Coach Wes Unseld Jr, Appreciation Thread.

[wco81]

Is the coach the problem or the roster?

According to Wiki, Sheppard became interim POBO in April 2019 and then the permanent POBO in July 2019. Then got an extension in November 2021.

But he's been with the Wizards since 2003.

Here are the draft picks over the years.

https://basketball.realgm.com/nba/teams/Washington-Wizards/30/Draft-History

Since 2019, Wizards have drafted 9th twice and 10th once.

Record wise since 2019, given Wall's injury and then covid, Wizards have been tread milling, not really being a playoffs threat but not bad enough for a top 3 pick either.

Seems like Grunfeld got canned for similar lackluster record, though under Grunfeld, they drafted 3rd twice and 1st once.

None of the last 4 FRPs seem to have broken out yet. Are the Wiz going to extend Hachimura this upcoming summer? Or Avidja the following summer?

Looks like Kispert shoots well but needs to get more touches and shot attempts to see if he can maintain or improve his efficiency on some volume.

Johnny Davis, under 6 MPG? Injuries?

That's tough, you need at least one of those FRPs to be above 15 PPG by now.

[trast66]

I’ve noticed Drew Gooden throwing some subtle shade at Wes last few games. He’s obviously got permission to do that so Tommy paving the way for Wes to be the scapegoat of his atrocious GMing. I think Wes is a decent coach but would gladly sacrifice him if that meant Tommy fired at same time. Interim coach Mike Miller, interim GM Antawn Jamison while work out a deal with Dennis Lindsey and Quin Snyder. Although I think Snyder been promised Pops job when he retires.

[Dat2U]

Is the coach the problem or the roster?

According to Wiki, Sheppard became interim POBO in April 2019 and then the permanent POBO in July 2019. Then got an extension in November 2021.

But he's been with the Wizards since 2003.

Here are the draft picks over the years.

https://basketball.realgm.com/nba/teams/Washington-Wizards/30/Draft-History

Since 2019, Wizards have drafted 9th twice and 10th once.

Record wise since 2019, given Wall's injury and then covid, Wizards have been tread milling, not really being a playoffs threat but not bad enough for a top 3 pick either.

Seems like Grunfeld got canned for similar lackluster record, though under Grunfeld, they drafted 3rd twice and 1st once.

None of the last 4 FRPs seem to have broken out yet. Are the Wiz going to extend Hachimura this upcoming summer? Or Avidja the following summer?

Looks like Kispert shoots well but needs to get more touches and shot attempts to see if he can maintain or improve his efficiency on some volume

Johnny Davis, under 6 MPG? Injuries?

That's tough, you need at least one of those FRPs to be above 15 PPG by now.

The roster. Kuzma is the 2nd/3rd option most nights because no one else is capable. None of the 4 1st round draft picks stand out (throwing a dart at a board of available prospects each time would have no doubt been more fruitful). Your clearly not starting quality PG or SF at this stage. Beal is just an average starter at the moment.

I don't think WUJ has been great but he's been given a bad hand with a GM that's not proven to be better than his fired predecessor and mentor.

[payitforward]

Is the coach the problem or the roster?

According to Wiki, Sheppard became interim POBO in April 2019 and then the permanent POBO in July 2019. Then got an extension in November 2021.

But he's been with the Wizards since 2003.

Here are the draft picks over the years.

https://basketball.realgm.com/nba/teams/Washington-Wizards/30/Draft-History

Since 2019, Wizards have drafted 9th twice and 10th once.

Record wise since 2019, given Wall's injury and then covid, Wizards have been tread milling, not really being a playoffs threat but not bad enough for a top 3 pick either.

Seems like Grunfeld got canned for similar lackluster record, though under Grunfeld, they drafted 3rd twice and 1st once.

None of the last 4 FRPs seem to have broken out yet. Are the Wiz going to extend Hachimura this upcoming summer? Or Avidja the following summer?

Looks like Kispert shoots well but needs to get more touches and shot attempts to see if he can maintain or improve his efficiency on some volume

Johnny Davis, under 6 MPG? Injuries?

That's tough, you need at least one of those FRPs to be above 15 PPG by now.

The roster. Kuzma is the 2nd/3rd option most nights because no one else is capable. None of the 4 1st round draft picks stand out (throwing a dart at a board of available prospects each time would have no doubt been more fruitful). Your clearly not starting quality PG or SF at this stage. Beal is just an average starter at the moment.

I don't think WUJ has been great but he's been given a bad hand with a GM that's not proven to be better than his fired predecessor and mentor.

How great is WUJ going to be? A coach can't make bad players into good players.

As to Tommy, I had high hopes for him when he was hired. In fact, I held Ted responsible for the stupid choice of Rui in 2019.

All the same, people still keep getting this wrong. What was wrong in the 2020 draft was not that Tommy picked Deni. He was a perfectly reasonable pick -- even if Halliburton would have been better. & Corey Kispert too was a good pick in '21.

The problem was & is a lamentable lack of imagination in managing the draft!

1. Why didn't we trade down from the #9 pick in 2019; it was obviously a weak top end of the draft.
2. Why didn't we jump at the opportunity we had to acquire Boston's #26 (or 30) pick in '20 in return for the veteran, single-skill journeyman Davis Bertans?
3. Why did we sell our R2 pick that year, when R2 offered so many excellent prospects? Why didn't we trade up for #35 & take Tillman, instead of letting Memphis do it. Or at least use our #37 on Tre Jones?
4. Why did we trade the #22 pick in '21 for a stiff like Aaron Holiday?
5. &, given that trade, why did we then pick a raw recruit like Todd when there were a whole bunch of outstanding prospects staring us in the face.
6. Even more... why didn't we trade that #31 to OKC for their #34 & #36 instead of letting the Knicks trade their #32 for the same return? Were we that high on Isaiah Todd that we couldn't take the risk he'd be gone 3 picks further down?
7. & then, this year, why did we manage to come out of the deepest draft in a long time with a single player whose upside reads "potential journeyman?"

Is there just nobody home in the Wizards FO? Can't put this all on Tommy. It takes a team to fkup this bad!

Frustrating....

[Chocolate City Jordanaire]

I predict it’ll be around January of 2024 when WUJ gets fired.

This season isn’t going to end well. Beal isn’t going anywhere. There won’t be any great acquisition of talent. Tommy isn’t going to turn things around. Ted Leonsis will remain loyal to Tommy but the eventually players will call this coach out.

It’s already apparent this coach is lacking. I think his contract was too long and it’ll take a couple calendar years to get WUJ out.

[FAH1223]

I predict it’ll be around January of 2024 when WUJ gets fired.

This season isn’t going to end well. Beal isn’t going anywhere. There won’t be any great acquisition of talent. Tommy isn’t going to turn things around. Ted Leonsis will remain loyal to Tommy but the eventually players will call this coach out.

It’s already apparent this coach is lacking. I think his contract was too long and it’ll take a couple calendar years to get WUJ out.

January 2025

Ted isn’t going to pay two coaches

[nate33]

Beal is just an average starter at the moment.

I disagree with this.

Beal is still a well above-average starter - not quite All-Star caliber, but not far off either. 24 points per game on a .617 TS% is damn good.

There are 150 starters in this league. The average starter would be 75th best. An All-Star would be in the top 28 or so (factoring injuries)

BPM ranks Beal as the 36th best player
EPM ranks Beal as the 40th best player
PER ranks Beal as the 29th best player

There are only 11 players who have a higher usage rate than Beal while also posting a higher TS%: Jokic, Durant, Curry, Davis, Zion, Embiid, Lillard, Mitchell, Wood, SGA, Bane. That's pretty good company.

[Chocolate City Jordanaire]

I predict it’ll be around January of 2024 when WUJ gets fired.

This season isn’t going to end well. Beal isn’t going anywhere. There won’t be any great acquisition of talent. Tommy isn’t going to turn things around. Ted Leonsis will remain loyal to Tommy but the eventually players will call this coach out.

It’s already apparent this coach is lacking. I think his contract was too long and it’ll take a couple calendar years to get WUJ out.

January 2025

Ted isn’t going to pay two coaches

Read on Twitter

?s=46&t=4GSX9MwVb9f8NdtzIr7hvg

If true this is encouraging. It’s not a 5-yr deal per source Kevin Folli of Wizards Film Room.

If it’s a 3+1 deal then I like my guess.

[Illuminaire]

From the outside, the Wiz look like 2.5 good players, 2 good ideas still figuring themselves out, and a whole lot of journeymen scrubs.

And not a single Wizards player scares you. Not one.

That to me says the real issue is a front office that lacks vision, talent, and balls.

[Chocolate City Jordanaire]

Beal is just an average starter at the moment.

I disagree with this.

Beal is still a well above-average starter - not quite All-Star caliber, but not far off either. 24 points per game on a .617 TS% is damn good.

There are 150 starters in this league. The average starter would be 75th best. An All-Star would be in the top 28 or so (factoring injuries)

BPM ranks Beal as the 36th best player
EPM ranks Beal as the 40th best player
PER ranks Beal as the 29th best player

There are only 11 players who have a higher usage rate than Beal while also posting a higher TS%: Jokic, Durant, Curry, Davis, Zion, Embiid, Lillard, Mitchell, Wood, SGA, Bane. That's pretty good company.

Beal is closer to average than well above average. I agree more with Dat2U.

Take away the super max deal then I agree with nate33.

I’d prefer Jordan Goodwin over Beal.

The year the Wizards made the playoffs WITHOUT Gilbert Arenas, only for him to return injured and suck in the playoffs reminds me of how I feel about Bradley Beal.

The time John Wall went full hero and was terrible losing to the Celtics and Isaiah Thomas in the playoffs reminds me of how I feel about Beal.

Bradley IS WELL ABOVE AVERAGE UNTIL the clutch.

Then he becomes iso ball, slippery handle, forced shot and miss guy. All while being petulant with refs and not sold out on transition defense. He’s NOT a good leader.

Give me Kuzma in the clutch over Beal.

Guys like Kyle Lowry and Damian Lillard are clutch players. Shai Gilgeous Alexander is way better than Beal.

Bradley is the king of the midrange step back. He definitely is a bucket. He’s CERTAINLY a very good player…Under the right coaching! WUJ sucks so far.

Beal needs to wake the F up and to go to a better organization where he COULD POSSIBLY ELEVATE to HOF status.

I’m all over the place with Beal but his contract and demeanor while losing have made me tire of seeing him in a Wizards uniform. Too bad CJ McCollum went to New Orleans. Coulda shoulda been Beal.

[Chocolate City Jordanaire]

Back to Wes Unseld Jr

The loss where Beal turned it over twice the last minute is very much on WUJ. Same as when Porzingis took the horrible iso three against LAC. There should have been timeout and some play called that had player and ball movement.

I have a feeling another coach could have this team with a much better record. I wouldn’t be complaining at all about the way Bradley Beal has played under another coach

[mhd]

From the outside, the Wiz look like 2.5 good players, 2 good ideas still figuring themselves out, and a whole lot of journeymen scrubs.

And not a single Wizards player scares you. Not one.

That to me says the real issue is a front office that lacks vision, talent, and balls.

It is ownership mandated. Ted (we all call him Turd) Leonsis is an egomaniac who refuses to rebuild. He prefers choir boys vs talent. That is why we get busts like Johnny Davis (I hated the pick from day 1). Davis sucks and can't even look good in the G-league. Unseld was only hired because of nepotism. Turd only desires marketing opportunities (why we took Rui & Deni (and I like Deni)). Local Radio host Kevin Sheehan has stated multiple times that the team is only profitable if they make a play-in and hopefully have two home court playoff games. That is ALL HE CARES ABOUT. He bought the local TV broadcasting the games, so it is state media in essence. NEVER any criticism of the team. Our announcers are the worst in the NBA. He fired the two beloved previous legends. I always listen to the opposing broadcasters if I can. It is night & day. Biggest Mom & Pop organization in the NBA. We are unintentionally tanking LOL. I hope we lose EVERY GAME of the year. I hate the owner. He is a coward who hasn't given one tough interview in a decade. He sits curtsied usually, but now won't even do that during this losing streak. When David Aldridge (only reporter who isn't a total shill in the local media) asked him in the Johnny Davis press conference why fans should believe in this direction of the team, Turd pointed to his e-gaming success!!!! He is an IDIOT.

[FAH1223]

I predict it’ll be around January of 2024 when WUJ gets fired.

This season isn’t going to end well. Beal isn’t going anywhere. There won’t be any great acquisition of talent. Tommy isn’t going to turn things around. Ted Leonsis will remain loyal to Tommy but the eventually players will call this coach out.

It’s already apparent this coach is lacking. I think his contract was too long and it’ll take a couple calendar years to get WUJ out.

January 2025

Ted isn’t going to pay two coaches

Read on Twitter

?s=46&t=4GSX9MwVb9f8NdtzIr7hvg

If true this is encouraging. It’s not a 5-yr deal per source Kevin Folli of Wizards Film Room.

If it’s a 3+1 deal then I like my guess.

I doubt it. I think Ted gave Wes all 4 years.

[nate33]

From the Lakers game thread:

I can't look at this roster and blame Wes. I can't. We knew this was a 34/36 win team with perfect health.

On top of that Deni has regressed. Barton & Rui have been two of the worst rotation players in the league. Corey hasn't made any progress and the recent 10th pick is so bad, he's stinking up the NBDL.

Wes might not be a great coach but this roster of softies would likely look as bad with any coach.

The question is, why haven't Hachimura, Avdija and Kispert made any progress? How much of the blame can be pinned on Wes? Is he not putting them in position to succeed?

Why is Barton playing so much worse here? Why is KCP playing better in Denver? Why is Dinwiddie playing better in Dallas? Why has Gafford not improved since Brooks was around?

What's weird is that the team looked really good for the first 15 games in each of Wes' first two seasons. Then they crashed and burned. Is the system too complicated? Maybe Wes has a great system if he has the time to implement it in training camp. But teams eventually figure it out, and then he doesn't have the ability to tweak and adapt it to stay ahead of the Scouting Report.

[Dat2U]

From the Lakers game thread:

I can't look at this roster and blame Wes. I can't. We knew this was a 34/36 win team with perfect health.

On top of that Deni has regressed. Barton & Rui have been two of the worst rotation players in the league. Corey hasn't made any progress and the recent 10th pick is so bad, he's stinking up the NBDL.

Wes might not be a great coach but this roster of softies would likely look as bad with any coach.

The question is, why haven't Hachimura, Avdija and Kispert made any progress? How much of the blame can be pinned on Wes? Is he not putting them in position to succeed?

Why is Barton playing so much worse here? Why is KCP playing better in Denver? Why is Dinwiddie playing better in Dallas? Why has Gafford not improved since Brooks was around?

What's weird is that the team looked really good for the first 15 games in each of Wes' first two seasons. Then they crashed and burned. Is the system too complicated? Maybe Wes has a great system if he has the time to implement it in training camp. But teams eventually figure it out, and then he doesn't have the ability to tweak and adapt it to stay ahead of the Scouting Report.

Rui was never going to be good. Poor awareness dooms him to fringe role player status.

Deni is probably out of position at SF. He probably needs to be at PF stealing all of Rui's minutes. Is it the coaches fault he can't make open jumpers??? Its hard for me to blame the coach for that.

Same wirh Kispert, for having a rep as a knock down shooter, he sure misses alot of open looks. Is it on Wes that Kispert brings nothing to table if he's not scoring? We drafted this guy knowing he was basically a one trick pony.

Barton also was never much good. I think its fair to say playing with Jokic covered alot of flaws. KCP also is likely benefitting from playing with a true star and not being forced to create off the bounce as much.

Dinwiddie was very unpopular here. None of us know the whole story but its clear teammates did not like him, his feedback or the way he was running the offense and he definitely checked out after the first few weeks of the season.

Gafford is still performing better than his Bulls days but appears to be a train wreck offensively without a PG creating opportunities for him, he benefitted the most from Westbrook's penetration I think.

Bottom line, the players were discussing are all role players in some form or fashion. Nearly all of these guys need the right situation, the right roster fit around them to be successful. They are entirely dependent on others.

I have no idea if Wes is a good coach or not but this is clearly one of worst roster situations in the league the past two years.

[wco81]

If you replace the GM, he's likely going to want his own coach?

He may also be more likely to clear the deck of the previous GM's picks who haven't panned out, unless they take a real team-friendly deal out of their rookie contracts.

[nate33]

If you replace the GM, he's likely going to want his own coach?

He may also be more likely to clear the deck of the previous GM's picks who haven't panned out, unless they take a real team-friendly deal out of their rookie contracts.

The hard part is finding a competent GM. GM's talk. They know Ted is a horrible owner who is desperate to make the play-in every year rather than taking the time to rebuild the team properly.

[wco81]

If you replace the GM, he's likely going to want his own coach?

He may also be more likely to clear the deck of the previous GM's picks who haven't panned out, unless they take a real team-friendly deal out of their rookie contracts.

The hard part is finding a competent GM. GM's talk. They know Ted is a horrible owner who is desperate to make the play-in every year rather than taking the time to rebuild the team properly.

True and you have to be careful what you wish for. The Timberwolves hired away the guy from Denver, who had a great rep and he did the big Gobert trade.

But typically teams go looking for people who've been in the front offices of other teams.

So there are a few guys who had worked under Morey around the league.

[mhd]

If you replace the GM, he's likely going to want his own coach?

He may also be more likely to clear the deck of the previous GM's picks who haven't panned out, unless they take a real team-friendly deal out of their rookie contracts.

The hard part is finding a competent GM. GM's talk. They know Ted is a horrible owner who is desperate to make the play-in every year rather than taking the time to rebuild the team properly.

True and you have to be careful what you wish for. The Timberwolves hired away the guy from Denver, who had a great rep and he did the big Gobert trade.

But typically teams go looking for people who've been in the front offices of other teams.

So there are a few guys who had worked under Morey around the league.

After Grunfeld was fired, WOJ stated that this was a desired job considering the job security LOL. Numerous FO types reached out, and after a months long process, Turd (whom I call the owner) went with Grunfeld's #2. Masai & Tim Connolly (who is from the DC area) turned down the Wizards. I firmly believe it was because Turd mandates mediocrity and trying the get into the play-in. Anyone competent knows this team needs to be torn down and nuked. Kevin Sheehan (local radio host) has stated repeatedly that the team is profitable if it gets into the play-in/makes round 1. That is all that Turd cares about.

[payitforward]

Beal is just an average starter at the moment.

I disagree with this.

Beal is still a well above-average starter - not quite All-Star caliber, but not far off either. ...

Well, if he's "not quite All-Star caliber" this year, then he's never been all-star caliber -- Brad is having w/o question his best season!

His Total Scoring efficiency is the highest of his career -- by a lot not a little! As you say...

...24 points per game on a .617 TS% is damn good.

It sure as h@ll is!

...There are 150 starters in this league. The average starter would be 75th best. An All-Star would be in the top 28 or so (factoring injuries)...

But, why look at it across all positions? There are 30 starting SGs. How many are playing better than Brad?

The following guys are having very good seasons: Luka, James Harden, SG-A, Josh Hart, Donovan Mitchell, Desmond Bane, Terance Mann, John Konchar, Grayson Allen, & Luke Kennard.

Luka & Mitchell might better be considered PGs. Mann, Konchar, Hart, Allen & Kennard have been terrific but are not big-time scorers. In fact, they aren't really appropriate comparisons to Brad.

Harden, SG-A, & Bane make the most sense as players to compare w/ Beal. They're all having even better seasons than Brad. Harden's TS% is slightly lower than the others, but other activities so stellar....

In all, there are really only a handful of SGs having better years than Brad. No problem to rate him way better than "an average starting SG."

There are only 11 players who have a higher usage rate than Beal while also posting a higher TS%: Jokic, Durant, Curry, Davis, Zion, Embiid, Lillard, Mitchell, Wood, SGA, Bane. That's pretty good company.[/quote]
Again, if you take into account the fact that the average for a 4 or 5 is simply higher than the average for a 2, this is even more positive: only Curry, Lillard, Mitchell, SGA & Bane are actually comparables.

.....

Edit:
the high order bit here (as we fake techies like to say) is Desmond Bane.
Why? B/c Boston offered us one of their 2 late R1 picks in 2020 for Davis Bertans, & when we turned them down (...idiots!!!!) they traded the pick to Memphis, who used it to pick... Desmond Bane!
Aaarrrrgh!!!!!