Wizards 2019 Offseason Thread

[SUPERBALLMAN]

I thought Layman could be a good fit for what we're trying to do here.

Here are some still out there that might be worth a look...

Nik Stauskas
L.C. Timothe
Trey Lyles (RFA)
JaMychal Green
Justin Holiday
Jerian Grant
Kenneth Faried
Sam Dekker
Alex Poythress
Marquese Chriss
Ian Clark
Tyler Cavanaugh
Kentavious Caldwell-Pope
Jerryd Bayless
Justin Anderson
Jeremy Lin


A couple intriguing names still available, but we're pretty much getting to the bottom of the barrel at this point. Lyles is the most interesting, but would probably require a S&T. Maybe we could work some sort of a S&T swap of Parker for Lyles?

[nate33]

So is this where we officially sit?

Smith/Thomas/
Beal/Brown
??
Hachimura
Bryant/Howard/Mahimni

Wall - hopefully won't play this season
Some of:

Moe Wagner
Isaac Bonga
Jemerrio Jones
Admiral Schofield

I think it looks more like this:

PG Smith/Thomas
SG Beal/McRae
SF Brown/Schofield
PF Hachimura/???
C Bryant/Wagner

I think Howard is going to be bought out. And I think they're going to add one more PF. If it's Parker, it would sure help the second unit offense, but I think they're worried about how Parker would impact Hachimura. So they might go with Faried or JayMichael Green.

[nate33]

I thought Layman could be a good fit for what we're trying to do here.

Here are some still out there that might be worth a look...

Nik Stauskas
L.C. Timothe
Trey Lyles (RFA)
JaMychal Green
Justin Holiday
Jerian Grant
Kenneth Faried
Sam Dekker
Alex Poythress
Marquese Chriss
Ian Clark
Tyler Cavanaugh
Kentavious Caldwell-Pope
Jerryd Bayless
Justin Anderson
Jeremy Lin


A couple intriguing names still available, but we're pretty much getting to the bottom of the barrel at this point. Lyles is the most interesting, but would probably require a S&T. Maybe we could work some sort of a S&T swap of Parker for Lyles?

Kenneth Faried as a stopgap starting PF on a 1-year deal makes some sense.

[doclinkin]

Kenneth Faried as a stopgap starting PF on a 1-year deal makes some sense.

And he fits with the current team identity as scrappy underdog undersized hard workers with good attitude.

Fareid’s LGBQT activism (raised by gay moms) would earn him fans in the community here. He’s a good guy in general. His locker room effect would be positive. He’s another energizer bunny type.

[payitforward]

...
I think it looks more like this:

PG Smith/Thomas
SG Beal/McRae
SF Brown/Schofield
PF Hachimura/???
C Bryant/Wagner

I think Howard is going to be bought out. And I think they're going to add one more PF. If it's Parker, it would sure help the second unit offense, but I think they're worried about how Parker would impact Hachimura. So they might go with Faried or JayMichael Green.

So, then

PG Smith/Thomas/Robinson/Bonga
SG Beal/McRae/Phillip
SF Brown/Schofield/Jones
PF Hachimura/???
C Bryant/Wagner/Mahinmi

...plus Wall not playing. That's 15 w/ no one behind Hachimura. Hence very likely becomes 16. The guys in italics are not guaranteed. If we pick up another player, one of them will have to go. Robinson is partly-guaranteed; we don't know the details yet, but I doubt he'll be cut unless he sucks in SL.

The guaranteed date for McRae is listed as TBD. Phillip & Jones aren't guaranteed until mid-January. If it were up to me, I would let McRae depart then sign him to the Go Gos. He's a marginal NBA player at best, he's 28 & not a candidate for "development," he's unlikely to be signed by anyone else (i.e. likely to be available if needed), & if lost doesn't affect our future. Guys like him are easily available.

But the main advantage of cutting him is that it gives us the time between now and January to find out whether Jones or Phillip or both are useful players. & it gives us the time & opportunity to be scouting for another guy as well (i.e. if needed to replace one of them). Of course, if McRae's TBD guarantee date is in January, the last point is irrelevant.

My guess, however, is that the TBD designation is simply an agreement between our FO & McRae's agent that they make the decision "soon." I.e. if we choose to cut either Phillip or Jones, it's likely that they will then guarantee McRae.

Above all, I hope they keep Jones. To me, he has some potentially "disruptive" skills -- a lock-down man defender & an outstanding rebounder. A great kind of player to have on your roster. I'd love for us to have until mid-January to look closely at him.

[payitforward]

Kenneth Faried as a stopgap starting PF on a 1-year deal makes some sense.

And he fits with the current team identity as scrappy underdog undersized hard workers with good attitude.

Fareid’s LGBQT activism (raised by gay moms) would earn him fans in the community here. He’s a good guy in general. His locker room effect would be positive. He’s another energizer bunny type.

I like Faried, as is pretty well known. Dat doesn't... also well known.

Although Faried would be just fine as an inexpensive guy on a 1-year contract, I would be happier if we could find some young "diamond-in-the-rough" type who might help going forward -- sort of like what JayMichael was a couple of years ago.

It's also possible that they might view Wagner as a PF -- in which case, we'd have more flexibility in considering our next move. We could start the season as we are, use the first 2-3 months to look for a good opportunity on another guy, & then cut either Phillip or Jones to make room for him. Or get the guy in a trade using a player and/or a TPE (ideally while also picking up another R2 pick!).

[youngWizzy]

Another name to think about could be Cheick Diallo. Only 23 but has his weaknesses including being very raw offensively. Averaged 15 and 13 per 36. I'd take a flyer on him.

[nate33]

Kenneth Faried as a stopgap starting PF on a 1-year deal makes some sense.

And he fits with the current team identity as scrappy underdog undersized hard workers with good attitude.

Fareid’s LGBQT activism (raised by gay moms) would earn him fans in the community here. He’s a good guy in general. His locker room effect would be positive. He’s another energizer bunny type.

I like Faried, as is pretty well known. Dat doesn't... also well known.

Although Faried would be just fine as an inexpensive guy on a 1-year contract, I would be happier if we could find some young "diamond-in-the-rough" type who might help going forward -- sort of like what JayMichael was a couple of years ago.

It's also possible that they might view Wagner as a PF -- in which case, we'd have more flexibility in considering our next move. We could start the season as we are, use the first 2-3 months to look for a good opportunity on another guy, & then cut either Phillip or Jones to make room for him. Or get the guy in a trade using a player and/or a TPE (ideally while also picking up another R2 pick!).

I'm not too worried about trying to find a young prospect to fill that position. I think it's important to have a couple of stable veterans on the roster. It's hard to tell young guys exactly where to be on offense and defense when they're playing alongside a bunch of other young guys who also don't know where to be. You can't have a 10-man rotation with just Beal, Ish, and a 8 guys with 0-1 years of experience. It's also why I wouldn't fret too much about the 28-year-old McRae in there instead of another rookie.

I figure we will spend actual on-court time developing Hachimura, Bryant, Brown, Schofield and Wagner. Those guys will all get 600+ minutes. Maybe one more guy (Robinson perhaps) gets significant burn. It's hard to play more young guys than that. Sprinkler a few vets around them. The other youngsters like Bonga and Phillip will have to develop in practice and in the G League.

[payitforward]

Another name to think about could be Cheick Diallo. Only 23 but has his weaknesses including being very raw offensively. Averaged 15 and 13 per 36. I'd take a flyer on him.

I like that idea. It would be kind of like getting back one of those wasted R2 picks.

Much as I like Faried, I'd rather have Diallo. Yes, he's raw offensively, but he posts an extremely high TS%, which means that he isn't costing you possessions by his play on offense. He also got better in his 2d year & again his 3d.

He'll wind up with a deal like Layman's is my guess. I see Wagner as more a 4 than a 5 & Diallo as more a 5 than a 4. They could play together?

[DCZards]

The guaranteed date for McRae is listed as TBD. Phillip & Jones aren't guaranteed until mid-January. If it were up to me, I would let McRae depart then sign him to the Go Gos. He's a marginal NBA player at best, he's 28 & not a candidate for "development," he's unlikely to be signed by anyone else (i.e. likely to be available if needed), & if lost doesn't affect our future. Guys like him are easily available.

I doubt that McRae is let go or sent to play with the Go Gos. This team, as currently constituted, is going to need his scoring.

[dckingsfan]

So is this where we officially sit?

Smith/Thomas/
Beal/Brown
??
Hachimura
Bryant/Howard/Mahimni

Wall - hopefully won't play this season
Some of:

Moe Wagner
Isaac Bonga
Jemerrio Jones
Admiral Schofield

I think Bonga's playing in the G league, the video I saw suggested he's not ready yet ...

Thanks gig... And I could see Brown actually going and stealing the starting PG position.

[dckingsfan]

So is this where we officially sit?

Smith/Thomas/
Beal/Brown
??
Hachimura
Bryant/Howard/Mahimni

Wall - hopefully won't play this season
Some of:

Moe Wagner
Isaac Bonga
Jemerrio Jones
Admiral Schofield

I think it looks more like this:

PG Smith/Thomas
SG Beal/McRae
SF Brown/Schofield
PF Hachimura/???
C Bryant/Wagner

I think Howard is going to be bought out. And I think they're going to add one more PF. If it's Parker, it would sure help the second unit offense, but I think they're worried about how Parker would impact Hachimura. So they might go with Faried or JayMichael Green.

Questions:
1) You don't think they will keep Howard on, show he is healthy and try to trade him?
2) Mahimni?
3) Wagner is up for meaningful minutes?
4) Brown a starting SF and not a guard?

I guess we still have a few questions to resolve - going to be fascinating.

[smoothSeph]

Think we gotta be looking to use a trade exception to fill the 3/4. The FAs left aren’t moving the needle there

[Mojo Amok]

Yeah, I wouldn't bring in another young guy, but would rather bring in vet stability to bolster the development of the greenhorns that we already have. I view it that we don't need another '10% chance of turning into something' guy, but rather that we need to increase those chances for the guys we already have.

To that end, McRae would also be someone I keep around based on his ability as a shot creator and pick and roll ball handler unless I had some reason to doubt his influence on the rookies (the only thing is that his body is marginal). We might have as many as five guys who can run sets between Beal, Ish, Thomas, Brown and McRae, but there's question marks with many of them, so a bit of redundancy would bode well for the rainy Tuesday back to backs in March. We don't want to put too much pressure on Beal to run everything.

Again, I don't even mean for winning games so much as just being consistently functional over a 48 minute period so that young bigs like Bryant, Hachimura, Schofield (?) and Wagner can develop in a professional environment given that they are usually dependent on other guys getting them the ball in their spots (Schofield isn't a big, but he could likely benefit from the same dynamic). Ideally, we would have some defensive vet acumen around to rub off on the youngins', but it seems that's not in the cards this year.

Farried sounds pretty good on a short deal from a chemistry and culture standpoint too. Don't really care if it's the minimum or more as long as it's a short deal (team option for second year would be great).

[SUPERBALLMAN]

Another name to think about could be Cheick Diallo. Only 23 but has his weaknesses including being very raw offensively. Averaged 15 and 13 per 36. I'd take a flyer on him.

I like that idea. It would be kind of like getting back one of those wasted R2 picks.

Much as I like Faried, I'd rather have Diallo. Yes, he's raw offensively, but he posts an extremely high TS%, which means that he isn't costing you possessions by his play on offense. He also got better in his 2d year & again his 3d.

He'll wind up with a deal like Layman's is my guess. I see Wagner as more a 4 than a 5 & Diallo as more a 5 than a 4. They could play together?

Diallo is definitely worth looking into, I thought I had him listed, I meant to, especially given his age 22/23, and how badly we need rebounding.

[SUPERBALLMAN]

Diallo was a five-star recruit and was widely considered one of the top players in the Class of 2015. He was the MVP of the 2015 McDonald's All-American Boys Game. He played one season of college basketball for Kansas before declaring for the 2016 NBA draft, where he was selected with the 33rd overall pick by the Los Angeles Clippers.
-Wikipedia

[SUPERBALLMAN]

So is this where we officially sit?

Smith/Thomas/
Beal/Brown
??
Hachimura
Bryant/Howard/Mahimni

Wall - hopefully won't play this season
Some of:

Moe Wagner
Isaac Bonga
Jemerrio Jones
Admiral Schofield

I think it looks more like this:

PG Smith/Thomas
SG Beal/McRae
SF Brown/Schofield
PF Hachimura/???
C Bryant/Wagner

I think Howard is going to be bought out. And I think they're going to add one more PF. If it's Parker, it would sure help the second unit offense, but I think they're worried about how Parker would impact Hachimura. So they might go with Faried or JayMichael Green.

Here is a current depth chart to enter the season/training camp (pre summer league)

Assumes Howard is bought out. Sanon is likely overseas (as is White), Robinson likely Gleague, Withey likely cut...

Thomas/Smith/Bonga
Beal/McRae/Jones
BrownJr/Schofield/Simmons
Hachimura/Wagner/White
Bryant/Mahinmi/Pasecniks

Other candidates... Robinson, Sanon, Withey

Am I missing anyone?

[nate33]

Diallo was a five-star recruit and was widely considered one of the top players in the Class of 2015. He was the MVP of the 2015 McDonald's All-American Boys Game. He played one season of college basketball for Kansas before declaring for the 2016 NBA draft, where he was selected with the 33rd overall pick by the Los Angeles Clippers.
-Wikipedia

No thanks. He's a one-dimensional guy - he just rebounds. He can't shoot or pass. He turns the ball over and fouls a lot. He has consistently horrific on/off numbers.

We need a veteran forward who understands the game, not another raw youngster with limited upside.

[SUPERBALLMAN]

This is looking like a 20 win team.

[nate33]

Questions:
1) You don't think they will keep Howard on, show he is healthy and try to trade him?
2) Mahimni?
3) Wagner is up for meaningful minutes?
4) Brown a starting SF and not a guard?

I guess we still have a few questions to resolve - going to be fascinating.

1. I guess that depends on his health. If he is truly healthy (and presumably Sheppard knows if that's the case), then, sure, bring him back, let him play a while, and then see if he can be traded. But if he's still gimpy, or if he can't be traded in the first month or so, I think they'll just find a team who is willing to sign him for the vet minimum. We will buy him out for $4M or so and the new team will sign him with the vet minimum. It's break even from Howard's perspective but we save about $2M.

2. Mahinmi will stay on the roster but he won't play unless there is a lot of injuries, or maybe in situational lineups against a big team like Philly if Wagner can't stay on the floor. I don't think he will be waived, at least not for a while, because the team might want to keep his salary slot available as ballast if some interesting future trade comes along.

3. The team loved Wagner in the draft. I'm guessing he's at least playable after a second offseason of training and lifting. If he still can't get on the floor then we should cut bait and move onto someone else. What kind of first round pick can't earn minutes in his second season as a backup on a bad team in a bad conference?

4. I think Brown is just a "wing". He can play PG, SG or SF, it doesn't really matter. Right now, our hole is at SF so that's where he will play, or rather, that's where he will defend. I suppose if Schofield (or some vet SF we acquire) really steps up at SF, then Brown can be moved to guard.