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Given that we've got a 15-player roster now, all with guaranteed contracts, it looks like the Wizards have finished making their 2022 off-season moves. Of course, a trade is still possible, so maybe there'll be another move -- we can't be sure. & we do have a open 2-way slot to fill.

So... what would you have done this off-season, compared to what Tommy & the FO did?

Here's my best shot at the full list of Wizards' off-season moves so far:

1. No draft day trades.
2. Took Johnny Davis at #10.
3. Took Yannick Nzosa at #54.
4. Did not sign any 2022 undrafted player(s) either to the roster or as 2-way players. -- so far.
5. Traded KCP & Ish for Monte Morris & Will Barton.
6. Signed Delon Wright for 2 years.
7. Signed Taj Gibson to a 1-year contract.
8. Re-signed Anthony Gill.
9. Extended Brad for 5 years at Super-max.
10. Picked up Vernon Carey, Jr's option.
11. Signed Devon Dotson, Quenton Jackson (& maybe one more guy?) to Exhibit 10 or Training Camp deals.

What have I missed?

What do you like or dislike?
What would you have done differently?

In short, what would your off season have looked like?

payitforward wrote:Given that we've got a 15-player roster now, all with guaranteed contracts, it looks like the Wizards have finished making their 2022 off-season moves. Of course, a trade is still possible, so maybe there'll be another move -- we can't be sure. & we do have a open 2-way slot to fill.

So... what would you have done this off-season, compared to what Tommy & the FO did?

Here's my best shot at the full list of Wizards' off-season moves so far:

1. No draft day trades.
2. Took Johnny Davis at #10.
3. Took Yannick Nzosa at #54.
4. Did not sign any 2022 undrafted player(s) either to the roster or as 2-way players. -- so far.
5. Traded KCP & Ish for Monte Morris & Will Barton.
6. Signed Delon Wright for 2 years.
7. Signed Taj Gibson to a 1-year contract.
8. Re-signed Anthony Gill.
9. Extended Brad for 5 years at Super-max.
10. Picked up Vernon Carey, Jr's option.
11. Signed Devon Dotson, Quenton Jackson (& maybe one more guy?) to Exhibit 10 or Training Camp deals.

What have I missed?

What do you like or dislike?
What would you have done differently?

In short, what would your off season have looked like?

Assuming I'm in the same position as Tommy and have certain edicts from Turd (i.e. you are NOT allowed to tank), here's what I would have done:

1). Done the OKC trade that the Knicks did with their 11th pick. We can't trade any future 1sts until 2028 that severely impacts our flexibility. I hated the Davis pick from day 1. Instead of taking Davis, I would have traded #10 for: A). our pick back, b). future Denver 1st (protected), c). future pistons 1st (protected).
2). Have no issues taking Nzosa at #54. It's a complete gamble and the backend of the 2nd is designed for stash guys. Some players do NOT want to get drafted in the 2nd round so they slip (case in point: Austin Reaves last year who told Detroit not to take him in the 2nd round last year).
3). Resigned Gill (You need professionals at the end of the bench who are great teammates and willing to not play most nights while at the same time, always prepared to play).
4). Signed Gibson (Ditto. Nothing wrong with a guy who everyone raves about as a vet leader type as a 15th man)
5). Signed Delon Wright (Perfectly fine with this move. Contract is movable. He's a capable NBA player).
6). Picked up Carey's option (Showed some flash in SL. Nothing wrong with a young big on a cheap deal who can play in emergencies).
7). Extended Brad (Would have preferred S&T, but I think this was a Turd-directed move. You have to follow orders from your boss. I would have preferred to S&T, but I don't think Turd would have allowed it).
8). I would NOT have traded KCP for Morris+Barton. I would have tried getting future assets instead from a team interested in a 3&D wing. If not, I would have kept KCP and gone after the following PG:
9). Bring Russ back! As usual, playing with Lebron is impossible. Russ was GREAT here when he got healthy. Playing with KP, he'd be a much better fit. Had great chemistry with Gafford. If I was foretold that Russ would be bought out, I would have assured him that he'd have a starting PG slot here.

Assuming I was under orders to maintain this ridiculous "win now" strategy:

- Draft Tari Eason at #10
- Trade Kuzma for Derrick White (makes sense for Boston after adding Brogdon)
- Sign Delon Wright
- Resign Beal for $40M a year with no raises. (I would have pushed for even less, but I'm assuming Ted wouldn't have the stones to negotiate any harder than this)
- Resign Gill

That's it:
PG White/Wright
SG Beal/Kispert
SF KCP/Kispert
PF Avdija/Hachimura/Eason/Todd
C Porzingis/Gafford/Carey/Gill

That's 13. I'd then comb the GLeague and waiver wire for a young PG and a young SG.

nate33 wrote:Assuming I was under orders to maintain this ridiculous "win now" strategy:

- Draft Tari Eason at #10
- Trade Kuzma for Derrick White (makes sense for Boston after adding Brogdon)
- Sign Delon Wright
- Resign Beal for $40M a year with no raises. (I would have pushed for even less, but I'm assuming Ted wouldn't have the stones to negotiate any harder than this)
- Resign Gill

That's it:
PG White/Wright
SG Beal/Kispert
SF KCP/Kispert
PF Avdija/Hachimura/Eason/Todd
C Porzingis/Gafford/Carey/Gill

That's 13. I'd then comb the GLeague and waiver wire for a young PG and a young SG.

I still prefer the OKC trade vs drafting anyone at 10. We have no flexibility in trades until till 2028 due to those protections. Having our own pick (and they flexibility it gives) back plus two protected firsts was a better outcome IMO.

Agree with everything minus getting Russell Westbrick back...lol at that.

In no particular order….

1. Tell BB that the Wizards would find the best home for him, because realistically we can’t build a winner with him here.
2. Worked with BB and whatever team for a S+T that netted many picks, favoring picks in next draft, and young players with up-side.
3. Trade every player >=26yo for younger players with up-side and picks.
4. Get our first round pick back for next draft.
5. Work over our front office, and hire people with proven track record in identifying college and foreign talent.
6. Embrace the 20 win team we just built, and highlight the growth of the young players.
7. Trade down from this years #10 to net multiple later picks.
8. Embrace the rebuild.

Wow... great stuff -- & a variety of strategies being employed!

I wasn't thinking of this thread as necessarily critical of Tommy or the Wiz. For some of you, there might not be all that much difference between what you'd have done & what Tommy did. Or, maybe you think all our moves have been as good as possible -- or at least in the top tier of what makes most sense to you.

Hope to hear from pretty much every active poster on this board -- I know you all have solid ideas.

TGW wrote:Agree with everything minus getting Russell Westbrick back...lol at that.

I.e. with MHD -- but not the Russ part, right?

Hey, nate & MHD & others -- I hadn't thought of this exercise as having to work around Ted's inane "win now" imperative. Especially given the fact that it ain't gonna happen.

So if either of you care to post the moves you'd have made (or tried to make) based simply on your idea of the absolutely best way for us to go forward, I'd be really really interested to read what you come up with.

Ditto if you're someone who thinks "...Davis, Nzosa, sign Wright, the trade for Morris & Barton, sign Taj, super-max Brad -- I'm not sure there was anything much better to do than those moves," it would be equally interesting to hear that POV.

Keep in mind, the Knicks traded out of the 1st round completely. I wouldn't have done that, not with a lottery pick at least. I would have drafted Jalen Williams instead of Davis if I stayed at 10. At the very least, if a trade was on the table, I would have wanted our '23 back plus whatever first rounder OKC had (12th in this case) and drafted Eason.

I don't think I would have changed anything else. The offseason wasn't perfect, but I think there's so many things in the air right now that its difficult to make a trade involving Kuzma when we don't know what's going on with Russ, Kyrie, KD, Mitchell, etc.

I would start off by trading back before draft night even happened before the OKC Denver trade.

I would have traded 10 for 30, 34 our 2023 first and another future first or a second or something

I would have taken either nebherd or jaylin Williams at 30, Jaden Hardy at 34 and Yanick at 54. Nothing wrong with that swing for the fences pick at 54.
I would have picked up Dotson and Jackson just like we did.
Then I would have turned the Denver trade I to a three way trade. With atlanta.
Wiz get : Morris , John Collins.
Denver gets ish and KCP
Atlanta gets : Rui, Barton, Todd, two pick swaps and cash. Or something
Sign wright
Re sign Gill
Sign Schakel
Sign Dotson
Sign Quinton Jackson and echenique to two way deals

Morris / Wright / Dotson
Brad / Hardy / (Jackson)
Kuz / Kispert / Schakel
Collins / Deni/ Williams / Gill
KP / Gafford / carry Jr / (echenique)

With the notion that if westbrook gets bought out we keep on of the spots open for him if he's interested in signing a min deal. In that case Dotson takes a two way, Echenique gets the book and we start Westbrook.

Which would change it too
Westbrook / Morris / Wright / (Dotson)
Brad / Hardy / (Jackson)
Kuz / Kispert / Schakel
Collins / Deni/ Williams / Gill
KP / Gafford / carry Jr

Both teams are pretty good imo!



Sent from my SM-G991U1 using RealGM mobile app

Lot of really interesting ideas already!

Eager to hear from Doc, WallGlizzy, Zards, Pcbothwei, Dat, & all the rest of you!

payitforward wrote:Hey, nate & MHD & others -- I hadn't thought of this exercise as having to work around Ted's inane "win now" imperative. Especially given the fact that it ain't gonna happen.

So if either of you care to post the moves you'd have made (or tried to make) based simply on your idea of the absolutely best way for us to go forward, I'd be really really interested to read what you come up with.

Ditto if you're someone who thinks "...Davis, Nzosa, sign Wright, the trade for Morris & Barton, sign Taj, super-max Brad -- I'm not sure there was anything much better to do than those moves," it would be equally interesting to hear that POV.

Well, I would have tried tanking, but S&T Brad would be really difficult. I can't imagine the offers. Don't know what teams would give. I can't speculate on that.

I still would have done my trade to get those three future 1sts. I hated the Davis pick. I liked resigning Gill & signing Gibson. You need good vet leader types on every team. Kispert RAVED about Gill as a teammate. With Sato gone, we needed a vet PG and Wright is cheap and only signed two more years. He was fine as a stopgap. I didn't like the KCP trade and would have preferred getting draft picks instead/keeping him until the deadline and flipping him for a late 1st to a contender.

If Ted is forcing me to make bad deals, like signing Brad, I'd quit. Get a job where the boss takes winning seriously.

Mandate from Ted: "keep Beal & make the 2nd round this year or else!"

Well lets start off with a 5 team Blockbuster:

Den > Monte Morris & Will Barton
Den < Kentavious Caldwell-Pope

Bkn > Kyrie Irving
Bkn < 2027 1st (top 3), Will Barton, Kyle Kuzma & Ish Smith

NY > future 2nd
NY < Was unprotects '25 pick

Mem > De'Andre Melton & Dillon Brooks
Mem < 10th pick - '22, Rui Hachimura, Monte Morris, Isaiah Todd & Vernon Carey

Was > unprotect '25 1st, 2027 1st (top 3), 10th pick 2022, Kyle Kuzma, Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, Rui Hachimura, Ish Smith, Isaiah Todd & Vernon Carey
Was < Kyrie Irving, De'Andre Melton & Dillon Brooks & future 2nd

Trade 2:

Utah > Jarred Vanderbilt
Was > Corey Kispert

Draft:

2nd rd - Keon Ellis

Free Agency

Sign Gary Payton III (3 yrs full mid-level)
Sign Derrick Jones Jr (2 yrs LLE)
Sign Derrick Favors (1 yr minimum)
Re-sign Anthony Gill (2 yrs minimum)
Re-sign Raul Neto (1 yr minimum)

New roster:

G Kyrie Irving ... De'Anthony Melton ... Raul Neto
G Bradley Beal ... Gary Payton III ... Keon Ellis
F Dillon Brooks ... Derrick Jones Jr ... Jordan Schakel
F Jarred Vanderbilt ... Deni Avdija ... Anthony Gill
C Kristaps Porzingis ... Daniel Gafford ... Derrick Favors

Kyrie keeps his head on straight this is damn good team with a nice mixture of offensive explosiveness & defensive pieces. I can definitely see 50+ wins for this group.

Right well if we could back up to the failure to properly tank and jump to a higher draft pick then I'd start there. But if the exercise assumes we have the 10th pick, we kind of have to accept the premise that Ted wants us to always re-build on the fly, and in this case build a team around Beal.

With that in mind I don't hate what Tommy has done, with two obvious exceptions. I wanted to trade back to get an asset plus Tari Eason. If I could I would have liked to get in on the DET-NYK-CHO deal to see if I could trade back to the 15th pick, send out whichever surplus forward we could agree on (depending on the terms of the deal). I think Kuz fits nicely with them, and they need depth in the front court (especially in retrospect given the legal issues of both Trez and Miles Bridges).

#15 Tari Eason plus picks. I would've liked to package picks to move up into the early 2nd or late 1st. There I was looking at Dalen Terry (no dice, gone way earlier), Koloko, EJ Liddell, Kennedy Chandler, Ryan Rollins, Trevion Williams, Orlando Robinson.

EJ Liddell is a Brad protégé from his AAU team. I liked his chances to develop in the SF spot. If I could land him or Koloko, I'd be happy to call it a draft.

If those deals were unavailable and I was forced to pick at 10 & 54, I have said I would have taken AJ Griffin if the medical folks said he checked out, or Mark WIlliams if not. I coveted Tari, would have kicked myself for not trusting my instinct on him if he does break out. But would have been alright with either of those two. Then I would have kicked myself in summer league when Griffin still had to sit out with injuries.

At 54 no hesitation I would have taken Trevion Williams. He fits a high post offense and would make that sing when Porzingis is out of the game or on the bench.

I would not have taken Johnny Davis, for all the reasons he showed in Summerleague. I have said if we get value from him it is because he is a grinder who will put in the work to improve, and because the defensive changes allow his game to translate better than it has for rookies in the past.

If I had to take a SG instead of a C and the med team ruled out Griffin, I would have been fine with Ochai Agbaji.

Other than that I like Tommy's moves alright. He is building a team to suit Wes. He got a big defensive guard in Wright. He got a floor and lockerroom leader in Monté who understands the system and can help translate it. Both are efficient and low-mistake pieces, both hit from outside. Barton is an energy guy (off the bench I hope) who can also stroke it from range.

Monté also has a friendship with Kuz already from their Flint Michigan childhood, its possible that can help counterbalance the occasional outsized influence that quarter-billion Beal may have on locker room and court dynamics.

I liked the re-sign of Anthony Gill.

But. Yeah. No to the $251m 5 year superMax for Brad. No to a 5 year no options no trade deal. No to bidding against myself on yet another injured guard. Especially one who had a down year and may not be able to play the game the way he has under the new rule set. Just no.

We had offered Brad an extension at $181m for 4 years. $45m a year is still too much. But that was the offer on the table. I'm not sure the franchise can afford the reputation damage if they renege on a standing offer to their loyal homegrown player. Though to reward a guy after a bad year and an injury undermines the 'take it or lose it' aspect of playing out the year without signing the extension earlier. Still, we very publicly said we were going to give him that offer. We can't piss off the top free agents and more importantly THEIR agents by snatching the offer back. So I think that is the only offer we could give. Maybe quibble on the option years.

You can make the argument that he is not only set for life, but has stake in the team's future after his playing career. So small sacrifices he makes now are rewarded on the other end. The team needs flexibility. Needs to be able to add free agents around him that could make a difference. The difference between the offer on the table last fall and the one Brad landed is the difference between say Delon Wright (+Taj) vs making a play for Lu Dort. Or Oladipo. Or Tyus Jones. To discuss 3 who inked deals this offseason.

Or any disgruntled star who Brad can recruit to play next to him here.

But if Brad didn't like it, then hey we understand, and would love to keep talking, if he finds a deal elsewhere we can talk about matching it, or failing that we can help him find a sign and trade for a team that suits him, or even ink him for a shorter term extension so he can rehab his value here.

Still can play the niceguy card, while not holding ourselves hostage to raise his salary beyond his worth.

Other than that, I do think with decent health, development from talented youth, better outside shooting, a full year of Zingis (knock wood), and a 2nd year coach noted for player development, adding guys who fit what he wants to do, I feel like we might surprise the naysayers. I can see sets that work better with this crew. Liked what he showed at the end of last year. Some creative line-ups even while we made a push for the no longer mythical 10th seed.

Yeah I'd like it better if we had:

Morris/Wright/
Beal/Kispert
Kispert/Deni/Liddell
Kuzma or Rui/Eason/Gill
Porzingis/Gafford/Trevion

But aside from Davis, and my dread of future toldja-so's about Tari Eason, I am not disappointed with the players that Tommy did acquire. Just still in disbelief and denial about that contract and the likely fate of the franchise for the next half decade.

Zonkerbl wrote:If Ted is forcing me to make bad deals, like signing Brad, I'd quit. Get a job where the boss takes winning seriously.

Best part would be watching Ted try to find a reputable basketball exec to take the job!

Dat2U wrote:Mandate from Ted: "keep Beal & make the 2nd round this year or else!"

Well lets start off with a 5 team Blockbuster:

Den > Monte Morris & Will Barton
Den < Kentavious Caldwell-Pope

Bkn > Kyrie Irving
Bkn < 2027 1st (top 3), Will Barton, Kyle Kuzma & Ish Smith

NY > future 2nd
NY < Was unprotects '25 pick

Mem > De'Andre Melton & Dillon Brooks
Mem < 10th pick - '22, Rui Hachimura, Monte Morris, Isaiah Todd & Vernon Carey

Was > unprotect '25 1st, 2027 1st (top 3), 10th pick 2022, Kyle Kuzma, Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, Rui Hachimura, Ish Smith, Isaiah Todd & Vernon Carey
Was < Kyrie Irving, De'Andre Melton & Dillon Brooks & future 2nd

Trade 2:

Utah > Jarred Vanderbilt
Was > Corey Kispert

Draft:

2nd rd - Keon Ellis

Free Agency

Sign Gary Payton III (3 yrs full mid-level)
Sign Derrick Jones Jr (2 yrs LLE)
Sign Derrick Favors (1 yr minimum)
Re-sign Anthony Gill (2 yrs minimum)
Re-sign Raul Neto (1 yr minimum)

New roster:

G Kyrie Irving ... De'Anthony Melton ... Raul Neto
G Bradley Beal ... Gary Payton III ... Keon Ellis
F Dillon Brooks ... Derrick Jones Jr ... Jordan Schakel
F Jarred Vanderbilt ... Deni Avdija ... Anthony Gill
C Kristaps Porzingis ... Daniel Gafford ... Derrick Favors

Kyrie keeps his head on straight this is damn good team with a nice mixture of offensive explosiveness & defensive pieces. I can definitely see 50+ wins for this group.

Wow! How about a round of applause for Dat -- gotta rename you AuDATcity!

Somehow we wind up with an 18-player roster, which might not work! Not to mention that I'm not sure Gary Payton III has been born yet -- otherwise, this is certainly the most ambitious set of moves yet!

I'm not sure every one of the 5 teams agrees to go for your blockbuster deal, but so what?!

It would be great to hear from Wallglizzy, pcbothwei, zards, & the many others I'm not taking the time to mention.

doclinkin wrote:Right well if we could back up to the failure to properly tank and jump to a higher draft pick then I'd start there. But if the exercise assumes we have the 10th pick, we kind of have to accept the premise that Ted wants us to always re-build on the fly, and in this case build a team around Beal.

With that in mind I don't hate what Tommy has done, with two obvious exceptions. I wanted to trade back to get an asset plus Tari Eason. If I could I would have liked to get in on the DET-NYK-CHO deal to see if I could trade back to the 15th pick, send out whichever surplus forward we could agree on (depending on the terms of the deal). I think Kuz fits nicely with them, and they need depth in the front court (especially in retrospect given the legal issues of both Trez and Miles Bridges).

#15 Tari Eason plus picks. I would've liked to package picks to move up into the early 2nd or late 1st. There I was looking at Dalen Terry (no dice, gone way earlier), Koloko, EJ Liddell, Kennedy Chandler, Ryan Rollins, Trevion Williams, Orlando Robinson.

EJ Liddell is a Brad protégé from his AAU team. I liked his chances to develop in the SF spot. If I could land him or Koloko, I'd be happy to call it a draft.

If those deals were unavailable and I was forced to pick at 10 & 54, I have said I would have taken AJ Griffin if the medical folks said he checked out, or Mark WIlliams if not. I coveted Tari, would have kicked myself for not trusting my instinct on him if he does break out. But would have been alright with either of those two. Then I would have kicked myself in summer league when Griffin still had to sit out with injuries.

At 54 no hesitation I would have taken Trevion Williams. He fits a high post offense and would make that sing when Porzingis is out of the game or on the bench.

I would not have taken Johnny Davis, for all the reasons he showed in Summerleague. I have said if we get value from him it is because he is a grinder who will put in the work to improve, and because the defensive changes allow his game to translate better than it has for rookies in the past.

If I had to take a SG instead of a C and the med team ruled out Griffin, I would have been fine with Ochai Agbaji.

Other than that I like Tommy's moves alright. He is building a team to suit Wes. He got a big defensive guard in Wright. He got a floor and lockerroom leader in Monté who understands the system and can help translate it. Both are efficient and low-mistake pieces, both hit from outside. Barton is an energy guy (off the bench I hope) who can also stroke it from range.

Monté also has a friendship with Kuz already from their Flint Michigan childhood, its possible that can help counterbalance the occasional outsized influence that quarter-billion Beal may have on locker room and court dynamics.

I liked the re-sign of Anthony Gill.

But. Yeah. No to the $251m 5 year superMax for Brad. No to a 5 year no options no trade deal. No to bidding against myself on yet another injured guard. Especially one who had a down year and may not be able to play the game the way he has under the new rule set. Just no.

We had offered Brad an extension at $181m for 4 years. $45m a year is still too much. But that was the offer on the table. I'm not sure the franchise can afford the reputation damage if they renege on a standing offer to their loyal homegrown player. Though to reward a guy after a bad year and an injury undermines the 'take it or lose it' aspect of playing out the year without signing the extension earlier. Still, we very publicly said we were going to give him that offer. We can't piss off the top free agents and more importantly THEIR agents by snatching the offer back. So I think that is the only offer we could give. Maybe quibble on the option years.

You can make the argument that he is not only set for life, but has stake in the team's future after his playing career. So small sacrifices he makes now are rewarded on the other end. The team needs flexibility. Needs to be able to add free agents around him that could make a difference. The difference between the offer on the table last fall and the one Brad landed is the difference between say Delon Wright (+Taj) vs making a play for Lu Dort. Or Oladipo. Or Tyus Jones. To discuss 3 who inked deals this offseason.

Or any disgruntled star who Brad can recruit to play next to him here.

But if Brad didn't like it, then hey we understand, and would love to keep talking, if he finds a deal elsewhere we can talk about matching it, or failing that we can help him find a sign and trade for a team that suits him, or even ink him for a shorter term extension so he can rehab his value here.

Still can play the niceguy card, while not holding ourselves hostage to raise his salary beyond his worth.

Other than that, I do think with decent health, development from talented youth, better outside shooting, a full year of Zingis (knock wood), and a 2nd year coach noted for player development, adding guys who fit what he wants to do, I feel like we might surprise the naysayers. I can see sets that work better with this crew. Liked what he showed at the end of last year. Some creative line-ups even while we made a push for the no longer mythical 10th seed.

Yeah I'd like it better if we had:

Morris/Wright/
Beal/Kispert
Kispert/Deni/Liddell
Kuzma or Rui/Eason/Gill
Porzingis/Gafford/Trevion

But aside from Davis, and my dread of future toldja-so's about Tari Eason, I am not disappointed with the players that Tommy did acquire. Just still in disbelief and denial about that contract and the likely fate of the franchise for the next half decade.

Another thoughtful re-do of the off season. Let me see whether I can summarize best results:

Draft: Use Kuz to trade back & come away with Tari Eason, EJ Liddell (or Koloko) & Trevion Williams.
Trade: KCP/Ish for Morris/Barton gets your approval.
Re-sign Gill.
Wright is also a yes.
If Brad takes the (previous) offer on the table, re-sign him. Otherwise, ask him to find a deal & we'll match it or attempt a sign and trade. In the end, however, he stays on the previous 4-year offer.

The roster you list omits Barton -- by error I assume. & also omits Todd & Carey. Maybe one of them would go out in the deal that got us more out of the draft...?