The Official Washington Basketball Thread: Wizards, Mystics etc

[Dave25]

I love 2K13. I did a serpentine fantasy draft with the 14th pick and got Wall, Joakim Noah, Beal, Thomas Robinson, Ersan Ilyasova, Tristan Thompson, Tobias Harris, and Martell Webster in that order. Then I traded Thompson and Harris and a 2014 first round pick for Paul George.

They need to update the ratings for Beal and Wall though. There is no way Beal should be a couple points overall lower than Dion Waiters and MKG nor should he be rated the same as Harrison Barnes and TRob. They haven't changed anything about him all year. Same with Wall, except they did take away his "acrobat" signature skill. They need to give him the "chase down artist" and "dimer" signature skills. And it's plain stupid that they've got his overall rating below Brandon Jennings and Steve Nash among others...

I'm probably going to start a new Wizards chise soon(just looking for good draft classes through 2015) and definitely will be giving boosts to Wall Beal and Webster. Wall should be around 85-90 overall with 4-5 sig skills and Beal should be around 82-85. Webster should be about a 75.

[SuperBash]

I did a franchise fantasy draft on 2k13. Ended up with Rose/Shabazz/Wiggins/Faried(Later Julius Randle, another possible star)/Noah with Sullinger and Ellington on the bench. Such a fun team to play with.

[argentina_redskins]

Let me be clear: I can't stand Ernie. Terrible GM. 10 seasons and 1 playoff series win, are you serious? Pathetic.

But, you have to give him the 2013-2014 season as his last shot. He basically set us up for this. Hiring a new GM this season and overhauling everything with no cap space would be really difficult. Besides, this team has shown that it can compete for an 8-seed when fully healthy. I just don't see the point in hiring a new GM in a year where we have no manueverability, whatsoever. Better to give Ernie the chance to win a playoff series next year and if he doesn't, good bye. Then, Emeka's and Trevor's contracts come off the books, we can get rid of Jan and Trevor (if he doesn't show anything) and bring in someone else with lots of cap space for 2014.

[No Excuses]

You fire Ernie Grunfeld because you don't want him making more Ernie Grunfeld moves like horrible one sided trades or bad draft picks.

[StillUnknown]

Let me be clear: I can't stand Ernie. Terrible GM. 10 seasons and 1 playoff series win, are you serious? Pathetic.

But, you have to give him the 2013-2014 season as his last shot. He basically set us up for this. Hiring a new GM this season and overhauling everything with no cap space would be really difficult. Besides, this team has shown that it can compete for an 8-seed when fully healthy. I just don't see the point in hiring a new GM in a year where we have no manueverability, whatsoever. Better to give Ernie the chance to win a playoff series next year and if he doesn't, good bye. Then, Emeka's and Trevor's contracts come off the books, we can get rid of Jan and Trevor (if he doesn't show anything) and bring in someone else with lots of cap space for 2014.

The problem is that Ted will not fire Ernie after a season in which he makes the playoffs.

If he's not fired this offseason, which he won't be, we'll be stuck with him beyond next season.

Edited April 2, 2013 by StillUnknown

[Destino]

You hire a new GM because the handling of Okafor and Ariza's expiring deals will have long term ramifications. The following year the entire team other than Nene are either team options, RFAs, or UFAs. What happens in the next 1.5 years will play a major role in the next 5 being great or terrible.

[Hersh]

Let me be clear: I can't stand Ernie. Terrible GM. 10 seasons and 1 playoff series win, are you serious? Pathetic.

But, you have to give him the 2013-2014 season as his last shot. He basically set us up for this. Hiring a new GM this season and overhauling everything with no cap space would be really difficult. Besides, this team has shown that it can compete for an 8-seed when fully healthy. I just don't see the point in hiring a new GM in a year where we have no manueverability, whatsoever. Better to give Ernie the chance to win a playoff series next year and if he doesn't, good bye. Then, Emeka's and Trevor's contracts come off the books, we can get rid of Jan and Trevor (if he doesn't show anything) and bring in someone else with lots of cap space for 2014.

You want a new GM asap to be evaluating the team, looking at trades with expiring contracts, making decisions on who to extend and for how much, any trade day trades, etc. A lot can be done this off season. Plus, being able to compete for an 8 seed in the Eastern Conference isn't saying much.

[Destino]

Plus, being able to compete for an 8 seed in the Eastern Conference isn't saying much.

It means being a .500 team that gets destroyed by the Heat. Not exactly a goal to get too excited about.

[ixcuincle]

@BryanDFischer 4:55 PM

Whoa indeed. RT @RobDauster: WHOA!! RT @wsbtv: BREAKING: Former NBA player Javaris Crittenton has been indicted on murder charges.

[StillUnknown]

Why are we still starting Temple?

[Going Commando]

I'm surprised at how often John is getting fouled on long jumpers now. What a difference a few weeks can make.

---------- Post added April-2nd-2013 at 07:37 PM ----------

I'm probably going to start a new Wizards chise soon(just looking for good draft classes through 2015) and definitely will be giving boosts to Wall Beal and Webster. Wall should be around 85-90 overall with 4-5 sig skills and Beal should be around 82-85. Webster should be about a 75.

I spent weeks making a good 13 draft class and I think I finally got a pretty good one down. I can't get it to draft completely right (funny things happen too often like Shabazz or Porter falling to the second round and Noel falling to the teens). But when you simulate a few seasons with the class, the players actually turn out like they should--the good players from the class all end up being good and the bad players are mostly anonymous. That's harder to make happen than you would think. I have to update it following the events of the tourney, make guys like Gorgui Dieng and Mitch McGary for it, etc. But the lottery picks are all good IMO.

Unfortunately, the internet has now crapped out on my XBox and I have no way of uploading the class to 2kShare.

I ended up boosting John up to an 84 or 85 and gave him the dimer and chase down signatures. I boosted Martell up to about a 72 or 73 or so. I only boosted Beal up to a 77 or 78. I've found you have to be careful boosting up rookies and young players. The way the game calculates overall improvement during the off seasons can be really broken otherwise. I think I made Beal an 81 or so once, and Wall about an 88 or 89, and by the third season Beal ended up being like a 96 or 97 overall and Wall was a 99 overall. Their potential improves rapidly the first several years of their career and I can't figure out the exact nature of the factor that age plays.

---------- Post added April-2nd-2013 at 08:02 PM ----------

I am really impressed with John's growth in recognition lately. He is getting so good at spotting vulnerabilities, especially in transition, and making the quick decision to get into those lanes

We are really struggling to shoot tonight though. We're getting decent shots considering the opponent, but we're not making them.

[Going Commando]

Damn Wall is playing so well. If they counted passes that lead to shooting fouls as assists, Wall would have a bunch. He's found the fountain of efficiency tonight.

---------- Post added April-2nd-2013 at 08:40 PM ----------

Book is shockingly quick. The way he closed out on that baseline drive from Butler was ridiculous.

---------- Post added April-2nd-2013 at 08:45 PM ----------

We are doing a nice job getting the ball inside but Book and Mek haven't been able to finish their looks. Mek would be pretty dang good if he was a more natural offensive player and had better touch.

---------- Post added April-2nd-2013 at 08:52 PM ----------

Beal has got some cajones.

[Destino]

This team is far too dependent on the point guard to create. Need to run a more creative offense that doesn't leave the bigs looking around lost when the double arrives.

[Going Commando]

This team is far too dependent on the point guard to create. Need to run a more creative offense that doesn't leave the bigs looking around lost when the double arrives.

Where has Nene been?

[Destino]

Where has Nene been?

No idea. Webster vanished too. And is Oakafor hurt, he has 18 minutes.

Edited April 3, 2013 by Destino

[Going Commando]

No idea. Webster vanished too. And is Oakafor hurt, he has 18 minutes.

I didn't think anyone got hurt.

Wall is missing FTs and coming off short on his jumper. He's gassed.

[Destino]

I wonder what Hinrich said that got him T'd up twice and thrown out that fast.

---------- Post added April-2nd-2013 at 09:18 PM ----------

Nene needs to hit these damn free throws!

Edit: never mind no free throws for nene, Ariza hits both!

Edited April 3, 2013 by Destino

[shuler74]

I wonder what Hinrich said that got him T'd up twice and thrown out that fast.

---------- Post added April-2nd-2013 at 09:18 PM ----------

Nene needs to hit these damn free throws!

Edit: never mind no free throws for nene, Ariza hits both!

Hinrich pissed he didnt get a call after he got 4 fouls called on him..basically pissed they are not calling it both ways

[Going Commando]

Great win tonight. That's a game we usually would have lost. We beat Chicago at their own game.

[MonkFan8]

Man, I'm always amazed each time I watch the Bulls. No matter who is injured they seemingly ALWAYS give you a close game.

Impressive coaching.

[Going Commando]

Hinrich pissed he didnt get a call after he got 4 fouls called on him..basically pissed they are not calling it both ways

When a player like Kirk Hinrich gets himself tossed for getting pissed at the refs giving us star calls... we've entered a brave new world. The pieces are finally coming together with this team. We're going to be good next year. I don't think DC realizes what the Wiz have cooking right now.

Wiz, Skins, and Nats are making the playoffs these upcoming seasons. All three are powered by blooming superstars.

---------- Post added April-2nd-2013 at 09:35 PM ----------

Wall played like the PG version of LeBron tonight. Irving, Rose, Westbrook, Parker, Rondo, Paul, DWill--all brilliant PGs. But there is something about Wall that is just different. He stands apart from them physically. He is so unbelievably talented.

[Destino]

Wall was a superstar again tonight. I hope he finds a middle ground between working on his game and not over using that knee in the offseason. He's going to shock people next year.

[Going Commando]

So we're 23-18 since Wall came back, exactly half a season with him. 56% with him projects to 46 - 38 over a whole year. If he's healthy, he'll be better next season even if he doesn't add anything to his game this summer just from not having to work himself back into shape mid season. Oak is going to be back, Ariza probably will be, Martell hopefully will be. As long as we don't suffer any major and prolonged injuries to Wall or Oak, I think we'll come close to 50 wins. If we get mostly healthy years from those two plus Nene, Beal, Webster, and Ariza, we can win 50+ next year.

[StillUnknown]

So we're 23-18 since Wall came back, exactly half a season with him. 56% with him projects to 46 - 38 over a whole year. If he's healthy, he'll be better next season even if he doesn't add anything to his game this summer just from not having to work himself back into shape mid season. Oak is going to be back, Ariza probably will be, Martell hopefully will be. As long as we don't suffer any major and prolonged injuries to Wall or Oak, I think we'll come close to 50 wins. If we get mostly healthy years from those two plus Nene, Beal, Webster, and Ariza, we can win 50+ next year.

50 wins is incredibly ambitious for a team that still can't win on the road.

[Going Commando]

50 wins probably gets us the 4th seed in the East.

---------- Post added April-2nd-2013 at 10:07 PM ----------

50 wins is incredibly ambitious for a team that still can't win on the road.

We've gotten extremely good at home though. Currently on an 8 game winning streak in Verizon. I think winning 30 home games next season is doable. Hell we've got a chance to win 23 or 24 this season despite the horrific start. If we can get just below .500 on the road next year, we can get to 50.