We're gonna kick some tail from now on (Optimism thread)

[Nivek]

My positives so far:

- Blatche read half a book in the offseason.
- Wall has half a jumper.
- Young can score.
- McGee has half a clue on defense -- this is progress.
- The new uniforms are pretty.
- I like the way the Verizon Center floor looks.
- The Wizards appear to be on course for another high draft pick.

And I want some of whatever dlts20 is ingesting. There is no combination of players or plays that will turn the Wizards into a "winner" this season.

[dangermouse]

Yes! McGee! I thought i must have eaten too much christmas turkey but he is looking marginally better, right? Put the McGee we had at the start of last season under the microscope, then at the end of last season, and then look at the McGee we have now... There is definite steady improvement.

Wall, McGee and Singleton are definitely the *must keep as part of our future core* group. Actually, add Crawford to that list, he didnt look very good in pre-season, but that game last night was alright. He just needs to be brought in off the bench with NY starting.

[dobrojim]

McGee showed a couple signs last night but the bottom line
was he still lost his matchup to Johan freakin Petro.

oops, this was the optimism thread. I liked his aggressiveness
on offense. Now he just needs to finish a couple more/gm and
make > 60% of his FTs. He does that and he'll be fine.

[closg00]

LOVE Singleton's attitude, he brings a much needed mindset to the team.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/wiz ... #pagebreak

[dandridge 10]

My positives so far:

- Blatche read half a book in the offseason.
- Wall has half a jumper.
- Young can score.
- McGee has half a clue on defense -- this is progress.
- The new uniforms are pretty.
- I like the way the Verizon Center floor looks.
- The Wizards appear to be on course for another high draft pick.

And I want some of whatever dlts20 is ingesting. There is no combination of players or plays that will turn the Wizards into a "winner" this season.

That is it in a nutshell Kev! And I agree with you on dlts20. I want whatever he is smoking, eating, or drinking.

[sfam]

My positives so far:

- Blatche read half a book in the offseason.
- Wall has half a jumper.
- Young can score.
- McGee has half a clue on defense -- this is progress.
- The new uniforms are pretty.
- I like the way the Verizon Center floor looks.
- The Wizards appear to be on course for another high draft pick.

And I want some of whatever dlts20 is ingesting. There is no combination of players or plays that will turn the Wizards into a "winner" this season.

TOTALLY agree with this - what a nice change to the floor!

[Chocolate City Jordanaire]

McGee showed a couple signs last night but the bottom line
was he still lost his matchup to Johan freakin Petro.

oops, this was the optimism thread. I liked his aggressiveness
on offense. Now he just needs to finish a couple more/gm and
make > 60% of his FTs. He does that and he'll be fine.

-- I am optimistic that Wall is way better than a 7-13 FT shooter.
-- I am optimistic that McGee is better than a 1-6 FT shooter.
--McGee got those 6 FTs in 25 minutes--which means he could have gotten to 8 or 9 FTAs had he played 35. A total 19 FTs from Wall and McGee usually would yield 13 or 14 points, not 8. Six points is all the Wizards lost by. Their FT shooting was flukey bad.
--I am happy Javale got 11 attempts.
--I am happy Wall grabbed 8 rebounds.

I am actually happy to see Andray have this dust up with Flip. They trade him and it is likely a win for the Wizards. Flip takes it out on Andray's minutes, and depending on the combos that could equal better team play and a win for the Wizards. Andray now feels pressure to walk the walk now that he's talked the talk, and that's a win. Flip coaches them up and it is a win. Flip now has lost this team publically--more reason for Uncle Ted to can him. That there is a win. Just all the anger and dissension on the team will do one of two things: Create energy to drive and drive to win games and play better. Or, result in a meltdown. Great to have this from day one.

Andray Blatche isn't responsible for anything or a big time change agent but his comments in his team leader role will definitely cause some kind of culture shift with the Wizards. Maybe his teammates rebel and rise up on him. Or, maybe they all bust tail together. Either way, I am optimistic that POSSIBLY some good can come out of this.

[dlts20]

The Wins Are Coming


Weve sucked for so long that everyone is always doom & gloom but I still beleive we have a playoff caliber team and that my man Dray is a stud. NY is a pure scorer. He's not going to continue to struggle. I said before the season that our biggest problem & Flip's biggest problem will be that all these guys think that this is there year for individual dominance. I said that he will have to get them out of that mindset and to play as a team.

I think that is how things have played out so far. Alot of one on one or quick shot bad basketball with everyone trying to put up numbers. Even as a rookie, Wall at his worst wasnt as bad as he is playing now. I dont think that its pure Wall. I think that is the case for most of these guys. I think Wall is playing bad because the team & Offense just hasnt found a rythm but you see that every game its coming more bit by bit.

They are still learning the roles and so on. Once that gets set and gets find the flow of the Offense then everyone will look better. McGee is there, Dray is coming, Shard has actually been solid, no way NY doesnt find his place in the starting group, and Wall will then blowup.

Weve also been playing pretty much all slow, great Defense, halfcourt teams. Now we are about the start playing running teams which will fit us even more. You can see it on the guys faces that the last couple of losses arent the same as the 1st ones. They are feeling more confident and cant wait to take the court again.

Dray is still the main guy to me. Doesnt me he's the best or whatever but he's the X factor in how far we will go and I think he's about to do what I predicted and start beasting on a consistent basis. We'll find out alot next game with Ryan Anderson who is not a great defender but is putting up big numbers. That should be a good matchup.

Part of me thinks we will win that game and then run the table at home over the next 3 but another part of me thinks we will be kinda tired or just have a bad game. I think we will either win or get blown out but after that we will win the next 3 at home while looking like one of the most exciting teams in the leauge and everyone will be intrigued to see us go to Chicago following that while we're hot

[sfam]

The Wins Are Coming


Weve sucked for so long that everyone is always doom & gloom but I still beleive we have a playoff caliber team and that my man Dray is a stud. NY is a pure scorer. He's not going to continue to struggle. I said before the season that our biggest problem & Flip's biggest problem will be that all these guys think that this is there year for individual dominance. I said that he will have to get them out of that mindset and to play as a team.

I think that is how things have played out so far. Alot of one on one or quick shot bad basketball with everyone trying to put up numbers. Even as a rookie, Wall at his worst wasnt as bad as he is playing now. I dont think that its pure Wall. I think that is the case for most of these guys. I think Wall is playing bad because the team & Offense just hasnt found a rythm but you see that every game its coming more bit by bit.

They are still learning the roles and so on. Once that gets set and gets find the flow of the Offense then everyone will look better. McGee is there, Dray is coming, Shard has actually been solid, no way NY doesnt find his place in the starting group, and Wall will then blowup.

Weve also been playing pretty much all slow, great Defense, halfcourt teams. Now we are about the start playing running teams which will fit us even more. You can see it on the guys faces that the last couple of losses arent the same as the 1st ones. They are feeling more confident and cant wait to take the court again.

Dray is still the main guy to me. Doesnt me he's the best or whatever but he's the X factor in how far we will go and I think he's about to do what I predicted and start beasting on a consistent basis. We'll find out alot next game with Ryan Anderson who is not a great defender but is putting up big numbers. That should be a good matchup.

Part of me thinks we will win that game and then run the table at home over the next 3 but another part of me thinks we will be kinda tired or just have a bad game. I think we will either win or get blown out but after that we will win the next 3 at home while looking like one of the most exciting teams in the leauge and everyone will be intrigued to see us go to Chicago following that while we're hot

Dray, is that you?

[montestewart]

Cuppy Coffee has won one of two and looked pretty good overall.

[doclinkin]

Better effort and a few line-up tweaks in the Nix game showed glimpses of the future in what we hope this team to be. Our squad did their best work when Ray and Dray were out of the game, replaced by Singleton and Booker, singly or together. With JaVale up front we saw flashes of how indomitable this frontcourt could be, with some experience, chemistry, continuity-- and perhaps different guidance.

Here is the infusion and upgrade in competitive instincts, know-how, willpower and effort that we've all perceived the squad as lacking over the years. Tough, strong, fierce, willing to go down swinging. Making heady plays even while falling out of bounds. I think it's instructive that these two are players our team managed to land by collecting extra picks in clever trades. This follows Teddy Dotcom's mandate: whenever possible trade for a prospect and a pick. When possible pick up defense and character.

I love various quotes from CSing that he'd worked on his 3-ball specifically over the summer in part because people doubted he had one. I love his stated desire to make all opponents pay for passing him over. He's got the right sort of focus, following the 'Outliers' maxim detailed by Malcolm Gladwell: that a huge part of talent is simply the drive to work harder than the next guy.

One risk in the NBA is to get sorta good, too early -- before you have your second superstar, or collection of complementary talent. Look we knew this was going to be a tough year, a tank year. Young teams, with no training camp were projected to struggle early, compared to veteran teams, we jettisoned our vets on purpose. Committing to a total rebuild. But if you have to suck, this is the year to suck righteously. There is potential dominant two-way talent a few slots deep in this draft (and we've picked up an extra 2nd rounder from the faltering Mavs this year). And we only have to suck for 66 games. Meanwhile we have few veterans likely to clot the roster by sucking up necessary PT from the young puppies.

Here we make a virtue of necessity. In building our bench with glue guys, intangibles, character and depth, we lay the foundation for a winning program without endangering the future by selecting for incremental upgrades at positions of 'need'. We suck in part by design: we're young, learning, not overpaying to add free agent talent at the expense of development. Now that we all know the layout of the new CBA we retain the future option to add players who best fit this team's needs, as well as retaining players who appear to be developing the way we hoped.

We all knew we'll have success only when we have a real upgrade for Dray Blatche (or Jamison, or Kwame, or whomever) in the frontcourt. Hope against hope said that maybe Dray himself would be this upgrade. At this point looks like we've got better odds of, you know, winning the lottery. But hey, here we are...

[fishercob]

I think we may have to start our own "It Gets Better" project.

Take a look at some of the worst teams in NBA history: http://espn.go.com/nba/features/worstteams

Then look up their franchise index on basketball reference and see that they all improved; some quickly and some more deliberately. The Detroit Lions were 0-16 just three seasons ago. Baseball has had 9 teams go from last in their division to first. So, it will get better. By definition, it has to.

By bottoming out so completely -- and it is an ugly and gut-wrenchingly painful and toxic process -- we are enabling more upside on the other end. We're not saddled to any cap killing long term contracts. We are not beholden to any aging stars. I think we are in a better position for the next 10-15 years than Charlotte, Milwaukee, Detroit and other better teams. We may have better future prospects than Orlando and San Antonio.

It sucks right now, but we'll have our day in the sun.

[Wizards2Lottery]

I really like Chris Singleton and I wish half our team had the basketball smarts, tenacity and focus that he shows on the court. He's going to be a good player for this franchise.

[daSwami]

Remember 5 years ago when we had the best record in the Eastern Conference going into January, Gil had just dropped 60 in Kobe's house and EJ was named coach of the All-Star game. Good times.

[daSwami]

Ronny Turiaf leads the league in FG%!!!!

We're #1! We're #1!

[Zonkerbl]

Bought NBA league pass, watching Minnesota vs. Toronto. I had forgotten what crisply executed, high quality professional basketball looks like.

Ahhhhh.

[queridiculo]

Bought NBA league pass, watching Minnesota vs. Toronto. I had forgotten what crisply executed, high quality professional basketball looks like.

Ahhhhh.

I'm a big fan of what Adelman is doing with the Timberwolves. With the way things are shaping in the West they're a year or two away from being a perennial playoff team.

[Chocolate City Jordanaire]

I am a big fan of Real GM and you guys who I argue with all the time.

[Shorty]

Bump for the following happy thought:

The Wizards won the regular season series against the champs, whoever they turn out to be.

[bawizards]

Here is my dream offseason. I put it in here because a lot of optimism is required but it is possible.


Using our salary cap situation from this site.

1) Amnesty Blatche making our salary cap 51,978,760

2)Trade Rashard Lewis for Ariza or Okafur and the 10th (I will go w/ okafur here)

This makes our salary cap at $41,828,760

3)With the 3rd and the 10th overall pick we select Beal/MKG then our choice of Sullinger/Moultire/Leonard/Zellers/Henson. I will say Beal/Leonard here. With our 32nd pick I say we take a combo guard like Tony Wroten at 32, and at 45 we take Kris Joseph. I couldnt find how much $ Joseph and Wroten would be getting but lets say they are getting 800,000 (A high estimate but its better guess high then guess to low)

Making our salary $48,738,460

4)Sign and trade for Batum. We give them booker and next years first (trying to get some cap space here) Say most $ we give Batum is 12 million. This makes the salary $59,353,190


2012/2013 roster


Wall/Wroten/Mack
Beal/Crawford
Batum/Singelton/Kris Joseph
Nene/Vesley
Okafur/Leonard/Seraphin

This will let our young raw big men learn from vets who have been around the block and have good attitudes while our young pg/sg/sf who are more NBA ready will get to gain experience together. Okafur and Nene both have injury issues the rotation at PF/C will be able to keep them fresh and be able to play the majority of the 82 games so our young guns will get their minutes to develop. I believe if Okafur and Nene play the majority of the 82 games we can be fighting for a low playoff spot.

2014-2015 is the season we become contenders. We will have these guys under contract as our main group.
with their age

John Wall(24) (9,697,901)
Beal(21) (3,754,400)
Batum (26) (12,000,000)
Vesley (25) (4,469,547)
Leonard (23) (2,033,200)
Nene(32) (13,000,000)
Crawford (26) (3,206,866)
Seraphin (24) (3,898,691)
Singelton (24) (2,626,473)

Thats a solid 9 man rotation with everyone besides Nene being very young that total salary is 54,687,078

Giving us 5,312,922 million to play around with veterans with playoff experience to help out or if a 2nd round pick like Mack,Wroten,Joseph emerges. We can also use our mid level exception on veterans with experience to help us out.