What do we make of the Washington Wizards Rebuild so far?

[doogie_hauser]

Rebuild going pretty well so far, they have won several more games now than at this point last season, and several of their young players like Bub and Bilal seem to really have worked defensivsly.

Sarr and Kyshawn George are blue chip prospects to me, and i don't think they lost much by missing out on Ace Bailey.

And they have tons of cap space and draft picks to make some moves going foward.

They are in a very solid position going fowards (having lots of cap space these days is a major asset)

This is a much better path for future success than all the years they were mid tier with Arenas/Wall/Beal etc

[Special_Puppy]

Currently they’re at absolute rock bottom. By far the worst roster in the league.

[NoDopeOnSundays]

They're the team that desperately needed Dylan Harper. Maybe they'll get Peterson in the summer.

[doogie_hauser]

Currently they’re at absolute rock bottom. By far the worst roster in the league.

People said that about The Pistons 2 and a half years ago.

If you untake a proper rebuild (no short cuts) like The Wiz have, results will eventually beat fruit.

[HMFFL]

Gave up on Poole / Kuzma too soon.

You must enjoy toxic players that lead your team to no success. Feel free to elaborate on the upside you see with these two players.

[DLoMor]

If they had Mike Malone they may be close to a playoff team, feel like they have the pieces to be a decent play in team, their coach just sucks.

[nate33]

If they had Mike Malone they may be close to a playoff team, feel like they have the pieces to be a decent play in team, their coach just sucks.

The coach is prioritizing player development over wins. For example, they run no off-ball screens to free Tre Johnson up for catch-and-shoot 3's off the move. The guy definitely has JJ Redick type ability to do this, but they don't even try. Instead, they have Tre play just like all the other wings in the somewhat unstructured high screen actions around Sarr at the top of the key. They want Tre to work on his off-the-bounce game rather than play to his current strengths.

Likewise, Bilal Coulibaly should mostly just be parked in the corner to shoot catch-and-shoot 3's and make backdoor cuts, but instead, they give him the ball and let him run some pick and roll. It's a bad idea now, but an investment in the future.

Same with Sarr. He carries a massive usage rate because they are just letting him explore his offensive ability - creating shots off the bounce, taking 3's, or posting up and shooting turnaround jumpers. He obviously shouldn't be shooting quite so much at the moment, but why not let him test his limits?

We will see if all this investment in player development pays off. One thing that should obviously help a great deal is if they can land a superstar who can draw some double teams. That will make offense much easier for everyone else. A guy like Dybantsa or Peterson could do wonders.

The more disappointing aspect of the Wizards' performance is their defense. They are a train wreck organizationally, even though they theoretically have a lot of good on-ball defenders with length and athleticism. They just get confused on rotations - particularly against teams like Boston who spread the floor and hit 3's well. They have improved on this recently, but it's still pretty bad.

[doogie_hauser]

They're the team that desperately needed Dylan Harper. Maybe they'll get Peterson in the summer.

I actually think Kon would have been amazing for The Wiz myself.

I do like their rookie Tre Johnson though. That waa a solid pick by DC.

[Sane]

Actually like their build. My only thing is I wish they would acquire a backup C who would be a great mentor for Sarr.

That guy will have a major breakout next season. The fact that he’s been coachable about shot selection has really impressed me, tells me his future is bright.

He’s been experimenting under more control this season. Seems to be tightening up his game wisely, and understands the things he needs to improve. JJJ with a better handle/drive is my comp for him and would be easily a max player. I think he’s headed for that. Excited to see him when they truly shift focus to wins next season.

Coulibaly underrated too. The guys handle has improved more in 2 years than 99% of players typically achieve in that span. If that continues, he levels up a tier. I think he could end up an all nba defender and a 3rd scorer on offense. OG with a better handle.

Future defensive juggernauts. Which means a 10th place offense is enough to compete for a title. They’re on track for that in a couple of years.

[Dominator83]

If they had Mike Malone they may be close to a playoff team, feel like they have the pieces to be a decent play in team, their coach just sucks.

The coach is prioritizing player development over wins. For example, they run no off-ball screens to free Tre Johnson up for catch-and-shoot 3's off the move. The guy definitely has JJ Redick type ability to do this, but they don't even try. Instead, they have Tre play just like all the other wings in the somewhat unstructured high screen actions around Sarr at the top of the key. They want Tre to work on his off-the-bounce game rather than play to his current strengths.

Likewise, Bilal Coulibaly should mostly just be parked in the corner to shoot catch-and-shoot 3's and make backdoor cuts, but instead, they give him the ball and let him run some pick and roll. It's a bad idea now, but an investment in the future.

Same with Sarr. He carries a massive usage rate because they are just letting him explore his offensive ability - creating shots off the bounce, taking 3's, or posting up and shooting turnaround jumpers. He obviously shouldn't be shooting quite so much at the moment, but why not let him test his limits?

We will see if all this investment in player development pays off. One thing that should obviously help a great deal is if they can land a superstar who can draw some double teams. That will make offense much easier for everyone else. A guy like Dybantsa or Peterson could do wonders.

The more disappointing aspect of the Wizards' performance is their defense. They are a train wreck organizationally, even though they theoretically have a lot of good on-ball defenders with length and athleticism. They just get confused on rotations - particularly against teams like Boston who spread the floor and hit 3's well. They have improved on this recently, but it's still pretty bad.

Prioritizing development? Like having CJ Mccullom and the corpse of Middleton taking a bunch of shots away from the young guys?

[doogie_hauser]

Brilliantly arguably ahead of schedule, Alex Sarr was not supposed to be this good/defensively ominous this early in his career.

Forget about the debacale against the Lakers the other night, these Wiz kids are growing up, and already a much tougher defensive team than last season.

Bub and Bilal are still younger than several rookies and Kyshawn George and Tre Johnson are blue chip prospects. I am taking the Wiz and their roster going fowards over the treadmill teams with no vision or identity going fowards with bad owners (aka Bulls, Kings) and maybe The Nets, Pels and Clippers too.

They are the next Hornets/Pistons team to rise from the East, especially (fingers crossed) they get a top 3 lotto pick.

The benefits of a hard, painful, total rebuild/reset of the franchise and culture is about to pay off.

[jangles86]

Tonne of cap space + top 3 pick + tre young

Wizards have plenty to be excited about going forward.

[doogie_hauser]

Just beat the Pistons in Detriot with a good even across the board performance from their kids.

Hard not to be hyped for long suffering Wiz fans !

[DukeLecker]

Just beat the Pistons in Detriot with a good even across the board performance from their kids.

Hard not to be hyped for long suffering Wiz fans !

Think it says more about the Pistons. They fake good. They ain’t going anywhere in the playoffs.

[baldur]

rebuilding is over, time to compete.

[brutalitops]

If they can keep the Trae/AD contracts to 2 years each, still ok

If they Land Peterson, Bad as You would probably just hope Trae opts out and save the 30odd million and still hope AD only plays 2 years

[Chuck Everett]

If Davis would actually play next season, there's a lot to love. But if he misses 75% of the games while still demanding an extension, then it's going to become an albatross around their necks. I loved the Trae Young move. AD, I will wait and see.

[JHFVF07]

They did great, buyed low on AD. A starting five of Trae, Tre(lol), Kyshawn, Sarr and AD will win a lot of games, probably the best team Trae played in his career, with a lot of young talent to develop, then you add this year pick...

[nate33]

If Davis would actually play next season, there's a lot to love. But if he misses 75% of the games while still demanding an extension, then it's going to become an albatross around their necks. I loved the Trae Young move. AD, I will wait and see.

Even in that absolutely worst-case scenario, it's not really an albatross. Davis' contract comes off the books before the Wizards have to resign any of their youth. And they only sacrificed the #30 pick and a bunch of late SRP's to get him.

And the fact that they traded virtually nothing to get him will mean they won't be bullied by Davis' agent to signing a big long contract. It's not like the Dallas situation where Davis was the physical embodiment of the Luka trade. The Wizards don't have that kind of baggage with Davis, and the market has already spoken on the value of Davis at this salary.

The other advantage of having the large, short contracts of Davis and Young is that the Wizards can be a player if any superstar becomes available. The Wizards have all their future picks, plus a Portland pick and two swaps with Phoenix to package with one of those large contracts

[nate33]

If they can keep the Trae/AD contracts to 2 years each, still ok

If they Land Peterson, Bad as You would probably just hope Trae opts out and save the 30odd million and still hope AD only plays 2 years

Yeah, if they land Peterson, the presence of Trae might be a little awkward, mostly for Tre Johnson. In that scenario, Trae wouldn't be extended and the Wizards would have to muddle through for just one year with Peterson playing at both the 2 and the 1; and Tre Johnson would have to come off the bench. That might actually be good for Peterson to start off at the less-complicated SG position for a year and easing into the primary ballhandler role against second-string players.

Likewise, if they land Flemings, it would be difficult. Flemings would have to come off the bench for his rookie season. And the problem there is that the two of them really couldn't share the court together. Flemings minutes would be significantly curtailed.

If they land anybody else, Trae is probably a pretty good fit. I hope the Wizards would wait and see how it works though, before rushing into an extension.