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What I do like about this signing is that Dinwiddie and Beal have the ability to play with a similar style. It makes our team doubly dangerous since either can carry the scoring load.

They really are the PG and SG versions of each other. Beal is a somewhat more efficient shooter, Dinwiddie can create for others a bit better. But both have the ability to rack fouls driving into the heart of the defense. Beal is somewhat better in motion and off ball, Dinwiddie can create off the dribble. Both use other players well to create opportunities for themselves. Each can approximate the other's role on the team.

This makes it ideal for a coach who is devising plays to use their strengths. Whichever player teams load up to stop, the other can run the same play on the opposite side of the floor. And if teams are trying to double and trap to prevent them from kicking to each other, then someone is going to be wide open. Wing or big, someone has an opportunity. With both able to attack the interior, and even split doubleteams, teams will be forced to shade the paint, with skilled shooters open on the wing, teams have to guess which is the greater threat.

And there is little drop off when either one is out of the game. SpenD can take over the BBeal role of lead scoring guard whenever Beal gets a rest. Brad has improved his ballhandling and playmaking skills over the years, and can call his own number to attack the paint and force fouls with the best of them. Better than the best of them since he has learned to finish through contact at a Hibachi level efficiency.

Then elsewhere on court, with redundancies and similarities in our depth we can run whichever plays have been working, using different personnel. Whichever tall outside shooter is hitting shots can pick up that duty as needed. And not tall: we can run similar plays whether it is Bertans, Kuzma, Kispert, KCP, Beal, Holiday or Neto in motion. Whomever is hot, or whomever's got the mismatch.

I do wish we had a playmaking forwards, or a playmaking Big who could create if teams load up on both of them. (I wanted Queta, but whatever). Deni may round into that role, setting a hard screen off the ball, then making a play out of a short pass, or playmaking out of the pick and roll if teams hedge too hard.

I also wish we had a strong forward who could catch well and finish through contact. But our various 5's will do. All three of Bryant, Gafford, and Harrell are high energy guys who play with enthusiasm and effort. They can play with reckless effort and full energy if we platoon them like we did last year. Bryant scores with startling efficiency, whether rolling down the lane, catching on the interior, or left alone on the perimeter to pop a three. Against any Big who chases outside Harrell can pretty much score like a giant guard, making his own offense and blowing past defenders. Against most Bigs he is too quick and aggressively decisive for them to beat in a footrace. In setting picks he is a brick wall, guards will shy away from running into him. And Gafford adds the vertical passing lane of the lob threat.

On offense this team looks to be really tough to keep up with. Shooters all around, playmakers on the ball, high energy bigs who can cycle in fresh every few minutes and play with reckless abandon until then. With depth we can keep the accelerator floored all game long and still feed in fresh guys, playing 12 deep with experienced young talent. Even if we are playing 10 deep, we can rest guys every few games, even give Beal a night off every now and again.

Offensively this team could be an aerial assault bombing run every night. With shooters outside you have a chance to beat any team in the league on any given night. When we catch a hot streak, this team is going to be fun to watch.

doclinkin wrote:What I do like about this signing is that Dinwiddie and Beal have the ability to play with a similar style. It makes our team doubly dangerous since either can carry the scoring load.

They really are the PG and SG versions of each other. Beal is a somewhat more efficient shooter, Dinwiddie can create for others a bit better. But both have the ability to rack fouls driving into the heart of the defense. Beal is somewhat better in motion and off ball, Dinwiddie can create off the dribble. Both use other players well to create opportunities for themselves. Each can approximate the other's role on the team.

This makes it ideal for a coach who is devising plays to use their strengths. Whichever player teams load up to stop, the other can run the same play on the opposite side of the floor. And if teams are trying to double and trap to prevent them from kicking to each other, then someone is going to be wide open. Wing or big, someone has an opportunity. With both able to attack the interior, and even split doubleteams, teams will be forced to shade the paint, with skilled shooters open on the wing, teams have to guess which is the greater threat.

And there is little drop off when either one is out of the game. SpenD can take over the BBeal role of lead scoring guard whenever Beal gets a rest. Brad has improved his ballhandling and playmaking skills over the years, and can call his own number to attack the paint and force fouls with the best of them. Better than the best of them since he has learned to finish through contact at a Hibachi level efficiency.

Then elsewhere on court, with redundancies and similarities in our depth we can run whichever plays have been working, using different personnel. Whichever tall outside shooter is hitting shots can pick up that duty as needed. And not tall: we can similar plays whether it is Bertans, Kuzma, Kispert, KCP, Beal, Holiday or Neto in motion. Whomever is hot, or whomever's got the mismatch.

I do wish we had a playmaking forwards, or a playmaking Big who could create if teams load up on both of them. (I wanted Queta, but whatever). Deni may round into that role, setting a hard screen off the ball, then making a play out of a short pass, or playmaking out of the pick and roll if teams hedge too hard.

[Size=150I also wish we had a strong forward who could catch well and finish through contact. But our various 5's will do.[/size] All three of Bryant, Gafford, and Harrell are high energy guys who play with enthusiasm and effort. They can play with reckless effort and full energy if we platoon them like we did last year. Bryant scores with startling efficiency, whether rolling down the lane, catching on the interior, or left alone on the perimeter to pop a three. Harrell against any Big who chases outside can pretty much score like a giant guard, making his own offense and blowing past defenders on a dribble hand off. Against most Bigs he is too quick and aggressively decisive for them to beat in a footrace. In setting picks he is a brick wall, guards will shy away from running into him. And Gafford adds the vertical passing lane of the lob threat.

On offense this team looks to be really tough to keep up with. Shooters all around, playmakers on the ball, high energy bigs who can cycle in fresh every few minutes and play with reckless abandon until then. With depth we can keep the accelerator floored all game long and still feed in fresh guys, playing 12 deep with experienced young talent. Even if we are playing 10 deep, we can rest guys every few games, even give Beal a night off every now and again.

Offensively this team could be an aerial assault bombing run every night. With shooters outside you have a chance to beat any team in the league on any given night. When we catch a hot streak, this team is going to be fun to watch.

Dinwiddie
Beal
Kuzma
Gafford
Bryant

Kuzma is a pretty capable playmaker. He's able to bully small forwards. Bryant (whether you consider him a power forward or a center) has a perimeter shot that is pure. Gafford is a finisher at the rim (if not through contact).

The eFGs of Kuzma, Gafford and Bryant are very high.

Chocolate City Jordanaire wrote:
Dinwiddie
Beal
Kuzma
Gafford
Bryant

Kuzma is a pretty capable playmaker. He's able to bully small forwards. Bryant (whether you consider him a power forward or a center) has a perimeter shot that is pure. Gafford is a finisher at the rim (if not through contact).

The eFGs of Kuzma, Gafford and Bryant are very high.

Ah, right, I meant a tall passer who can both set a pick and pass from there if the lane is closed by help/recovery defenders, and the guard can't turn the corner or hit the shot. Turning a trap into a vulnerability when the wing players are inevitably left open.

Ruzious wrote:Like nate said the other day, there really isn't any such thing as a PF anymore. There's your center, and then there are 4 other players. Most players labelled as PF's get under 8 rebounds per 40 minutes...

In the 2020-21 season, guys who play the position called PF averaged almost exactly 8 rebounds per 40 minutes. Depending on the shape of the bell-shaped curve, it is certainly possible that more than 1/2 of them get under 8, just as Ruz said. OTOH, a different shape to the curve might mean that fewer than half do. Most likely, it's very close to the simpler iew that about half get under 8 & half get over 8.

Of course, this doesn't make a rebound worth any less than it was in the past. That doesn't change. Nor does it mean that there are fewer rebounds than there used to be -- in fact, it's the opposite: there are more rebounds than ever per 40 minutes. Why? Because there are more three point FGAs than ever, & threes go in less often than twos. More misses mean more rebounds. But, because more of them are off of missed 3PAs, they are longer.

IOW, a single rebound is no less important than it ever was. But more rebounds being longer means more of them go to 1s & 2s than used to be the case.

Thus, because rebounds are no less important now than they ever were, if Rui or Kuzma or anyone gets 1 less rebound per 40 minutes than average, it means exactly the same ting that 1 less rebound per 40 minutes would have been say 25 years ago, when it would have been 11 instead of 12.

Ruzious wrote:...(these days) There's a center, and the other positions are morphing into switchable parts....

Obviously, there's a lot to this -- but it's also easy to over-state it.

Ruzious wrote:... someone like Kuzma doesn't really have to fit a particular position.

Actually, last season Kuzma played about half his minutes at the 4 & the other half at the 3. He's an above average rebounder for a 4 & way above average for a 3.

There's also the matter of guarding the opponent. If he can guard the opponent's 3 that's one thing. If he can't that's another.

Maybe the versatility you're looking for here depends on whether Rui can guard the opponent's 3 or not. If so, then Kuzma might be the 3 on offense & Rui be the 3 on defense...?

payitforward wrote:

Ruzious wrote:... someone like Kuzma doesn't really have to fit a particular position.

Actually, last season Kuzma played about half his minutes at the 4 & the other half at the 3. He's an above average rebounder for a 4 & way above average for a 3.

There's also the matter of guarding the opponent. If he can guard the opponent's 3 that's one thing. If he can't that's another.

Maybe the versatility you're looking for here depends on whether Rui can guard the opponent's 3 or not. If so, then Kuzma might be the 3 on offense & Rui be the 3 on defense...?

He'll be convinced by the end of the year. I think at some point Ruzious is gonna become Kuzious. And try to get us to trade him to the Bucks.

I think Kuzma is going to be a solid player for us. There is upside to his talent, it is not easy to instantly play to the standards of a superstar like LeBJ. But here he is one of the veteran players on the team. He does have the example of a guy like LeBJ in his head, and can refer to that on how to be a pro. He has experienced a championship run and understands what it takes to get there. Young players mature, and given positions of responsibility they often mature quicker. I do think Kuzma will start for us at one of the forward positions this year. I think he will earn it in training camp, and that fans will be convinced: he is better than advertised, and also: f--- LeBron James. He's our guy now.

In any case, I like the idea that this squad can grow together.

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80sballboy wrote:

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One Million dollars CASH!!! Alright!!!

This is probably a dumb question, but do cash considerations just go into Ted’s pocket or do they get us cap relief?

Chocolate City Jordanaire wrote:Jalen Rose: “Kuzma will average over 20 points a game”.

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Payitforward: If you, Spanky, and others are right about Kuzma I will be the first to admit I’m wrong.

I cannot see Kuzma not starting.

He averaged 20 field-goal attempts three and four years ago on a Lakers bottom feeder team. I think Kuzma is going to start for the Wizards at small forward. I will not be surprised if he has a career season.

How is that for a bold prediction make it go totally wrong?

So Kuzma is a SF? I thought he was PF, so that makes a big difference. SF has been a weak spot, so I can definitely see him starting there. I do like having size, I really hated those small 3 guard lineups Brooks employed.

PG- Dimwitted, Holiday
Combo- Neato
SG- Beal, Pope
SF- Kuzma, Deni, Kispert
PF- Rui, Bertans, Todd
C - Gafford, Bryant, Harrell

Looks good to me. Don't really see an immediate need for any more trades. Solid depth everywhere, ready to roll!

And watching videos on Dimwittle, I like his size and the way he attacks the defense. I can see him and Beal really meshing. I think their games could really compliment each other.

long suffrin' boulez fan wrote:This is probably a dumb question, but do cash considerations just go into Ted’s pocket or do they get us cap relief?

Ted's pocket...


It'll buy a lot of new urinal cakes!!!

The $1m goes to the Wizards. The Wizards are owned by Monumental Sports & Entertainment, Inc. As are the Caps & the arena as well. Monumental is owned by several investors, of whom the largest is Ted Leonsis.

Ted doesn't personally get any of this $1m. Ted doesn't personally get any money from the Wizards at all. Ted is the President & Chairman of Monumental. I imagine there's a salary associated with his position. Not that he needs it, as he's a billionaire from AOL.

So there it is. Unless Bertans is traded, this is the team until the trade deadline.
I have my qualms on the value for 22, but I like the overall direction/timeline. The roster allows 3 important things to happen:
1) Make Beal feel as though we are still moving forward and trying to keep us competitive while still maintaining assets for a bigger trade if it proves worthy.
2) Gives Deni (Kuz) and Bryant (Harrell) two young vets that can take minutes the first couple months of the season until they are healthy.
3) Gives the team more time to see what Rui is. If he breaks through as a wing (I.e. 18 & 7 on 50/36/80 shooting and improved defense), then that might change our outlook.

We have enough depth, talent, and versatility to make some noise in the regular season. So lets see where it goes.

Ruzious wrote:

Dat2U wrote:

Chocolate City Jordanaire wrote:Jalen Rose: “Kuzma will average over 20 points a game”.

Read on Twitter

Payitforward: If you, Spanky, and others are right about Kuzma I will be the first to admit I’m wrong.

I cannot see Kuzma not starting.

He averaged 20 field-goal attempts three and four years ago on a Lakers bottom feeder team. I think Kuzma is going to start for the Wizards at small forward. I will not be surprised if he has a career season.

How is that for a bold prediction make it go totally wrong?

Kuzma at SF? Harrell at PF lol. Sorry but I'll believe that when when I actually see it.

Like nate said the other day, there really isn't any such thing as a PF anymore. There's your center, and then there are 4 other players. Most players labelled as PF's get under 8 rebounds per 40 minutes. It used to be that PF's were wimps if they didn't get at least 10 boards per 36. There's a center, and the other positions are morphing into switchable parts. Someone like Harrell is going to find it increasingly difficult to play anything but center. But someone like Kuzma doesn't really have to fit a particular position.

I'm not questioning Kuzma's rebounding ability I'm questioning him guarding wings vs how effective his offensive skill would be against smaller players.

Harrell is nothing but a C nowadays. I'm not sure why there's even a discussion of this.

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Absolutely love seeing and hearing this new crew as they arrive at their new home. Thanks for posting FAH!

One word: DEPTH
Holiday > Ish
KCP > Mathews
Kuzma > Bonga/Hutchinson
Harrell > Wagner/Len/Lopez

Will wait and see how Dinwiddie turns out vs. Russ.

DCZards wrote:Absolutely love seeing and hearing this new crew as they arrive at their new home. Thanks for posting FAH!

One word: DEPTH
Holiday > Ish
KCP > Mathews
Kuzma > Bonga/Hutchinson
Harrell > Wagner/Len/Lopez

Will wait and see how Dinwiddie turns out vs. Russ.

Practices should be pretty intense with Harrell, Gafford & Bryant going at each other.

Dat2U wrote:

Ruzious wrote:

Dat2U wrote:
Kuzma at SF? Harrell at PF lol. Sorry but I'll believe that when when I actually see it.

Like nate said the other day, there really isn't any such thing as a PF anymore. There's your center, and then there are 4 other players. Most players labelled as PF's get under 8 rebounds per 40 minutes. It used to be that PF's were wimps if they didn't get at least 10 boards per 36. There's a center, and the other positions are morphing into switchable parts. Someone like Harrell is going to find it increasingly difficult to play anything but center. But someone like Kuzma doesn't really have to fit a particular position.

I'm not questioning Kuzma's rebounding ability I'm questioning him guarding wings vs how effective his offensive skill would be against smaller players.

Harrell is nothing but a C nowadays. I'm not sure why there's even a discussion of this.

He'll shoot over them easier. If Kuzma's game is going to get better, it's probably going to have to be from shooting 3's better, and he's got a height advantage over... smaller players - making it easier to shoot over them.

Ruzious wrote:

Dat2U wrote:

Ruzious wrote:Like nate said the other day, there really isn't any such thing as a PF anymore. There's your center, and then there are 4 other players. Most players labelled as PF's get under 8 rebounds per 40 minutes. It used to be that PF's were wimps if they didn't get at least 10 boards per 36. There's a center, and the other positions are morphing into switchable parts. Someone like Harrell is going to find it increasingly difficult to play anything but center. But someone like Kuzma doesn't really have to fit a particular position.

I'm not questioning Kuzma's rebounding ability I'm questioning him guarding wings vs how effective his offensive skill would be against smaller players.

Harrell is nothing but a C nowadays. I'm not sure why there's even a discussion of this.

He'll shoot over them easier. If Kuzma's game is going to get better, it's probably going to have to be from shooting 3's better, and he's got a height advantage over... smaller players - making it easier to shoot over them.

Skill/quickness advantage >>>>>> Height advantage.

Kuz likes to slash, asking him to create off the bounce against quicker players on the perimeter seems counterintuitive.

There's almost been no discussion of Kuzma as a wing until he gets traded here so I'm not following along with it all tbh.

Fact is we've arguably got 6 PFs on the roster. The current roster is unlikely to be the finished product. I assume there is some sort of follow up move to reduce the glut before the season begins.

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