Wizards Training Camp 2020-21

[payitforward]

LOL... Agreed PIF, big Bonga fan.
That said, Closg isnt all wrong....

Glad you agree -- & of course Closg isn't all wrong. Be a strange 20-year-old who couldn't be critiqued!

Really it was to Closg' saying

I don't get the love for Bonga...

(or similar words) that I meant to respond.

Bonga appears to be like Otto in that his team Defense is really good, but his man defense is just above average....

At 20 years of age & playing his first real NBA minutes!

...its a bit concerning that his Assist and Usage plummeted from his 1st year, but his turnovers stayed the same....

He played 120 minutes as a rookie! Neither what he did nor how well he did it has any significance whatever.

...Combined with his subpar rebounding and his ceiling appears to be in the Robert Covington range, which is a great player to have on the team....

Bonga is by no means a subpar rebounder for a 3. Per 40 minutes, he gets a small fraction of 1 defensive board fewer than average for an SF. But, he gets 1+ offensive boards more than average 3. Even without noting that a single offensive rebound is worth more than a single defensive rebound (which it is*), he is still above average for a 3. & that is what Isaac Bonga is. He weighed 180 lbs last season. You can put him at Center if you want, but that won't make him a Center.

I don't see any great similarity to Robert Covington overall -- & especially not in the comparable year for him, 2014-15. But, I guess you mean that Bonga has outstanding defensive potential (RC being an outstanding defender).

Still, he's very young and appears to have taken strides off the court that could allow him to be better on it. Excited to see how it shakes out. Great glue guy.

His youth is another reason why I don't follow the comparison with Covington, who played 4 years of college, came into the league at 220+ lbs, & turned 23 after the first month of his rookie year. Bonga will be in his 5th season when he turns 23 (hard to imagine!).

Most players peak in their mid-20's. For Bonga to have played as much & as well as he did in the year when he turned 20 was amazing to me.

(* Unsurprisingly, teams score off of an offensive rebound a higher % of the time than they do off a defensive rebound. That's what makes an offensive board more valuable than a defensive one. No, this does not mean that teams should concentrate on getting them. It means it's a good thing when they do)

[doclinkin]

Deni Avdija F 6-9 210 lbs JAN 03, 2001 19 R Maccabi Tel Aviv
Russell Westbrook 0 G 6-3 200 lbs NOV 12, 1988 32 12 UCLA
Yoeli Childs F 6-8 225 lbs JAN 13, 1998 22 R Brigham Young
Cassius Winston G 6-1 185 lbs FEB 28, 1998 22 R Michigan State
Caleb Homesley G 6-6 205 lbs NOV 27, 1996 24 R Liberty
Marlon Taylor G 6-5 209 lbs AUG 16, 1997 23 R Louisiana State
Anthony Gill F 6-8 230 lbs OCT 17, 1992 28 R Virginia
Bradley Beal 3 G 6-3 207 lbs JUN 28, 1993 27 8 Florida
Shabazz Napier 5 G 6-0 175 lbs JUL 14, 1991 29 6 Connecticut
Troy Brown Jr. 6 G-F 6-6 215 lbs JUL 28, 1999 21 2 Oregon
Rui Hachimura 8 F 6-8 230 lbs FEB 08, 1998 22 1 Gonzaga
Jerome Robinson 12 G 6-4 190 lbs FEB 22, 1997 23 2 Boston College
Thomas Bryant 13 C-F 6-10 248 lbs JUL 31, 1997 23 3 Indiana
Ish Smith 14 G 6-0 175 lbs JUL 05, 1988 32 10 Wake Forest
Isaac Bonga 17 G 6-8 180 lbs NOV 08, 1999 21 2 Skyliners Frankfurt
Anzejs Pasecniks 18 C-F 7-2 229 lbs DEC 20, 1995 24 1 Gran Canaria
Raul Neto 19 G 6-1 180 lbs MAY 19, 1992 28 5 Murcia
Johnathan Williams 19 F 6-9 228 lbs MAY 22, 1995 25 2 Gonzaga
Gary Payton II 20 G 6-3 195 lbs DEC 01, 1992 28 4 Oregon State
Moritz Wagner 21 F-C 6-11 245 lbs APR 26, 1997 23 2 Michigan
Garrison Mathews 24 G 6-5 215 lbs OCT 24, 1996 24 1 Lipscomb
Ian Mahinmi 28 C 6-11 262 lbs NOV 05, 1986 34 12 Pau Orthez
Davis Bertans 42 F 6-10 225 lbs NOV 12, 1992 28 4 Baskonia
Robin Lopez 42 C 7-0 281 lbs APR 01, 1988 32 12 Stanford

This roster is so damn young. Interesting to see. Well for training camp at least we finally realized the PIF dream of at least 6 rookies.

[doclinkin]

Happy Shabazz is still on the training camp roster.

[long suffrin' boulez fan]

Happy Shabazz is still on the training camp roster.

And Mahinmi and Payton?

Are we sure this is accurate?

[gambitx777]

This is our current team in training cam before cuts. This is the up dated list on real gm and can be confirmed In Training camp photos posted on The team web site.

Deni Avdija SG/SF

Bradley Beal SG

Davis Bertans SF/PF

Isaac Bonga SG/SF/PF

Troy Brown, Jr. SF/SG

Thomas Bryant C

Yoeli Childs PF

Anthony Gill PF

Rui Hachimura PF

Caleb Homesley SG

Robin Lopez C/PF

Garrison Mathews SG

Raulzinho Neto PG

Anzejs Pasecniks C

Jerome Robinson SG

Ish Smith PG

Marlon Taylor SG

Moe Wagner PF

Russell Westbrook PG

Cassius Winston PG




Sent from my SM-G965U1 using RealGM mobile app

[doclinkin]

Alright. It was from the wizards website. Too bad.
https://www.nba.com/team/1610612764/wizards

[wall_glizzy]

So unless we're willing to eat a fair chunk of guaranteed money, it's Childs/Homesley/Taylor/Pasecniks all competing for one spot. I'd assume that ends up being our second two-way (after which we'd convert Mathews to a full deal), but I guess it depends on the player. I could see Pasecniks staying on the main roster due to the relative lack of centers.

[FAH1223]

Read on Twitter

[doclinkin]

So unless we're willing to eat a fair chunk of guaranteed money, it's Childs/Homesley/Taylor/Pasecniks all competing for one spot. I'd assume that ends up being our second two-way (after which we'd convert Mathews to a full deal), but I guess it depends on the player. I could see Pasecniks staying on the main roster due to the relative lack of centers.

Maybe. Looks like this to me. Ranking is best guess on how the GM/Coach value the players effect and minutes on the floor/roster this year.

15 roster spots, 2 two-way contracts, up to 6 exhibit 10 spots

2. Russell Westbrook PG
8. Ish Smith PG
11. Raulzinho Neto PG
---2-way---Cassius Winston PG,

1. Bradley Beal SG
8. Troy Brown, Jr. SF/SG
10. Jerome Robinson SG
14. Garrison Mathews SG
---Exhibit 10--Caleb Homesley SG
---Exhibit 10---Marlon Taylor SG

4. Davis Bertans SF/PF
6. Deni Avdija SG/SF
7. Isaac Bonga SG/SF/PF

5. Rui Hachimura PF/SF
12. Anthony Gill PF
--2-way--Yoeli Childs PF,

3. Thomas Bryant C
9. Robin Lopez C/PF
13. Moe Wagner PF/C
15. Anzejs Pasecniks C

The question being if someone shows up big in training camp and takes the 15th spot from AnSESH PaSESHneeks. (If I was picking a dark horse here it would be Yoeli Childs as a lob threat for Russ and a rebounder down low. Although it depends on his post-COVID fitness I suppose). Or if there is a consolidation trade. Or someone is cut from another squad and we release a guy.

I think Russ will eat up minutes that would have gone to TBJ on nights when John was resting in the back-to-backs. I think Bertans will be played almost as a giant guard in some line-ups. To make room for Deni/Rui/Bonga in the front court.

[SUPERBALLMAN]

Read on Twitter

So unless we're willing to eat a fair chunk of guaranteed money, it's Childs/Homesley/Taylor/Pasecniks all competing for one spot. I'd assume that ends up being our second two-way (after which we'd convert Mathews to a full deal), but I guess it depends on the player. I could see Pasecniks staying on the main roster due to the relative lack of centers.

My bet would be on Childs... Although hopefully we can keep all these guys in some fashion with the expanded rosters and exhibit 10 options. I do think they like Pasecniks, and Taylor looks intriguing to me. But Childs could be one of those guys at PF/C you love to have on your bench.

I do like the youth and work ethic/attitude on this roster.

Doc's roster breakdown looks pretty spot on to me.

[doclinkin]

Whatever is happening in the Rui/Bertans/Bonga/Deni/Troy mix
is going to be pretty interesting to follow.

Throw in Gill/Childs as well.

We have a logjam of big wing players looking for touches. The ballhandling skills of Troy/Deni/Bonga are deemphasized when we have Westbrook and his historically high usage rate. He will be looking for quick finishers and long shooters after dribbling the air out of the ball. There won't be much time for 'everybody eats' style passing and movement off the ball. Russ likes to push it and quick finish. Whoever can keep pace with him, runs the break, trails to catch and finish, or catch and shoot -- those will be the guys he looks for.

I'd guess Bertans/Deni/Rui/Childs will fit better in this role than Troy/Bonga unless they have improved their catch and shoot 3-ball game and are willing to let it fly, and hit it. Gill is a dark horse here too since he for sure looks like he will take a shot when open.

Here is where I think Deni's quick-read aggression and uptempo game will earn him PT next to starters.

[nate33]

Read on Twitter

Avdija has a very quick release on his catch-and-shoot. He looks like Klay Thompson in those corner 3 shooting drills. If he actually makes them at a respectable clip, he is going to be a very potent floor stretcher.

[payitforward]

Deni Avdija F 6-9 210 lbs JAN 03, 2001 19 R Maccabi Tel Aviv
Russell Westbrook 0 G 6-3 200 lbs NOV 12, 1988 32 12 UCLA
Yoeli Childs F 6-8 225 lbs JAN 13, 1998 22 R Brigham Young
Cassius Winston G 6-1 185 lbs FEB 28, 1998 22 R Michigan State
Caleb Homesley G 6-6 205 lbs NOV 27, 1996 24 R Liberty
Marlon Taylor G 6-5 209 lbs AUG 16, 1997 23 R Louisiana State
Anthony Gill F 6-8 230 lbs OCT 17, 1992 28 R Virginia
Bradley Beal 3 G 6-3 207 lbs JUN 28, 1993 27 8 Florida
Shabazz Napier 5 G 6-0 175 lbs JUL 14, 1991 29 6 Connecticut
Troy Brown Jr. 6 G-F 6-6 215 lbs JUL 28, 1999 21 2 Oregon
Rui Hachimura 8 F 6-8 230 lbs FEB 08, 1998 22 1 Gonzaga
Jerome Robinson 12 G 6-4 190 lbs FEB 22, 1997 23 2 Boston College
Thomas Bryant 13 C-F 6-10 248 lbs JUL 31, 1997 23 3 Indiana
Ish Smith 14 G 6-0 175 lbs JUL 05, 1988 32 10 Wake Forest
Isaac Bonga 17 G 6-8 180 lbs NOV 08, 1999 21 2 Skyliners Frankfurt
Anzejs Pasecniks 18 C-F 7-2 229 lbs DEC 20, 1995 24 1 Gran Canaria
Raul Neto 19 G 6-1 180 lbs MAY 19, 1992 28 5 Murcia
Johnathan Williams 19 F 6-9 228 lbs MAY 22, 1995 25 2 Gonzaga
Gary Payton II 20 G 6-3 195 lbs DEC 01, 1992 28 4 Oregon State
Moritz Wagner 21 F-C 6-11 245 lbs APR 26, 1997 23 2 Michigan
Garrison Mathews 24 G 6-5 215 lbs OCT 24, 1996 24 1 Lipscomb
Ian Mahinmi 28 C 6-11 262 lbs NOV 05, 1986 34 12 Pau Orthez
Davis Bertans 42 F 6-10 225 lbs NOV 12, 1992 28 4 Baskonia
Robin Lopez 42 C 7-0 281 lbs APR 01, 1988 32 12 Stanford

This roster is so damn young. Interesting to see. Well for training camp at least we finally realized the PIF dream of at least 6 rookies.

Life is a training camp.

What numbers are Childs, Winston, Homesley, Taylor & Gill wearing? Is Childs there? Not positive for Covid?

[FAH1223]

Perkins loves the Wizards

Watch on YouTube

[SUPERBALLMAN]

Perkins loves the Wizards

Watch on YouTube

Nice! It's a good point to make about DC becoming a team with a more attractive outlook as a destination for adding another star player.

[Chocolate City Jordanaire]

Perkins loves the Wizards

Watch on YouTube

Perkins is really enthusiastic! Makes me wonder what if...he’s right!? It does make me look forward to the season.

[gambitx777]

I mean hey I mean if Scotty and Russ really have that relationship and he holds him accountable he could take a few less bad shots and that could be all he really needs!

Sent from my SM-G965U1 using RealGM mobile app

[queridiculo]

I mean hey I mean if Scotty and Russ really have that relationship and he holds him accountable he could take a few less bad shots and that could be all he really needs!

Yeah, because we all know how well that went in Oklahoma...

Let's be real for a moment.

Look at our projected starting five and tell me how many of the guy outside of Beal and Westbrook would start for any other team in the league.

Among the teams with playoff aspirations you might not find a single one.

Westbrook is going to feel the pressure to be the man, and how well that is going to work is all going to hinge on how much he's got left in the tank.

[doclinkin]

Ok here's the official list:

Read on Twitter

?s=20

apparently it's Garrison and Cash that are the 2-way spots.

[SUPERBALLMAN]

Have the rosters been expanded as a precaution for covid?