HartfordWhalers wrote:Washington Offseason Review
Key Losses:
Losses:
Bojan Bogdanovic
Brandon Jennings
Trey Burke
Draft:
#52 traded away
Trades:
#52 for Tim Frazier
Free Agency:
John Wall 4/169m
Otto Porter 4/106.5 Matched (last year PO)
Jodie Meeks 2/6.7m
Mike Scott min
Mike Young two-year two-way contract.
Devin Robinson two-year two-way contract.
Current Depth Chart: (taken from bbinsiders)
PG: John Wall, Tim Frazier, Sheldon Mac
SG: Bradley Beal, Jodie Meeks, Tomas Satoransky
SF: Otto Porter, Kelly Oubre
PF: Markieff Morris, Mike Scott, Chris McCullough
C: Marcin Gortat, Ian Mahinmi, Jason Smith, Daniel Ochefu
HartfordWhalers wrote:HartfordWhalers ReviewKey Losses:I'm not sold they had any key losses.
Losses:Two pg's that are not even in the NBA this upcoming season and then Bogdanovic.
Poor defense bench shooters may not be a dime a dozen, but Meeks shows they are available for 3m and change and I'm thinking that will actually be an upgrade. And while it may look like Bojan Bogdanovic cost a first, I think it should be clear that was far more about the cost of dumping Nicholson.
Draft:As long as the draft is unpredictable enough that there are second rounders still making huge impacts, I like to see teams try and get the next player to be one of them.
Trades:Trading a late 2nd for backup pg is starting to be Washington's thing I suppose. Frazier is a much better call than Burke was, but is he more than replacement level? My take at the time before free agency was:
Btw, I'm not convinced this is great for Washington. Is Tomas Satoransky on his way out? Or is Washington solving an expensive payroll with adding more expenses on the margins?
I think I need to see Satoransky traded to vote anything but lose-lose.
So, I would rather have seen Washington keep the pick, brought a retread vet pg in for the min, and either drafted a project pg or even better, a stash project big (Aleksandar Vezenkov or Alph Kaba)
Free Agency:Why did Porter have to find a deal from the Nets (or Kings)? Shouldn't Washington have known he was getting maxed, and just done it themselves hopefully avoiding the negative details that the Nets deal brought into play (the large salary advances and the 4th year Player Option)?
Meeks I think is one of the bigger bargain signings this year, Mike Scott is an okay flier (although I wish Washington had signed the Orlando vets Speights and Afflalo), and the big deal was getting Wall locked up long term. Wall's deal is a huge stabilizing factor for a team that is looking to be fighting for home court advantage in the first round again.
Current Depth Chart: (taken from bbinsiders)Needs:Bench production and health
Additional Thoughts:If there were anyway to get a Wall/Beal/Porter/Cousins team together it would be great for the league, but it seems clear there probably isn't.
Gortat, 2 unprotected firsts, and Oubre at the trade deadline might not get it done, but I would be trying and offering and hoping that an expiring Cousins can be acquired like that.
Projected Win/Loss: 50-32 Solidly top 4 in the East
Off-Season Grade: B- A really good lock up of Wall, a solid bench signing in Meeks, a bungled Porter free agency, and some marginal trade/signings.
Slava wrote:Slava’s Washington Wizards Review
Key Losses:
Bojan Bogdanovic
I have him as a key loss here as Wizards gave up a first, albeit also dumping Nicholson in the process and had his restricted free agent rights before letting him become unrestricted and leave.
In the few games he played, he boosted his 3 point percentage from 36% with the Nets to close to 40% on the Wizards and reached 61% TS which are hallmarks for a very good shooter. He is still a poor defender and very one dimensional so while the Wizards downgraded from him to Jodie Meeks, the money he got from Indiana is probably not worth matching, especially while carrying max contracts of Wall, Beal and Porter with Mahinmi’s contract also on the books.
Losses:
I flagged the Wizards’ bench with Jennings and Burke as a crippling situation for a team with playoff aspirations, something Mr. Gortat seemed to very vocally agree with but Brooks managed the situation quite well by staggering minutes, getting valuable production from Oubre before acquiring Bogdanovic in trade.
Draft:
Trades:
I’m not excited about the back up PG situation by acquiring Frazier, he is fine as the 3rd string PG acquired for a late pick but he is barely going to keep line ups afloat if you want to spell some relief for Wall.
Free Agency:
The Wall extension is brilliant business. He seemed to have ironed out some of his flaws and grown into one of the top tier players in the league. A full season alongside a healthy Beal has helped as well and given his past bickering about being underpaid in context of other PGs in the league as well as his resentment from Beal’s big extension, this should likely go a long way to massage his ego and let him dedicate his energy to productive efforts.
Matching Porter’s offer sheet was an easy move as well but I’ll let someone else break down the ramifications of the Wiz matching a 4 year offer sheet instead of offering him a $128/5 max offer and have that extra year of control at age 29. Anyways this pushes the Wizards into luxury tax territory for the first time in franchise history so its no small gesture.
I’m not a big fan of the Meeks signing owing to reliability issues over the past few seasons. Even if that’s the caliber of player you are able to target with the budget, I’d have been more optimistic if they rather signed an undrafted player like Matt Thomas to provide the same role. Any shooter playing alongside a facilitator like Wall will do well so its a question of which other features defensive ability you are willing to sacrifice. Meeks who played less than 40 games over the past couple seasons is likely to be a costly gamble.
Mike Scott for the minimum is a shrewd signing.
Current Depth Chart:
A bit big heavy and likely needs a trade to balance out the back court rotation.
Needs:
Continued good health for Beal
Development and reliable production from Oubre
A trade for one of the centers
Additional Thoughts:
This is some of the most coherent and consistent management the Wizards front office have had in a while and it prompted me to check if they fired Grunfield and hired a new GM. Anyways long may it continue and the Wiz are talented enough to be in the battle for the 2nd best in the East with Boston/Toronto after Cleveland. I'm predicting a 6 win improvement here, which is no small compliment.
Projected Win/Loss: 49-33Â
Off-Season Grade: A
bondom34 wrote:Bondom34's Washington Offseason Review
Key Losses:
Losses:
I'll admit I'm not a big Bogs fan and think he got a bit more than he should have in free agency, I don't love the market for all offense wings who aren't terribly consistent and pretty much only shoot. Jennings was sorta OK-ish and Burke was just bad, this team's bench needed a better PG.
Draft:
Trades:
Aaaaannnddd they got one. I admit I'm about the world's biggest Frazier fan (We are!) but he's a solid backup PG who is a guy that can run a bench and not lose you games which is about all you ask from a backup PG. For the a pick in the 50s you're likely not getting a guy who contributes that much ever, let alone right away (looking at you Semaj).
Free Agency:
Wall and Porter are the biggest deals obviously, especially locking Wall down long term. He's giving the franchise a ton of stability and locking up a borderline top 5 PG who's done nothing but improve is massive. Porter's deal is a bit more questionable in that I don't know he's worth the max but literally everyone knew he was getting it. Now if he keeps improving on last year and can create a bit more he becomes much more worth it but for now a spot up shooter who can defend at an above average level and shoot the 3 is in peak value in today's NBA so I have zero issue with matching.
Meeks has been his own level of kinda bad the last couple of years but also went through injuries and I see him as close enough to Bogs where at the price point I'd much rather this than what Bogs got. Scott can be fine end of bench fodder, and a couple 2 way deals round out the bench/G league.
Current Depth Chart: (taken from Basketball Insiders)
Needs:
Development from Oubre and continued improvement from Porter along with Beal staying healthy again and they could end up a top 3 seed this year. A better backup SG and/or PF would be nice and moving a big as well. Mahinmi might be a tough sell but does someone take Smith for value or could you risk moving Gortat for some bench help and hoping Smith/Mahinmi is good enough? Not sure but a little more bench help would be really nice for a team that struggled mightily when the starters sat.
Additional Thoughts:
It was pretty much the offseason as expected here as Grunfeld sort of boxed them in with prior moves and a lack of draft picks. Getting Wall to sign long term was a huge deal but it's sort of tough to grade a team that really didn't do anything poorly but didn't do anything overly well either. I see this offseaon as similar to the Magic in that they didn't do much that wasn't expected but did like some of the fringe moves a touch better.
Projected Win/Loss: 51-31
Off-Season Grade: B-
pacers33granger wrote:pacers33granger's Review
Key Losses:
None. They lost a few guys who played a big role, but none of them were really that good.
Losses:
Given that Jennings and Burke aren't even in the NBA now, these are probably addition by subtraction. They knew they were going to let Bojan walk. Doesn't make giving up their pick for him any better, but that was already done.
Draft:
I wish they would have tried to grab a 2nd somewhere. It was a deep draft and they got no prospects out of it at all.
Trades:
I do like the Fraziertrade. Frazier is a solid backup on a cheap deal and this was one of the last picks in the draft. Good value imo.
Free Agency:
Locking up Wall is huge, especially in a summer when so many stars changed teams. They brought back Porter as expected and were able to just match a 4 year deal instead of giving him 5. Meeks, if healthy, will provide basically what Bojan did so that could be a nice signing. Mike Scott for the minimum is a good bet as well. He's got talent and the only reason he was that cheap was likely due to his legal issues.
Current Depth Chart: (taken from bbinsiders)
PG: John Wall, Tim Frazier, Sheldon Mac
SG: Bradley Beal, Jodie Meeks, Tomas Satoransky
SF: Otto Porter, Kelly Oubre
PF: Markieff Morris, Mike Scott, Chris McCullough
C: Marcin Gortat, Ian Mahinmi, Jason Smith, Daniel Ochefu
Needs:
Health. There are a few big question marks healthwise with this team. Beal was healthy last season but has battled injuries in the past, Mahinmi was constantly injuried, and Meeks hasn't really played for a couple years. We know their starting 5 is very good, but their bench was terrible last year. If they can stay healthy, Frazier/Meeks/Oubre/Scott/Ian isn't sexy but is actually a pretty good 2nd unit.
Additional Thoughts:
Washington did everything they needed to this offseason. They kept the core together longterm and added some cheap bench pieces that could be very helpful. Again, the team needs to stay healthy, but I have them as a near lock for the 3-4 seed.
Projected Win/Loss: 50-32
Off-Season Grade: A-
nate33 wrote:nate33 Washington Offseason Review
Key Losses:
Losses:
Draft:
Trades:
Free Agency:
Current Depth Chart: (taken from bbinsiders)
Needs:
Backup PG is really weak. Frazier is a fringe player, little better than a D-League walk-on. Many fans would like to see more of Satoransky at backup PG but Brooks doesn't seem to agree. Backup SG and PF are also question marks. Jodie Meeks and Mike Scott have played very well during portions of their careers, but both have had significant injury issues. Jason Smith has been serviceable at backup PF. Also, Porter has played some minutes at PF in the past and is likely to spend more time there as he fills out and as Oubre earns more playing time at SF
Additional Thoughts:Just like last year, the team should go as far as Wall, Beal and Porter carry them. Morris and Gortat are still serviceable starters, but neither moves the needle all that much. If Mahinmi can fully recover from an injury-plagued season last year and play like he did in Indy 2 years ago, it could be significant boost, but that's a big if. Chances are, he'll be healthy and make an impact for 30 or 40 games, but will be ailing the other half of the season. Oubre is the only real unknown. Last year he was a game-changing defender at times, but at other times killed the defense with reckless gambling and too many fouls. If he can play more under control and get more consistent from the 3-point arc, he could have a Trevor Ariza type of career and really round out the Wizards' depth and help keep Porter and Morris fresh all season. But if he shows no improvement, then we will see another season of the Wizards living and dying based on the performance of their starting 5.
Projected Win/Loss: 50-32 50 wins. The team is about the same as last year so they should play about the same. They won 49 last year. Incremental improvement from Beal, Porter and Oubre should boost that a bit, but it's probably not reasonable to expect the same good health as last season. If Wall or Beal miss 15 games at some point, that will offset that incremental improvement.
Off-Season Grade:B- Ernie Grunfeld was working under severe financial constraints thanks to his disastrous offseason last year where he blew $30M on Mahinmi, Nicholson and Smith only to watch them play a combined 1800 minutes. Nicholson was so bad that he sacrificed a 1st round pick just to dump him. This summer, Grunfeld spent just $7M a year on Frazier, Meeks and Scott. While none of those guys are game-changers, they might be at least passable as 10-15 mpg backups. That's pretty decent value in the current era. On the other hand, Grunfeld continues to give away picks - which are pretty much the only means to find good players on bargain contracts. The team has no future prospects at the end of the bench due to this short-term mindset. Offseason grade: B-.
PIF Off-Season ReviewKey Losses:Losses:Draft:Trades:Free Agency:Current Depth Chart: (taken from bbinsiders)Needs:Biggest need by far is
a new GM. Second biggest need is at least an average starter at PF. Our bench is much improved, not because we brought on good players, but because it was so egregiously terrible last year.
Additional Thoughts:The core problem the Wizards have at present is that there is relatively little ability for the team to improve from within. Wall is in the peak years of his career. Beal took a big jump last year; he could take another jump this year. Ditto Porter.
Outside of that trio, however, the only player on the team w/ any real potential for development is Oubre. He was much better last year than as a rookie, but that doesn't mean he was good, b/c he wasn't. He certainly had flashes, but mostly they reflected his extraordinary athleticism. This year & the next will be big for him. There's no way to make a call at present on whether that's likely or not.
Given that we have no one else who has much future development in him, the Wizards of this generation look to have peaked & to be capped as far as further improvement
Projected Win/Loss: 47-35 47 wins. Our bench is better, & our starters are the same. So, why won't we repeat last year's record or beat it? Well... maybe we will. But it's unlikely.
Last year we were up on the league 1.8 points per game. Toronto, just above us, was up 4.2 points/game. Cleveland was up 3.2 pts/game. Boston was up 2.7 pts/game. Miami -- a team that went 41-41 -- was up 1.1 points per game on their opponents.
Our differential accords better with a 45 win team than a 49 win team. Which makes me think that we absolutely got the maximum of wins possible given the team we had. IOW, the ball bounced our way a lot.
Plus, our starters played an enormous number of minutes: Wall was 2d in minutes among point guards, Beal was 2d among SGs, Porter was 6th among SFs, & Gortat was 6th in minutes among Centers. No other team placed near as many starters near as high in total minutes at their position. Our starters lost very few minutes to injury (obviously). Can we place that kind of load on our starters again & not lose a bunch of games to injury? Seems kind of unlikely.
Off-Season Grade: C It's an achievement for Ernie to get a C in an off season.
