payitforward wrote::) Good point, doc! Team success is a long-term project, but every one of the new additions is a point of immediate interest!
Can Poole keep moving towards his high potential?
Can Shamet get his career back on track?
Does Gallo have anything left in the tank?
Will Jones be as good as we all expect him to be?
Will Bilal show his potential right away?
Who, really, is Patrick Baldwin?
Is Rollins just a trade throw-in, or does he have real NBA potential?
Can an Australian MVP be a solid NBA player?
Does Daniel Gafford have another development step in him?
...etc. etc. etc.
Does NCAA Championship Most Outstanding Player Jared Butler have anything for the NBA game? Maybe he and Gonzaga alum Corey Kispert can re-battle that championship game in practice.
Mike Muscala's high post game seems a good fit for the offense Wes likes to play. Given Gafford's history of short minutes, how does Moose maximize the extra minutes available? Can he sustain 40% 3fg while playing 20+ minutes a game? Given the notable difference between his and Gafford's games, how does the team play two entirely different systems when either is on the floor without the other?
And since you brought up Gafford, can he and Tyus Jones develop a chemistry that renews his game?
Ultimately though, appropriate to this thread, the player I am most curious about is Jordan Poole. I'm curious how much of last year was from heartbreak and protest. The W's bet on Draymond Green over the next few years, rewarding him with a giant contract which ultimately forced Jordan off the team before his own extension was to kick in.
DC is ready to fall in love with their basketball team, the DMV loves scrappy guards. Poole has a perfect opportunity to fight his way into the national conversation in a good way, write his own story. We had three 20 point scorers last year, and lost 40 of those points. The shots are available for him to put up some eye-popping totals. He has a chance to star, more than any other player on the team. We fell for Westbrook on his redemption year, loved John Wall no matter his rehab or social media mishaps. Emotionally speaking we still hold Arenas' jersey in the rafters. (Many still hold a spot for Terps Steve Blake and Juan Dixon; and the Hoya's Iverson of course). Show us something good and you are going to hear about it. The DMV raises some of the best guards and wing players in the league.
I get the feeling this team could be exciting to cheer for. Poole on a revenge mission, surrounded by smart team players who know their role and play well around him, with outside shooting at every position, that's the profile of a team that could get hot at any moment and peel off some runs, both in games and in win streaks.
Consider some of the various parts of the whole:
The most efficient set-up PG in the game in Tyus, who has been league best in Ast/TO the past 5 years.
Efficient scoring potential inside and out. The most effective interior scorer in Gafford, leading the league in raw FG% at above 70%. An unsustainably hot outside/inside scorer in Kispert, posting a 66% true shooting rating, over 40% from 3. Skilled outside-shooting veteran bigs in Gallo and Moose, plus catch and shoot outside gunner Shamet --all averaging about 39% from 3 over their careers. At PG, 40% 3pt shooting from Jones.
Defensive tools. Switchable skilled defense from Deni who ranked among the league best defenders for portions of the past 2 years. Likewise in Delon Wright, a notable defender at guard. Kuzma with good length, solid rebounding totals for a stretch forward. Gafford deterring shots at the rim. Defensive potential in youth like Johnny D, Jared Butler. All-Defense potential in Bilal.
Speed mismatches for uptempo play. Gafford, Kuz, Deni all tend to be quicker up the court than their match-up. Poole and Jones join from teams that run efficient fast pace transition offenses. We have depth of youth to be able to run all game long, all season long, if the coaching staff is generous with developmental minutes. A player like Johnny Davis will give maximum hustle every minute he earns. Bilal adding smooth athleticism and foot speed.
We need upgrades in a physical screen setting enforcer/rebounder/defender type. Especially if they can score efficiently inside/out. But yeah so does everybody.
But what we do have is at least one potential star player who may be able to assert his will on the game. Attacking the rim, racking opponent fouls, unafraid to take the big shot. Should be fun to watch.
Good point, doc! Team success is a long-term project, but every one of the new additions is a point of immediate interest! 
