Road to the Championship

[Zonkerbl]

We had a discussion in a thread awhile back about what exactly would have to happen for the zards to win a championship.

At the time, my argument is the only legit championship starters we had on the team are Wall and McGee. Now we've trade McGee for Nene, so he's going to have to be on our championship frontcourt, unless we're talking about a post-Nene's-contract championship. Also KS recent emergence might let us rethink the issue a bit.

Let's assume we amnesty Blatche, first of all.

So we need starters and backups.

Starters:
PG: Wall
SG: ???
SF: ??? (maybe Singleton)
PF: Nene
C: KS?

Backups:
PG: Mack
SG: Crawford
SF: Singleton
PF: Booker
C: ?

Now we've used up a lot of our available cap space on Nene. Used to be, assuming McGee was our championship center, we needed three starters, one of whom could've been Singleton, the other would be next year's draft pick, and the last would be a big FA signing.

Now it looks like we either get Anthony Davis, which makes Nene our PF and KS our backup center, or we draft a SF/SG, sign a SG/SF, and stick with Nene and KS as our starting frontcourt. Backup center can be a MLE signing later.

Frankly not seeing how we get to a championship if we don't get Davis, unless MKG/Beal are really reallly good.

[Nivek]

Davis will make whatever team he's on a contender for a decade or more. Some of the other higher rated players in the draft seem like good pieces, but there's no one guy who will make the Wizards a contender.

Everything depends on where they're going to be drafting. If they're going 2nd, MKG is probably the best pick. Then they could come back in the 2nd round and pick a guy like Denmon, who I think is going to be a solid pro.

If they're 3-5, the smart move might be to take Beal and then use the 2nd round pick to either draft Crowder (assuming he falls) or as part of a trade to move back into the first round for Crowder.

That at least upgrades the talent at key positions.

But The Guy in this draft is Davis. He's the franchise player.

[Chocolate City Jordanaire]

The Wizards need to position themselves to become a destination where Dwight Howard wants to come in 2013.

If the Wizards get Anthony Davis with this group, they'll be championship contenders in 2-3 years.

What Washington needs is a SG who hits the three and who both defends and rebounds well for his position. I think they need the same at SF. The key to the team getting much better is already apparent. When Cartier Martin came to the team the floor stretched for Wall. Mason does the same. When Wall plays with guys who hit shots he's a tremendous asset.

As far as the players on the team, I think Vesely at SF creates a mismatch. I would keep him over Chris Singleton. I would bring back Mason, Martin, and James Singleton for one more season each. Depending upon who is drafted, I might try to move Chris Singleton and Shelvin Mack.

If Thomas Robinson is drafted, I would move Trevor Booker to a good team and good situation for him.

If Michael Kidd-Gilchrist is drafted, I would trade Chris Singleton for a pick.

I would look at drafting Will Barton, because he's the SG this team lacks. Jeremy Lamb and Terrence Ross deserve mention, too.

I would go all in on Nicolas Batum as a FA if Brad Beal is the pick.

The Wizards are going to be a lot better next season if Nene is healthy and they get a little help on the perimeter. This draft should be about shooting and rebounding, and finding talented players that give that and who have a winning mindset.

Right now, if I had to put together a draft my targets would be Barton, Crowder, Denmon and I'd trade down for future assets. I'd add Nicolas Batum as a FA. I would subtract Lewis, Blatche, Chris Singleton (not because he's so bad, but because I prefer Vesely and an upgrade at SF), and I would really want to upgrade from Crawford starting.

LAST: I would still be open to John Wall trades. The quickest way to a championship would be to get better at every single position, including PG.

[DallasShalDune]

LAST: I would still be open to John Wall trades. The quickest way to a championship would be to get better at every single position, including PG.

Many people have suggested that we should explore trades for Wall to get a more NBA-ready player. What are we realistically looking at with a Wall trade?

Because of the trade is for a good vet, the trade would reek of Webber for Richmond, and we can't honestly be in favor of that. I can understand Wall for Irving, but I disagree that we should do that trade because Irving defense is even worse than Wall's and he is a poorer pure point guard than Wall. But at least that trade makes sense on some level since Irving can take over games.

Again, what would we want if we were to trade Wall?

[Chocolate City Jordanaire]

Anthony Davis

I would trade John for DJ Augustin and the rights to Anthony Davis.

I would trade him for Brandon Knight and ... the rights to Anthony Davis.

I would also move Wall for something like Lillard, MKG, and a future first; with the other team taking Singleton. Note, the Wizards would keep their lottery pick as well. So, they would add two lottery pick-worthy players, and Lillard, and a future first while just giving up Wall.

Any Wall deal would be a highway robbery scenario where the Wizards got back arms, legs, and the other team's future.

[leswizards]

Clear cap space to sign Lou Williams this off season.
Trade Booker for a good Swing man.
Use the first round pick to get the best SF the Wizards can get (either through a trade or drafting the best SF available).

The Wizards starting rotation would be Wall, Williams, SF TBD, Seraphin, Nene (all at ~36 mpg).
The main reserves would be Vesely at ~24 mpg, Swingman TBD ~24 mpg, Chris Singleton and Jordan Crawford getting garbage and foul time.

Going forward use the MLE, Cap Space and draft picks to upgrade and replace.

I am not going to predict a championship, but I think it could lead to long term success for the Wizards.