Official 2023 Wizards OFFSEASON Thread

[doclinkin]

Players are already in town working out

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It'd be excellent if those two developed chemistry early.
Tyus, Poole, Mike Muscala in these pics. I'm curious who else is in town.
Seems like Gallinari has been here all summer. Who else?

[closg00]

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[wewillnevertank]

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Here's the original Q&A with Aschburner if anyone's interested -- https://www.nba.com/news/qa-wes-unseld-jr-and-wizards-2023

[Frichuela]

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Here's the original Q&A with Aschburner if anyone's interested -- https://www.nba.com/news/qa-wes-unseld-jr-and-wizards-2023

Thank you.
Wes is counting on Kispert and Deni to take "a giant leap". We shall see...one has to prove he can shoot consistently from 3 (and at a >35% clip) while the other has to stop being a sieve defensively..

[wewillnevertank]

Thank you.
Wes is counting on Kispert and Deni to take "a giant leap". We shall see...one has to prove he can shoot consistently from 3 (and at a >35% clip) while the other has to stop being a sieve defensively..

I could actually see it happening for Deni. I don't put much stock in workout videos, but I do put stock in the fact that he's been working with Adam Filippi, who, based on his scouting experience, I think is far better suited to get Deni's shot right than Drew Hanlen was. Combine that with the fact that he's in a contract year, and I wouldn't be shocked to see him overperform like he did during the "Turbo" stretch last year.

As for Corey, I just don't think the lateral quickness will ever be there for him to be above serviceable defensively. What I'd really like to see from Corey is better situational awareness. Don't double if you don't need to. Make sure you don't get lost on switches. Simple stuff.

[doclinkin]

I could actually see it happening for Deni. I don't put much stock in workout videos, but I do put stock in the fact that he's been working with Adam Filippi, who, based on his scouting experience, I think is far better suited to get Deni's shot right than Drew Hanlen was.

Educate me on Filippi. Who has he coached up? I see he wrote a book on FT shooting. I'm curious if he has helped a player add %'s to their 3pt shots. That more than anything is what Deni needs. That and confidence, so he can show the swagger he displays in FIBA play.

Edit: This is info previously posted on Fillippi. He's friendly with Marco Bellinelli. I wonder if he and Gallo know each other as well.

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[doclinkin]

As for Corey, I just don't think the lateral quickness will ever be there for him to be above serviceable defensively. What I'd really like to see from Corey is better situational awareness. Don't double if you don't need to. Make sure you don't get lost on switches. Simple stuff.

Corey was working hard on his hip flexibility to improve his lateral quickness last year. Early on I noticed an improvement from the prior year. The rest is the defensive philosophy and consistency that needs to be decided on by Wes. And personnel. Corey is adjusting from Mark Few's defense, where they switched everything and lived with the results, so players don't need to fight the picks and could conserve energy for the other end.

Wes has had a poor mix of personnel for offense/defense. No solid 2-way players with the exception of Porzingis. He has had to choose between offense and defense with whatever mix of players he fields. I think this year, with shooters in place at every position, he can shrug about defense and go full auto on outgunning opponents as best we can. Then sub in a defensive squad to try to hold a lead maybe.

On Kispert, my sense is if he can hang significant minutes at 2-guard it opens up our roster a ton. His ballhandling is not a strength, but playing next to either of Tyus or Poole that part won't matter as much. I see him ideally as a high minutes 6th man, able to sub in at 2 or 3 to add offense, range, and opportunistic scoring. If he starts at 3 we will simply be too small and too vulnerable on D. But at 2 guard we are credibly big and can afford to play some solid defensive stalwarts on his line to cover for the athletic mismatches here and there.

[long suffrin' boulez fan]

I’m feeling the same totally irrational exuberance I feel every year at this time

[doclinkin]

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[nate33]

As for Corey, I just don't think the lateral quickness will ever be there for him to be above serviceable defensively. What I'd really like to see from Corey is better situational awareness. Don't double if you don't need to. Make sure you don't get lost on switches. Simple stuff.

He is also quicker, with better reaction time than most people think. He had an exceptional shuttle run at the combine, 2nd best in his draft class. His lane agility was pretty solid at 10.91. His full court sprint and vertical leap are a bit sub-par for a wing, but not awful either. For example, he outscored Bradley Beal in both lane agility and 3/4 sprint (and would have beat him in shuttle run if they had that test in Beal's day). Beal was 3 inches better in his vertical leap.

I thought Kispert was excellent as a decision-maker on defense last year with very good situational awareness. He knows where to be. He just doesn't have the length to do much to challenge shots. He also seemed to get overpowered pretty often. He has a pretty solid frame that looks strong, but he doesn't appear to be as functionally strong as he should be.

[AFM]

As for Corey, I just don't think the lateral quickness will ever be there for him to be above serviceable defensively. What I'd really like to see from Corey is better situational awareness. Don't double if you don't need to. Make sure you don't get lost on switches. Simple stuff.

He is also quicker, with better reaction time than most people think. He had an exceptional shuttle run at the combine, 2nd best in his draft class. His lane agility was pretty solid at 10.91. His full court sprint and vertical leap are a bit sub-par for a wing, but not awful either. For example, he outscored Bradley Beal in both lane agility and 3/4 sprint (and would have beat him in shuttle run if they had that test in Beal's day). Beal was 3 inches better in his vertical leap.

He suffers from WBPS (White Boy Perception Syndrome). But I think he's really just light skinned. He a brutha.

[nate33]

On Kispert, my sense is if he can hang significant minutes at 2-guard it opens up our roster a ton. His ballhandling is not a strength, but playing next to either of Tyus or Poole that part won't matter as much. I see him ideally as a high minutes 6th man, able to sub in at 2 or 3 to add offense, range, and opportunistic scoring. If he starts at 3 we will simply be too small and too vulnerable on D. But at 2 guard we are credibly big and can afford to play some solid defensive stalwarts on his line to cover for the athletic mismatches here and there.

Yes. This.

Kispert's defensive weaknesses are more associated with his lack of length and strength, not a lack of agility and speed. He is better off defending guards than forwards. I'm not saying we should have him guard SGA one-on-one or anything. But I'd much rather have him chasing around guys like Buddy Hield and Austin Reaves than have him guard forwards like Scottie Barnes and Franz Wagner.

[badinage]

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Man oh man, was this an impressive presser. These guys come across as very knowledgeable, highly aware, keenly sensitive, and exceedingly well-prepared. There’s an air of quiet confidence here, as well as a reckoning with what IS (and also what it will take to turn that IS around).

Remains to be seen whether it all translates to success, real success — Winger used the term ‘sustainable’ about 47 times (I’ll forgive him for his corporate-ese, because I’m feeling overly hopeful at the moment) — but these two seem like thoroughly up-to-date NBA team execs, the kind the good teams have. Process-oriented, methodical, analytical, self-scrutinizing, not slick, not smarmy, not aw-shucks-y.

[Frichuela]

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Man oh man, was this an impressive presser. These guys come across as very knowledgeable, highly aware, keenly sensitive, and exceedingly well-prepared. There’s an air of quiet confidence here, as well as a reckoning with what IS (and also what it will take to turn that IS around).

Remains to be seen whether it all translates to success, real success — Winger used the term ‘sustainable’ about 47 times (I’ll forgive him for his corporate-ese, because I’m feeling overly hopeful at the moment) — but these two seem like thoroughly up-to-date NBA team execs, the kind the good teams have. Process-oriented, methodical, analytical, self-scrutinizing, not slick, not smarmy, not aw-shucks-y.

Agreed. A world apart from the likes of Ernie and Tommy.

As always, the proof will be in the pudding but it's nice to have the adults finally in charge ...

[dobrojim]

I’m feeling the same totally irrational exuberance I feel every year at this time

So do you have an early number for the wins prediction thread?

There's a part of me that shares your irrationality. Then I look around at all
the wise heads who are not expecting much and think I'm just being stupid (again).

[AFM]

Being a wizards fan is inherently irrational. I've heard some Wizards podcasters say they think we could be a play-in team this year. Whatever weed they're smoking, send some my way...

[dobrojim]

No nearby dispensaries AFM?

[nate33]

Being a wizards fan is inherently irrational. I've heard some Wizards podcasters say they think we could be a play-in team this year. Whatever weed they're smoking, send some my way...

Yeah, I don't understand it.

This is the most confidence I've had in years that we will miss the playoffs. If nothing else, even if they play above their talent level and flirt with a play-in bid, they'll make sure to tank their way out of it down the stretch.

[AFM]

Being a wizards fan is inherently irrational. I've heard some Wizards podcasters say they think we could be a play-in team this year. Whatever weed they're smoking, send some my way...

Yeah, I don't understand it.

This is the most confidence I've had in years that we will miss the playoffs. If nothing else, even if they play above their talent level and flirt with a play-in bid, they'll make sure to tank their way out of it down the stretch.

How many players do we have that would get serious minutes on a "good" team? I count 4 at the most.

[nate33]

Being a wizards fan is inherently irrational. I've heard some Wizards podcasters say they think we could be a play-in team this year. Whatever weed they're smoking, send some my way...

Yeah, I don't understand it.

This is the most confidence I've had in years that we will miss the playoffs. If nothing else, even if they play above their talent level and flirt with a play-in bid, they'll make sure to tank their way out of it down the stretch.

How many players do we have that would get serious minutes on a "good" team? I count 4 at the most.

I think 5 guys could get 20+ minutes on a good team: Jones, Kuzma, Poole, Kispert, and maybe Avdija. Jones (with MEM), Poole (with GSW) and Kuzma (with LAL) have already proven it. Gafford would get 15-20 minutes as the primary backup center on most good teams. I think Kispert is a pretty good plug-and-play guy who could play 20+ minutes as a 6th/7th man on a good team. Avdija is iffy. On the right team with shooting, he could play 20+ minutes. But on some teams, he just wouldn't work out.

But is there a guy on our roster who would be a guaranteed starter on a good team? Would anyone start on Denver or Boston, for example? I could see maybe one of Jones, Kuzma or Poole starting on a good team that happened to be weak at their position, but if so, they would be the 4th or 5th best starter. The Wizards have nobody who would be the third best starter on a good team.

So if every good team has three players better than the Wizards' best player, how in the world are they going to make the playoffs?