Wizards 2019 Offseason Thread - Part 2

[I_Like_Dirt]

One, just one consequential long term roster piece was added this offseason - Hachimura. I hope for the Wizards sake he lives up to the promise because otherwise we may be in a similar position next offseason if he doesn't show much.

That's pretty key, though. It's incredibly difficult to find even one such move in any given offseason. That said, there weren't any actual bad moves, either, that set the Wizards back, which was a decided breath of fresh are that hopefully continues. And there are a few flyers there that might prove worthwhile. I'm quietly optimistic about Bonga in particular. If Rui pans out and even one other guy, be it Bonga, Wagner, Schofield or anyone else, works out, then the Wizards have quietly had a very good offseason and would be in need of more such offseasons moving forward. If Rui doesn't pan out, then it's probably been more of a tire-spinning exercise at best.

[payitforward]

...Sheppard has been transparent in stating that the organizational goals of the Wizards have shifted from a short-term view to a longterm view:

Read on Twitter

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Sheppard says a lot more in this clip than the excerpt one can read. It's good, worth listening to.

[gambitx777]

He reminds me of Tomas some. But more of a wing, thing is we didn't get out hands on Tomas until he was what 24-25? We has this kid when he's 19-20

Good job, doc.

This season is not about Ws and Ls. It’s about finding out who among the youngins’ on the roster have a real future in the NBA and with the Zards.

Though still only 21 (he turns 22 on Wednesday), T. Bryant looks like the real deal. If the 2017 draft was done over, he’d be a top 20 pick rather than the 42nd pick. TB has the potential to become an above average starter.

While he has yet to play one minute of NBA ball, Rui also stands a good chance of becoming an above average starter. He already has a pro mid-range game and I expect him to be able to stretch his range out to the 3pt line. Defense, rebounding and learning to find open teammates instead of forcing shots are areas where Rui will need to improve significantly in order to live up to the high expectations that many of us have for him.

Troy Brown will become a solid rotational player at the minimum. I’m pretty confident of that. His versatility, bball IQ and feel for the game are outstanding. Troy needs to become a better perimeter shooter but if he works hard there’s no reason why he can’t. He is, after all, just 20 years old. There were clear signs at the end of last season that Troy's shooting was already improved.

The young guy I’m most intrigued by is Bonga. I was surprised by how physically and mentally composed the 19 year old was during SL games. His ball handling and passing were very impressive. Bonga is another guy who will need to show that he can become a better shooter. However, his defense might get him some run with the Zards next season. He looked very good on that end of the court during SL.

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[Jamaaliver]

Read on Twitter

The John Wall–Bradley Beal–led squad was clearly on a track to nowhere as early as four years ago, but the franchise had not yet decided to change course...But with Wall out with a ruptured Achilles, Beal seemingly uninterested in signing another extension, and Grunfeld departed for the cave of confusion from which he came, the Wizards are aware that they have nothing to lose. [W]hatever the franchise is doing from this point on is good, because at least they’re doing something different.

For starters: Grunfeld is gone...the Wizards handled this offseason like a smart franchise: They didn’t make any detrimental long-term deals, managed to capitalize on a contender’s desperation, and added a sizable group of young players. A razing of the roster was probably inevitable the moment Wall re-injured himself in February.

It’s encouraging, then, that the Wizards ripped the Band-Aid off sooner rather than later, and leaned into shrewd management instead of quick fixes. It may cost them Beal, but he seems like a long shot to re-sign in the summer of 2021 anyway. Given the prices stars commanded in trades this summer, perhaps it’s better to settle that situation sooner, too. It will be a long road to contention, but that’s better than a road to nowhere. It’s good to have nothing to lose.

[payitforward]

Here's the thing about opinions. You can find one to support any move whatever.

[DCZards]

What's up with you jamaaliver? We get it. You think the Zards should trade Beal. This constant one-note drumbeat from you is getting rather annoying, especially coming from a fan of an opposing team. You've become a troll.

[Jamaaliver]

What's up with you jamaaliver? We get it. You think the Zards should trade Beal. This constant one-note drumbeat from you is getting rather annoying, especially coming from a fan of an opposing team. You've become a troll.

I thought the article was pretty complimentary of Washington's current direction under TS.

With Grunfeld’s former lieutenant Tommy Sheppard at the controls as interim GM, all manner of player—fan favorite Tomas Satoransky, relative nonfactors Bobby Portis and Jabari Parker, midseason acquisition Trevor Ariza—was allowed to walk in free agency without much indication that Washington would attempt to overpay to retain them. Sheppard also unloaded Dwight Howard’s contract and brought in shooters C.J. Miles and Davis Bertans, acquired Isaac Bonga, Moe Wagner, Jemerrio Jones, and a 2022 second-rounder from the Lakers by helping facilitate the Anthony Davis trade, and generally avoided any eyebrow-raising moves. (The signing of Isaiah Thomas was a little bizarre, but he’s on a one-year minimum deal. There’s not much downside there.) He also—get this—kept this year’s first-round draft pick and used it to select Gonzaga’s Rui Hachimura. He then followed it up by trading into the second round for Tennessee’s Admiral Schofield.

In short, the Wizards handled this offseason like a smart franchise: They didn’t make any detrimental long-term deals, managed to capitalize on a contender’s desperation, and added a sizable group of young players.

The Ringer

[DCZards]

What's up with you jamaaliver? We get it. You think the Zards should trade Beal. This constant one-note drumbeat from you is getting rather annoying, especially coming from a fan of an opposing team. You've become a troll.

I thought the article was pretty complimentary of Washington's current direction.

Not when you put in red the statement that you clearly want to highlight and communicate.

[Jamaaliver]

Not when you put in red the statement that you clearly want to highlight and communicate.

I honest to god wasn't trying to troll with that.

I'll do better.

[doclinkin]

I honest to god wasn't trying to troll with that.

I'll do better.

No fear, this board is pretty tolerant, even of trolls. You can bang around in here, I think Zards was basically saying "Don't be boring" that's all.

[payitforward]

You're a good guy, Jama. No worries. So is Zards.

I'm the one that's bad. Everybody beat up on me, ok?

[payitforward]

D@mn! Getting boring around here! Seems like, just b/c we already have 17 guys under contract, Tommy doesn't want to make any more deals. Doesn't he understand how boring this is for us?

Lets make the moves for him -- ok... what would be the one actually possible move we could still make this Summer that would contribute to the long-term future of the Washington Wizards? What'cha got????

[Ruzious]

D@mn! Getting boring around here! Seems like, just b/c we already have 17 guys under contract, Tommy doesn't want to make any more deals. Doesn't he understand how boring this is for us?

Lets make the moves for him -- ok... what would be the one actually possible move we could still make this Summer that would contribute to the long-term future of the Washington Wizards? What'cha got????

Not a long-term answer, but I think Kenneth Faried is still unsigned. He played very well for Houston last season - while playing for the veteran minimum.

[Illmatic12]

League reviews on the recent FO moves:

Asked to assess the Wizards’ latest hires, multiple rival executives praised Leonsis for his open-mindedness in bringing Brown and Thompson from outside traditional NBA circles. One noted that the affable Sheppard, in contrast to Grunfeld and other current GMs, has the right personality to lead an inclusive and diversified front office.

However, other executives questioned whether Leonsis missed out on top front office talent by taking so long to finish his GM search and wondered whether he will need to double-back to make further additions or changes to his basketball operations department.

“I’m glad Tommy got a shot,” one skeptic said. “I hope he has the right help and people. They have a lot to learn. Their staff seems light.”

https://www.washingtonpost.com/sports/2019/08/01/wizards-view-clippers-model-their-restructure-work-has-just-begun/?noredirect=on&utm_term=.b65c7d774ce9

[DCZards]

D@mn! Getting boring around here! Seems like, just b/c we already have 17 guys under contract, Tommy doesn't want to make any more deals. Doesn't he understand how boring this is for us?

Lets make the moves for him -- ok... what would be the one actually possible move we could still make this Summer that would contribute to the long-term future of the Washington Wizards? What'cha got????

Not a long-term answer, but I think Kenneth Faried is still unsigned. He played very well for Houston last season - while playing for the veteran minimum.

Faried was the first player that I thought of as well. Could certainly use his rebounding.

Joakim Noah is another possibility. He can still board...when he’s in the mood.

[Illmatic12]

Dean Oliver is the Godfather of basketball analytics as we know it, this an excellent hire.. EXCELLENT. Ever heard coaches talk about the “Four Factors of Basketball” ? Oliver first published that theory 2 decades ago. Well done Ted

Read on Twitter

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[payitforward]

As is well-known around here, I like Kenneth Faried quite a lot -- i.e. he is a terrific bargain for what he'd cost us. Now... tho I'd enjoy seeing him in a Wizards uniform, he's obviously not a part of our future. So, yeah... as a vet minimum guy he's perfect.

Only problem is that we need to shed some players. I did realize that we could simply waive Mahinmi & eat the cost of his salary; we'd still be able to stay under the tax if we were adding a veteran minimum salary.

If we did that, & we also let McRae & Phillip go, we'd be at @$127.5m w/ 14 players. Add Faried, & we are at 15 & just over $129m.

Edit: not suggesting that we are at all likely to waive Mahinmi.

[payitforward]

Dean Oliver is the Godfather of basketball analytics as we know it, this an excellent hire.. EXCELLENT. Ever heard coaches talk about the “Four Factors of Basketball” ? Oliver first published that theory 2 decades ago. Well done Ted

Read on Twitter

?s=21

Wow!
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dean_Oliver_(statistician)

[nate33]

D@mn! Getting boring around here! Seems like, just b/c we already have 17 guys under contract, Tommy doesn't want to make any more deals. Doesn't he understand how boring this is for us?

Lets make the moves for him -- ok... what would be the one actually possible move we could still make this Summer that would contribute to the long-term future of the Washington Wizards? What'cha got????

Not a long-term answer, but I think Kenneth Faried is still unsigned. He played very well for Houston last season - while playing for the veteran minimum.

Another avenue worth exploring is to trade Mahinmi's 1 year dead weight contract for a more useful player with a 2 year contract and maybe some extra pick incentive. The return would have to be good enough to justify the sacrifice of cap flexibility next summer, though.

An example would be something like Mahinmi to Charlotte for Cody Zeller plus a 2nd round pick. The upside is we turn the useless Mahinmi into a pretty competent Zeller for the next 2 years. The downside is we spend a whopping $14M in cap room to buy 1 2nd round pick.

I'm not saying I like the Zeller idea, I'm using it as an example for the structure of such a trade. Looking at the contracts out there, I'm not seeing too many ideal targets.

[payitforward]

Nate -- a Mahinmi trade idea only has to provide more long-term utility than if we do the radical thing (i.e. cut him & eat the salary) in order to keep one more young player than otherwise possible.

As you point out, your Zeller example doesn't deliver enough of a benefit long-term to be attractive. Zeller backing up Bryant would likely bring us a couple extra wins -- but given the level we'll play at this year it's not likely those wins would mean much. & it looks like we could buy that extra R2 pick for @$3m.

Assuming for a moment that we let McRae/Phillip go, would it make sense to cut Mahinmi & stretch him over 2 years? We'd be down to 14 players at @ $120.5m (assuming Jones & Robinson were kept & stayed the season) & have plenty of room under the tax to add a good player -- a guy we wanted long-term. But... who would that be? I can't think of any remaining FAs who fit that bill.

I guess, that move might facilitate a trade, but... what trade?

OTOH, if we get the exception we've asked for, so that we can carry 16 players including John, then we could cut Mahinmi & go with the other 16 guys currently on the roster. If we do get that exception, I wouldn't be surprised if that was how we handled it.

Why? B/c Mahinmi won't be back next year, so why not give one more younger guy a chance to show something during this, effectively, throw-away season.

Make sense?