The Official Will Dawkins / Wiz Front Office Appreciation Thread

[bsilver]

I agree with the D for the Trae Young signing. Small quick guards do not age well. That's not only my opinion. See Kevin Broom's analysis: We probably will get 2 good years from Trae and really regret the last 2 years at over 50M.
https://www.bulletsforever.com/washington-wizards-statistical-analysis/72516/trae-young-washington-wizards-historical-comparisons

The Deandre Ayton signing should work out well. AD and Sarr are bound to miss significant time. Ayton better be on his best behavior. This may be his last chance to prove he deserves a significant contract. Probably somewhere else.

From the 2024 draft, Sarr was automatic. Keshawn George was a home run at 24. Bub at 14 was a stretch.The FO thought they saw something, but it wasn't there. He hasn't shown any potential to be become a quality point guard. Can't go to the basket, can't create for others, and not much of a defender. He's developed into a good 3 point shooter, but that just makes him an under sized SG.

[ledell_gumbo]

I don't need to keep debating the Young deal -- I probably don't have anything new to say, and anyway I hope it works out! But we all know it's not just about whether they'd have gotten a better free agent this summer.

One thing we can say for sure: The salary floor is a non-issue. The floor is 141M, and the Wizards are currently around 191M. There are always salary dumps available, or overpays for short-term contracts, or whatever. The floor is only a factor for teams who are aggressively tanking (which don't even exist for the time being). The lowest payroll this year is the Grizzlies at 160M, and I wouldn't be surprised if that increases by the deadline.

[anselmheifer76]

I agree with the D for the Trae Young signing. Small quick guards do not age well. That's not only my opinion. See Kevin Broom's analysis: We probably will get 2 good years from Trae and really regret the last 2 years at over 50M.
https://www.bulletsforever.com/washington-wizards-statistical-analysis/72516/trae-young-washington-wizards-historical-comparisons

The Deandre Ayton signing should work out well. AD and Sarr are bound to miss significant time. Ayton better be on his best behavior. This may be his last chance to prove he deserves a significant contract. Probably somewhere else.

From the 2024 draft, Sarr was automatic. Keshawn George was a home run at 24. Bub at 14 was a stretch.The FO thought they saw something, but it wasn't there. He hasn't shown any potential to be become a quality point guard. Can't go to the basket, can't create for others, and not much of a defender. He's developed into a good 3 point shooter, but that just makes him an under sized SG.

Agree that Bub looks like a dud. That’s not at all unusual for a 14th pick in a very poor 2024 NBA draft.

Honestly, I’m doubtful that Bilal ever looks like much more than he is now. Maybe he can improve his 3 point percentage a little, but I think our likely best case is he winds up like the previous Bilal that shoots 3 percentage points better from 3. But still, were there better picks available at 7 in that draft? I just looked at a redraft, and they had Bilal at…7.

This team drafts and develops super well. And if you have the super max kind of super star that we all hope AJ will be, that becomes all that much more important from a salary cap standpoint.

[DCZards]

One thing we can say for sure: The salary floor is a non-issue. The floor is 141M, and the Wizards are currently around 191M. There are always salary dumps available, or overpays for short-term contracts, or whatever.

The days of salary dumps and overpays for short-term contracts is over. The Zards wanted—and needed—a first-rate PG to lead this team and help bring out the potential of the young talent we’ve accumulated. They got that player in Trae.

The guy averaged a league leading 11.6 assists playing on a Hawks team where the only other quality starter (Jalen Johnson) only played in 36 games.

[payitforward]

...Bub at 14 was a stretch.The FO thought they saw something, but it wasn't there. He hasn't shown any potential to be become a quality point guard. Can't go to the basket, can't create for others, and not much of a defender. He's developed into a good 3 point shooter, but that just makes him an under sized SG.

Agree that Bub looks like a dud. ...

I must be one of the last Bub fans on the board.

1. He's by no means under-sized.
2. He's a plus athlete.
3. He turned 21 all of six weeks ago.
4. He improved from rookie to 2d year.

Do I know for sure that Bub Carrington's going to be an above-average NBA guard? No, of course not. But you don't know the opposite either. &, I note, there's no pessimism about Tre Johnson despite his having been a worse rookie than Bub overall.

Bub is almost 2 years younger than Kyshawn George. Let's be a little less pointlessly pessimistic.

[DCZards]

I must be one of the last Bub fans on the board.

1. He's by no means under-sized.
2. He's a plus athlete.
3. He turned 21 all of six weeks ago.
4. He improved from rookie to 2d year.

Do I know for sure that Bub Carrington's going to be an above-average NBA guard? No, of course not. But you don't know the opposite either. &, I note, there's no pessimism about Tre Johnson despite his having been a worse rookie than Bub overall.

Bub is almost 2 years younger than Kyshawn George. Let's be a little less pointlessly pessimistic.

I was higher on Bub than anyone on this board when the Zards drafted him. And, yes, I’m still a big Bub fan and supporter.

However, although I see his improved 3pt shooting as a real weapon, it’s become less and less clear to me that he has the potential to be anything more than a decent role player and maybe 8th or 9th man on this team, which isn’t a bad thing.

Bub has to get a lot better at attacking the rim and finishing…and the dropoff in his assist to turnover ratio from his rookie season to last season was concerning. A lot of bad decisions and carelessness with the ball on the part of Bub last season. I thought Bub could be a decent PG but he’s looking less and less like a PG.

But I’m keeping hope alive when it comes to Bub. I believe the loss of his dad during his rookie season may have impacted his play last season. A reduced and more defined role for Bub is likely just what he needs.

As for Tre J., I’m really high on his upside. Based on what I saw from Tre J. last season (and during the one SL game he played in), I’m convinced that he has the potential to be an above average NBA shooting guard.

He looks to me to be a natural born—and effortless—shooter from just about anywhere on the court.

I think the team’s “tanking” —and the lack of good PG play—had a major impact on the rook’s trajectory as a player…probably more than any other Zard.

[penbeast0]

Unless Bub really works on his defense, he is looking like the next Corey Kispert and I've been one of his main supporters as a backup combo guard this last offseason.

Tre needs to work on his defense (and playmaking) to be more than the next Anfernee Simons but he's only had the 1 year and was a higher rated prospect so gets a bit more slack. I have a lot of faith in his shooting stroke and (unlike Bub) he can finish but there's more to the game than scoring.

[payitforward]

Big season for both these kids, above all Bub, to be sure.

& it's fair to ask what the source is for my optimism about Bub -- in truth I have no good answer. But, it's real all the same.