Who Would You Bring Back?

[payitforward]

Obviously, with a series of bad seasons behind us & a new regime coming, we should be looking at bigger off season changes than we'd be likely to see with Tommy still here (although, to tell the truth, Tommy had no trouble making big roster changes!).

Who would you bring back from '22-23?

[GoneShammGone]

Well, now at least we have hope, for a brief period between now and the inevitable Antawn Jamison hiring.

But yes, on the assumption that the next GM will be open to fundamental changes in the roster, here's what I'm thinking:

1) Obviously we have to trade Brad. How? I have no idea. Until he's gone, he's the co-GM anyway, so it will be tough. I suspect there will be more of a market for him at the deadline when there are a few teams desperate for somebody to give them a jolt heading towards the playoffs. I think he comes back for half a season.
2) Don't bring back Kuzma. Please..... I'm begging. Sign and trade him, or let him walk if that isn't possible. He will not be a valuable player at 20M + or whatever he signs.
3) If you can sign KP for less than 40M per year, then I would bring him back. At that rate he will be a valuable asset. He won't be part of the next good Wizards team (unless we somehow manage to snag VW) but he can be moved down the line for something helpful.
4) Try to extend Deni and Corey. I believe in Deni. Corey is developing nicely.
5) Sign Huff to a real NBA deal (shouldn't have to go too much above minimum, but even if you do, go ahead). Pay him whatever you paid Taj. Guys with his size who can shoot the three have value.
6) Gaff, Morris, Wright, Jordan, Cooks, and Gil are all under contract I believe?
7) So assuming Brad is still here, that's 12 guys. Jackson should be a two-way. Then if we don't get a top-4 pick, trade down so that we can draft three players.
8) Still one more two-way to play with.....

[nate33]

To be clear, nobody on this roster is off limits in terms of trades. So I wouldn't categorically state I would bring back anyone. But in terms of who I value based on ability, cost, age, expected improvement, and contract length, I'd rank our players in the following order:

Porzingis (at $36M a year or less)
Kispert
Avdija
Gafford
Goodwin
Morris
Wright
Davis
Gill
Cooks
Kuzma (presumably at something in the $22-25M range)
Beal
Todd

Everyone on that list below Goodwin is someone I would expect to be off the team in the next 2 years no matter what. The only guys who are conceivably keepers 3 years down the road are the top 5 names on the list and maybe Davis.

[Frichuela]

I posted this on the trade board:

On Porzingis, I’d offer something like $120mn for 4 years.

On Beal, it’s been rumored in the past that Miami is interested. Maybe a trade of Herro+Lowry+#18th draft pick for Beal+Wright (or Morris) makes sense? Obviously I’m assuming Beal waves his NTC and trade kicker here. A Wright-Beal-Butler-Martin-Bam starting five (with Vincent, Oladipo and Strus etc. off the bench) should be able to compete for the top 4-6 seed in the East.

On Kuzma, I’d let him go or do a S&T where the Wizards get some value such as for example, Josh Harris + 22nd pick for Kuzma. A Dinwiddie/Bridges/Johnson/Kuzma/Claxton is an intriguing starting 5. And obviously we have the prospect of more Kuzma-Dinwiddie drama in the dressing room …

Then if we draft a PG (either Scoot or Amen at #2 or #4 or Wallace/Black at #8-9), I’d look to trade Morris somewhere for a 3&D wing. For example: Morris to the Clippers for Covington or to Brooklyn for O’Neal.

Hypothetical roster:

Rookie PG/Lowry/Goodwin
Herro/Kispert/Davis
Covington/Harris/Coulibaly at #22
Deni/Murray at #18/Cooks
Porzingis/Gafford/Huff

All Lowry, Covington and Harris will be on expiring deals that could be used come the trade deadline if there is some interest…So the core going forward is:

Rookie PG/Goodwin
Herro/Davis
Coulibaly at #22/Kispert
Deni/Murray at #18
Porzingis/Gafford/

[dckingsfan]

To be clear, nobody on this roster is off limits in terms of trades. So I wouldn't categorically state I would bring back anyone. But in terms of who I value based on ability, cost, age, expected improvement, and contract length, I'd rank our players in the following order:

Porzingis (at $36M a year or less)
Kispert
Avdija
Gafford
Goodwin
Morris
Wright
Davis
Gill
Cooks
Kuzma (presumably at something in the $22-25M range)
Beal
Todd

Everyone on that list below Goodwin is someone I would expect to be off the team in the next 2 years no matter what. The only guys who are conceivably keepers 3 years down the road are the top 5 names on the list and maybe Davis.

Huff? I would do groupings where Kispert/Avida/Gafford are in the same group?

[nate33]

To be clear, nobody on this roster is off limits in terms of trades. So I wouldn't categorically state I would bring back anyone. But in terms of who I value based on ability, cost, age, expected improvement, and contract length, I'd rank our players in the following order:

Porzingis (at $36M a year or less)
Kispert
Avdija
Gafford
Goodwin
Morris
Wright
Davis
Gill
Cooks
Kuzma (presumably at something in the $22-25M range)
Beal
Todd

Everyone on that list below Goodwin is someone I would expect to be off the team in the next 2 years no matter what. The only guys who are conceivably keepers 3 years down the road are the top 5 names on the list and maybe Davis.

Huff? I would do groupings where Kispert/Avida/Gafford are in the same group?

I'm disinterested in Huff. He might become a useful backup center, which is nice. But useful backup centers are a dime-a-dozen so I'm not moving heaven and Earth to try and retain him. If he'll sign a two-way or a vet minimum contract, sure, I'm fine with it. But we may have to make other roster limit decisions when we trade Beal and/or Kuzma that will dictate whether or not we have a roster spot for Huff. So I consider Huff an afterthought.

[9 and 20]

Bring back Rui!

(just trying to start some shite)

[payitforward]

My list of guys who, for a variety of reasons, I would definitely keep next year: Kispert, Gafford, Goodwin, Gill & Cooks on the regular roster; Huff & Jackson as 2-way players.

My list of those who absolutely must go, guys I just don't want to see on the roster next year, period: Kuzma, Nunn, Gibson & Todd. Don't bring any of them back. Eat Todd's guarantee. Get what you can in a deal involving Kuzma, or just let him go if necessary.

As soon as it is practical, Beal must go.

I am getting tired of Deni's ups & downs & ambiguous areas of development. That said, it would be impractical just to let him go, but I would listen to offers, that's for sure, & if I could get a late R1 pick for him I would not hesitate. At the same time, he is only 22; perhaps I am being too precipitous.

If someone would give me a late R1 pick for Davis I would not hesitate in that case either. But, I doubt any team would.

My premise is that we are rebuilding. I mean really, genuinely rebuilding. For that reason, I see no particular value to keeping Kristaps Porzingis. If the league agrees with enthusiasts on this board, then he would bring back sufficient value in picks that I would not hesitate to trade him.

Finally, if it were possible to get value in young players & picks, I would happily trade Wright or Morris or both.

In short, the fewer players we bring back the better -- with the exception of Kispert, Gafford, Goodwin, Gill & Cooks, plus Huff & Jackson as 2-way contracts.

[GoneShammGone]

Holy crap.... I completely forgot about Johnny D!! I guess that's to be expected, given his performance this year... but if we get rid of Kuz without taking a player back, we have room for him.

[NatP4]

Get another 1st in a Beal trade. Trade down from our pick at 8/9 for couple late 1sts(21/22 from Brooklyn?). As I’ve said in the draft thread repeatedly, take Coulibaly, Cissoko, Podziemski. Go ahead and roll the dice on Zach Edey in round 2, because why not? Take 4 rookies into next season.

Take the training wheels off of Johnny Davis/Avdija/Kispert/Q Jackson/Goodwin.

Bring back Delon Wright to be a leader and flip him at the deadline for a late 1st or multiple 2nds.

Let Kuzma go. Re-sign Porzingis. Eat the Todd contract. Trade Morris.

Goodwin Wright Podziemski
Davis Jackson
Kispert Cissoko
Avdija Coulibaly Cooks
Porzingis Gafford Edey

It’s probably a better move to dump WUJ and hire Nick Nurse, but I still believe WUJ is a solid coach and will be much more effective after Beal&Kuzma are gone.

[dobrojim]

To be clear, nobody on this roster is off limits in terms of trades. So I wouldn't categorically state I would bring back anyone. But in terms of who I value based on ability, cost, age, expected improvement, and contract length, I'd rank our players in the following order:

Porzingis (at $36M a year or less)
Kispert
Avdija
Gafford
Goodwin
Morris
Wright
Davis
Gill
Cooks
Kuzma (presumably at something in the $22-25M range)
Beal
Todd

Everyone on that list below Goodwin is someone I would expect to be off the team in the next 2 years no matter what. The only guys who are conceivably keepers 3 years down the road are the top 5 names on the list and maybe Davis.

Huff? I would do groupings where Kispert/Avida/Gafford are in the same group?

I'm disinterested in Huff. He might become a useful backup center, which is nice. But useful backup centers are a dime-a-dozen so I'm not moving heaven and Earth to try and retain him. If he'll sign a two-way or a vet minimum contract, sure, I'm fine with it. But we may have to make other roster limit decisions when we trade Beal and/or Kuzma that will dictate whether or not we have a roster spot for Huff. So I consider Huff an afterthought.

Uninterested, not disinterested. They don't mean the same thing.
Now back to your regularly scheduled programming.

Your list is reasonable. I do wonder about Huff though. But as you hinted, I wouldn't move
heaven and earth to insure we kept him. There is a chance that he becomes an above average
backup if the small sample size data we have on him holds up over the longer term.
This in contrast to Cooks who, also in small sample size, didn't show me much.
QJackson showed me more.

[payitforward]

Actually, Cooks looked pretty good in 125 minutes -- especially defense & rebounding.
Not that there's anything to conclude from that....

Porzingis -- given that we finally (!) have an opportunity to rebuild, I'm not sure I understand the desire to bring back KP. Especially if he is really quite a bit more valuable as a trade chip now than he was when we got him for a minimum cost -- i.e. so that he'd bring back a lot more than he cost us.

This is not about him as a player, & Zards has made the point that even in a total rebuild it'd be a good idea to have at least a couple of veterans around for leadership, etc. Makes perfectly good sense.

OTOH, if you're going to rebuild, don't dawdle! & don't fall between the stools either. Depending, of course, on what KP brings back in pick(s) &/or young talent, he should definitely be made available. No?

[nate33]

Actually, Cooks looked pretty good in 125 minutes -- especially defense & rebounding.
Not that there's anything to conclude from that....

Porzingis -- given that we finally (!) have an opportunity to rebuild, I'm not sure I understand the desire to bring back KP. Especially if he is really quite a bit more valuable as a trade chip now than he was when we got him for a minimum cost -- i.e. so that he'd bring back a lot more than he cost us.

This is not about him as a player, & Zards has made the point that even in a total rebuild it'd be a good idea to have at least a couple of veterans around for leadership, etc. Makes perfectly good sense.

OTOH, if you're going to rebuild, don't dawdle! & don't fall between the stools either. Depending, of course, on what KP brings back in pick(s) &/or young talent, he should definitely be made available. No?

Trading every single useful vet and loading up on late 1st round picks and walk-ons will result in us putting together an historically awful 10-win team. Yeah, that's great for tanking, but it is also totally unwatchable and provides a questionable environment for the development of players.

I think there is value in having one or two good vets who can carry a high usage rate and anchor the offense so that it is at least half-decent. Keeping Porzingis turns a 10-win team into a 22-win team, which is still tanktastic but at least somewhat watchable for stretches. And it also puts our developing low-usage role players (Goodwin, Gafford, etc.) in a proper low usage role rather than ask them to do things they should never have to do in an NBA game. And Porzingis, given his age, should remain a useful trade chip down the road.

If we land a number one option scorer in the draft - a guy like Wemby, or even a Paulo Banchero tier scorer, it might then make sense to jettison Porzingis and turn the keys over to the youngster, but we don't have that guy right now.

The TL;DR version is that the sweet spot for rebuilding isn't to be a totally uncompetitive 10-15 win team with the worst record in the league. You want to be an inconsistent but occasionally interesting 20-25 win team that finishes 3rd or 4th worst in the league (and still has the same lotto odds).

[DCZards]

Actually, Cooks looked pretty good in 125 minutes -- especially defense & rebounding.
Not that there's anything to conclude from that....

PIF, you’re overlooking one of the best aspects of Cooks’ game. His passing. In the span of just a few games, he delivered at least 3-4 sweet dimes from in the paint to open 3pt shooters. The raves about Cooks’ bball instincts appear to be legit.

[WallToWall]

Everyone is tradable for the right (combination of) players, and/or picks in order to build a team that works well together. Now that TS is gone, the one person I WOULDNT bring back is WUJ. Sadly, the “stars” we have are injury prone and we may get 60% of games played out of them. That is not something we can build upon. I do like what Porzingis has given the team. Maybe bring him back, but he too is injury prone. So I am on the fence about him. Kispert is a good role player and has produced well, so bring him back. Goodwin is a nice surprise, and given his cost, I will bring him back. Everyone else, even/especially those with good talent, should be moved for equally talented players who fit the teams dynamic. Of course, the team’s dynamic will be established by a new coach.

[payitforward]

Actually, Cooks looked pretty good in 125 minutes -- especially defense & rebounding.
Not that there's anything to conclude from that....

PIF, you’re overlooking one of the best aspects of Cooks’ game. His passing. In the span of just a few games, he delivered at least 3-4 sweet dimes from in the paint to open 3pt shooters. The raves about Cooks’ bball instincts appear to be legit.

Good point. Definitely look forward to seeing him get some run next year.

[daSwami]

This would make me buy season tickets:

Zinger/Gaff/Edey
Wemby/Deni
Kispert/?
Goodwin/Davis
Morris/Wright
Deep bench: Huff/Cooks???

Gone: Beal (b/c his contract is a cancer, Kuzma (b/c he's over-valued rn, Gill, Todd, Taj, etc. (b/c they are suck)

[payitforward]

...Porzingis -- given that we finally (!) have an opportunity to rebuild, I'm not sure I understand the desire to bring back KP. Especially if he is really quite a bit more valuable as a trade chip now than he was when we got him for a minimum cost -- i.e. so that he'd bring back a lot more than he cost us.

This is not about him as a player, & Zards has made the point that even in a total rebuild it'd be a good idea to have at least a couple of veterans around for leadership, etc. Makes perfectly good sense.

OTOH, if you're going to rebuild, don't dawdle! & don't fall between the stools either. Depending, of course, on what KP brings back in pick(s) &/or young talent, he should definitely be made available. No?

Trading every single useful vet and loading up on late 1st round picks and walk-ons will result in us putting together an historically awful 10-win team. Yeah, that's great for tanking, but it is also totally unwatchable and provides a questionable environment for the development of players.

I think there is value in having one or two good vets who can carry a high usage rate and anchor the offense so that it is at least half-decent. Keeping Porzingis turns a 10-win team into a 22-win team, which is still tanktastic but at least somewhat watchable for stretches....

I didn't say we should trade every single useful vet -- in fact, I didn't even say we should trade Porzingis! -- just wondered whether he should be made available.

Still, your point is a good one overall. There's no need to dump all the veterans at once. If KP is worth something now, then he'll be worth something in a year.

...The TL;DR version is that the sweet spot for rebuilding isn't to be a totally uncompetitive 10-15 win team with the worst record in the league. You want to be an inconsistent but occasionally interesting 20-25 win team that finishes 3rd or 4th worst in the league (and still has the same lotto odds).

I just noticed that the Rockets went 4-1 in their last 5 to wind up at 22 wins. & SA went 3-2 to end w/ the same record.
Meanwhile, those hapless Pistons went 1-12 to end the season!

[Dat2U]

Actually, Cooks looked pretty good in 125 minutes -- especially defense & rebounding.
Not that there's anything to conclude from that....

Porzingis -- given that we finally (!) have an opportunity to rebuild, I'm not sure I understand the desire to bring back KP. Especially if he is really quite a bit more valuable as a trade chip now than he was when we got him for a minimum cost -- i.e. so that he'd bring back a lot more than he cost us.

This is not about him as a player, & Zards has made the point that even in a total rebuild it'd be a good idea to have at least a couple of veterans around for leadership, etc. Makes perfectly good sense.

OTOH, if you're going to rebuild, don't dawdle! & don't fall between the stools either. Depending, of course, on what KP brings back in pick(s) &/or young talent, he should definitely be made available. No?

I see no usefulness for Cooks on an NBA roster. Offensively unskilled 6-8 guys who don't play C really detract from an offense and its spacing.

[JAR69]

Well, now at least we have hope, for a brief period between now and the inevitable Antawn Jamison hiring.

I honestly can't decide whether to get engaged again with the hope (faint? maybe tht flickering the lights do when they seem to be between levels on the dimmer?) that Ted will finally do the right thing and go in for an actual rebuild. It's the hope that kills you.

I'll bite lightly.

Keep: Deni, Kispert, Goodwin, Davis, Wright, Gafford, Gill. But all of them are tradeable for the right price.
Dump (for the best we can get for those under contract or eat contract): Beal, Kuzma, Nunn, Gibson, Todd
On the fence: Morris (keep if we can't dump, but no tears if he goes), KP (I like the idea of having him be the focus of the offense and that vet guy, but I fear he will get hurt and never come back)
Just a guy, doesn't really matter: Huff, Jackson, Cooks

Clear as much salary and make every BOYD trade we can.

Here's my sub-question: how does that change if we win the Wemby-stakes? Do you try to keep/build a decent team around him for this year (and the next few), or tear it all the way down looking at a 5 year plan?