So, who is our 2009-2010 starting sg?

[He Hate Me]

Let us make no assumptions about the draft and no FA assumptions either. With the roster as it is now... who will be our starting SG? What makes you think this? And where do you see the rotation?

I am of the opinion that Nick Young is the most talented offensive SG we have, but his offensive abilities will be better utilized in a 6th man role. His defense is not starter-caliber.

I think a McGuire - Butler wing tandem is our most balanced. With Gil starting Dom's subpar Offense will not be a liability, and his defense will help round out our starting squad. He has proven that he can hit an open jump shot, and more importantly he is a worker... he can hustle to pick up 50-50 balls and will get on the floor. This is an intangible quality that he brings to the table that our superstars do not, and considering their health probably should not.

Deshawn Stevenson is washed up. I wouldn't mind seeing him take a step back to let our younger guys play. Defense and 3pt shooting is needed, and we can bring him in in spots throughout the game.

Javaris should be confined to backup PG.

Butler is a true 3. With Dom in the lineup its arguable who is better suited where tho.

[Notorious_1]

I'm actually not so down on Stevenson...not to say that I am all that high on him either. I'm curious to see if we put Stevenson back in that SG role with a 85% or better Gil would he be the player he was before Gil's injury. If I recalled he was a good role player. He didn't need to dominate the ball. He had career highs in 3pters, knocked down open shots, and played adequate defense. Two of our biggest knocks this year were perimeter defense and lack of 3pters. I take the wait and see approach and see if he really is washed up or was it truely a back injury that made his shot dissappear. If he can regain form then I think he can be the starting SG on this team until we get a better option.

[nate33]

Let us make no assumptions about the draft and no FA assumptions either. With the roster as it is now... who will be our starting SG? What makes you think this? And where do you see the rotation?

I am of the opinion that Nick Young is the most talented offensive SG we have, but his offensive abilities will be better utilized in a 6th man role. His defense is not starter-caliber.

I think a McGuire - Butler wing tandem is our most balanced. With Gil starting Dom's subpar Offense will not be a liability, and his defense will help round out our starting squad. He has proven that he can hit an open jump shot, and more importantly he is a worker... he can hustle to pick up 50-50 balls and will get on the floor. This is an intangible quality that he brings to the table that our superstars do not, and considering their health probably should not.

Deshawn Stevenson is washed up. I wouldn't mind seeing him take a step back to let our younger guys play. Defense and 3pt shooting is needed, and we can bring him in in spots throughout the game.

Javaris should be confined to backup PG.

Butler is a true 3. With Dom in the lineup its arguable who is better suited where tho.

I agree with everything, except I think Young does play starting-caliber defense. His problem is actually on offense. He doesn't know how to function without the ball in his hands.

I also like having DMac's rebounding ability on the floor to offset the mediocre rebounding from our undersized forwards.

[dlts20]

I dont know if NY will ever start here. Because we have the big 3, they will always look at it like we need his scoring on the 2nd unit. Im a Deshawn fan also. I think he could be the good Deshawn again with Gil starting. However, I also think his starting streak was a big problem as EJ didnt want to bench him because of it. That wont be the case next year. He will have to earn it like everyone else. If he sucks again then he has to be behind both NY & Dom in the rotation. As for the starting SG next year, I think it will be Caron. I thought Tap was an idiot for starting Caron at the 2 all those games this year. He is clearly not a SG at all. He had to catch the ball much further out on the floor this year and doesnt have the consistent handles or 3pt range to make a serious impact. When Gil came back, they moved Caron back to the 3 and he's been dominant ever since.

The difference is that Flip's system seems to use the SG much different then EJ's system does and I think he may actually be better suited for the 2 in that system. He's great at that mid range game and would be good running off those curls and screens. You can start Dom at the 3. We're definatly going to have some problems as everyone will want to play but thats why I said that I beleieve guys like NY & Blatche wont mess around this Offseason. With or without Griffin or Rubio, spots are going to be hard to get in the rotation when we are fully healthy so if they dont do all they can then they will get bounced by the vets and maybe even be traded. That will wake them up. BTW, alot of people are talking about AJ being the starting 4 & backup 3 but I dont like that. I think those days are long gone now. He's a 4 and looks like crap at the 3 most times, espicaly on D.

[dobrojim]

easy to point out flaws/weaknesses with each of the above

so which of these is more likely to happen:

1. we win the lotto necessitating AJ/Caron sliding down a position from
their career normal spot ie Griffin the PF, AJ - SF, Caron the SG.
I see no other compelling reason to move our near AS level SF
away from that position.

2. DeShawn recovering his health and the level of game he had last
year...Personally I think last year was a bit of an outlier for DS. Hitting
open shots was never his strength to begin with. IMO, DS is simply a more
guard like DMac, a hustle/glue player. DMac appears to me to do those things
better.

3. DMac developing a SG level of 3 pt shooting? This would be the icing
on the cake for this guy, considering he's a 2nd rnd pick.

4. Nick developing a 'headier' game, a game beyond his instinctual offensive
game (with the ball). And I agree with Nate that Nick is a better defender
than most seem to give him credit for. That said, he's still learning the tricks
of that (defensive) trade as well. Nick is improving. WIll that continue
to the point where you simply HAVE to start him or at least play him 30+ mpg.

5. Javaris improving his shooting to NBA SG levels. He also needs polish on
much of the rest of his game. But he's young and a willing worker so it's
not a foregone conclusion that these areas won't improve significantly.
He has skills and would make an interesting compliment to Arenas right
now.

And that's the most important question (assuming Gil really is healthy and I
think he probably is) - who is his best compliment?

[dnk]

I agree with everything, except I think Young does play starting-caliber defense. His problem is actually on offense. He doesn't know how to function without the ball in his hands.

I also like having DMac's rebounding ability on the floor to offset the mediocre rebounding from our undersized forwards.

Even though they're undersized, both Butler and Jamison consistently get good rebounding numbers. While Jamison's are sometimes inflated because there are times when he looks like the only one near the ball trying to rebound, I think that in spite of his size, Butler is an above average rebounder at the 3.

I think, barring trading and drafting (which will probably shake things up), McGuire will earn the starting job.

[DaRealHibachi]

Where is the Gilbert Arenas option...???

Nah, but i hope DMac works on a long range jumper this offseason... Then we can trade/dump Stevenson and Dixon... With Young being the 6th man, we have no need of both of them...

[crackhed]

^ i'd prefer mcguire too (even tho he's out of position).
mcguire and haywood in the starting lineup sounds like a good way to upgrade the teams shot-blocking, rebounding and overall tuffness on defense.

[fishercob]

It's really all about Arenas. A healthy Gil makes Deshawn, Dom, Nick and Caron all reasonable options.

Caron at the "2" didn't work very well this year, and he's obviously not a pure shooting guard. But Rasual Butler isn't a shooting guard and he plays the spot next to CP3 plenty. Paul is so good that he justifies having Butler on the floor for the things he brings to the table as opposed to what he doesn't.

I think it's safe to say that if Nick is here next year, it'll be in a bench role., and that Critt has a ways to go before he's ready to be a reliable member of the rotation.

If he's healthy, it could be Deshawn. If Deshawn isn't healthy, or if McGuire expands his range this summer, it could definitely be Blatche. And if we land BGriff, or if Dray or McGee goes through some David Banneresque metamorphosis this summer, it could be Butler.

Flip should send a clear message to all of the above that there's an open audition for our fifth starter spot, and see who earns it.

[spaceman_E]

As much as I'd like it to be Mcguire, OP said with the roster as is and if we start DMac we have no backup at the SF so just for lineup balance I think it has to be Deshawn. He will be OK again with Gil back, so long as DS is healthy. That allows us to play Nick as 6th man and Mcguire will play a lot as well. If dmac can improve his outside shot I'd also have him on the floor to end games.

[nate33]

As much as I'd like it to be Mcguire, OP said with the roster as is and if we start DMac we have no backup at the SF so just for lineup balance I think it has to be Deshawn. He will be OK again with Gil back, so long as DS is healthy. That allows us to play Nick as 6th man and Mcguire will play a lot as well. If dmac can improve his outside shot I'd also have him on the floor to end games.

Starting DMac at SG doesn't prevent him from being backup SF. Just pull him after 8 minutes in the first and 3rd, and put him back in at SF at the start of the 2nd and 4th to spell Butler. (We can also slide Jamison over to SF.)

The roster balance philosophy doesn't convince me. You can have a balanced roster without having 10 rotation players. Indeed, I think we're better off with an 8-man or 9-man rotation. It gives the bench players a bit more playing time to get their rhythm.

Start DMac with the Big Four. Crittenton, Young, Songaila and Blatche form our regular bench rotation (unless McGee makes a significant leap). McGee and Stevenson get spot minutes. Obviously, this will change based on the draft and trades.

[wizards-fan]

If we win the lottery and get Griffin, I believe it should be Caron. (Arenas, Caron, AJ, Griffin, Haywood) And actually even if we don't get Griffin, I think it should probably still be Caron in a Gil, Caron, McGuire, AJ, Haywood lineup. McGuire takes the toughest check on defense, Caron takes most of the primary scoring responsibilities on offense. Which I think is pretty much what they did this year.

McGuire needs to improve his scoring in case they get out of position or whatever, but he's on that path already. It's going to be a contract year for McGuire so I expect he'll develop a useful 3-point shot and play well throughout the year. If Nick Young comes back next Fall with an extra 10 lbs of muscle and a firm grasp of the game, then perhaps he sneaks into the starting 5. But I don't see both of those happening, and Young's offense off the bench is valuable.

[Dat2U]

Im a Deshawn fan also. I think he could be the good Deshawn again with Gil starting.

Even the "good DeShawn" was a barely passable option at SG. Frankly, the team needs more than what DeShawn brings to the table. At least McGuire can handle the ball abit, has solid court vision, plays with a relatively high IQ and crashes the boards.

DeShawn when healthy did two things at an acceptable level. Hit an open shot and make the opposing SG work for his shot. Everything else DeShawn did was at a sub replacement level.

That said, if were forced to start someone already on the roster at SG next training camp then Ernie Grunfeld has failed to do his job.

[nate33]

That said, if were forced to start someone already on the roster at SG next training camp then Ernie Grunfeld has failed to do his job.

One caveat: if DMac can continue to improve his jumper, then he might be a solid fit at SG.

It's worth nothing that McGuire had an eFG% of just 38% through his first 30 games. Since then, his eFG% has been 45%. If he can get it up to, say, 49%, he would be roughly as effective as Stevenson was over the prior two seasons; and it would put him in the same general range as guys like Raja Bell, Bruce Bowen and Anthony Parker - only he rebounds, passes and handles better than all of those guys.

[cdouglas]

Say we got the # 2 pick. How about trading that #2 for Vince Carter as our shooting guard?

[WashWiz54]

Im a Deshawn fan also. I think he could be the good Deshawn again with Gil starting.

Even the "good DeShawn" was a barely passable option at SG. Frankly, the team needs more than what DeShawn brings to the table. At least McGuire can handle the ball abit, has solid court vision, plays with a relatively high IQ and crashes the boards.

DeShawn when healthy did two things at an acceptable level. Hit an open shot and make the opposing SG work for his shot. Everything else DeShawn did was at a sub replacement level.

That said, if were forced to start someone already on the roster at SG next training camp then Ernie Grunfeld has failed to do his job.

I have to disagree with this one.

Healthy DeShawn is a good shooter and a good defender. He isn't all defense or a pure Jason Kapono lite shooter, but I have no doubt he is good. He also is solid at passing and handling the rock. Even this season he spent time at PG and did a decent job. His basketball IQ is pretty good too. He never forced too much (until the injury bug hit) and always played within his role. He won't get any votes for the All-Star game but he won't cost us a game either.

If DeShawn is our starting SG, I'll be content with that. We can't have an All-Star at every position and DeShawn fits the mold. VC or some other high profile All-Star might be more fun but a role player will work better.

I'd love it if we had a rotation like San Antonio. DeShawn is the starter, but Nick is our Manu who comes off the bench and plays starter minutes. If it turns out Nick is better at starter, go ahead and throw him in, but I wouldn't throw DeShawn out to the gutter like a lot of you want.

[pancakes3]

::sigh::

i figured nate would be more fervent in dispelling the DS myth but i guess i'll take a stab at it.

http://www.basketball-reference.com/pla ... ede01.html

some quick numbers of note - only one season of .400 three point shooting. a career FG% of .418. FT shooting at a laughable .700. These are not the numbers of a "good shooter". These are pathetic numbers put up by a guy who's wide open on almost every single shot.

looking past shooting he's averaging 2.5 rebounds and 3 assists a game in 30mpg with negligible steals, blocks, TO, or fouls. You have to be a total non-entity on the court or Lebron James to average 1.5 fouls/game while playing 30+ mpg. I'll concede that he does a good job of staying in front of his man but that's the only aspect of his defense that is above average. He goes under picks leaving the man open to shoot, he puts his hands straight up instead of in a face when defending, he gives up when he's beat, and he's the king of the half-hearted double-down swipe (leaving the man open for 3).

what kills me about DS is that this guy is a 9 year vet and has made NO discernable gains in his game. ZERO improvement from the 2000 mcdonald's all american version of DS.

The starting lineup does need a roleplayer at 2-guard but you cannot convince me that DS fills that role. The man does nothing in games except bounce around the perimeter, swinging passes, and jacking up 3 shots a game. No cuts, no screens, no rebounding, no anything. Give me maguire or give me death.

[clubbing_caveman]

EG likes to have a seasoned vet for the PG spot. I think our new coach would want some good experience at that PG spot too. Something tells me that "none of the above" will be our starting PG, and that we will instead make a pick up through a trade possibly. San Cassell is around for the maturation of Crit. Crit will be our backup.
As for the SG spot, that will be GA. Stevenson is either going to the bench or will be traded. Nick Young will be on the bench as our backup SG. CB is our starting SF, and DMac is the backup.

[Kanyewest]

Gilbert at the two is a possibility if Arenas returns to form and the Wizards acquire a high caliber point guard.

[long suffrin' boulez fan]

Say we got the # 2 pick. How about trading that #2 for Vince Carter as our shooting guard?

Cap issues. Vince has, I believe, 54 million and three years left on his contract. We'd need to give up Antawn, Andray and Critt or some such combination.

If we got Griffin, I would probably make that trade.

Arenas, VC, CB, Griff, Haywood
Mike J, N1, DM, Songalia, McGee