noah

That to me could be a scarier team than the Bull's last year's team and this year's in the reg season.

If they want Beal, they'll almost certainly have to get into the top six. Lillard will not go ahead of Beal. Portland would trade down for Lillard, or target him at 11. Barring something outrageously unexpected happening, this year's top six is very clear: Davis, Gilchrist, Beal, Barnes, Drummond, Robinson. Everything after that is up in the air.

---------- Post added June-18th-2012 at 08:17 PM ----------

I know you've mentioned him before RonArtest, I thought you might find this interesting. Gerald Green was 22nd in FG % on jump shots last season. He shot a very respectable .429 on jumpers, which is just ahead of Kevin Durant's .427 FWIW. Of course Kevin Durant attempted 1,005 of them and only .485 of his makes were assisted. Dear God he is good.

http://bkref.com/tiny/0PR18

Looks like a good chunk of Green's mid range offense was him creating for himself off the dribble too, only 2/3rds of his makes were assisted. If he was that good, he has to be able to handle just being an outlet for Wall's dribble penetration & for spotting up on the break. I wonder if he's a guy that needs to dribble a couple of times before he can shoot?

Seems like he could be a fairly low cost solution for some of our shooting problems. I'm definitely intrigued.

Two other FA names from that list that could be interesting are Brandon Rush (restricted), and Willie Green (unrestricted).

Rush's percentages were excellent: He shot .441 on 347 attempted jumpers! He shot .452 from three and made 99 threes. He's pretty much a pure spot up catch and shooter--.837 of his makes were assisted.

Shooting looks like about all he can do, not going to bring much else to the table in terms of passing, rebounding, or defending. He's also going to cost some scratch--qualifying offer at 4.1 million and he'll probably go for considerably more based on his excellent percentages. Still, if we're looking for a pure shooter and we're willing to spend, he could be interesting.

Gerald Green would be much cheaper and probably more cost effective though.

Willie Green also bears consideration: .430 on 265 jumpers, including .445 on 115 attempted threes, assisted on .789 percent of them. All good stuff.

Interesting but not a surprise whatsoever to also see that Brandon Bass and Kevin Garnett were two of the best jump shooters in the league last year. Ray Allen's not too far down the list either. Now it becomes clear how Rondo racks up all those assists. His guys drill their shots.

Ersan Ilyasova also shot really well last year: .406 on 365 jumpers, .455 on 112 attempted threes, .929 of his makes were assisted buckets. He's a pure catch and shoot outlet stretch four. Couple that with his terrific rebounding ability and the guy is an absolute gem. He would be a perfect fit here. I would loooove for us to go out and get him.

Also, Steve Nash is absolutely amazing. He's doesn't really get credit for it, but he's the most gifted shooter in the league. Led the league in FG % on his jumpers and it was all off the dribble. Wow.