RealGM

Matchup comparison looking 3-5 years down the line assuming good health and none of them traded, ignoring contracts:

Better player? Cade Cunningham (Athleticism, volume scoring) or Deni Avdija (defense, efficiency)

Better player? Jalen Duran (High efficiency, not a rim protector) or Kyle Kuzma (volume scoring, versatility)

Better player? Jaden Ivey (dynamic, low efficiency) or Corey Kispert (pure shooter, high efficiency)

Better player? Ausar Thompson (Defense, rookie) or Bilal Coulibaly (Defense, rookie)

Ignoring the rest of the team (particularly Jordan Poole!) . . .

Cade Cunningham -- Significantly higher ceiling than Deni Avdija and projects to a significantly more valueable and important role. Rocking a 30% USG and 37% AST on poor efficiency, but that's the growing pain a high-usage ball-handler is going to be facing.

Jalen Duren -- A+ Athlete and will be 20 years old at the start of next year. Let that one sink in. He is 1 week older than top center prospect Kyle Filipowski in this years draft. Centers typically take a long time to develop, but he is already a monster on the glass and has shown incredible feel as a passer.

Corey Kispert -- Ivey has a higher ceiling, but Kispert is already plug-and-play and unlike Duren, Ivey is already 22 years young. Excellent movement shooter and solid defender. Not buying the high-end outcomes of Ivey here.

Bilal Coulibaly -- This is the hardest one, as Ausar is already a +/- machine, but Coulibaly's shooting is the separator here, though I wouldn't be surprised if Ausar becomes some AK47/Shawn Marion hybrid.

Overall I prefer Detroit's core and I don't think it is close. Washington doesn't have any prospect with higher-end potential while Detroit has two [Cade and Duren].

Thanks, that's certainly how Cade and Duren were seen coming into this season, just curious whether the bloom was off the rose with Cunningham in his 3rd straight year of below league average shooting (though improved over the 1st two), Duren's defense not improving much (while still being a terrific roll guy offensively) and Detroit struggles this year.

Plus from Washington's side, Avdija making a huge jump offensively (before this year, I would have said offensively meh, this year a very solid player though still not a star) and Kispert pushing up his usage while remaining hyper efficient (and remaining atrocious defensively).

I think the hope to try and have as a Wizards fan is their players complement a true franchise player better. And both teams still need that guy (I don't believe Cade is him). The Pistons pieces are clunkier around a star.

I'd still be trying to find a team to give me value for Deni though. His value is in his cheap contract but Washington won't be competitive during it so its just wasting value. A team would give you something pretty good to get a plug-in young starter locked up cheap long-term.

Texas Chuck wrote:I think the hope to try and have as a Wizards fan is their players complement a true franchise player better. And both teams still need that guy (I don't believe Cade is him). The Pistons pieces are clunkier around a star.

I'd still be trying to find a team to give me value for Deni though. His value is in his cheap contract but Washington won't be competitive during it so its just wasting value. A team would give you something pretty good to get a plug-in young starter locked up cheap long-term.

May be true but doesn't answer the OP. IF Cade isn't that guy, is he still more valuable than Deni who is a valuable guy if not a 1st option. How about the others?

Ranking all 8, where I'll be expecting them in ~4 years. Current age listed, followed by where I'd hope they'll be in terms of player level in the future (on a play-in type squad).

1. Cade (22.5) #1 guy, Allstar level
-Pros: Capable of relatively high offensive volume (both scoring and playmaking for others). I appreciate the size from a lead playmaker, also gives him decent defensive versatility. Trending upwards.
-Cons: Low efficiency.

2. Duren (20.4) #3 starter (if he can become a better rim protector there's #2/low end Allstar upside)
-Pros: Very young. An efficient play finisher. Decent skill on offense for a 5. Physical tools/age to hope for meaningful growth as a defensive anchor. Strong rebounder. Trending upwards.
-Cons: Isn't currently a good defensive anchor. Offensive ceiling seems not particularly high.

3. Deni (23.2) #3 starter
-Pros: Like his defense, good secondary decision maker, has hit his shots this season. Trending upwards.
-Cons: Not a primary offensive guy, middling efficiency, is the 3P% a bit of a hot streak?

4. Coulibaly (19.7) #4 starter
-Pros: Youngest guy here. Has all the tools to be a good defender. Shot looks decent.
-Cons: I don't see a ton of offensive skill.

5. Ausar (21.2) Good rotation guy
-Pros: Young, strong/disruptive defender, very athletic.
-Cons: Not good on offense, unlikely to be getting a ton of reps to improve (behind Cade/Ivey, another high draft pick coming in).

6. Ivey (22.1) Good rotation guy
-Pros: Mid volume offensive guy, strong athleticism.
-Cons: Low efficiency. Size limits his defensive upside/versatility.

7. Kispert (25.1) Good rotation guy
-Pros: Good shooter.
-Cons: Limited in every other area. Also on the older side here, don't see meaningful upside.

8. Kuzma (28.7) Good rotation guy
-Pros: Spaces the floor well from the 4 spot. Decent defensive versatility.
-Cons: Much much older than the others, is who he is, may well be trending down by that point. Low efficiency.

There are a few other young guys on each squad worth mentioning as well - Stewart, Sasser, Poole, Bagley notably who could very well round into decent rotation pieces (or return to being one in Poole's case).

1. Cade
2. Avidja
3. Kuz

Those 3 are NBA players, though Cade acts like a star, he's leading his team to nowhere. I am not a super Cade fan, I think he can fade away after some time. Avidja and Kuz have stable starter roles anywhere, though Kuz looks terrible as a Wizard.

4. Ausar
5. Bilial

2 young guys, that can dev. into something very nice for a team's rotation.

6.Duren
7. Ivey
8. Kispert

These guys are pretty much Detroit/Wiz. There's some talent in them but it doesn't seem well used. Duren seems promising, though I am not down with his big man defense. Can't say I am a Duren guy, though there are plenty of fans down with him. Suffice to say I am not down with either bottom feeder right now.

The comparison isn’t really fair. We’ve got more seasons worth of high picks stacked up while the Wiz only just fully committed to a rebuild.

The Pistons have more talent now, but if they’re run competently (and we continue to not be) this won’t be true in a couple of years.

Loser faces Portland in the Talentless Finals?