Coach Wes Unseld Jr, Appreciation Thread.

[FAH1223]

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[Benjammin]

So apparently several players are unhappy with the offense and their roles in it. Of course, that's not an excuse to play crappy defense. https://theathletic.com/3022795/2021/12/18/sources-wizards-players-concerns-about-the-offense-are-worsening-washingtons-free-fall?source=user-shared-article

The other night, veteran swingman Kentavious Caldwell-Pope was asked why Washington, without any new injuries, is struggling this much, this quickly, after such a strong start. He was speaking in general terms, but his answer was telling.

It also offers a preliminary road map for the players and coaches to rejuvenate their season.

“It just all boils down to that communication, trusting each other, being able to rely on each other, being able to take criticisms from each other,” Caldwell-Pope said. “There’s a lot that goes into it. We know we’re losing right now, but we can’t let that dictate our play and our trust with each other. We’ve got to find a way to just get it done.”

When asked whether the team is having the honest, face-to-face communication it needs, Caldwell-Pope answered: “We have them talks individually (and) as a group. I just feel like there’s not enough of them."

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[9 and 20]

I sympathize with KCP - he's being asked to do stuff he's just not capable of doing. A lot of that falls on Dinwiddie and Beal who just haven't been good enough. How are these guys supposed to tell Dinwiddie and Beal, the two most established and highest paid players, that they're playing like garbage? That needs to fall on Unseld, who is in his first year as a first-time head coach. Just not a good situation.

[FAH1223]

So apparently several players are unhappy with the offense and their roles in it. Of course, that's not an excuse to play crappy defense. https://theathletic.com/3022795/2021/12/18/sources-wizards-players-concerns-about-the-offense-are-worsening-washingtons-free-fall?source=user-shared-article

The other night, veteran swingman Kentavious Caldwell-Pope was asked why Washington, without any new injuries, is struggling this much, this quickly, after such a strong start. He was speaking in general terms, but his answer was telling.

It also offers a preliminary road map for the players and coaches to rejuvenate their season.

“It just all boils down to that communication, trusting each other, being able to rely on each other, being able to take criticisms from each other,” Caldwell-Pope said. “There’s a lot that goes into it. We know we’re losing right now, but we can’t let that dictate our play and our trust with each other. We’ve got to find a way to just get it done.”

When asked whether the team is having the honest, face-to-face communication it needs, Caldwell-Pope answered: “We have them talks individually (and) as a group. I just feel like there’s not enough of them."

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This says a lot. Looks like the players haven't been comfortable letting their frustrations be known to Coach Unseld. Being a new team with a new coach, I guess that's to be expected as its only been two and a half months since training camp till now.

One of the reasons for the decline in effort and attention to detail on defense has been players’ opinions about how they’re being utilized on offense. The Athletic asked Unseld about that issue Saturday after the Wizards’ shootaround in Salt Lake City.

“I think that might be a valid point,” Unseld said. “The challenge, I think, would be for them. If they don’t like where they are or what they’re doing, we could put more time into shooting and doing the individual work, (but also) let’s look at what we’re running, and let’s look at how guys are being used. It’s one thing to just say, ‘Hey, I don’t like it right now.’ Then come talk to me. I think I’ve been more than open to suggestions, more than open with whether it’s criticism or just suggestions. I’m trying to put guys in spots I think can help us collectively. Sometimes it doesn’t involve that guy. Other times, it does. But don’t just complain about it. Let’s talk about it, and let’s fix it.”

Unseld said some players have reached out to him directly in recent days, adding: “I love the feedback. I think that open dialogue helps. It’s one thing for me to say it, because I’m seeing it from a certain lens. And I think it’s also important to take their opinions into consideration because they’re the ones going through it and living it. All I want is what’s best for this group. So if it helps the group, then I’m all ears.”

Unseld nonetheless held firm about his expectations for the defense, saying players’ frustrations with their offensive roles or aggravation at missing shots cannot detract from their effort on defense.

“You’re fighting human nature,” he said, referring to any player who is struggling on offense. “I get that. Whether you feel like you’re involved or you’re not getting a touch or whatever it is — maybe you’re getting a touch and it’s just not going in for you — there’s frustration. That’s a normal, probably human reaction to that. But it shouldn’t affect your energy and focus on the other end.

“Now, do the numbers say, hey, we have to get different guys different looks? Is it we’ve got to get more guys to be aggressive? I think there’s some of that, too. But I don’t think it affects defensive focus or energy — or it shouldn’t.”

[FAH1223]

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[FAH1223]

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[leswizards]

All 4 of the players that the Wizards traded were productive for their new teams, and 3 were incredibly productive.

The Wizards started the season 11-3, before things fell apart reportedly due to bickering over playing time. This is odd to me, because at the time, only 3 players were playing really well (trez, Spencer, and Gafford). Trez was probably maxed out at 30 mpg; Spencer was close to being maxed out at 30 mpg, but if he wanted 6 more mpg, Wes should have gotten them for him; Gafford is the big one, he was only getting 18 mpg, and Wes should have found him 12 more mpg. Everyone else should have been told to stfu and play better if they wanted more minutes.

I blame this whole debacle of a season on Wes.

[nate33]

All 4 of the players that the Wizards traded were productive for their new teams, and 3 were incredibly productive.

The Wizards started the season 11-3, before things fell apart reportedly due to bickering over playing time. This is odd to me, because at the time, only 3 players were playing really well (trez, Spencer, and Gafford). Trez was probably maxed out at 30 mpg; Spencer was close to being maxed out at 30 mpg, but if he wanted 6 more mpg, Wes should have gotten them for him; Gafford is the big one, he was only getting 18 mpg, and Wes should have found him 12 more mpg. Everyone else should have been told to stfu and play better if they wanted more minutes.

I blame this whole debacle of a season on Wes.

Harrell was productive here too, so there's no indication that WUJ coached him poorly.

Bertans is just as unproductive in Dallas as he was here. So again, no reason to blame WUJ.

Holiday is doing better in Phoenix that DC to be sure. It helps to have so many good players around him in Phoenix, but I can see the argument that WUJ did a poor job of utilizing him here.

The starkest example is Dinwiddie. He is awesome in Dallas while being terrible here. I definitely think WUJ bears some responsibility. However, that has to be offset by the fact that Porzingis fared much better here than in Dallas.

[payitforward]

All 4 of the players that the Wizards traded were productive for their new teams, and 3 were incredibly productive.

The Wizards started the season 11-3, before things fell apart reportedly due to bickering over playing time. This is odd to me, because at the time, only 3 players were playing really well (trez, Spencer, and Gafford). Trez was probably maxed out at 30 mpg; Spencer was close to being maxed out at 30 mpg, but if he wanted 6 more mpg, Wes should have gotten them for him; Gafford is the big one, he was only getting 18 mpg, and Wes should have found him 12 more mpg. Everyone else should have been told to stfu and play better if they wanted more minutes.

I blame this whole debacle of a season on Wes.

This is just silly.

Who gets the credit for the 10-3 start?
Who takes the blame for the debacle last year?
How about for the previous year?
What about the year before that one? Who you blaming?

How come the coach who went 49-33 in 2016-17 only won 32 games a mere two seasons later?

[NatP4]

Unseld Jr is a mediocre coach with a mediocre roster.

[nate33]

Unseld Jr is a mediocre coach with a mediocre roster.

I think this is a pretty accurate take.

The one thing that provides hope is that Unseld Jr. is a mediocre coach in his first season. Like players, coaches tend to improve a bit in their first couple of seasons. Being not-awful as a rookie coach might bode pretty well going forward.

[FAH1223]

Unseld Jr is a mediocre coach with a mediocre roster.

I think this is a pretty accurate take.

The one thing that provides hope is that Unseld Jr. is a mediocre coach in his first season. Like players, coaches tend to improve a bit in their first couple of seasons. Being not-awful as a rookie coach might bode pretty well going forward.

Could see his trajectory like Michael Malone ironically.

The Kings were stupid to fire him after starting like 11-12

[closg00]

At a minimum he underperformed and couldn't keep egos in-check, several stretches we were in free-fall.

[9 and 20]

I still don't get the benching of Gafford in the middle of the season. Was it Harrell pouting and bullying coach Wes for more PT? Front office trying to pump Thomas Bryant's value? We were garbage with or without Gafford, but he was still one of our only good players. Would like Wes or Tommy to explain.

[Frichuela]

I still don't get the benching of Gafford in the middle of the season. Was it Harrell pouting and bullying coach Wes for more PT? Front office trying to pump Thomas Bryant's value? We were garbage with or without Gafford, but he was still one of our only good players. Would like Wes or Tommy to explain.

Agreed, one of a number of inexplicable decisions by Wes.

Another one is his unwavering love for Neto. Some of us were calling for Sato to start…such an obvious move. Not because Sato is the second coming of Magic but because Neto at point was such a train wreck…

[dckingsfan]

I think of primary importance for Deni is your 2) & 3). I've been thinking about team building concepts since we landed Porzingis. I'll probably drop a few paragraphs in the Line-ups and Strategy thread, but basically it is this. Wes has been playing some concepts that I have daydreamed for the team since the Eddie F Jordan days. Chiefly, with a 7'3" face-up player he can run some high post center sets where the Big man parks himself above the FT line and directs the action from there.

The John Wooden UCLA offense, the Princeton Offense, the GSW Stef/Draymond championships, these all work well with a ranged Big who passes well. With Porzingis in the high post opponents have to follow the Big up top or else he will shoot over them. Hopefully his outside shot recovers, but even without that his midrange shot has been reliable this past stretch. Since he needn't put the ball on the floor, shorter players can't guard him. This opens the middle for players to cut backdoor, or if the defenders close that off, it frees up outside players for open shots. The team then relies on player movement and heads-up reaction time to create openings. You want smart players who make decisions on the fly. You don't even really need a traditional PG to dominate the ball and get people open. Short passes and player motion reduce the need for heavy dribbling.

My biggest hope for the off-season is a breakout performance by our coach...

[leswizards]

This is just silly.

Who gets the credit for the 10-3 start?
Who takes the blame for the debacle last year?
How about for the previous year?
What about the year before that one? Who you blaming?

How come the coach who went 49-33 in 2016-17 only won 32 games a mere two seasons later?

What is silly is your inability to understand that is the coach’s responsibility to utilize his players that maximize their productivity and potential, regardless of whether they are happy with their playing time or not.

Everything else you wrote was non sequitur and not worth responding to.

[payitforward]

Unseld Jr is a mediocre coach with a mediocre roster.

I think this is a pretty accurate take.

The one thing that provides hope is that Unseld Jr. is a mediocre coach in his first season. Like players, coaches tend to improve a bit in their first couple of seasons. Being not-awful as a rookie coach might bode pretty well going forward.

TBH, I don't see any way to judge Unseld's work as a coach given the complex personnel situation he was handed. I sure don't see any way to make a negative judgment.

Fans over-expect & over-react. The same people who loved Neto last year hate him this year. The same people who loved Trez earlier in the season call him a bully now.

The Wizards are a bad team. We were bad before the mammoth trade last off season, & then we changed our core personnel drastically in ways that didn't work out. On top of that, Brad experienced a huge drop off in his play -- & then he was injured.

None of that has anything to do with Wes Unseld, Jr. -- with coaching.

[payitforward]

This is just silly.

Who gets the credit for the 10-3 start?
Who takes the blame for the debacle last year?
How about for the previous year?
What about the year before that one? Who you blaming?

How come the coach who went 49-33 in 2016-17 only won 32 games a mere two seasons later?

What is silly is your inability to understand that is the coach’s responsibility to utilize his players that maximize their productivity and potential, regardless of whether they are happy with their playing time or not.

Everything else you wrote was non sequitur and not worth responding to.

Yeah, but how do you really feel?

Maybe you were reacting to what you thought was criticism of you in some way. I didn't mean that; sorry if I gave the impression.

[dckingsfan]

Unseld Jr is a mediocre coach with a mediocre roster.

I think this is a pretty accurate take.

The one thing that provides hope is that Unseld Jr. is a mediocre coach in his first season. Like players, coaches tend to improve a bit in their first couple of seasons. Being not-awful as a rookie coach might bode pretty well going forward.

TBH, I don't see any way to judge Unseld's work as a coach given the complex personnel situation he was handed. I sure don't see any way to make a negative judgment.

Fans over-expect & over-react. The same people who loved Neto last year hate him this year. The same people who loved Trez earlier in the season call him a bully now.

The Wizards are a bad team. We were bad before the mammoth trade last off season, & then we changed our core personnel drastically in ways that didn't work out. On top of that, Brad experienced a huge drop off in his play -- & then he was injured.

None of that has anything to do with Wes Unseld, Jr. -- with coaching.

Your points notwithstanding, I do see some things I didn't like with respect to the schemas we ran and the personnel we used.

Looking at the glass half-full (and docs comments on the high post offensive schema used at the end of the season), I do see hope that he will improve as a coach (since this is his thread) on the offensive side of the ball. I didn't see the defensive adjustments or his ability to get the team to play hard on that side of the court as the season progressed.

But to your point, substantial injuries or personnel bickering can derail any season. It is just very difficult to discern where one leaves off and another starts. I do think that a more senior coach could have handled the situation better - or not.