What do the Wizards need to become contenders?

[Alex_De_Large]

There are 9 teams int he league who have 3 players who have been all-star one day or are all-star material and all are considered contenders:

Celtics (KG, PP, Allen)
Lakers (Kobe, Gasol, Bynum WILL be all-star in the future)
Rockets (Yao, Tmac, Ron)
Spurs (Duncan, Manu, Parker)
Jazz (Deron, Boozer, and choose one between Okur and AK)
Pistons (Sheed, Bilups, Rip)
Hornets, Suns and Mavs are also contenders even with Pedja, Kidd and Shaq passed his prime.


But the Wizards (Arenas, Butler, Jamison) are the only team on the rest on the league who RIGHT NOW can give the all-star game 3 players, what do they need to become contenders? they are in the East, i think with some smart win-now-mode moves they can become contenders.
They have a unbalanced team, and i think the Raptors, Magic and Sixers are better than them now.

[Gordon Bombay]

defend...



...and, well, not run into cleveland in the first round of the playoffs

[Flash3]

defense.

you need to play defense when the post-season rolls around. without it, you won't get very far, at all.

see: wizards past post-season appearances....

[dockingsched]

first and foremost, health. butler is incredibly injury prone and arenas is reaching that point too.

[Warspite]

Play in another league.


Notice all the teams in the OPs list have a allstar bigman and yet the Wiz have a SG and 2 SFs. If they could trade Butler for a bigman who can be a def stopper although they would lose firepower they would eb a better team. Right now the Wiz remind me more of the Warriors Run TMC gimick type teams. If Haywood became a 20-10 3bpa type palyer they would reach the EC or NBA Finals easily.

[Alex_De_Large]

I agree they need to play more defense, but in the other hand i think they need something else than that,
2 of the 5 starters are there because of D (Haywood/Stevenson), and last year they were not a bad defensive team in regular season, Jazz or Lakers conceded more points and they look like contenders.

[dockingsched]

I agree they need to play more defense, but in the other hand i think they need something else than that,
2 of the 5 starters are there because of D (Haywood/Stevenson), and last year they were not a bad defensive team in regular season, Jazz or Lakers conceded more points and they look like contenders.

jazz and lakers rank 5th and 12th in points allowed per 100 possessions. the wiz rank 24th. they're defenses aren't even comparable.

[ForeveRaptorFan]

PLAY DEFENSE! First and foremost.

Have a dominant low post-scorer. Their make up seems all too familiar as the NJN a few years ago with Kidd, Carter and RJ with perimeter players. I'm unsure of how Haywood's development is and if he could ever become a solid big downlow.

[kooldude]

Michael Jordan in his prime

[Patterns]

Get rid of Jamison imo.

[GuyverX]

1. Play defense

2. Acquire a legit low-post presence

[L&H_05]

I think the first thing they need to do is shut the hell up..

[joe.linnen]

I think the first thing they need to do is shut the hell up..

Well thats a start but to where is the question?

by the way I laugh my ass off at that one

[A-Town Connection]

Low post game....Jamison is too in love with his jump shot. Some D wouldn't hurt either

[Kuq_e_Zi91]

They just need to stay healthy. They beat the Celtics 3 times last season. Health is the biggest thing holding them back. I think they match up pretty well against other contending teams in the East.

Arenas/Butler/Jamison vs Allen/Pierce/KG.
Arenas/Butler/Jamison vs Billups/Rip/Sheed
Arenas/Butler/Jamison vs Miller/Iguadala/Brand

They can beat the Cavs if everybody is healthy. Orlando might give them some problems because of their frontcourt, but I think you can put Butler on Turkoglu, Jamison on Rashard and double Dwight or force him to make free throws. I also like my chances of Arenas vs Nelson. Toronto might give them some problems with a Bosh/O'neal frontcourt also. IMO, it depends on the team they face and if they can stay healthy.

[Roger Murdock]

I dont really know what they need to do. Probably trade either areanas or jameson for some good defensive player who can also score. Most of all they need to get healthy.

L and H nailed it too. The wizards think they are WAY better than they really are. Sort of the reverse us against the world attitude. They need to come down to earth and try to improve the areas they suck at.

A new coach would help. I dont see how you keep your job getting beat by the same team 3 years in a row.

[KyleCleric]

wait till Lebron goes to Europe and the Celtics and Pistons retire and hope Dwight Howard enters the playoffs injured.

[prekazi]

1-Injure LeBron James
2-Injure Garnett and Pierce
3-Injure Dwight Howard
4-Injure Elton Brand
5-Injure Bosh
6-Injure half of the Pistons roster
7-Defend
8-Stop calling out the best player on the earth

[KyleCleric]

1-Injure LeBron James
2-Injure Garnett and Pierce
3-Injure Dwight Howard
4-Injure Elton Brand
5-Injure Bosh
6-Injure half of the Pistons roster
7-Defend
8-Stop calling out the best player on the earth

which one, Lebron, KG, or Pierce?

[DaDragicShow]

Try to beat the Cavs in the first round.