How Concerned — or Alarmed — Should We Be?

[payitforward]

During a recent home game, this was the lineup for a short period of time. Probably my favorite:

Champagnie – Maybe the season’s most pleasant surprise.
Butler – A steady hand. Plays with poise and patience...and gets to the rim.
Bilal – A defender and high riser. Offensive game is inconsistent but coming along.
Sarr - A long, athletic, 19 yr old 7 footer with a ton of raw talent. Potential game-changer on D.
Bub – A 6-4 guard who loves to hoop and compete. B'More tough and a future team leader.

Is that you Chris Miller?

Why don't you describe what you'd like to have happened? That would give some perspective.

Winger/Dawkins are hired in June 2023

1. They trade Beal for CP3 & a package of picks & swaps.
What would you have done instead?

2. They trade up a spot in the '23 draft to pick Bilal.
What would you have done instead?

3. They trade the #32 pick to the Bulls for a future pick.
What would you have done instead?

4. They take Vukcevic at #42.
Who would you have taken?

5. They trade CP3 & the #57 pick to GS for Poole, PBJ, & Rollins.
What better trade would you have been able to arrange?

6. They trade Gafford for a R1 pick in '24 (#26) plus Holmes.
What better trade would you have made?

7. They sign Valanciunas this last offseason.
What would you have done instead that would have been better?

8. They choose Alex Sarr at #2 in the '24 draft.
Who did you say you wanted in the '24 draft thread?

9. They move up from 26 to 24 to get Keyshaun George.
Would you have done that? Or did you have another idea?

10. They trade Deni for (in effect) Bub Carrington, Malcolm Brogdon, a R1 pick & a pair of R2 picks.
Would you have traded him for that package? For any package?

I've missed a few things no doubt, & you may have had better ideas about those as well.

Now... I'm not trying to challenge you; really I'm not. But, it does seem to me that if you think that, yes, we should be "concerned or alarmed" at what went down in the first 17 months of a complete rebuild, then you must have some better ideas -- & it makes sense to hear what they are. I'd be interested in any case. I imagine we all would.

[Chocolate City Jordanaire]

I can't say any of those were bad moves.

Tonight, Bilal and Alex looked like studs. Carrington plays like a veteran.

Brogdon is definitely high on the list of other teams' interests. Valanciunas also is in demand.

I remember the Ernie Grunfeld days. Tommy Sheppard wasn't much better. They were bad checker players.

The current group is playing chess.

I thought Sarr was a bust. I was wrong.

[tontoz]

I am starting to worry about Bub. I knew the scouting report was that he struggles at the rim and on catch and shoot 3s, but i didn't expect him to be this bad. Those are the most important shots.

He has become so passive he is basically a self check a lot of the time.

[DCZards]

I am starting to worry about Bub. I knew the scouting report was that he struggles at the rim and on catch and shoot 3s, but i didn't expect him to be this bad. Those are the most important shots.

He has become so passive he is basically a self check a lot of the time.

Yes…Bub has been far too passive. Only took 4 shots against the Hornets.

When Bub shares the court with Poole and/or Brogdon he spends most of his oncourt time just standing around on offense. He needs to have the ball in his hands.

Tho it was good to see Bub get 9 boards last night and make some nice passes for assists.

[DCZards]

During a recent home game, this was the lineup for a short period of time. Probably my favorite:

Champagnie – Maybe the season’s most pleasant surprise.
Butler – A steady hand. Plays with poise and patience...and gets to the rim.
Bilal – A defender and high riser. Offensive game is inconsistent but coming along.
Sarr - A long, athletic, 19 yr old 7 footer with a ton of raw talent. Potential game-changer on D.
Bub – A 6-4 guard who loves to hoop and compete. B'More tough and a future team leader.

Is that you Chris Miller?

Yes Eyeore…it’s me. Just trying to bring some sunlight to these gloomy days.

BTW, did you see that 19 yr old kid Sarr last night against Charlotte? Had great #s across the box score. Been nailing the 3 ball at a 40% clip the last 8 or so games.

He’s gonna be quite good, isn’t he?

[payitforward]

[Frichuela]

Our young core getting some love.

Read on Twitter

?s=46&t=GWeuz7j_sc5cBYZzdD92Tw

[payitforward]

I can't think of another team that added 4 guys with this much upside this quickly. Not in the last 20 years, that's for sure.

Can we be sure that all of them will fulfill their promise? Of course not! But, all the same, why anyone would be "alarmed," or even "concerned," is beyond me.

In addition, we've accumulated a ton of draft capital plus some tradable veterans. Things are going extremely well!

To be sure, it's clear in retrospect that we should have moved Kuz to Dallas last year. But, that's it as far as non-optimal moves go.

edit: I guess you could say that if we'd been smarter than every other team & drafted T J-D at 42 (instead of Vuk) that too would hae been an improvement. But, I give them a break, since every other team in the league made the same error, a number of them made it twice!

[DCZards]

I guess you could say that if we'd been smarter than every other team & drafted T J-D at 42 (instead of Vuk) that too would hae been an improvement. But, I give them a break, since every other team in the league made the same error, a number of them made it twice!

PIF, you’re losing entirely too much sleep over missing out on TJD.

The guy we really missed out on from the 2023 draft, imo, is GG Jackson II, who Memphis took 3 picks after the Zards took Vuk. Jackson just turned 20 earlier this week and has a ton of upside. He’s been injured this season.

[payitforward]

I guess you could say that if we'd been smarter than every other team & drafted T J-D at 42 (instead of Vuk) that too would hae been an improvement. But, I give them a break, since every other team in the league made the same error, a number of them made it twice!

PIF, you’re losing entirely too much sleep over missing out on TJD.

The guy we really missed out on from the 2023 draft, imo, is GG Jackson II, who Memphis took 3 picks after the Zards took Vuk. Jackson just turned 20 earlier this week and has a ton of upside. He’s been injured this season.

Repetition causes sleep, Zards! It doesn't prevent sleep!

How about this, then: GGJ at 35 (we traded the pick), we grab Jackson, at 42 we take Toumani Camara, & at 57 we grab T-JD,

At 25% through their second seasons, those 3 guys have already combined for 5350 NBA minutes -- & Jackson hasn't even played this year!

[AFM]

How about THIS—we kept Deni (future first ballot HOFer), and instead traded Kuz for 3 FRPs and drafted all of the above players we missed out on. That’s what I would have done if I was GM.

[payitforward]

Absolutely! & definitely let's have that be the first 3 picks in next year's draft (somehow...). That's what a good GM would do -- I mean... isn't it obvious?

[payitforward]

I'll tell you what I'm concerned about -- where the hell is nate?

Though he & I have disagreed about many many subjects, nate33 is obviously one of the smartest, most thoughtful, & best informed guys contributing to our discussions here. About that, there is no question, & if we were to lose him, I'd be pretty upset.

I know nate has been unhappy with our recent moves -- with the whole off season & especially trading Deni. Let's hope that doesn't mean he's losing interest or, worse yet, giving up.
C'mon nate!! You made it through the Ernie years -- don't abandon us now!

(Of course, it is the holiday season -- maybe nate's on vacation? Spending time with his family?)

[AFM]

His last post was 12/19 he probably is setting up his christmas tree

[payitforward]

Well... I'll be more confident when he posts again.

[AFM]

Well... I'll be more confident when he posts again.

looks like your bat signal worked...

[payitforward]

I haven't seen it....
Where?

[AFM]

I haven't seen it....
Where?

The best news of the season so far…

Read on Twitter

?s=46&t=GWeuz7j_sc5cBYZzdD92Tw

I continue to be most impressed with his passing.

5.4 assists/gm for a 20-year-old 6'-7" wing player is a strong indication of his high basketball IQ and future playmaking ability.

[payitforward]

Ok, good -- another non-existent problem solved!

[nate33]

I'll tell you what I'm concerned about -- where the hell is nate?

Though he & I have disagreed about many many subjects, nate33 is obviously one of the smartest, most thoughtful, & best informed guys contributing to our discussions here. About that, there is no question, & if we were to lose him, I'd be pretty upset.

I know nate has been unhappy with our recent moves -- with the whole off season & especially trading Deni. Let's hope that doesn't mean he's losing interest or, worse yet, giving up.
C'mon nate!! You made it through the Ernie years -- don't abandon us now!

(Of course, it is the holiday season -- maybe nate's on vacation? Spending time with his family?)

I've been real busy with my business. It means less free time to bitch about the Wizards, but I'm making a lot more money, so I can't complain.

Also, I haven't really been watching many games. It's too depressing. I don't mind watching a bad 25-win team that is turning the corner and on the upswing, but it's real tough to watch a hopeless 12-win team lose by double digits every night. Particularly when there are no potential stars on the roster and only one guy whom I'm confident will pan out to be a starter on a winning team in the future (Bilal). I haven't give up on Sarr and Carrington or anything, but it's also very much possible that they are no better than rotation players.