Another Year, Another Failure

[hardenwithnod]

Rookie Amir Coffey is seen as a building block in Washington.


As the CSL regular season is coming close to an end, the Washington Wizards have found themselves back as one of the bottom feeders of the league. Despite having a relatively good roster on paper, the Wizards just could not find their strives like last season where they made a huge 2nd half run and made the play-in. With a 23-51 record, the team was simply not good, and many would argue it was a major disappointment for this young team that was coming off a play-in appearance. The fanbase is getting tired of this losing culture, and this off-season will be critical for the front office that has been led by GM Gary Chan. Some will argue this will be a make or break off-season. If the team fails to capitalize on a playoff birth next season, then there's no doubt this front office might experience a change of regime.

Things may seem a bit doom and gloom, but the good news is that the team is still in a good spot financially, and currently posses 4 1st round draft picks in this upcoming draft. Many scouts and experts believe this is a strong draft that has some good depth, and the Wizards should be able to capitalize and land some crucial pieces for next season. Despite having a lack of success as a team, some will argue that the front office has made some really good moves this last two seasons, and on paper this team is set up for success for years to come. According to multiple league insiders, the Wizards were very close to make 2 major blockbuster type of trades with 2 western conference teams, but both deals eventually fell through due to time constraint from the trade deadline. It will not be surprising to see the Wizards front office reach out to those teams and perhaps reignite those trade talks once again.

There's no doubt moves will be made this off-season, and the main question will be who's staying and who's going. Per multiple Wizards insiders, the front office is really high on rookie wingman Amir Coffey and the front office feel he's the type of modern day defender that the league highly values. The Wizards coaching staff loves Coffey's versatility on both ends of the floor, and will likely hang on to this rookie for the foreseeable future. All star caliber big man Alen Smailagic is enjoying another good season in D.C after a big breakout season in Detroit last season. The general consensus is that the front office is very keen on keeping Smailagic as a building block for this team, and the team will likely make moves by building around pieces that will surround and compliment Snailmagic. Sophomore point guard Jose Alvarado did receive a ton of trade inquiries for this past season, however the team Wizards front office has shot all those offers down as the team views Alvarado as a core piece going forward. The coaching staff loves Grand Theft Alvarado's tenacity on defense, and he is showing good improvement in his other areas of the game as well. It seems like Alvarado will be staying in D.C for the long term as the team's starting point guard.

As many have known by now the Wizards front office is not afraid to make moves, and it should be expected that the team will be very busy in the trade market for this upcoming off-season. It will be interesting to see how some of the recently acquired trade pieces such as Zeke Nnaji, Vernon Carey Jr, Quinndary Weatherspoon, Kelan Martin, and Devin Davis will fit in this off-season plan. The general consensus is that these guys are still being evaluated, and will probably stick around for a while unless they are needed for some giant blockbuster deal. Despite struggling a bit for this season, the coaching staff firmly believes in Weatherspoon's talent and will work hard to regain his confidence back. The team will continue to experiment with Weatherspoon's versatility and hopefully they can unlock his 2 way talent in a consistent manner. While other rotation pieces such as big man Jontay Porter and sophomore guard Delano Banton have shown enough that the team has no problem retaining them. However with this front office being desperate for success, it will also not be surprising if we see these two get moved in potential trades that can help move the needle for this roster.


Is this the end of the J-Mac era in D.C?

Meanwhile long time Wizards all star Jordan McLaughlin has emerged as a serious trade candidate for this offseason, and he is likely to be moved at some point this summer. Multiple league inside sources have confirmed that J-Mac was involved in multiple trade talks in the past trade deadline. In fact these same sources believe J-Mac was involved in one of the two deals that almost came into fruition. J-Mac has been an amazing felt good story in D.C since he was drafted, as the undersized combo guard has consistently outplayed his pre-draft expectations and has provided a ton of excitement for this Wizards organization throughout his 5 seasons here in Washington. However all good things will have to come to an end eventually, and it certainly will not be surprising to see J-Mac getting traded away to another organization for this off-season.

Finally, two former Wizards lottery picks selections in Jordan Nwora and Moses Brown are set to becoming restricted free agents for this offseason. The coaching staff certainly liked what they have seen from both of these guys, and it should be expected that they will try their best to retain these two young talented players. Meanwhile young three point flamethrower Justinian Jessup is also set to enter restricted free agency, and despite having a relatively down season the team still views Jessup as a vital piece of the puzzle. Wizards insiders firmly believe they will look to retain Jessup's services as he offers elite spacing that the Wizards desperately need on offense. There's no doubt this will be a very interesting off-season for the Wizards, as the fans and owner's patience are all running thin. GM Gary Chan along with the rest of the front office will have some serious work cut out for them, and this team will need to start making a serious push to the next level. This off-season will define the legacy of this front office, and failure will not be an option.

[andrei]

My challenge with the WIZ is the direction. I sense that you are feeling the pressure to speed up the rebuild somehow and that causes you to do all these trades - which I think is the main reason why you are stuck in the rebuild in the first place. I look at the team and its a bit of a revolving door outside of a couple of players. I ask why is it like that? Outside of J-Mac and Brown players are not given a chance to develop in Was and they are traded for some hopes of more wins I guess. But I hope there is a bit of calm for a few seasons where you draft players and develop them and allow them to grow into a team rather than just trading them for potential short term goals.

[hardenwithnod]

My challenge with the WIZ is the direction. I sense that you are feeling the pressure to speed up the rebuild somehow and that causes you to do all these trades - which I think is the main reason why you are stuck in the rebuild in the first place. I look at the team and its a bit of a revolving door outside of a couple of players. I ask why is it like that? Outside of J-Mac and Brown players are not given a chance to develop in Was and they are traded for some hopes of more wins I guess. But I hope there is a bit of calm for a few seasons where you draft players and develop them and allow them to grow into a team rather than just trading them for potential short term goals.

Yeah, that's definitely parts of it. To be fair I have been sticking with the same direction of rebuilding the previous seasons before last off-season when I went for Trae Young. And when we had that terrible start I punted and traded Trae Young away too for more future assets. (Of course the team all of a sudden decided they will win and placed us in the play-in and costed us a chance of a lotto pick)Most of my trades have either saved cap, gained picks, or got more youth. Problem is that when it was the ideal time to peak, I got hit with an engine switch which I have not been able to adjust as well. Also my top drafted guys have not performed as expected. Some might argue I might have traded them away too soon, but even now with their new teams they have not been playing as a true number one picks. (Edwards and Garland)

This past season I traded for Snailmagic and Porter for pretty solid value. Same thing with Weatherspoon as I thought these 3 plus my guys can give take us to the next step. All 3 guys are good players and fit my age window, and I figured consolidation was what my team needed. Turns out they didn't fit well with this group and now we have another punted season lol. I will say I might regret moving Eason this season, but we shall see. Most of the young guys I moved haven't really been amazing else where. One trade I will say I failed was moving Robert Williams. I should've trusted my instincts as I felt he was developing into a legit starting big man despite when others said he was just a guy when I traded for him. That's just how trading goes sometimes, you win some and you lose some haha.

Unfortunately that's just how rebuilding goes. Sure, you can get lots of youth/picks, but will they develop? Did your scouts give you the accurate ranges? Can you adapt to the new engine with these prospects? Lots of variabilities still. Ultimately it's on me since I will admit I have not been able to adapt to this engine.

[GreenBear]

There's no doubt losing Bam to Denver in FA really set you guys back. Just look at how he’s been playing there.

I look at the Wizards roster and there’s a lot of young talent there. I think you have the right mindset of identifying the building blocks and going from there. Alvarado is a special defender at a very important defensive position. He’s already a valuable player and should take off once he gets his endurance boost next year. Smailagic is very good offensive player, but he brings very little defensively, so he needs to be surrounded with the right pieces. I think Jessup is capable of more than he’s shown thus far, so just gotta figure out how to get the most out of his abilities. Coffey looks promising with his boost. McLaughlin is another talented offensive player, but I’m not sure he and Smailagic are great fits with one another. Makes sense that you’re considering moving one of them. Plenty of other valuable pieces on your roster as well.

You have plenty of picks in the upcoming draft to do pretty much whatever you want with. One will be very high, one in the middle somewhere, and two late. So you have a lot of options. The game is notoriously tough on 1st and 2nd year players (unless you get a Jovic level player), so I’m not sure how much they’ll directly help you in your quest to make the playoffs next year. But you can easily upgrade both your present and future. Keep your high pick to grab a special prospect and see what’s available with the rest. You can either keep the picks if you don’t like what’s offered, or exchange some of them for other youngish players that complement your roster and fit your window. There’s not a wrong answer.

Looking forward to seeing what you guys do this offseason!

[hardenwithnod]

There's no doubt losing Bam to Denver in FA really set you guys back. Just look at how he’s been playing there.

I look at the Wizards roster and there’s a lot of young talent there. I think you have the right mindset of identifying the building blocks and going from there. Alvarado is a special defender at a very important defensive position. He’s already a valuable player and should take off once he gets his endurance boost next year. Smailagic is very good offensive player, but he brings very little defensively, so he needs to be surrounded with the right pieces. I think Jessup is capable of more than he’s shown thus far, so just gotta figure out how to get the most out of his abilities. Coffey looks promising with his boost. McLaughlin is another talented offensive player, but I’m not sure he and Smailagic are great fits with one another. Makes sense that you’re considering moving one of them. Plenty of other valuable pieces on your roster as well.

You have plenty of picks in the upcoming draft to do pretty much whatever you want with. One will be very high, one in the middle somewhere, and two late. So you have a lot of options. The game is notoriously tough on 1st and 2nd year players (unless you get a Jovic level player), so I’m not sure how much they’ll directly help you in your quest to make the playoffs next year. But you can easily upgrade both your present and future. Keep your high pick to grab a special prospect and see what’s available with the rest. You can either keep the picks if you don’t like what’s offered, or exchange some of them for other youngish players that complement your roster and fit your window. There’s not a wrong answer.

Looking forward to seeing what you guys do this offseason!

Yeah I am excited to see what we can accomplish for this off-season as well! I will probably make a big move or two since I don't think JMac is a good fit next to Smailagic, but our main focus will likely be drafting guys that fit in our culture, and keep them around as Andrei has mentioned from above. We definitely have some flexibilities with those picks, and we might move some of those picks depending on how the draft board look. Either way I am excited to see if I can make some moves that can help us out for next season and beyond.

[rh0xxy]

I echoed most of the comments here. You have so many talents and future talents with those upcoming picks. It's a matter of putting up the best piece possible, i guess. I strongly support the idea of keeping Alvarado (unless you trade him here). He could be the key for this Franchise.

[blackice]

You have a ton of picks, and are set for a proper rebuild, I wouldn't sell low on anyone until you are sure you are getting good value. If you value said assets I could see this team as a contender around the same time we are. Just different approaches but great work so far.

[Silogical]

The problem is if you try to compete before tanking for a star youll likely treadmil in the 7-10 range than fall back to the bottom and repeat until you hit that star. The lottery needs to be revamped so teams in the 7-10 range dont get complete garbage compared to the top 3 picks. This way we can do what you did a few times and try to progress forward. progressing forward should be better than tanking but it isnt.

As it stands just trade everything and tank until you hit a legit star.

[hardenwithnod]

Yeah, I definitely do think we will need to nail down a stud in this draft or else we might treadmill again.

[bt]

I think Miami is proving you don't need a legit star but I think you need to make a decision and stick to it. You're flip flopping at the moment and I still have no idea what you're trying to do. You had Young and Williams there at one point with other assets which would have been a pivot point but then you traded both and kept rebuilding.

So I think it's just about direction. You need an overall talented roster if you don't have that legit star and it makes it easier but you can still get there without IMO.

[Marcos_Beck]

Trade!

[rh0xxy]

Sim

[hardenwithnod]

I think Miami is proving you don't need a legit star but I think you need to make a decision and stick to it. You're flip flopping at the moment and I still have no idea what you're trying to do. You had Young and Williams there at one point with other assets which would have been a pivot point but then you traded both and kept rebuilding.

So I think it's just about direction. You need an overall talented roster if you don't have that legit star and it makes it easier but you can still get there without IMO.

Problem was that Young did not work out for us, and while Williams played well results wise we were struggling, I think we started 1-11 or something ridiculous like that. By the time it was close to the trade deadline we were like 10 games below .500, so I punted then and traded for some picks and cap. I also still have not been able to figure this engine out like I have in the older engines.

[bt]

Yeah but pivot point, not win now point.. you still needed to build around them.

Doesn't matter anyway, they long gone now haha and you guys are a good watch. Be fun to see your off season mate and how you go.

[hardenwithnod]

Yeah but pivot point, not win now point.. you still needed to build around them.

Doesn't matter anyway, they long gone now haha and you guys are a good watch. Be fun to see your off season mate and how you go.

For sure, we are excited for this off-season as well as we have a plan in mind, hopefully it will execute in the manner that I've planned.