The Wizards Feel Like The Wizards Again

[Xist2Inspire]

I put out insane gameplans. I played people out of position. I had Joseph Aldrich as a scoring option. I benched players who were doing a little too well. I didn't enjoy any of it. I ended up with the 6th pick.

But, it's over now. And thanks to a trade that would've made sense if I could tank properly, I was now under pressure to do what I was probably going to do anyway. It was time to get to work. So, I traded away #6 for three other picks in the same draft. Given that one of the guys I liked slipped to #6, I was probably too hasty there, but I didn't want to wait it out, decide I wanted to trade it after all, then have to make the pick anyways because real life interfered with trade discussions.

After the draft was through, I then focused on adding talent. I was pretty confident that Trantham and Shinn wouldn't attract much attention in such a large RFA market, so I sent them both team-friendly deals and used the cash I had left over from holds to sign Supreme Cook to an offer sheet. Ultimately he elected to stay with Brooklyn, but Trantham accepted his offer. Shinn wanted a little bit more than he was originally offered, so he took an offer sheet from Miami. I elt his preferred salary was reasonable, so I matched.

The UFA class was shallow on the high end, and deep on the mid-low end, so I knew I had to look elsewhere for talent. When Bryon Nelson became available, I knew I had to jump on the chance to bring him back to DC. I knew he had potential back then, and seeing him flourish on other teams after I failed to bring him back in UFA gave me Ken Dirks flashbacks. So after I made that deal, I moved onto UFA proper, which...was a bit more difficult. Like I said, there was a lack of high-end talent, but an abundance of the tiers below. So, instead of trying to get clever, I just went all-in on the high-end talent...and Amen Thompson decided to sign with us. That was only possible because of Kessler waiting to sign his new deal until it was clear that nobody was going to take our max offers. Fortunately, Amen did, and that single action put a cap on our best off-season in years.

I said that the Wizards feel like the Wizards again, and I meant it. I'm really excited about this team. This is what I enjoy, this is what gets me excited. It's nice to have an offseason that feels like a boost instead of a kick to the gut. It's time to have fun again.

Any questions?

[AngryBanana]

Chet Yoube, Dimmadome News: Can you explain how a player like Remy would leave the Wizards in UFA one season, just to sign Amen the same way the next?


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[Xist2Inspire]

Chet Yoube, Dimmadome News: Can you explain how a player like Remy would leave the Wizards in UFA one season, just to sign Amen the same way the next?


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Not a clue. I could make a snarky comment about "running from the grind" or something, but I guess it was just that Remy really didn't want to be here. Oh well. He got a ring out of it, so goody for him I guess.

[MexicanMamba]

There's some pieces in Washington that are able to be the foundation of a roster capable of making some noise. However, the key parts aren't SUPER young. Kessler and Amen being 26 and 27 isn't old either, but they're definitely at the age where they need to be capitalized on quickly. Have you already started looking at where you could get better as the season goes on? And what deficiency would you like to fix first?

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[Xist2Inspire]

There's some pieces in Washington that are able to be the foundation of a roster capable of making some noise. However, the key parts aren't SUPER young. Kessler and Amen being 26 and 27 isn't old either, but they're definitely at the age where they need to be capitalized on quickly. Have you already started looking at where you could get better as the season goes on? And what deficiency would you like to fix first?

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The fun thing about this team is that, like past Wizards rosters, they could be greater than the sum of their parts. But unlike (most) past Wizards rosters, I think the answers to improvement might lie in internal development as opposed to trades. Wing production has already been identified as a key area of improvement, and though Trantham hasn't set the world on fire yet, he's clearly the future answer to that problem. Currin, Castaneda, and Bermejo could also have an impact on that at some point during this run.

[greepleairport]

Did preseason give you any clues on how this build might work? Do you see Bryon Nelson as a starter or a strong off-the-bench player?

[Xist2Inspire]

Did preseason give you any clues on how this build might work? Do you see Bryon Nelson as a starter or a strong off-the-bench player?

Preseason lineups and gameplans are constructed by sea monkeys, so I really have a hard time getting intel from them. As for Nelson, while I do see him as a starter, I'm going to start him off by giving him heavy bench minutes. I'd like to try and take advantage of his ability to play SF.

EDIT: Actually I changed my mind. Nelson will be starting at the 3.

[garbageman]

Sham Smith, Bulls.com: With the Wizards not owning their own pick next season, how does that affect your goals this season, and what exactly are those goals?

[Black Superman]

Desert here....

With THE signing of UFA, you brought in Amen Thompson. one of the top players available in Free Agency. How do you go about pairing a 3rd player with he and Kessler or are you okay with the role players alternating who is the 3rd best player any given night?

[Xist2Inspire]

Sham Smith, Bulls.com: With the Wizards not owning their own pick next season, how does that affect your goals this season, and what exactly are those goals?

In truth, though I never really planned on a long & slow rebuild in the first place, any chance of that went out of the window the minute that trade went through. The goal has always been to make those picks mid, but now I don't think I have to worry about that. I'm currently focusing on accumulating points to aid the development of the next gen, while gathering data so that I can make a serious run next season.

[Xist2Inspire]

Desert here....

With THE signing of UFA, you brought in Amen Thompson. one of the top players available in Free Agency. How do you go about pairing a 3rd player with he and Kessler or are you okay with the role players alternating who is the 3rd best player any given night?

I think Nelson's the third player. Truthfully, I think Nelson might be #2, and depending on how the Coles/Kessler frontcourt works for real, Kessler may be more of a supporting piece.

[NickMalone77]

Nick Melon; Orlando Sentinel: You’ve stated that you think a more serious run could be made next season given what’s on this roster currently. Do you think this roster is good enough now to make it to the post season? If not, will you be looking to bring in more win now type pieces around Day 60/Trade Deadline to speed up that process?

[Xist2Inspire]

Nick Melon; Orlando Sentinel: You’ve stated that you think a more serious run could be made next season given what’s on this roster currently. Do you think this roster is good enough now to make it to the post season? If not, will you be looking to bring in more win now type pieces around Day 60/Trade Deadline to speed up that process?

I do. Though the Alpha division's a bit more spread out this season, I think we have the right pieces to at least hang around the middle of the pack. As for potential moves to give us a boost in case we aren't - I'm not sure. I'd rather get out of the tax first honestly. Perhaps I'll tailor ASB training towards sealing whatever holes pop up early on.