The Official Washington Basketball Thread: Wizards, Mystics etc

[Thinking Skins]

Schedules were released, we have one game on National TV against Cleveland.

 

One is an improvement from last season's none I suppose.

 

 

the first 8 will be tough:

 

OCTOBER

30: at Detroit, 7:30 p.m.

NOVEMBER

1: vs. Philadelphia, 7 p.m.

3: at Miami, 6 p.m.

6: at Philadelphia, 7 p.m.

8: vs. Brooklyn, 7 p.m.

10: at Oklahoma City, 7 p.m.

12: at Dallas, 8:30 p.m.

13: at San Antonio, 8:30 p.m.

 

Not really because we normally do well against the better teams. Given, we generally start off slowly, but I'm not too afraid of that schedule. It'll be interesting to see how Porter plays early in the season.

[Going Commando]

We've got to get a fast start this season. I'll be really disappointed if we come out losing yet again. We need to win against the East teams we'll likely be fighting with for a late seed, like Detroit.

Those Texas road trips are always a ****.

[TheREALJBird]

Marc Stein
‏@ESPNSteinLine
22m

Hearing: Newly minted free agent Al Harrington is leaning toward signing with Wizards. More to come shortly

[StillUnknown]

If that gets finalized, Book or Singleton might be the odd man out.

Grunfeld usually keeps one roster spot open

[Destino]

Wittman will probably play him at center or shooting guard and Ernie will probably sign him for too long and for too much... but it would be nice to have a real PF back up.

Edited August 12, 2013 by Destino

[Skin'emAlive]

This is great news... I always hated watching Al torch this team. Having even 1 viable backup PF on this team that is not a scrub is a miracle. Booker should be the odd man out, as i think Singleton/vesely and Ariza can be sold as a package to a contender in the future.

 

Wall - Maynor

Beal - Rice/Temple

Webster - Porter

Nene - Harrington

Okafor - Seraphin

 

I like that mix.

[RonArtest15]

EG is having a very nice off-season (if the Harrington deal gets done).  When healthy, he can get buckets.  The stretch 4 that we needed. 

[Going Commando]

I'd keep Booker over Singleton probably. Booker is a useful player. Singleton is a ways away.

[Skin'emAlive]

I think neither will ever do anything for this team. But you can find an energy guy (Booker) in FA easily. Singleton still has some intangibles that other teams might covet. For that reason, he has more value in my opinion.

Edited August 12, 2013 by Skin'emAlive

[Destino]

Booker can attack the basket and defend. He's got the strength and experience to play the 4. Singleton can defend some 4s and has no offensive game to speak of. None. He only makes noise on those rare night when he's feeling it and he's hitting his wide open shots. Bookers problem is health but if Harrington sign we're talking third off the bench.

If you have to dump a front court player, its Singleton. (The latest front court Grunfeld failure)

Edited August 12, 2013 by Destino

[Hersh]

Harrington might be a decent pick up if it's a one year deal. Anything longer would be a mistake. BTW, it's kinda funny reading how this player or that player might be good IF HEALTHY. We seem to have an unusually high amount of players like that.

 

I'm not as big a fan of this off season as others seem to be. We brought in a back up PG who, statistically speaking, isn't an upgrade. We have 63 small forwards after the most predictable 1st round pick in the draft. (I'll give EG credit for Rice in the 2nd round if he or Webster can play SG) The back up big men all still suck and now we are looking at a 15 year veteran to come in after missing all of last season to help out.

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

Booker can attack the basket and defend. He's got the strength and experience to play the 4. Singleton can defend some 4s and has no offensive game to speak of. None. He only makes noise on those rare night when he's feeling it and he's hitting his wide open shots. Bookers problem is health but if Harrington sign we're talking third off the bench.

If you have to dump a front court player, its Singleton. (The latest front court Grunfeld failure)

 

Totally agree. Singleton is total garbage.

[LetMeSeeYourWarFace21]

Booker can attack the basket and defend. He's got the strength and experience to play the 4. Singleton can defend some 4s and has no offensive game to speak of. None. He only makes noise on those rare night when he's feeling it and he's hitting his wide open shots. Bookers problem is health but if Harrington sign we're talking third off the bench.

If you have to dump a front court player, its Singleton. (The latest front court Grunfeld failure)

 

Totally agree. Singleton is total garbage.

 

Yeah, he looked garbage during the Summer League games...I LOVE the aggression that Booker plays with.  Off topic, but if Wittman doesnt get us to the 2nd round this year, he needs to go....

[Going Commando]

I'd be happy just making the playoffs and winning a game or two. Second round is unrealistic for us. If we make the playoffs at all, it'll be as a 7 or 8 seed and we'll get run over by Chicago or Miami most likely. Or Indy, though I like our chances of hanging with them better than the other two.

Brooklyn is the least scary of the "top" teams to me. They've got a lot of former All Stars but it's a similar situation to the Lakers last year IMO. That's not a well run organization.

But we've got to make it there first and that's going to be tough. We still don't know how to win on the road and we still have some problems executing at a high level in winning time.

[StillUnknown]

 

Booker can attack the basket and defend. He's got the strength and experience to play the 4. Singleton can defend some 4s and has no offensive game to speak of. None. He only makes noise on those rare night when he's feeling it and he's hitting his wide open shots. Bookers problem is health but if Harrington sign we're talking third off the bench.

If you have to dump a front court player, its Singleton. (The latest front court Grunfeld failure)

 

Totally agree. Singleton is total garbage.

 

Yeah, he looked garbage during the Summer League games...I LOVE the aggression that Booker plays with.  Off topic, but if Wittman doesnt get us to the 2nd round this year, he needs to go....

 

I don't think Ted is the type that would fire a coach or GM after they make the playoffs for the first time in a while. Even if it would be the smart move, which I think it would barring advancement in the playoffs, if we make the playoffs, Grunfeld & Wittman are getting extensions.

[Going Commando]

I don't think Ted is the type that would fire a coach or GM after they make the playoffs for the first time in a while. Even if it would be the smart move, which I think it would barring advancement in the playoffs, if we make the playoffs, Grunfeld & Wittman are getting extensions.

What are our options with Ernie?

Fire him after making the playoffs and you are probably hitting the reset button right as the rebuild comes to fruition. You'd have to find a GM who would be willing to continue building around Wall, Beal, and Porter or else we might undo everything good that's actually come out of this build in an attempt to change direction/vision/team building philosophy.

Wittman is far less secure. You can change coaches without changing organizational philosophies. If he gets an extension, I doubt it'll be a long term one. If we make the next step into the postseason, I see it playing out like it did for Del Negro in LA. Kind of a caretaker of the roster until they get into the playoffs and hit the next wall--learning to win in the postseason.

[StillUnknown]

I don't think Ted is the type that would fire a coach or GM after they make the playoffs for the first time in a while. Even if it would be the smart move, which I think it would barring advancement in the playoffs, if we make the playoffs, Grunfeld & Wittman are getting extensions.

What are our options with Ernie?

Fire him after making the playoffs and you are probably hitting the reset button right as the rebuild comes to fruition. You'd have to find a GM who would be willing to continue building around Wall, Beal, and Porter or else we might undo everything good that's actually come out of this build in an attempt to change direction/vision/team building philosophy.

Wittman is far less secure. You can change coaches without changing organizational philosophies. If he gets an extension, I doubt it'll be a long term one. If we make the next step into the postseason, I see it playing out like it did for Del Negro in LA. Kind of a caretaker of the roster until they get into the playoffs and hit the next wall--learning to win in the postseason.

 

I don't equate firing Grunfeld with resetting the rebuild. If Porter is as good as some think, GM's would have to be intrigued at building around Wall/Beal/Porter trio. Even if Porter isn't the player we hope, Wall & Beal are still great building blocks. Nene's contract is real elephant in the room. If his play/health continues to decline, which is probably more likely than not, removing his deal becomes more of a problem.

 

I think a new GM gets rid of Wittman day 1, which is an added benefit.

[Hersh]

 

 

I don't think Ted is the type that would fire a coach or GM after they make the playoffs for the first time in a while. Even if it would be the smart move, which I think it would barring advancement in the playoffs, if we make the playoffs, Grunfeld & Wittman are getting extensions.

 

I'm more worried that injuries will hit again and Ted will use that as an excuse to keep them another two years.

[StillUnknown]

 

 

 

I don't think Ted is the type that would fire a coach or GM after they make the playoffs for the first time in a while. Even if it would be the smart move, which I think it would barring advancement in the playoffs, if we make the playoffs, Grunfeld & Wittman are getting extensions.

 

I'm more worried that injuries will hit again and Ted will use that as an excuse to keep them another two years.

 

Very possible, nobody moves a goalpost like Ted.

[Destino]

I'm more concerned with this team making the playoffs extending Ernie and Randy then promptly taking a step back as a team. Ernie is the fool that has failed at filling the 4 and 5 all this time and we'll be counting on him to do it to avoid moving backwards. Okariza is a 2 year 40 million dollar bandaid that, coincidentally, lasts just long enough to carry Ernie into his contract extension talks.

I think another real possibility is that injuries continue to plague this team and they continue to struggle on the road. I don't think playoffs are a lock for this squad at all. I don't know what Ted does given an injury excuse to hide behind. Maybe skinny Ted is more demanding than fat Ted.

Edited August 14, 2013 by Destino

[pjfootballer]

Saw that Harrington officially signed.

[Destino]

Saw that Harrington officially signed.

 

Yup.  The roster looks pretty good, especially when you think about what it looked like two seasons ago.  

 

Wall / Maynor 

Beal / Temple / Rice Jr.

Webster / Ariza / Porter 

Nene / Harrington / Booker / Singleton 

Okafor / Seraphin / Vesely 

 

As currently constructed neither rookie has to play much unless they earn their way onto the court or someone gets injured.  I doubt that this team is going to put Porter or Rice Jr. on the court very much unless they beat out the vets ahead of them for minutes.  This team is very much in "win now" mode.  How long has it been since we could say that?  As an added bonus, Singleton and Vesely never have to play at all unless someone gets injured.  

 

I really hope Porter works out well.  I think his summer league struggles really made people wonder about his NBA potential.  Hopefully Ernie and Wittman let him develop the right way and don't declare him a star way too early only to turn on him when if he proves otherwise.  This franchise seems to always count eggs as chickens.  

Edited August 15, 2013 by Destino

[Thinking Skins]

I don't think Ted is the type that would fire a coach or GM after they make the playoffs for the first time in a while. Even if it would be the smart move, which I think it would barring advancement in the playoffs, if we make the playoffs, Grunfeld & Wittman are getting extensions.

 

I'd go a step further, I'd think that firing Wittman would be a bad move. Players like Wall, Nene, and now Harrington came, particularly liking Wittman. If we fire him now what does that do to them? And would we fire him to bring in a big name (are we so big now that a Phil Jackson would want to coach here?) or another developmental coach?

 

I'd go as far as to say that if it weren't for Wittman's history that precedes him, he may easily be our version of Tim T. for the Bulls. I mean the guy got this team playing defensive ball and hustling. People want to act like he's horrible but look at how bad Doc Walker looked in Boston before the KG trade.

 

Call me a fearful fan, but if we get something working I don't want to make massive changes to it out of spite. That goes for Ernie too.

[Destino]

Does Ted have a history of hiring expensive big name coaches?  My impression was that he was more a low cost unproven coach kind of guy.  

[Thinking Skins]

Thinking Skins, on 15 Aug 2013 - 14:44, said:

I really hope Porter works out well. I think his summer league struggles really made people wonder about his NBA potential. Hopefully Ernie and Wittman let him develop the right way and don't declare him a star way too early only to turn on him when if he proves otherwise. This franchise seems to always count eggs as chickens.

People are overstating the summer league. He did the things well that he does well. He played team ball. Just because he wasn't putting up 12-15 a night people act like he's a bust. I think he won't have a problem getting onto the court because I think he's going to be an asset in so many areas.