Wizard 2013 Preseason Wrap Up

[Chocolate City Jordanaire]

Was Wall on cruise control in the preseason? (DANNY, I'm not mad at John.)

Is he on track to be worth the max deal? Does Wall's contract even matter, considering Cousins, George, and Favors all signed similar deals? Does Wall's preseason foreshadow the Wizards' season to come? I'm hyped for this season to start!

Who would you rather build around, John Wall or DeMarcus Cousins?

The Starters debated that question at 53:20 of their second podcast of 101 questions for this season.

http://thestarters.nba.com/category/201 ... a-preview/

[tontoz]

John Wall is disappointed with how he performed in the preseason following his $80 million, maximum extension.

Wall played particularly bad on Wednesday with more turnovers (four) than points (three), shooting 1-for-7 in 26 minutes.

“I didn’t play too good this whole preseason, to me, to be honest,” Wall said.

Wall shot 35.4 percent from the floor during the preseason and 11.8 percent on three-point attempts.

“Not taking good shots and turning the ball over a little too much,” Wall said. “Getting frustrated in those situations.”

Glad to see him admit this.

[hands11]

[
I think Maynor will do what he was brought here to do. Run the offense, set pace and set up other players for the 10-12 minutes when Wall isn't on the court. We don't need a lot of scoring from him. We can leave that to Webster, AH, Glen Rice and Otto when he returns. And Temple and Kevin can score when they get going as filler and Ves and Booker rebounded well in preseason. If its Temple that will be out there, he needs to establish that corner 3 which I think he can.

So basically with Maynor on the court were going to be playing 4 on 5. Because in your words, all he has to do is walk the ball up court, initiate the offense and stay out of the way. I don't think that's going to cut it.

No DAT, we are playing 5 on 5 and he is playing to his strengths, if you want to call them that. My words worked without you changing them and saying they were my words.

I said nothing about walking the ball up court. I said, Run the offense, set pace and set up other players. And I didn't say he should then stay out of the way. I didn't say he would never shoot. I said, we don't need "a lot" of scoring from him. I think most readers know the difference between .. not a lot.. and none.

Maynor can do those things so, 10-12 minutes of him is fine. And they have Temple

[nuposse04]

http://basketball.realgm.com/wiretap/230385/Wizards-Waive-Childress-Mensah-Bonsu-Silas

I don't like that Silas and Childress each did nothing worthy of getting them waived, since both outplayed Maynor.

Childress has played with Harrington on the Hawks, even in the playoffs. It didn't make any sense for him to try to make the Wizards, seeing as they have 18 SFs on their 15-man roster. Still, the guy clearly still can play IMO.

Silas can shoot the ball well. Four points in three minutes is a lot of scoring in very limited minutes. Basically, there was no way for him to make the roster no matter what he did. Same as Childress IMO. Meanwhile, the Wizards owe Maynor two seasons of guaranteed money. He will probably do well at some point but he sure didn't in preseason.

With the emergence of Temple (wow never thought I'd have to say that) Silas would probably a decent 5th guard on the roster IF we used our 2nd rounder on a big instead of a guard. I personally am a fan of GR JR so far, I think there is an off chance he develops as well as Chandler Parsons has and we can use him as a very valuable trade chip at next years trade deadline. He isn't particularly shooting well but he hustles and makes very decisive moves. He looks like he could be a competent backup in this league.

If Ariza+singleton+'15 2nd rounder could be consolidated into a rebounding big I wouldn't mind Silas back on the team.

[TGW]

Was Wall on cruise control in the preseason? (DANNY, I'm not mad at John.)

Is he on track to be worth the max deal? Does Wall's contract even matter, considering Cousins, George, and Favors all signed similar deals? Does Wall's preseason foreshadow the Wizards' season to come? I'm hyped for this season to start!

Who would you rather build around, John Wall or DeMarcus Cousins?

The Starters debated that question at 53:20 of their second podcast of 101 questions for this season.

http://thestarters.nba.com/category/201 ... a-preview/

I didn't listen to that because I don't care, but would I rather build around a young point guard, or a cancer? Tough one there.

[Dat2U]

[
I think Maynor will do what he was brought here to do. Run the offense, set pace and set up other players for the 10-12 minutes when Wall isn't on the court. We don't need a lot of scoring from him. We can leave that to Webster, AH, Glen Rice and Otto when he returns. And Temple and Kevin can score when they get going as filler and Ves and Booker rebounded well in preseason. If its Temple that will be out there, he needs to establish that corner 3 which I think he can.

So basically with Maynor on the court were going to be playing 4 on 5. Because in your words, all he has to do is walk the ball up court, initiate the offense and stay out of the way. I don't think that's going to cut it.

No DAT, we are playing 5 on 5 and he is playing to his strengths, if you want to call them that. My words worked without you changing them and saying they were my words.

I said nothing about walking the ball up court. I said, Run the offense, set pace and set up other players. And I didn't say he should then stay out of the way. I didn't say he would never shoot. I said, we don't need "a lot" of scoring from him. I think most readers know the difference between .. not a lot.. and none.

Maynor can do those things so, 10-12 minutes of him is fine. And they have Temple

You said run the offense, set pace and set up other players. Well that's kinda basic and generic, shouldn't these things be a given if he's the lead ball-handler of the 2nd unit?

What he's not is a shot creator or penetrator so it's not like he can break down defenses and create shots that way. So what your saying is basically he's bringing the ball up court, initiating an offensive set and passing the ball around the top of the key.

[hands11]

So basically with Maynor on the court were going to be playing 4 on 5. Because in your words, all he has to do is walk the ball up court, initiate the offense and stay out of the way. I don't think that's going to cut it.

No DAT, we are playing 5 on 5 and he is playing to his strengths, if you want to call them that. My words worked without you changing them and saying they were my words.

I said nothing about walking the ball up court. I said, Run the offense, set pace and set up other players. And I didn't say he should then stay out of the way. I didn't say he would never shoot. I said, we don't need "a lot" of scoring from him. I think most readers know the difference between .. not a lot.. and none.

Maynor can do those things so, 10-12 minutes of him is fine. And they have Temple

You said run the offense, set pace and set up other players. Well that's kinda basic and generic, shouldn't these things be a given if he's the lead ball-handler of the 2nd unit?

What he's not is a shot creator or penetrator so it's not like he can break down defenses and create shots that way. So what your saying is basically he's bringing the ball up court, initiating an offensive set and passing the ball around the top of the key.

Basic and generic ? Whatever you want call those things, they are skills that not every PG let alone back up PG has. We didn't have one of those last year as back up and Wall just learned pace last year. Randy talked about it most the year. And he is a career .354 3FG shooter. And he did steal the ball at the highest clip on the team 3.15/36. And his Ast pace was 7.74/36 which was just a smig behind Wall.

DAT has me defending Maynor. How did this happen?

Look, my point was, he isn't going to play that many minutes. He isn't my biggest concern. He isn't going to be playing 20 minutes a game taking 8 shots. Once he is playing 10 minutes and taking 2 or 3 shots, you aren't going to notice the part of his game that was the weakest and its not going to have much of a negative impact on wins and loses. He is going to most like be 1-2 with two 3 pt attempts or 1-3 with 2 three pts attempt and a floater with 2 or 3 assists and maybe 1 steal. That's how I see his role.

If he plays better, he can earn more minutes. And they do have Temple as an option also if Maynor isn't getting with the program. Hey, we have better PG options to start this year then I can recall in a long time. Way better then to start last year.

There was more to may post, and you seemed to focus on the part that mattered least. And stop telling me what I'm saying. Specially when you keep getting it wrong. If you have a genuine question... ask.. Its not, so are you saying he will walk the ball up and then stand there with his thumb up his butt ? There is another poster on here that does that exact same thing. Who was that ?

Just ask, how many shots do you think he will take and how many minutes will he play ? If that is your question.

[nate33]

I think it's plausible that Maynor will be a competent backup, but it still bugs me that we signed him for the BAE. AJ Price was a competent backup too; only he would have cost the vet minimum.

[Nivek]

If they'd waited a couple weeks, they could have signed Maynor for the minimum too. Heck, they could have brought Maynor, Price and Temple to camp on non-guaranteed minimum salary deals and let them compete for the backup PG job. Or they could have used their BAE to sign Nate Robinson or Darren Collison.

[DCZards]

I think it's plausible that Maynor will be a competent backup, but it still bugs me that we signed him for the BAE. AJ Price was a competent backup too; only he would have cost the vet minimum.

The biggest difference between Maynor and Price is, as Hands points out, Maynor is good at running the offense and setting teammates up, which are important skills. Price wasn't very good at those things.

[hands11]

I think it's plausible that Maynor will be a competent backup, but it still bugs me that we signed him for the BAE. AJ Price was a competent backup too; only he would have cost the vet minimum.

Yeah, Price was alright. Seemed he needed to learn more about running an offense last year and it looked like he was learning some. Clearly he could have been had for less money and on a 1 yr min.

He and Maynor look to have similar numbers except. Maynor's AST% is 30. Price 24 and Maynor is a little lower usage 17 vs 20. Price also puts up 3's at twice the pace Maynor does. Maynor's ast/36 is 7.1 vs Price 5.2
http://www.basketball-reference.com/pla ... 01&y2=2013

So that about what I expect to see before looking at the numbers. Maynor more a run the offense PG, Price a little less and more of a shooter from 3. So I can understand how they would see this as an upgrade if they wanted someone to run the 2nd unit. Its an upgrade in skills at back up PG I wanted to see. I wanted someone who could run the offense better. I think they view Glen as replacing any points lost.

As for Price, dude might not even make a squad this year.
http://www.rantsports.com/nba/2013/10/2 ... a-j-price/

Is the extra money and length of his contract worth it? I have no idea. We are going to have to watch and see.

[TGW]

I think it's plausible that Maynor will be a competent backup, but it still bugs me that we signed him for the BAE. AJ Price was a competent backup too; only he would have cost the vet minimum.

The biggest difference between Maynor and Price is, as Hands points out, Maynor is good at running the offense and setting teammates up, which are important skills. Price wasn't very good at those things.

Really? I did not see any of that this preseason. What I did see was a player that dribbled too much, missed too many shots, and played poor defense. Maynor's play this preseason was anemic.

[hands11]

I think it's plausible that Maynor will be a competent backup, but it still bugs me that we signed him for the BAE. AJ Price was a competent backup too; only he would have cost the vet minimum.

The biggest difference between Maynor and Price is, as Hands points out, Maynor is good at running the offense and setting teammates up, which are important skills. Price wasn't very good at those things.

Yeah. Just watching some clips to refresh my memory more.

Maynor just sees the court at a different level and makes those skip passes and thing you expect from a PG
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bbjwUfvsUxQ[/youtube]


I posted before about Price playing better as a SG than as a PG and someone thought they would challenge me on that saying, Price isn't a SG. Right. He is to small. But here he is play after play, catch and shoot playing SG with Wall and Temple assisting him.

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6ii8c2zC-o0[/youtube]

[Dat2U]

If they'd waited a couple weeks, they could have signed Maynor for the minimum too. Heck, they could have brought Maynor, Price and Temple to camp on non-guaranteed minimum salary deals and let them compete for the backup PG job. Or they could have used their BAE to sign Nate Robinson or Darren Collison.

Price got nothing more than a camp invite, and to me, that's what Maynor was worth. A camp invite and nothing more.

[DCZards]

Really? I did not see any of that this preseason. What I did see was a player that dribbled too much, missed too many shots, and played poor defense. Maynor's play this preseason was anemic.

During the preseason, Maynor averaged a little under 5 assists in an avg. of 21 mins. per game...which ain't bad. He also led the team in steals, btw.

[Dat2U]

I think it's plausible that Maynor will be a competent backup, but it still bugs me that we signed him for the BAE. AJ Price was a competent backup too; only he would have cost the vet minimum.

Yeah, Price was alright. Seemed he needed to learn more about running an offense last year and it looked like he was learning some. Clearly he could have been had for less money and on a 1 yr min.

He and Maynor look to have similar numbers except. Maynor's AST% is 30. Price 24 and Maynor is a little lower usage 17 vs 20. Price also puts up 3's at twice the pace Maynor does. Maynor's ast/36 is 7.1 vs Price 5.2
http://www.basketball-reference.com/pla ... 01&y2=2013

So that about what I expect to see before looking at the numbers. Maynor more a run the offense PG, Price a little less and more of a shooter from 3. So I can understand how they would see this as an upgrade if they wanted someone to run the 2nd unit. Its an upgrade in skills at back up PG I wanted to see. I wanted someone who could run the offense better. I think they view Glen as replacing any points lost.

As for Price, dude might not even make a squad this year.
http://www.rantsports.com/nba/2013/10/2 ... a-j-price/

Is the extra money and length of his contract worth it? I have no idea. We are going to have to watch and see.

We've gone through this before, but what's the point of having a distributor on the 2nd unit when there's hardly anyone that can score on that unit? It makes very little sense to be worried about creating shots for Seraphin, Vesely, Temple and the like when their not passable or reliable scoring options to begin with. That's why Robinson seemed like such a no-brainer to me. Get a guy that could not only "run the offense" but get plenty shots up and make them with respectable efficiency.

[Dat2U]

Really? I did not see any of that this preseason. What I did see was a player that dribbled too much, missed too many shots, and played poor defense. Maynor's play this preseason was anemic.

During the preseason, Maynor averaged a little under 5 assists in an avg. of 21 mins. per game...which ain't bad. He also led the team in steals, btw.

And he looked horrible doing it. Cherry picking numbers doesn't make him any better.

[TGW]

Really? I did not see any of that this preseason. What I did see was a player that dribbled too much, missed too many shots, and played poor defense. Maynor's play this preseason was anemic.

During the preseason, Maynor averaged a little under 5 assists in an avg. of 21 mins. per game...which ain't bad. He also led the team in steals, btw.

He also shot 27%, played poor defense, and overall looked overmatched against pretty much everyone he went against.

There was no +/- numbers for the preseason, but I'm pretty sure he put up a negative number this preseason.

[DCZards]

And he looked horrible doing it. Cherry picking numbers doesn't make him any better.

Looked horrible? Dat, if you're looking for aesthetics (or great shooting) then Maynor is not your man. But if you like smart passing and on court leadership, which I do, then Maynor fills the bill. I also think he'll prove to be a better defender than some on this board think he is.

[queridiculo]

The biggest difference between Maynor and Price is, as Hands points out, Maynor is good at running the offense and setting teammates up, which are important skills. Price wasn't very good at those things.

Not sure where you're getting this from, certainly wasn't the case in pre-season.