DC Weekly - NanashiWake Preps For New Season
Posted: Mon Jun 15, 2015 1:38 am
With the off-season coming to a close and yet another regular season upon us, DC Weekly has caught up with Washington Wizards GM NanashiWake once again to discuss this new Wizards roster. A lot has changed sine the last time we checked in with him, so we'd figure there would be a lot to discuss.
DC Weekly reporter Janet Moore: So NanashiWake, you made several big moves this off-season for what you said was "more along the lines with your vision for this roster moving forward". How close is this team heading into next season, to the team you envisioned when you started making these transactions?
NanashiWake:
Janet Moore: Fair enough. So do you have any indication who that last piece of the puzzle is?
NanashiWake:
Janet Moore: What was it about Tristan Thompson that prompted you to pursue him so vigorously and gave up quite a bit of assets for him? To add to that, what can we expect from Tristan Thompson as a Washington Wizard now?
NanashiWake:
Janet Moore: With training camp just finished, which players really stood out in terms of improvement? Any of the rookies surprise you?
NanashiWake:
Janet Moore: Rumors have been swirling that most starting positions were still up for grabs heading into the aforementioned training camp. More specifically, you are supposedly determining who to start at the PF position between Jared Sullinger and the rookie Montrezl Harrell. Any word of who exactly will be in your starting line-up?
NanashiWake:
Janet Moore: Great, thank you for joining us here again today. We look forward to more Wizard basketball here in the capital.
NanashiWake:
Update: The Wizards have just announced the jersey numbers for their new members. Remember you can purchase the official jerseys at Wizards.com!











NanashiWake:
It's getting there. I know that may sound weird, because right now I do agree with the mass of the critics, that we are a team towards the bottom of the standings. However, our core is in place for the most part. John Wall and Tristan Thompson are the inside-out combo that many teams would like to have. John Wall is once of the best overall PGs in the league being able to score, pass, run the offense and anything else you'd want from your star. Meanwhile, Tristan Thompson is up there with Andre Drummond as one of the best rebounders in the entire CSL. The only piece remaining to fill is the 'go-to scorer' on offense. Of course Wall can put up his numbers, and we are confident that we have signed a few guys that can be looked at to score on occasion, but we are more referring to the type of player that competes for a scoring title. The type of player where Wall can pass him the ball on the wing and we can run an isolation offense.

G Hollis Thompson is one of two Thompsons' added to the team. He'll have an opportunity to display he skills and maybe even take a starting role on this squad.

NanashiWake:
Well...yes, to be honest. As I've mentioned somewhere else, we already know who we are going to pursue to fill that role. We also have a 2nd, 3rd, 4th option as well. Have to be prepared when it means the Wizards franchise. Obviously we can't mention any names, and are not ready to release the method we'll acquire that player. All I can say is that if our target is added alongside John Wall and Tristan Thompson, fans can expect a lot of victories.

NanashiWake:
Well first off, you can expect a relentless pursuit for every rebound, especially on the offensive end. His motor reminds me a lot of Kenneth Faried from the Houston Rockets. I've never seen him take a play off out there and the young man is only 23-years old. So youth was a huge factor, but his determination was another key factor. We spoke with John Wall initially when we found out that acquiring Tristan Thompson was available for a sign-and-trade. Honestly John Wall had set his mind on going after LaMarcus Aldridge. Eventually we were able to convince him that Tristan Thompson was just as much the right guy for the job. Then the two actually started communicating once the deal had been verbally committed and have hit it off since. They are so much alike when it comes to basketball mentality, it's scary. (laughs)

G John Wall and F Tristan Thompson fighting for a rebound when on different teams, they have since joined forces. The young duo plans to out-hustle the competition and start a winning tradition in Washington.

NanashiWake:
Hmm, good question. I'd say the only real surprise was how ready Montrezl Harrell was for the league. When we knew we'd try to acquire him in the draft, we figured he'd take about a season to get to the point where he is at right now. So was it a surprise, well...yes in that he is ahead of schedule by about a season for us. We feel that just shows his work ethic and why we wanted him in a Wizards uniform.

It won't be pleasant for the rest of the CSL as rookie F Montrezl Harrell screams his way into a Wizards uniform and looks ready to impress all the teams that have doubted him.

NanashiWake:
I can confirm that a couple positions were up for grabs. At this exact moment, we don't have a starting line-up. We have an idea of who we think it'll be but nothing's certain. I'll have to discuss in over with the staff after the pre-season and then we'll determine a starting line-up we want to go with.

NanashiWake:
_____________________________________________________________________________________________Thank you for having me as always. Look forward to seeing you again.
Update: The Wizards have just announced the jersey numbers for their new members. Remember you can purchase the official jerseys at Wizards.com!









