Wizards Training Camp & Preseason 2022

[payitforward]

He didn't think Monte was great; he thought Wright was great -- & he was.

What would make you think Rui is "a pariah on these boards?"

[AFM]

Because if you take off your homer glasses (I'm guilty of this as well) Rui is really just a replaceable average at best guy.

[mhd]

I'm predicting a Rui extension. Turd needs his money (and that's all he cares about). Unlike Davis, Rui actually has NBA athleticism and talent. If we can extend him cheaply, I wouldn't be opposed.

[doclinkin]

Watching the replay since I missed the game. Oh lord. What is it about putting on a Wiz uniform that cancels out the ability to hit a 3pt shot? We are going to be tanking from opening night if this is the case. The Jokic effect is real, Morris and Barton were surely feasting on all the wide open looks he got them.

Beal looks good. So alright, he damn well better. Taj is a vet. Delon plays defense. Rui is equal parts terrible on defense and surprisingly able on offense. Seriously he guards empty spaces that are nowhere near players and gets cleared off on every screen or pick. But he will look good in highlights so we will either extend/sign him for too much, or if we are smart, trade him midseason as part of a package.

Morris and Kuzma have been terrible. Kuzma particularly embarrassing, but it could be that thing where he spaces out most of the time unless the stakes are high.

Gafford does not know what to do in the high post, still has no chemistry with anybody on the pick and roll. Fouls too much, and somehow forgot how to rebound.

We need Kispert for his off ball offense, shooting and backdoor. Deni for defense and in-game IQ. Porzingis for anything resembling star quality.

We are going to be tanking right out the gate if these players remain dinged up. And even with them active we look pretty disjointed. It will take a few wins here and there for the team to develop timing and chemistry. But those wins might be a long time coming.

[Dat2U]

Watching the replay since I missed the game. Oh lord. What is it about putting on a Wiz uniform that cancels out the ability to hit a 3pt shot? We are going to be tanking from opening night if this is the case. The Jokic effect is real, Morris and Barton were surely feasting on all the wide open looks he got them.

Beal looks good. So alright, he damn well better. Taj is a vet. Delon plays defense. Rui is equal parts terrible on defense and surprisingly able on offense. Seriously he guards empty spaces that are nowhere near players and gets cleared off on every screen or pick. But he will look good in highlights so we will either extend/sign him for too much, or if we are smart, trade him midseason as part of a package.

Morris and Kuzma have been terrible. Kuzma particularly embarrassing, but it could be that thing where he spaces out most of the time unless the stakes are high.

Gafford does not know what to do in the high post, still has no chemistry with anybody on the pick and roll. Fouls too much, and somehow forgot how to rebound.

We need Kispert for his off ball offense, shooting and backdoor. Deni for defense and in-game IQ. Porzingis for anything resembling star quality.

We are going to be tanking right out the gate if these players remain dinged up. And even with them active we look pretty disjointed. It will take a few wins here and there for the team to develop timing and chemistry. But those wins might be a long time coming.

Gafford is the one I'm troubled the most about because we've seen him flash enough to know he can be a game changer on both sides when lockef in. I'm afraid getting paid was probably not the best thing for his development and if he's not defending at a high level he becomes a dime-a-dozen rim runner who's significantly overpaid.

[doclinkin]

Gafford is the one I'm troubled the most about because we've seen him flash enough to know he can be a game changer on both sides when lockef in. I'm afraid getting paid was probably not the best thing for his development and if he's not defending at a high level he becomes a dime-a-dozen rim runner who's significantly overpaid.

And he is the starting Center in all games that KP has to sit. Load management and his health history suggests that'll be 20 games or so. We will be leaning heavily on 51 year old Taj Gibson to save us game in and game out.

Personally I credit Westbrook for Gafford's surge that year. Russ draws a ton of attention when he is in attack mode, which is pretty much all the time. Gafford was good for 3-5 assists a game in Russ' averaging a triple double. And Westbrook's inefficient shooting leaves many opportunities for offensive putbacks.

[BearlyBallin]

Read on Twitter

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Goodwin gets the last two way contract.
I think I read somewhere he had 94 steals last year in Gleague.

Anyone else recall the “Filch an Ear award?”
Named after Phil Chenier for most steals.

[JWizmentality]

Because if you take off your homer glasses (I'm guilty of this as well) Rui is really just a replaceable average at best guy.

That's true for 80% of this roster

[JWizmentality]

He didn't think Monte was great; he thought Wright was great -- & he was.

What would make you think Rui is "a pariah on these boards?"

Rui has always been a pariah on this board because he wasn't the consensus pick this board wanted. I get it.

However, there's a lot of hypocrisy on this board as well. The same people who praised the John Wall "Suicide" story and blasted this organization for what they did are the same people who turn around and call Rui mentally weak for what he went through last year.

[doclinkin]

He didn't think Monte was great; he thought Wright was great -- & he was.

What would make you think Rui is "a pariah on these boards?"

Rui has always been a pariah on this board because he wasn't the consensus pick this board wanted. I get it.

However, there's a lot of hypocrisy on this board as well. The same people who praised the John Wall "Suicide" story and blasted this organization for what they did are the same people who turn around and call Rui mentally weak for what he went through last year.

I blast the FO on how they handled Wall, while I also praise them for how they handled Rui.

On Rui I critique him on the fact that he doesn't really know how to play basketball. On the defensive end at least. Rebounding, boxing out, spacing, angles, awareness. He gets lost on that side, and the rest of the team ends up looking even worse since they are playing 4-on-5. That is the heart of the critique on him. Not that he's a pariah, just that he should be better. He is a remarkably talented player with an incomplete game. We've seen that before. (Nick Young, JaVale, Oubre, Blatche...).

That said it is not unfair to note a player's mental health when assessing their utility to a team. I like Rui as a human being. Few people on earth could understand the sort of stress he goes through trying to live up to a country that has one of the most high stress social structures of any culture. Where suicide is the leading cause of death for men age 20-44. But from the sociopathic mindset of fandom, it is a true fact to say we lost him for half the season last year on mental exhaustion. The same way you can ding a player for being injury prone you can wonder if it may be a liability in his career, without judgment of him as a person. Otto Porter has bones of porcelain, Porzingis has missed half his career with injury. Hell, I was high on Royce White in the draft process but his anxiety disorder meant that he couldn't fly. He never made it in the NBA. But in college he was a beast.

Watch on YouTube

I think more than anything fans want Rui to do well. Assert himself in rebounding, learn a low post move, play Big. But if he never learns to defend then he probably has greater value as a trade asset than as a key piece on a winning team. Which would suck because his gifts are so obvious and evident.

Still, I haven't heard anyone crushing him for being out. This right here I think is the closest thing to it. Me saying his BBIQ is lacking. His grasp of the nuances of the game. To say, hey, he might be better but has limited experience around high caliber basketball, and it may have stunted his growth. He was late to the game, from a non basketball playing country, learned by watching highlights of non-defender Carmelo, had a language barrier in college, had a freak injury as a young cat when he was kicked in the Bongas. Trains in the offseason in a guard skills camp not in a Big Man camp learning interior defense and rebounding. Played for a national team who are notably lacking in talent and skill, but was the spotlight athlete for the host country, so all his losses were magnified. Dealt with racism all his life as an outsider. He would have stood out if he were either tall, or brownskinned, but to be mixed brings its own brand of ostracizing in Japan. So yeah, there are reasons he might have developmental delay. But it is fair to point out where his game is lacking. He doesn't rebound and does not understand team defense. Does not have a feel for when to pass vs drive into traffic.

Fortunately some of those skills can be improved with experience. Coaching. Team ethic.

Sadly for his sake, he plays for the Wizards instead of Miami, Golden State, or the Spurs.

[gambitx777]

I don't understand why we kept Todd over a good young wing like Jackson or a speedy young guard like Dotson

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[queridiculo]

I don't understand why we kept Todd over a good young wing like Jackson or a speedy young guard like Dotson

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Sunk cost fallacy is one explanation.

Serious issues with the Wizards talent evaluation the other.

The Wizards seriously thought Johnny Davis was the 10th best prospect...

[Frichuela]

I don't understand why we kept Todd over a good young wing like Jackson or a speedy young guard like Dotson

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Sunk cost fallacy is one explanation.

Serious issues with the Wizards talent evaluation the other.

The Wizards seriously thought Johnny Davis was the 10th best prospect...

100%. Meanwhile the likes of Eason or Williams are balling and displaying true potential

[BruceO]

hmmm my log in works after all these years of falling back to lurking

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What would make you think Rui is "a pariah on these boards?"

Rui has always been a pariah on this board because he wasn't the consensus pick this board wanted. I get it.

However, there's a lot of hypocrisy on this board as well. The same people who praised the John Wall "Suicide" story and blasted this organization for what they did are the same people who turn around and call Rui mentally weak for what he went through last year.

That might better be called inconsistency than hypocrisy. But, in fact, I don't recall much of that at all. I remember there was a little bit of impatience, not much, but that's it.

As to Rui not being "the consensus pick" in 2019 -- I don't think there was one consensus pick, but a lot of people liked the pick of Rui. Only a very few here were convinced that Rui was a terrible pick (I was certainly one of them). Thing is, you seem to be having what's a pretty common confusion -- between "a bad pick" & "a bad player."

Rui didn't warrant a high pick, but that didn't mean he was a bad player. If you can get a guy at 19, then picking him at 9 makes him a bad pick -- period. But it doesn't change him as a player.

Daniel Gafford went #38 in the same 2019 draft. He was a great pick at that spot! He would have been a bad pick at 9, but he'd be the same player. Kendell Johnson went #29; he's a good player, no doubt about it, but he'd have been a bad pick at #9. At 29, he was a great pick.

I had Rui ranked to go in the last 1/4 of R1 thru the first 1/4 of F2. If someone had taken him in that range, maybe even a little bit higher than that, I would have thought it was a good pick -- but my sense of who he was as a player wouldn't have changed.

Of course, a guy can come in & demonstrate that you had him pegged wrong. Rui hasn't done that. But, that doesn't make him a pariah. He just hasn't been a good player. I hope he improves significantly this year; I imagine everyone on this board hopes the same thing!

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I don't understand why we kept Todd over a good young wing like Jackson or a speedy young guard like Dotson ...

Sunk cost fallacy is one explanation.

Serious issues with the Wizards talent evaluation the other.

The Wizards seriously thought Johnny Davis was the 10th best prospect...

Todd is guaranteed this year. Waive him & sign Dotson or Jackson instead, & the Wizards are in the luxury tax. It's not worth it.

[gambitx777]

We are already in the tax? And a couple mill behind the hard cap we are under I believe. I absolutely feel like it's worth it


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[payitforward]

We are already in the tax? And a couple mill behind the hard cap we are under I believe. I absolutely feel like it's worth it.

No, we're @ $358K under the luxury tax line right now. Todd is owed just over $1.5m this year. If we cut him, we still have to pay him, & his salary still counts against the cap, tax, etc.

Thus, if we waive him & sign e.g. Dotson, say for $1m, we are over the luxury tax line.

I like Dotson; he was an excellent college player & I see no reason he can't make it as a solid NBA back up point guard. & if he can do that, then maybe he can do more. But, I'm still not signing Dotson or Jackson if it puts me in the luxury tax. Especially not if I can get them on the GoGo roster.

OTOH, I would have given the 2d 2-way contract to either of them over Jordan Goodwin eight days a week.

Specifically, I would have given it to Quenton Jackson over Jordan Goodwin. The 2 guys are the same age (5 weeks apart), but Jackson was a far better college player against far better college competition. He's taller, longer, shoots the ball much much better, shoots FTs much better.

Jordan Goodwin does one thing well -- he is an excellent rebounder for a guard. He was in college, he was in SL in 2021, he was in SL this year, & he was on the GoGo last year as well.

That's it.
He can't shoot the 3. He can't shoot the 2. He can't shoot FTs.

I'm sure someone will mention that he's above average in steals. He is. Unfortunately, he also turns the ball over even more frequently -- almost 30% more often.

Jordan Goodwin wasn't a particularly good college player -- against low level competition.
He also wasn't a good player on the GoGo last year.
He turns 24 next week.

[payitforward]

But, really, none of these 3 guys -- Goodwin, Dotson or Jackson -- is relevant to the real point: If you want to understand what it means to run a slipshod operation, start by looking at the way the Wizards use their 2way slots (not to mention R2).

We've just come off of what looks to have been one of the deepest drafts in the last dozen or more years. It's easy to tick off a list of 8+ guys or more who very likely would have been drafted in any of the previous several drafts but didn't hear their names called.

Are any of Keon Ellis, JD Davison, Trevion Williams, Alondes Williams, Kenneth Lofton Jr., Tevin Brown, Kofi Cockburn, Collin Gillespie, Scotty Pippen Jr, Julian Champagnie, Michael Foster Jr, Dominick Barlow, Ron Harper Jr... in our camp or signed as 2 way players with us?

No, of course not. We have Jordan Goodwin.

[gambitx777]

We are already in the tax? And a couple mill behind the hard cap we are under I believe. I absolutely feel like it's worth it.

No, we're @ $358K under the luxury tax line right now. Todd is owed just over $1.5m this year. If we cut him, we still have to pay him, & his salary still counts against the cap, tax, etc.

Thus, if we waive him & sign e.g. Dotson, say for $1m, we are over the luxury tax line.

I like Dotson; he was an excellent college player & I see no reason he can't make it as a solid NBA back up point guard. & if he can do that, then maybe he can do more. But, I'm still not signing Dotson or Jackson if it puts me in the luxury tax. Especially not if I can get them on the GoGo roster.

OTOH, I would have given the 2d 2-way contract to either of them over Jordan Goodwin eight days a week.

Specifically, I would have given it to Quenton Jackson over Jordan Goodwin. The 2 guys are the same age (5 weeks apart), but Jackson was a far better college player against far better college competition. He's taller, longer, shoots the ball much much better, shoots FTs much better.

Jordan Goodwin does one thing well -- he is an excellent rebounder for a guard. He was in college, he was in SL in 2021, he was in SL this year, & he was on the GoGo last year as well.

That's it.
He can't shoot the 3. He can't shoot the 2. He can't shoot FTs.

I'm sure someone will mention that he's above average in steals. He is. Unfortunately, he also turns the ball over even more frequently -- almost 30% more often.

Jordan Goodwin wasn't a particularly good college player -- against low level competition.
He also wasn't a good player on the GoGo last year.
He turns 24 next week.

I was certain we were in the tax and hard capped oh well I'm wrong sometimes

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