The Official Washington Basketball Thread: Wizards, Mystics etc

[Going Commando]

He isn't going anywhere. The question is who do we bring here to play with him.

If we can get Wall and Beal a good big man, the sky's the limit. I truly believe they could get us a ring. We've got to get something good out of this pick. It's probably our last chance to get a good new player before the summer of 2014.

I think there is a really good chance that we'll eventually see DeMarcus Cousins come to D.C. He's in such a bad situation in Sacramento and I think he's the kind of player that could put us into contention. I think the only thing that stops him from coming here is him getting traded somewhere and getting locked up on a huge extension.

Maybe Alex Len is the answer for us. I see little chance of us getting Noel, Bennett, or Zeller. Len might be the best big we can get out of the class.

---------- Post added March-25th-2013 at 10:34 PM ----------

I understand your overall point, but you can't judge Gasol by numbers. He has to be one of the favorites for defensive player of the year.

Yeah he's been dominant for Memphis. And he's definitely a front runner for DPOY. But if I had a vote, I'd go with Noah. Gasol plays with so many other excellent defenders. Same with the other favorites like Hibbert/George and Duncan. Chicago's defense is trash without Noah but they're elite with him. He makes the biggest individual difference IMO.

[CrypticVillain]

Maybe Alex Len is the answer for us. I see little chance of us getting Noel, Bennett, or Zeller. Len might be the best big we can get out of the class.

I asked this question about a month ago, but don't remember if anybody answered, but is there anyway we can trade up to secure a second top-10 pick this year? I think this year is the year we need to make that move...

Edited March 26, 2013 by MLSKINS

[Going Commando]

I asked this question about a month ago, but don't remember if anybody answered, but is there anyway we can trade up to secure a second top-10 pick this year? I think this year is the year we need to make that move...

I don't really know what e can offer to trade up. Hard to say before we know where everyone is picking. We don't know who is going to be looking to trade down.

[Ludomaniac]

I don't really know what e can offer to trade up. Hard to say before we know where everyone is picking. We don't know who is going to be looking to trade down.

Plus the draft class is weak again this year just like the past 4 years or so

[CrypticVillain]

I don't really know what e can offer to trade up. Hard to say before we know where everyone is picking. We don't know who is going to be looking to trade down.

Yeah, we are kind of far away. Only person that has declared is Bennett.

Don't only reason I would hesitate on pulling a move like that is because of the coach in the GM. Man I wish we can get a new coach and GM right now. Bout time the Heat cools off in a couple of years, we can be ready to takeover.

---------- Post added March-25th-2013 at 11:02 PM ----------

Plus the draft class is weak again this year just like the past 4 years or so

That's why I would want to trade up. There might not be that many superstars, but there are some nice pieces that can fit with this team.

[Going Commando]

Damn, typed up a crowing post that got lost in the internet. The gist of it:

The way it's going, Wall, Rose, and Kyrie are going to be taking up most of the guard spots in the AS game in the East for the forseeable future. Rondo and DWill might not get back until Wade is no longer a yearly fixture. And I hope Jrue Holiday enjoyed his trip this year because he's never getting back in Philly. I'm thinking Wall is going to make it next season.

---------- Post added March-25th-2013 at 11:24 PM ----------

I love RealGM. hands11 is crowing about John and bagging on Arenas, meanwhile hands was one of the biggest Wall haters on the board until about, oh three weeks ago. I seem to remember him talking about how he always said it sucked we won the lottery in 2010 and how he always said we should have traded the pick on draft day. Nevermind all of the stupid ass trade proposals he's masterminded in the trade threads.

[Destino]

Jan Vesely's twitter is so... happy. I can't hate this dude now. I can't.

[Fergasun]

I was just listening to the radio and pre-game shows.... they were saying that the Wizards are one of the worst teams in the NBA and the Friday loss to the Laker's may be one of the worst in the past 3-4 years. Instead of helping to solidify the playoff position, the loss has the Lakers basically clinging to the 8th seed. Kobe is taking major heat. No credit to the Wizards.... these ridiculous radio personalities.

[Going Commando]

Next I want to see Jan learn to shoot.

[nuposse87]

the fact he did that with Cartier martin and Chris Singleton should be speaking volume to people...The phrase "flipped the switch" is so cliche, but I've never seen it be so....apt then in here. That was the 2nd best wizard's performance I've ever seen. We're going to be picking around 9-12 at this rate...What a stretch 4 would do for this team...

I rag on Okafor time to time, but he also played another good game. For the most part contained Z-bo.

[StillUnknown]

http://stats.nba.com/featured/john_wall_shines_vs_grizzlies_2013_03_25.html?ls=iref:nbahpts

^^^pretty good statistical breakdown on Wall's night against Memphis and his impact on the Wizards

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V_I4hhRKVjU

Edited March 26, 2013 by StillUnknown

[Going Commando]

John Wall is pretty good.

His game score for last night was 41.4. Ridiculous. For some context, that LeBron James guy's best game this season (40 points, 16 assists, 8 rebounds) had a game score of 44.2 and Durant's best game score is a measly 32.1. Anything over 20 is a very good game. Scoring consistently over 20 probably makes you an MVP candidate. A 40+ game is a watershed moment in a career. I haven't looked it up, but that's something probably only a few players experience. And I bet LeBron and Wall are the only two who've done it this season.

John's best day was almost as impactful as LeBron's best day.

[Rocky21]

All you fools that doubted John Wall need to check yourselves.

[nfl guru]

I'm a Wall stan and last night was great especially after the criticism and hell he caught from the fanbase, but I hope when this fairy tale month is over, the front office wont puss out and aim for mediocrity again. Wall and Beal are great but they need more than that to contend for even a top 4 seed. The roster talent is bare considering the older guys that having been producing like okafor and ariza arent part of the long term plans.

At this point, Im already expecting EG to draft a project/bum again considering where theyre expected to draft, rarely has he made me a believer in his late drafting skills so where is the help coming from?

[Going Commando]

At this level of play, John could be the third or fourth best player in the East next year behind LeBron and Rose and Melo. That alone should be enough to get us a top four seed with the guys we already have. If we got a really good big man to go with Wall and Beal, I think it'd be enough to pass the Knicks and Bulls. Rose has Noah plus Deng and Boozer. I think Nene is better than Boozer and Beal will easily be better than Deng. Rose is better than Wall but Wall can close the gap on him a lot by next season. We need someone to give us a match for Noah. New York has JR Smith and Chandler but I think Beal and Nene can match them in quality soon. Getting a big time front court player would give us the edge on them.

I don't think we'll able to match up with Miami though until that team either gets deconstructed/old or we get a superstar big man.

[StillUnknown]

http://www.bulletsforever.com/2013/3/26/4147770/john-wall-47-points-memphis-grizzlies-jumper

Work like this is why BulletsForever is the best.

[Destino]

the fact he did that with Cartier martin and Chris Singleton should be speaking volume to people...The phrase "flipped the switch" is so cliche, but I've never seen it be so....apt then in here. That was the 2nd best wizard's performance I've ever seen. We're going to be picking around 9-12 at this rate...What a stretch 4 would do for this team...

I rag on Okafor time to time, but he also played another good game. For the most part contained Z-bo.

With John Wall shooting like he is and Beal/Webster being better at shooting than driving to the rim, I'd rather a big time low post scorer than a stretch 4. The Wizards really need to find a replacement for Okafor though, the team is decidedly worse without him on the floor. He has a much bigger impact than Nene on the defensive end and the team has no one else that comes close to his level of rebounding.

[Gator Bait]

I didn't use my tickets for last night's game.....so disappointed.

[Destino]

They mentioned John Walls 47 point night on First Take and wow. Skip said that he has always thought John was an undersized 2 guard and that he likes him as a scorer but not as a distributor. Stephen A chimed in saying he doesn't care about the Wizards because they're so horrible but that he does believe in Ernie Grunfeld. He then acknowledged that John Wall can play.

Incredible.

[Skins199021]

I wish we could trade Nene, future picks and Vesely for another lotto pick. I hate Nene's combo of injuries, age, and contract, and if this trend continues our future picks aren't going to mean as much anymore (which is a good thing). I also try and trade Ariza as well, I rather have Webster than him.

Get lucky and pick Porter and than anyone of Len/Bennett/Zeller.

So if we got like 3 and 10 it would be possible.

[gortiz]

They mentioned John Walls 47 point night on First Take and wow. Skip said that he has always thought John was an undersized 2 guard and that he likes him as a scorer but not as a distributor. Stephen A chimed in saying he doesn't care about the Wizards because they're so horrible but that he does believe in Ernie Grunfeld. He then acknowledged that John Wall can play.

Incredible.

yeah ... i realize the Wiz crap the bed the first half, but 20-16 since The Great Wall of Chinatown returned and 15-6 at home since Jan? I mean ... maybe a little love, you freaking rats.

[Gator Bait]

I wish we could trade Nene, future picks and Vesely for another lotto pick. I hate Nene's combo of injuries, age, and contract, and if this trend continues our future picks aren't going to mean as much anymore (which is a good thing). I also try and trade Ariza as well, I rather have Webster than him.

Get lucky and pick Porter and than anyone of Len/Bennett/Zeller.

So if we got like 3 and 10 it would be possible.

NO WAY....Nene is one of the most valuable players on this team. I don't think the casual fan understands all he does. Nene is the best defender on the team, he has a high basketball IQ, he is one of the better post passers in the game, and he is a very capable post scorer.

I get it on the injuries and the contract.....I do think he is slightly overpayed...not by much though...big men are a premium in the NBA. We actually have a big man who is also skilled ( a lot of teams can't say this).

I doubt Nene will miss nearly as many games next year when we are in the hunt the whole year. It doesn't make sense for him to play hurt when we are already out of the playoffs (maybe not mathematically, but realistically)

Vesely has ZERO trade value. We are better off keeping him and hoping the light suddenly turns on.

---------- Post added March-26th-2013 at 01:28 PM ----------

yeah ... i realize the Wiz crap the bed the first half, but 20-16 since The Great Wall of Chinatown returned and 15-6 at home since Jan? I mean ... maybe a little love, you freaking rats.

You aren't going to see the Wiz get any love till we make the playoffs again (and I actually think that's the way it should be).....I prefer sneaking up on all the haters next year....take them by surprise!

Edited March 26, 2013 by Gator Bait

[StillUnknown]

They mentioned John Walls 47 point night on First Take and wow. Skip said that he has always thought John was an undersized 2 guard and that he likes him as a scorer but not as a distributor. Stephen A chimed in saying he doesn't care about the Wizards because they're so horrible but that he does believe in Ernie Grunfeld. He then acknowledged that John Wall can play.

Incredible.

Removing ESPN from my life, with the exception of live sports and the 30 for 30 series, remains one my best decisions.

[Going Commando]

They mentioned John Walls 47 point night on First Take and wow. Skip said that he has always thought John was an undersized 2 guard and that he likes him as a scorer but not as a distributor. Stephen A chimed in saying he doesn't care about the Wizards because they're so horrible but that he does believe in Ernie Grunfeld. He then acknowledged that John Wall can play.

Incredible.

Skip's just talking out of his ass. He's a performer. He clearly doesn't watch the team and is just looking for a generic position that he can stake out as his until it's time to move on to the next segment. Stephen A at least seems to communicate actual genuine ideals/beliefs. In this case, he's just wrong about the Wizards being horrible. We were horrible. Now John is back and we're actually pretty decent and we're rapidly getting better.

The upside of the core we've built is also very high. Wall and Beal could very well be the top players under 23 at their positions, with their only serious rivals to the claim playing in Cleveland. By the time they are 25, I think each will be top 3 at their position. Just need a big man for when Wall and Beal reach that point.

---------- Post added March-26th-2013 at 03:15 PM ----------

NO WAY....Nene is one of the most valuable players on this team. I don't think the casual fan understands all he does. Nene is the best defender on the team, he has a high basketball IQ, he is one of the better post passers in the game, and he is a very capable post scorer.

I get it on the injuries and the contract.....I do think he is slightly overpayed...not by much though...big men are a premium in the NBA. We actually have a big man who is also skilled ( a lot of teams can't say this).

I doubt Nene will miss nearly as many games next year when we are in the hunt the whole year. It doesn't make sense for him to play hurt when we are already out of the playoffs (maybe not mathematically, but realistically)

Vesely has ZERO trade value. We are better off keeping him and hoping the light suddenly turns on.

Agreed, except that I'd say Okafor or Ariza are our best defenders. The team defense really struggled those games Okafor missed whereas it's been solid even when Nene misses games. I'd say Okafor is our most essential defender but Ariza is actually our best at playing defense if that makes sense. Nene is good though, and it makes a huge difference having him and Oak on the floor at the same time because they are interchangeable at the 4/5.

And Nene is very valuable to the offense because he can shoot and you can bring the ball up quickly, pass it to him in the post, and he will create some offense either as a scorer or playmaker. He and Wall are the only ones who can regularly beat defenders one on one right now. And when we don't have him, the entire burden of playmaking is on the PG.

Yeah Vesely has no trade value. Niether do Booker or Singleton and Seraphin probably doesn't have a ton of trade value either. Our best bet with all of them is probably going to be to wait it out and hope they make strides.

I am curious about the time line the FO is expecting Singleton/Vesely/Booker/Seraphin to develop in. How do they feel about how slow each has been to develop over the first two/three years? Are they thinking their evaluations were wrong and their plans for those guys won't work? Or are they content with their development and don't expect them to regularly contribute for at least another year or two?

Vesely can defend well enough to play minutes and he could probably be a passable rebounder. He keeps the ball moving too. But he is going to have to learn to shoot in order to get minutes. He's going to have to become a legit pick and fade option because that seems to be a huge part of our offense we run for the bigs. He needs to be able to stretch the floor in the half court because right now, he can only score on cuts to the basket where he catches the ball in close or on hustle plays like put backs.

If John can learn to shoot though, there is hope for Vesely. If the light ever comes on for him, he's be very important for replacing Nene/Okafor when they get too old to contribute.

Seraphin's development is also going to be pretty crucial for us long term. If he fails, it's going to be really hard/expensive to find a starting C after we're already good. If he succeeds then he'll solve so many potential problems down the line. I'm hoping he can be a J.J. Hickson type player down the line.

Singleton is also pretty important to our future if he pans out because he's the only guy we've got that's big enough but also laterally quick enough to stick on the elite scoring forwards that are on the best teams. We've got to be able to go through Melo, LeBron, and Durant to get a ring. We've got to have someone that can play on them and at least bother them. Singleton is the only player like that we've got. He needs to become a consistent catch and shoot outlet like Ariza/Webster/Beal.

Booker is actually ready to play right now. He's the only other physical rebounder aside from Okafor, he's got a very limited but surprisingly effected low post game, and he can hit free throws and do the dirty work for us. He's just got to get healthy and stay that way.

Hopefully by the time the Wizkids grow up, at least some of those players will be good because we are seriously going to need them to fill future roles as key reserves and even starters. This draft pick is the last decent one headed our way.

We also need some more guards. Temple is alright but we need someone better to run the offense when Wall is out.

[Destino]

The Wizards have no scoring depth other than Ariza.

Temple - limited offense

Martin - needs assists to score

Singleton - no reliable offense

Booker - has one move that sometimes falls and sometimes doesn't

Vesely - no reliable offense

Seraphin - giant inefficient gunner.

That unit group of terrible needs a PG to do anything. No good shooters in that group either. The wizards are absolutely going to need to upgrade the depth because that pile of garbage will probably cost the wizards 10-20 games.