Washington Wizards Season Thread - Abandon All Hope Ye Who Enter Here

[VARNELL HILL]

I mean...they're still top 6 in the conference...and fortunately for them all the other East teams besides BK, CHI, and MIL have been up and down. Damn sure didn't expect them to stay within 1-3 for the duration of the year.

Miami was "2nd in the east" too...they've got the same record and headed for a backslide w/o Bam. Philly has been up and down. Charlotte and Cleveland have been up and down with guys in and out of the lineup. Atlanta came in with WAY higher expectations than the Wizards and they've been struggling. The Celtics are mid. The Knicks are mid.

 

[joe cool23]

Well…on the bright side, at least we’re all in agreement that wins like that are unacceptable.

 

[Public Enemy]

I was told to abandon hope and didn't. Boy am I regretting that.

 

[uncalled4boy]

Just Came To Say About Tonight’s Game: #SoWizards

 

[Methodical Management]

I was told to abandon hope and didn't. Boy am I regretting that.

It was hard not to get carried away by the fast start. I had a lot of people messaging me about how the Wizards finally had a squad, but you have to realize that sooner or later the Wizards are gonna Wiz.

The ceiling for this team was the second round, aka a Leonsis championship.

In the long run, we’re better off with without the delusions of grandeur. I’m concerned about the likelihood of a bad deadline move, though. Overpaying Jerami Grant won’t fix anything other than further handcuff us to second and third-rate talent.

Those first round picks we gave up are looking significant again, aren’t they?

 

[mrtarheel]

Can we clean out everything? Starting with the front office?

 

[uncalled4boy]

I Didnt Get To See The Game Beyond The First Quarter, Just Found Up They Were Up 35 And Blew It

40 Points Against In The 3rd AND 40 Points Against In The 4th

 

[Rootin4EverybodyBlack]

I don’t think the team lacks talent, it’s just not well distributed. Like they have more solid frontcourt players than they have minutes, I think Kuzma and Rui are good enough to play 30 mins a game. But then you still have Deni, who’s solid in stretches. Also, do you play Trez at the 4 or 5 with TB back?

The gigantic gaping whole on the team is at the guard position. Dinwiddie isn’t good; at shooting, playmaking or defense. Holiday and Neto are both mehh at best.

I don’t know how you fix that through trades. To Meth’s point, Jerami Grant isn’t gonna fix anything.

 

[broncos19dm]

Wizards are DISGUSTING man, shameful

 

[jking0821]

Went to bed at half time just hoping we would hold on.....they covered this game on NBC today this morning

Idk man....obv Beal is the goods. But i need to see Rui develop. I still am holding out faith that Deni turns into a solid starter (i do like his game). But honestly thats about it. Kuz has been a pleasant surprise and same with Trez. But i don't think they are starters on a great team.

It seems we have a lot of decent role players but that it. Which i guess is a start? But yeah...another first round playoff loss coming up (and i think that's our ceiling)

 

[Methodical Management]

Can we clean out everything? Starting with the front office?

Who would choose the new front office? Fundamentally, the Wizards’ mismanagement is an ownership problem.

I don’t think the team lacks talent, it’s just not well distributed. Like they have more solid frontcourt players than they have minutes, I think Kuzma and Rui are good enough to play 30 mins a game. But then you still have Deni, who’s solid in stretches. Also, do you play Trez at the 4 or 5 with TB back?

The gigantic gaping whole on the team is at the guard position. Dinwiddie isn’t good; at shooting, playmaking or defense. Holiday and Neto are both mehh at best.

I don’t know how you fix that through trades. To Meth’s point, Jerami Grant isn’t gonna fix anything.

Roster balance is an issue, but when we talk about “talent” a distinction has to be made between good players and elite players. The Wizards are now loaded with good players, but who on this team commands a double team? In how many games do we have the best player on the floor?

When you look at the teams that have managed to win a championship over the years, only the Pistons come to mind as championship team that won as an ensemble of good players without an MVP level player or generational talent.

If the goal is a title, one of the worst things you can be in the NBA is a mediocre team constantly mortgaging its future to stay on the playoff treadmill. If we’re honest with ourselves, Beal is probably the second-best player on a championship team. We’re not a tweak away, we’re a Giannis/KD away. Is there a plan to get there?

It’s hard to argue that we’re stockpiling assets, waiting for our moment - because in such situations draft picks become indispensable and we’re constantly throwing ours away on “win now” trades that, at best, give Ted the revenues from 2 playoff games, excluding play-in contests.

As you’ve noted, the roster is unbalanced. There’s no consistency in lineups, and that may be contributing to the team’s atrocious defense.

Went to bed at half time just hoping we would hold on.....they covered this game on NBC today this morning

Idk man....obv Beal is the goods. But i need to see Rui develop. I still am holding out faith that Deni turns into a solid starter (i do like his game). But honestly thats about it. Kuz has been a pleasant surprise and same with Trez. But i don't think they are starters on a great team.

It seems we have a lot of decent role players but that it. Which i guess is a start? But yeah...another first round playoff loss coming up (and i think that's our ceiling)

Deni made some good strides this year, but I think he’s a role player. Best case scenario: he works himself into a 3 and D player who can make plays in fast break situations, but for now he still plays small and tentative on offense and hasn’t been reliable as a shooter.

That’s an essential role on a winning team, so I wouldn’t give him up easily, and even as is he’s still better than Bertans, who’s just an out of shape waste of a chair.

I want to have hope for Rui as a starter in this league, but consistency remains a problem. When he’s aggressive, he’s been a spark. That only seems to happen ever fourth or fifth outing, though.

Trez is an energy player off the bench. His pick and roll defense was exposed in the bubble playoffs. Maybe you can get way with playing him at the 4 with TB against big lineups due to TB’s shooting, but I think you have to move him while he has value. He’s looking for more money and minutes than we can provide. We improved his value relative to when we picked him up. It’s time.

They need to make decisions and clear some of the logjams. For all the depth this team has, what good did it do us when they were all out with COVID at the same time? We can’t keep all these guys.

We’re capped out, multiple players are looking for raises, and Beal’s window is closing.

 

[staffsgtdignam]

The ceiling for this team was the second round, aka a Leonsis championship.

“Hello officer? Yes, I’d like to report a murder..”

In all seriousness though, I’m with you guys and I hope we don’t mortgage our assets for some dumb “win now” Ernie-sque move like giving up several draft picks (including unprotecting the OKC pick we gave away) and Rui/Deni/Corey for Sabonis just to make Beal happy while he ages into essentially a horrible supermax contract for the next 4 years while, like clockwork, we drown in mediocrity without enough young assets or draft picks to build a contender in the late 2020s/early 2030s.

Maybe Ted/Monumental will get frustrated enough to sell the team to Bezos and we can be the Washington Prime? Probably a complete pipe dream though.

 

[Methodical Management]

Maybe Ted/Monumental will get frustrated enough to sell the team to Bezos and we can be the Washington Prime? Probably a complete pipe dream though.

I hate to say it, but the Mystics and Capitals winning titles was among the worst things that could happen to the Wizards, because now Ted thinks he knows what it takes - and will refuse to believe that he’s the problem.

The level of investment in the NBA is categorically different than for the NHL and WNBA, and even then, those teams would’ve won more titles by random chance than through the best efforts of their respective organizations. The WNBA is a twelve team league and Washington has won once in twenty-five years. The equivalent is winning once in sixty years in the NBA - which is right about where we are. (1:64, to be exact.)

I don’t see Ted getting “frustrated” - except by their gate. He made his money from AOL. Mediocrity is the brand.

More likely, expenses and franchise values reach the point where selling his controlling interest in the team becomes an offer he can’t refuse. We have essentially zero chance of winning anything otherwise.


As for your “pipe dream,” we have more than enough to be ashamed of without adding Bookstore Blofeld.

 

[Public Enemy]

 

[Methodical Management]

 

[joe cool23]

Imagine what Tommy could pull off if we had an owner that wanted to win.

 

[Rootin4EverybodyBlack]

Correct me if I’m wrong their 3 active guards now are Ish Smith, Aaron Holiday and Neto. Right?

Wow..just. Wow

 

[Public Enemy]

Correct me if I’m wrong their 3 active guards now are Ish Smith, Aaron Holiday and Neto. Right?

Wow..just. Wow

Holiday got dealt to the Suns. Just Smith and Neto.

 

[Methodical Management]

Correct me if I’m wrong their 3 active guards now are Ish Smith, Aaron Holiday and Neto. Right?

Wow..just. Wow

Not even that. They just traded Holiday, who at times had been our best point guard, to the Suns for an as-yet unannounced return.

What is this team’s bizarre fascination with Ish Smith!? Even letting Montrezl go this summer for nothing would’ve been preferable, but the possibility existed for a sign and trade. We could’ve just picked up a point guard from the buyout market without adding salary next year to get a player who can no longer crack an NBA rotation.

So now we have another grotesquely overpaid forward we don’t need and no point guard.


At least we got rid of Bertans.

 

[jking0821]

What in the world were we doing? Ish Smith?? Why? Holiday >>>>>> Ish.

Without understanding the financial ramifications i have never been a Porzingis fan. I love how some of these articles are like "Dinamic Duo of Beal and Porzingins!!"

and then the article reads:
"Frankly, Porzingis was in the midst of his worst season with the Mavericks"

Does anyone think porzingis will become a force in washington?

 

[VARNELL HILL]

What in the world were we doing? Ish Smith?? Why? Holiday >>>>>> Ish.

Without understanding the financial ramifications i have never been a Porzingis fan. I love how some of these articles are like "Dinamic Duo of Beal and Porzingins!!"

and then the article reads:
"Frankly, Porzingis was in the midst of his worst season with the Mavericks"

Does anyone think porzingis will become a force in washington?

It will be more of the same of what he's been in Dallas and NY.

He's going to have stretches where he's a 25/10 guy, then he'll fall off...before shortly getting injured and out for extensive periods of time. Yes, Porzingis is the best player and youngest player in the trade...but he comes with a laundry list of his own issues which is how his value has plummeted this low in the first place. Wizards basically just condensed 2 problems for 1

 

[Rootin4EverybodyBlack]

Yeah I mean the question about Porzingis is always “is he healthy”. He’s very dependent on the P&R and since Washington doesn’t have a decent PG who can attack the basket, I expect his numbers to drop from Dallas.

Also, I have no clue what the starting lineup looks like with him. I lean towards him at the 4 with Kuz at the 3. But that’s a huge frontcourt that’s probably lacking in speed.

 

[VARNELL HILL]

Yeah I mean the question about Porzingis is always “is he healthy”. He’s very dependent on the P&R and since Washington doesn’t have a decent PG who can attack the basket, I expect his numbers to drop from Dallas.

Also, I have no clue what the starting lineup looks like with him. I lean towards him at the 4 with Kuz at the 3. But that’s a huge frontcourt that’s probably lacking in speed.

He was a 20/10 guy w/ a 34 Jarrett Jack as his starting PG. He doesn't necessarily need a certain scheme or a player to go and get his.

He's going to have to play the 4. Can't play the 5 for long stretches w/o breaking down.

 

[Rootin4EverybodyBlack]

He was a 20/10 guy w/ a 34 Jarrett Jack as his starting PG. He doesn't necessarily need a certain scheme or a player to go and get his.

He's going to have to play the 4. Can't play the 5 for long stretches w/o breaking down.

Fair point.

So Neto, KCP, Kuzma, KP, Bryant? That’s such a weird lineup.

 

[VARNELL HILL]

Fair point.

So Neto, KCP, Kuzma, KP, Bryant? That’s such a weird lineup.

Lineup doesn't really make a difference anymore. They're not trying to make the playoffs

In fact...I'd like them to lose as many games as possible now.