pcbothwel wrote:PIF. To clarify, TBJ will probably never be the pure shooter Otto was, but I think he’s a better overall athlete which will allow him to draw more fouls, defend a broader array of players, and create more for himself.
So he is better positioned to handle the responsibility of being a 3rd piece both physically and psychologically.
He’ll be the more consistent player while Rui will be the guy who let take over when he’s hot, at least early on.
Assuming we hit on a G in the draft, a lineup of
Pick (Halliburton?)
Brown
Bongs
Rui
Bryant
... would probably be a near 500 team all by themselves.
There... optimism. Lol
Optimism is good. It sure beats pessimism. It was the cement-overshoe-GM Ernie Grunfeld who was responsible for all the pessimism around the Wizards; I'm glad we get to feel good about our future!
Obviously, I am extremely high on Brown -- I've made that clear!
But, I'm also high on Bonga! Almost as high on him as on Brown, to tell the truth. It's not even 3 months since this kid turned 20, & he's posting a 63.5% TS% in the NBA! Come on.... Ok, it's on extremely low usage, but I'm still pretty impressed!
& I've certainly made it clear that I think Bryant is already one of the very best young Centers in the game & likely to get a whole lot better. Yes, he has a lot of work to do to become a better defender & rim protector. But... he's still 22. He's played a grand total of 2150 minutes in the league.
I've never watched Tyrese Haliburton, but I just looked at his numbers at Iowa State this year & last, & they are absolutely outstanding. What does that mean? How would I know. But, let's assume that he has a shot to be a terrific NBA player. Doesn't mean he will be, of course -- but you can say as much about pretty much any draft pick. Who knows, maybe we'll jump up in the draft & wind up with Deni Avdija? Or fall some & get Paul Reed? I haven't gotten serious about draft research yet this year, so I don't really have a take.
Then there's Rui. Optimism is good, as I just wrote. But, Rui hasn't done much of anything so far, & he wasn't an outstanding college player either (good, yes; outstanding, no). So, your call on him is 100% positive speculation. I hope he lives up to it.
Anyway, what can it mean to call 5 guys, with an average age of maybe 21 "a near .500 team?" It's just a way of saying that we have 4 young guys we're optimistic about & expect to have a 5th along the same lines in less than 5 months. May it be so!!